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Wie Schön Leuchtet Der Morgenstern
"" (; How lovely shines the morning star) is a Lutheran hymn by Philipp Nicolai written in 1597 and first published in 1599. It inspired musical settings through centuries, notably Bach's chorale cantata , but also vocal and instrumental works by Baroque composers, Peter Cornelius, Felix Mendelssohn, Max Reger, Hugo Distler, Ernst Pepping, Mauricio Kagel and Naji Hakim. History Nicolai wrote the text in response to a pestilence in 1597. The hymn, in seven stanzas, is based on Psalm 45, a mystical wedding song. Jesus is identified with the morning star, according to , and with the bridegroom of the psalm. Nicolai published the hymn first in 1599 in his collection ("Mirror of Joy of the Life Everlasting") in Frankfurt, together with "". He introduced it: "" (A spiritual bridal song of the believing soul / concerning Jesus Christ, her heavenly bridegroom, founded on the 45th Psalm of the prophet David). Tune The hymn tune of "", Zahn No. 8359, was codified then as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lutheran Hymn
Martin Luther was a great enthusiast for music, and this is why it forms a large part of Lutheran services; in particular, Luther admired the composers Josquin des Prez and Ludwig Senfl and wanted singing in the church to move away from the ''ars perfecta'' (Catholic Sacred Music of the late Renaissance) and towards singing as a ''Gemeinschaft'' (community). Lutheran hymns are sometimes known as chorales. Lutheran hymnody is well known for its doctrinal, didactic, and musical richness. Most Lutheran churches are active musically with choirs, handbell choirs, children's choirs, and occasionally change ringing groups that ring bells in a bell tower. Johann Sebastian Bach, a devout Lutheran, composed music for the Lutheran church: more than half of his over 1000 compositions are or contain Lutheran hymns. History Lutheran hymnals include: * ''Achtliederbuch'', a.k.a. the first Lutheran hymnal (1524). Contains, among others, "Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g'mein", "Es ist das ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hymn Tune
A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part (or more) harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm (chords change frequently), with or without refrain or chorus. From the late sixteenth century in England and Scotland, when most people were not musically literate and learned melodies by rote, it was a common practice to sing a new text to a hymn tune the singers already knew which had a suitable meter and character. There are many hymn tunes which might fit a particular hymn: a hymn in Long Metre might be sung to any hymn tune in Long Metre, but the tunes might be as different as those tunes that have been used for centuries with hymns such as ''Te lucis ante terminum'', on one hand, and an arrangement of the calypso tune used with ''Jamaica Farewell'', on the other. Hymnal editors Editors bring extensive knowledge of theology, poetry, and music to the process of compiling a new hymn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schwingt Freudig Euch Empor, BWV 36
Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata (Soar joyfully upwards), 36, in Leipzig in 1731 for the first Sunday in Advent. He drew on material from previous congratulatory cantatas, beginning with ''Schwingt freudig euch empor'', BWV 36c (1725). The Gospel for the Sunday was the Entry into Jerusalem, thus the mood of the secular work matched "the people's jubilant shouts of Hosanna". In a unique structure in Bach's cantatas, he interpolated four movements derived from the former works with four stanzas from two important Advent hymns, to add liturgical focus, three from Luther's "" and one from Nicolai's "". He first performed the cantata in its final form of two parts, eight movements, on 2 December 1731. History and words Bach composed the cantata in 1731 in Leipzig, for the First Sunday of Advent, the beginning of the Lutheran church year. In Leipzig this was the only Sunday in Advent when a cantata was performed, whereas ''tempus clausum'' (quiet time) was observed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wer Da Gläubet Und Getauft Wird, BWV 37
(He who believes and is baptised), , is a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, a church cantata for the feast of the Ascension of Jesus. Bach composed it in Leipzig and first performed it on 18 May 1724. The work is Bach's first cantata composition for the feast of the Ascension. Surprisingly for a high feast day, it is modestly scored; only two oboes d'amore add to the sound of the regular strings and basso continuo, accompanying four vocal parts. An anonymous poet derived thoughts from the prescribed Gospel, even quoting a verse, but excluded the Ascension itself and concentrated on the Lutheran idea of justification by faith alone. The poet structured the six movements of the cantata in two parts, each concluded by a chorale. History and words Bach composed the cantata in Leipzig for Ascension. The prescribed readings for the feast day were from the Acts of the Apostles, the prologue and Ascension (), and from the Gospel of Mark, Jesus telling his disciples to preach and bapti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erschallet, Ihr Lieder, Erklinget, Ihr Saiten! BWV 172
(), , is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, composed in Weimar for Pentecost Sunday in 1714. Bach led the first performance on 20 May 1714 in the , the court chapel in the ducal Schloss. ''Erschallet, ihr Lieder'' is an early work in a genre to which he later contributed complete cantata cycles for all occasions of the liturgical year. Bach was appointed in Weimar in the spring of 1714, a position that called for the performance of a church cantata each month. He composed ''Erschallet, ihr Lieder'' as the third cantata in the series, to a text probably written by court poet Salomon Franck. The text reflects different aspects of the Holy Spirit. The librettist included a quotation from the day's prescribed Gospel reading in the only recitative, and for the closing chorale he used a stanza from Philipp Nicolai's hymn "" (1599). The work is in six movements, and scored for four vocal soloists, four-part choir, three trumpets, timpani, oboe, bassoon and a string orchestra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Four-part Harmony
