"Dies sind die heilgen zehn Gebot" (These are the holy Ten Commandments) is a

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

by the

Protestant reformer Protestant Reformers were those theologians whose careers, works and actions brought about the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. In the context of the Reformation, Martin Luther was the first reformer (sharing his views publicly in 15 ...

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

based on the

Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ� ...

. It appeared first in 1524 in the ''

Erfurt Enchiridion The ''Erfurt Enchiridion'' (enchiridion, from grc, ἐγχειρίδιον, hand book) is the second Lutheran hymnal. It appeared in 1524 in Erfurt in two competing editions. One of them contains 26 songs, the other 25, 18 of them by Martin Lut ...

''.

History

The reformer

wrote the hymn in twelve

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian language, Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or Indentation (typesetting), indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme scheme, rhyme and ...

s of four lines each as a catechetical setting of the

. The commandments were used for confession and for instructions. After an introduction, stanzas 2 to 10 are related to the ten commandments; 11 and 12 provide a conclusion, related to

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

. In 1524, Luther published the hymn in the ''

'' with a

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 ...

, Zahn No. 1951, based on an older melody ("In Gottes Namen Fahren wir"). The hymn is a "

Leise __NOTOC__ The Leise or Leis (plural ''Leisen''; from the Greek ''kyrie eleison'') is a genre of vernacular medieval church song. They appear to have originated in the German-speaking regions, but are also found in Scandinavia, and are a precursor ...

", concluding each stanza by " Kyrieleis". The hymn also appeared in

Johann Walter Johann Walter, also known as ''Johann Walther'' or ''Johannes Walter'' (original name: ''Johann Blankenmüller'') (1496 – 25 March 1570) was a Lutheran composer and poet during the Reformation period. Life Walter was born in Kahla, in present-d ...

's choral hymnal in 1524. It appeared in 1854 in Schircks's edition of Luther‘s hymns (''Geistliche Lieder''), and in the hymnal ''Unverfälschter Liedersegen'' in 1851. In the current Protestant German

hymnal A hymnal or hymnary is a collection of hymns, usually in the form of a book, called a hymnbook (or hymn book). Hymnals are used in congregational singing. A hymnal may contain only hymn texts (normal for most hymnals for most centuries of Chri ...

, the '' Evangelisches Gesangbuch'', it is EG 231. The only common translation is titled "That men a godly life might live". It was published in Richard Massie's ''M. Luther's Spiritual Songs'' in 1854, and in the Ohio Lutheran Hymnal in 1880.

Melody and settings

The melody was assigned as for "In Gottes Namen fahren wir", but other melodies were also used, such as "

Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit "" (; "Were God not with us at this time") is a Lutheran hymn, with words written by Martin Luther based on the Psalm 124. The hymn in three stanzas of seven lines each was first published in 1524. It was translated to English and has appeared i ...

Johann Michael Bach :''To be distinguished from Johann Michael Bach (1745–1820)'' Johann Michael Bach (baptised , Arnstadt, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen – , Gehren) was a German composer of the Baroque period. He was the brother of Johann Christoph Bach, as w ...

composed a

chorale prelude In music, a chorale prelude or chorale setting is a short liturgical composition for organ using a chorale tune as its basis. It was a predominant style of the German Baroque era and reached its culmination in the works of J.S. Bach, who wrote 46 ...

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck ( ; April or May, 1562 – 16 October 1621) was a Dutch composer, organist, and pedagogue whose work straddled the end of the Renaissance and beginning of the Baroque eras. He was among the first major keyboard compo ...

wrote two variations for organ, and

Johann Hermann Schein Johann Hermann Schein (20 January 1586 – 19 November 1630) was a German composer of the early Baroque era. He was Thomaskantor in Leipzig from 1615 to 1630. He was one of the first to import the early Italian stylistic innovations into German ...

composed a setting for two soprano voices and continuo.

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 w ...

wrote a four-part setting, BWV 298; he used the chorale in the opening movement of cantata ''Du sollt Gott, deinen Herren, lieben'', BWV 77. The chorale juxtaposes the topic of the cantata, the commandment of love. In his ''

Clavier-Übung III The ''Clavier-Übung III'', sometimes referred to as the ''German Organ Mass'', is a collection of compositions for organ by Johann Sebastian Bach, started in 1735–36 and published in 1739. It is considered Bach's most significant and extensiv ...

'', he dedicated two pieces to the chorale, a chorale prelude with five voices and a

fughetta In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the ...

for single manual, BWV 678-679. Bach also wrote the first of the catechism chorale preludes, BWV 635, for the ''

Orgelbüchlein The ''Orgelbüchlein'' (''Little Organ Book'') BWV 599−644 is a set of 46 chorale preludes for organ — one of them is given in two versions — by Johann Sebastian Bach. All but three were written between 1708 and 1717 when Bach served as org ...

''.

References

Sources

Books * * * * * * ''Online sources'' * *

External links

* * *
That Man a Godly Life Might Live
hymntime.org
Dies sind die heilgen zehn Gebot BWV 298; BC F 46.1
Bach Digital
Dies sind die heiligen zehen Gebot ("Klavierübung, Teil 3") BWV 678
Bach Digital
Fughetta super: Dies sind die heiligen zehen Gebot ("Klavierübung, Teil 3") BWV 679
Bach Digital {{German Lutheran hymns 16th-century hymns in German Hymn tunes Hymns by Martin Luther