Friedrich Smend (26 August 1893 – 10 February 1980) was a German Protestant

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and librarian at the Preußische Staatsbibliothek in Berlin, publishing a catalogue of the writings of

Adolf von Harnack Carl Gustav Adolf von Harnack (born Harnack; 7 May 1851 – 10 June 1930) was a Baltic German Lutheran theologian and prominent Church historian. He produced many religious publications from 1873 to 1912 (in which he is sometimes credited ...

. He was a

liturgist Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

, teaching as professor at the

Kirchliche Hochschule Berlin The Kirchliche Hochschule Berlin (Church University Berlin) was a theological university in Berlin, Germany, from 1945 to 1992, a facility of the Protestant Church in Berlin, Brandenburg and Silesian Upper Lusatia. History The university dates b ...

. His publications focus on the work of

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 ...

and

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as trea ...

Life

Born in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

, Smend belonged to a family of

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

s and theologians. Members of three generations had served as pastors of the Reformed parish of Lengerich in the 18th and 19th centuries. His father

Julius Smend Julius Smend (10 May 1857 – 7 June 1930) was a German theologian born in Lengerich, Westphalia. He was a brother to theologian Rudolf Smend (1851–1913) and the father of musicologist Friedrich Smend. He studied theology in Bonn, Halle a ...

was professor, first in Strasbourg, and then from 1918 first dean of the Protestant theological faculty of the

University of Münster The University of Münster (german: Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, WWU) is a public university, public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. With more than 43,000 students and over ...

. His uncle was the theologian Rudolf Smend. Smend studierd Protestant theology in Münster, promoted to the doctorate. He worked as librarian of the Preußische Staatsbibliothek in Berlin from 1923, where he published a catalogue of the writings of

. During the Nazi regime, he was a member of the of the

Bekennende Kirche The Confessing Church (german: link=no, Bekennende Kirche, ) was a movement within German Protestantism during Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to unify all Protestant churches into a single pro-Nazi German E ...

and took part in the

Kirchenkampf ''Kirchenkampf'' (, lit. 'church struggle') is a German term which pertains to the situation of the Christian churches in Germany during the Nazi period (1933–1945). Sometimes used ambiguously, the term may refer to one or more of the follo ...

. After World War II, Smend was appointed prefessor of

hymnology Hymnology (from Greek ὕμνος ''hymnos'', "song of praise" and -λογία ''-logia'', "study of") is the scholarly study of religious song, or the hymn, in its many aspects, with particular focus on choral and congregational song. It may be m ...

liturgics Liturgics, also called liturgical studies or liturgiology, is the academic discipline dedicated to the study of liturgy (public worship rites, rituals, and practices). Liturgics scholars typically specialize in a single approach drawn from anoth ...

and

church music Church music is Christian music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn. History Early Christian music The onl ...

at the

, where he remained until retirement in 1958. He was awarded honorary doctorates from the universities of

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

and

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

. In 1961, he received the Commanders Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

. Smend focused on studies of the work of

and

, specifically Bach's

Mass in B minor The Mass in B minor (), BWV 232, is an extended setting of the Mass ordinary by Johann Sebastian Bach. The composition was completed in 1749, the year before the composer's death, and was to a large extent based on earlier work, such as a Sanctu ...

, ''

St Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (german: Matthäus-Passion, links=-no), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets ...

'' and ''

St John Passion The ''Passio secundum Joannem'' or ''St John Passion'' (german: Johannes-Passion, link=no), BWV 245, is a Passion or oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, the older of the surviving Passions by Bach. It was written during his first year as direc ...

'', as well as number symbolism in Bach's works. He died in Berlin at age 86.

Publications

* ''Adolf von Harnack. Verzeichnis seiner Schriften''. Leipzig 1927; ''Nachtrag 1927-1930''. Leipzig 1931 (reprinted: ''Adolf von Harnack. Verzeichnis seiner Schriften bis 1930. Mit einem Geleitwort und bibliographischen Nachträgen bis 1985 von Jürgen Dummer.''

Saur Saur may refer to: * Saur (company) a French utility company * Saur (restaurant), Michelin starred restaurant in The Hague, Netherlands * Dog king - a Scandinavian tradition * Saur 1 - an APC developed by ROMARM * K. G. Saur Verlag, German publ ...

, Munich 1990, ISBN 3-598-10321-2). * ''Joh. Seb. Bach Kirchen-Kantaten.'' in 6 volumes. Christlicher Zeitschriftenverlag, Berlin 1947–48 (2nd edition 1950; 3rd edition 1966). * ''Johann Sebastian Bach bei seinem Namen gerufen.''

Bärenreiter Bärenreiter (Bärenreiter-Verlag) is a German classical music publishing house based in Kassel. The firm was founded by Karl Vötterle (1903–1975) in Augsburg in 1923, and moved to Kassel in 1927, where it still has its headquarters; it also ...

, Kassel 1950. * ''Bach in Köthen.'' Christlicher Zeitschriftenverlag, Berlin 1951–52 (in English: St. Louis,

Concordia Publishing House Concordia Publishing House (CPH), founded in 1869, is the official publishing arm of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). Headquartered in St Louis, Missouri, at 3558 S. Jefferson Avenue, CPH publishes the synod's official monthly magaz ...

, 1985). * ''Goethes Verhältnis zu Bach.'' , Berlin 1955. * ''Missa ; Symbolum Nicenum ; Sanctus ; Osanna, Benedictus, Agnus Dei et Dona Nobis Pacem (später genannt „Messe in h-moll“).'' Bärenreiter, Kassel 1956. * ''Ferner Freunde ward gedacht : ein Beitrag zu Goethes Briefwechsel mit Marianne von Willemer''. Berlin, Merseburger, 1964 * ''Bach-Studien. Gesammelte Reden und Aufsätze''. Bärenreiter, Kassel 1969.

References

External links

* * Dadelsen, Georg von
Friedrich Smend's Edition of the B-minor Mass by J. S. Bach 1
(in German) taylorfrancis.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Smend, Friedrich 20th-century German Protestant theologians Liturgists 20th-century German musicologists 20th-century German non-fiction writers Bach scholars Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 1893 births 1980 deaths

Life

Publications

References

Further reading

External links