Musicalisches Gesang-Buch (Schemelli, Leipzig 1736)

Schemellis Gesangbuch (Schemelli's hymnal) is the common name of a collection of sacred songs titled ''Musicalisches Gesang-Buch'' (Musical song book) published in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

in 1736 by

Georg Christian Schemelli Georg Christian Schemelli (born 1676 or 1678 or 1680 – 5 March 1762) was a German Protestant church musician. He is known for the publication ''Musicalisches Gesang-Buch'', a collection of sacred songs to which Johann Sebastian Bach contributed ...

, to which

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 ...

contributed.

History

In 1736,

''Musicalisches Gesang-Buch'' in

, a collection of 954 sacred songs. The full title reads "Musicalisches Gesang-Buch, Darinnen 954 geistreiche, sowohl alte als neue Lieder und Arien, mit wohlgesetzten Melodien, in Discant und Baß, befindlich sind: Vornehmlich denen Evangelischen Gemeinen im Stifte Naumburg-Zeitz gewidmet" (Musical song book, with 954 spirited, both old as new songs and arias, with well-composed melodies in soprano and bass, in it: mostly dedicated to the Protestant parishioners in the Stift Naumburg-Zeitz). The texts were written in the tradition of

pietism Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christian life, including a social concern for the needy and ...

, and were probably intended for private contemplation. Only 69 of the songs come with music, a melody and a

bass line Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, dub and electronic, traditional, or classical music for the low-pitched instrumental part or line played (in jazz and some f ...

. Many melodies resemble simple

aria In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

contributed to the collection, but musicologists debate to what extent. Schemelli's son Christian Friedrich was a student of the Thomasschule from 1733 to 1735, and later studied at the

Leipzig University Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December ...

, which explains the contact. In the

Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis The (BWV; ; ) is a catalogue of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was first published in 1950, edited by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue's second edition appeared in 1990. An abbreviated version of that second edition, known as BWV2a ...

(BWV) of Bach's works, numbers 439 to 507 list songs from the collection, but his authorship is certain only for three of them, "Dir, dir Jehovah, will ich singen", BWV 452, " Komm, süßer Tod", BWV 478, and "Vergiss mein nicht, vergiss mein nicht", BWV 505. Bach probably wrote the bass lines for the others, and possibly modified some of the melodies.

References

Cited sources

* – facsimiles
1077430 Liturg. 1372 o
at

Bavarian State Library The Bavarian State Library (german: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central " Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the bigg ...

* *

External links

*
Musicalisches Gesang-Buch, Darinnen 954 geistreiche, sowohl alte als neue Lieder und Arien, mit wohlgesetzten Melodien, in Discant und Baß, befindlich sind; Vornehmlich denen Evangelischen Gemeinen im Stifte, Naumburg-Zeitz gewidmet
1736
Schemelli's Hymnal
Bach-Bibliography * Raymond F. Glover
The Hymnal 1982 Companion, Volume 1

Bach Cantatas Website

(capella-Format) {{authority control Lutheran hymnals

History

References

Cited sources

Further reading

External links