"Herzliebster Jesu" (often translated into English as "Ah, Holy Jesus", sometimes as "O Dearest Jesus") is a Lutheran

Passion hymn Passion hymns are hymns dedicated to the Passion of Jesus. They are often sung during Passiontide, namely for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. Many of them were used as chorales in Passion (music), Passions, such as Bach's St John Passion structu ...

in German, written in 1630 by

Johann Heermann Johann Heermann (11 October 158517 February 1647) was a German poet and hymnodist. He is commemorated in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church on 26 October with Philipp Nicolai and Paul Gerhardt. Life Heermann was born in Raudten (m ...

, in 15 stanzas of 4 lines, first published in ''Devoti Musica Cordis'' in Breslau. As the original headline reveals, it is based on

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...

; this means the seventh chapter of the so-called "Meditationes Divi Augustini", presently ascribed to

John of Fécamp John of Fécamp, (early 11th century - 22 February 1079) was an Italian-Norman Benedictine who was the most widely read of early medieval spiritual writers before the Imitation of Christ became popular (published circa 1418–1427), during a perio ...

.''The Hymnal 1982 Companion''
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Melody and musical settings

The tune, Zahn No. 983, was written ten years later by

Johann Crüger Johann Crüger (9 April 1598 – 23 February 1662) was a German composer of well-known hymns. He was also the editor of the most widely used Lutheran hymnal of the 17th century, ''Praxis pietatis melica''. Early life and education Crüger was bo ...

and first appeared in Crüger's ''Neues vollkömmliches Gesangbuch Augsburgischer Confession''. The tune has been used many times, including settings by

J.S. Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suite ...

: one of the

Neumeister Chorales The Neumeister Collection is a compilation of 82 chorale preludes found in a manuscript copy produced by Johann Gottfried Neumeister (1757–1840). When the manuscript was rediscovered at Yale University in the 1980s it appeared to contain 31 previ ...

for organ, BWV 1093, two movements of the

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 ...

, and three of the ''

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 ...

''. BWV^2a (1998), p. 475

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

used it for one of his

Eleven Chorale Preludes Eleven Chorale Preludes, Op. 122, is a collection of works for organ by Johannes Brahms, written in 1896 at the end of the composer's life and published posthumously in 1902.Bond, Ann. ''Brahms Chorale Preludes'', Op. 122, ''The Musical Times'', Vol ...

for organ, Op. 122: No. 2.).

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, as a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University ...

's ''Passion'', No. 4 from his organ pieces ''Sieben Stücke'', Op. 145 (1915–1916), uses this melody.

Mauricio Kagel Mauricio Raúl Kagel (; 24 December 1931 – 18 September 2008) was an Argentine-German composer. Biography Kagel was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, into an Ashkenazi Jewish family that had fled from Russia in the 1920s . He studied music, his ...

quoted the hymn, paraphrased as "Herzliebster Johann, was hast du verbrochen", in his oratorio ''

Sankt-Bach-Passion ''Sankt-Bach-Passion'' (Saint Bach Passion) is an oratorio composed by Mauricio Kagel in 1985 for the tricentenary of the birth of Johann Sebastian Bach. It follows the model of Bach's Passions, but the topic is not biblical, rather refers to Bach ...

'' telling Bach's life, composed for the tricentenary of Bach's birth in 1985.

Christian Fürchtegott Gellert Christian Fürchtegott Gellert (4 July 171513 December 1769) was a German poet, one of the forerunners of the golden age of German literature that was ushered in by Lessing. Biography Gellert was born at Hainichen in Saxony, at the foot of the ...

wrote his Passion hymn "" (Lord, strengthen me to reflect on your suffering) to the same melody, and first published in 1757.

Translations

The most common English translation of this hymn was written by

Robert Bridges Robert Seymour Bridges (23 October 1844 – 21 April 1930) was an English poet who was Poet Laureate from 1913 to 1930. A doctor by training, he achieved literary fame only late in life. His poems reflect a deep Christian faith, and he is ...

in 1897 and begins with the first line "Ah, holy Jesus, how hast thou offended?" However, several Lutheran hymnals use a translation written in 1863 by

Catherine Winkworth Catherine Winkworth (13 September 1827 – 1 July 1878) was an English hymnwriter and educator. She translated the German chorale tradition of church hymns for English speakers, for which she is recognized in the calendar of the Evangelical Lut ...

which begins "O dearest Jesus, what law hast thou broken?" An alternative translation in modern English from the Choral Niagara website is also shown below for comparison.

References

{{Hymns and songs for Lent and Passiontide 17th-century hymns in German Lutheran hymns Hymn tunes 1630 works Passion hymns