The term "four-part harmony" refers to music written for four voices, or for some other musical medium—four musical instruments or a single keyboard instrument, for example—for which the various musical parts can give a different note for each chord of the music. The four main voices are typically labelled as soprano (or treble and countertenor), alto (contralto, countertenor or mezzo), tenor, and bass. Because the human voice has a limited range, different voice types are usually not able to sing pitches that lie outside of their specific range. The effort required to perform four-part harmony varies greatly. Pieces written in such a style can be usually executed by a single keyboard player, a group of 4 instruments (or singers), or even a large choir with multiple singers per part. In European classical music In the baroque era, a set of rules developed for voice leading in four-part harmony. In these rules, the bass voice would be assigned the root of the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chorale Cantata (Bach)
There are 52 chorale cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach surviving in at least one complete version. Around 40 of these were composed during his second year as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, which started after Trinity Sunday 4 June 1724, and form the backbone of his chorale cantata cycle. The eldest known cantata by Bach, an early version of ''Christ lag in Todes Banden'', BWV 4, presumably written in 1707, was a chorale cantata. The last chorale cantata he wrote in his second year in Leipzig was ''Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern'', BWV 1, first performed on Palm Sunday, 25 March 1725. In the ten years after that he wrote at least a dozen further chorale cantatas and other cantatas that were added to his chorale cantata cycle. Lutheran hymns, also known as chorales, have a prominent place in the liturgy of that denomination. A chorale cantata is a church cantata based on a single hymn, both its text and tune. Bach was not the first to compose them, but for his 1724-25 second Leipzi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard works such as the ''Goldberg Variations'' and ''The Well-Tempered Clavier''; organ works such as the '' Schubler Chorales'' and the Toccata and Fugue in D minor; and vocal music such as the ''St Matthew Passion'' and the Mass in B minor. Since the 19th-century Bach revival he has been generally regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music. The Bach family already counted several composers when Johann Sebastian was born as the last child of a city musician in Eisenach. After being orphaned at the age of 10, he lived for five years with his eldest brother Johann Christoph, after which he continued his musical education in Lüneburg. From 1703 he was back in Thuringia, working as a musician for Protestant c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Praetorius
Michael Praetorius (probably 28 September 1571 – 15 February 1621) was a German composer, organist, and music theorist. He was one of the most versatile composers of his age, being particularly significant in the development of musical forms based on Protestant hymns. Life Praetorius was born Michael Schultze, the youngest son of a Lutheran pastor, in Creuzburg, in present-day Thuringia. After attending school in Torgau and Zerbst, he studied divinity and philosophy at the University of Frankfurt (Oder). He was fluent in a number of languages. After receiving his musical education, from 1587 he served as organist at the Marienkirche in Frankfurt. From 1592/3 he served at the court in Wolfenbüttel, under the employ of Henry Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. He served in the duke's State Orchestra, first as organist and later (from 1604) as ''Kapellmeister'' (court music director). [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johann Kuhnau
Johann Kuhnau (; 6 April 16605 June 1722) was a German polymath, known primarily as a composer today. He was also active as a novelist, translator, lawyer, and music theorist, and was able to combine these activities with his duties in his official post as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, which he occupied for 21 years. Much of his music, including operas, masses, and other large-scale vocal works, is lost. His reputation today rests on his ''Biblical Sonatas'', a set of programmatic keyboard sonatas published in 1700, in which each sonata depicted in detail a particular story from the Bible. After his death, Kuhnau was succeeded as Thomaskantor by Johann Sebastian Bach. Biography Much of the biographical information on Kuhnau is known from an autobiography published by Johann Mattheson in 1740 in his ''Grundlage einer Ehrenpforte''. Kuhnau's Protestant family was originally from Bohemia, and their name was Kuhn. Kuhnau was born in Geising, present-day Saxony. His musical talents we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dieterich Buxtehude
Dieterich Buxtehude (; ; born Diderik Hansen Buxtehude; c. 1637 – 9 May 1707) was a Danish organist and composer of the Baroque period, whose works are typical of the North German organ school. As a composer who worked in various vocal and instrumental idioms, Buxtehude's style greatly influenced other composers, such as Johann Sebastian Bach. Buxtehude is considered one of the most important composers of the 17th century. Life Early years in Denmark He is thought to have been born with the name Diderich Buxtehude.Snyder, Kerala J. Dieterich Buxtehude: Organist in Lübeck. New York: Schirmer Books, 1987. His parents were Johannes (Hans Jensen) Buxtehude and Helle Jespersdatter. His father originated from Oldesloe in the Duchy of Holstein, which at that time was a part of the Danish realms in Northern Germany. Scholars dispute both the year and country of Dieterich's birth, although most now accept that he was born in 1637 in Helsingborg, Skåne at the time part of De ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psalmodia Germanica (Jacobi, Johann Christian)
John Christian Jacobi, also Johann Christian Jacobi, (1670-1750) was a German-born translator and dealer in religious books, particularly those connected with Halle Pietism. He served as keeper of the Royal German Chapel, St James's Palace from 1714 until his death. Life and works In the 1680s Jacobi attended the University of Halle, one of the main centres of Lutheranism, where the leading Pietist August Hermann Francke set up various educational institutions. While at Halle, he came into contact with English students; and in 1708 he moved to England to start work as a translator and bookseller in London, opening a bookshop near Somerset House in the Strand, London in 1709. He specialised in religious tracts, using his contacts with Francke in Halle and John Downing of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge in London. Known as the "German bookseller on the Strand", his bookshop imported German bibles, prayer books and hymnals for the German Lutheran community in Lond ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
