"" (Now thank all and bring honour) is a German

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 ''a ...

in nine stanzas, with a text written by

Paul Gerhardt Paul Gerhardt (12 March 1607 – 27 May 1676) was a German theologian, Lutheran minister and hymnodist. Biography Gerhardt was born into a middle-class family at Gräfenhainichen, a small town between Halle and Wittenberg. His father died in ...

. It was first published in 1647, in Johann Crüger's ''

Praxis pietatis melica ''Praxis pietatis melica'' (''Practice of Piety in Song'') is a Protestant hymnal first published in the 17th century by Johann Crüger. The hymnal, which appeared under this title from 1647 to 1737 in 45 editions, has been described as "the most ...

'' which was the first publication of hymns by Gerhardt. In the 1653 edition, Crüger added a melody that he composed. As a general song of thanks, the song has appeared in several

hymnals 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 ...

, including the German Protestant hymnal '' Evangelisches Gesangbuch'' and the Catholic hymnal ''

Gotteslob ''Gotteslob'' ("Praise of God") is the title of the hymnbook authorized by the Catholic dioceses in Germany, Austria, South Tyrol, Luxembourg and Liège, Belgium. First published in Advent 2013, it is the current official hymnal for German-speaki ...

''. It has inspired musical settings by composers from the 17th to the 21st century.

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 wo ...

used the first stanza in a cantata, however with the melody of " Lobt Gott, ihr Christen alle gleich",

Hugo Distler August Hugo Distler (24 June 1908 – 1 November 1942)Slonimsky & Kuhn, ''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', v. 2, p. 889 was a German organist, choral conductor, teacher and composer. Life and career Born in Nuremberg, Distler att ...

composed a

chorale cantata A chorale cantata is a church cantata based on a chorale—in this context a Lutheran chorale. It is principally from the German Baroque era. The organizing principle is the words and music of a Lutheran hymn. Usually a chorale cantata includes m ...

, and Günter Berger based a

toccata Toccata (from Italian ''toccare'', literally, "to touch", with "toccata" being the action of touching) is a virtuoso piece of music typically for a keyboard or plucked string instrument featuring fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise virtu ...

for organ on it.

History

When

wrote "", he was 40 years old, had completed his theological studies but had not found a suitable position as a pastor yet. He worked as a private teacher in Berlin. The

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

was in its final year. Nonetheless, he wrote a hymn of praise, in nine stanzas of four lines each. The song is related to a biblical passage, , expressing thanks and praise to God, and requesting further help. The same passage was the basis for the 1630 hymn " Nun danket all Gott" by Martin Rinckart, and several compositions of the 17th century. For the Lutheran Gerhardt, music was an image of heavenly bliss, and the laws of composition an image of the order of creation ("Als überzeugtem Lutheranerwar für ihn die Musik gleichsam ein vorweggenommenes Abbild himmlischer Herrlichkeit, die musikalischen Gesetze Sinnbild für die göttliche Ordnung der Schöpfung"), as he expressed in stanzas eight to eleven of his "

Geh aus, mein Herz, und suche Freud "Geh aus, mein Herz, und suche Freud" ("Go forth, my heart, and seek delight") is a summer hymn with a text in German by theologian Paul Gerhardt written in 1653. It was first published that same year in the fifth edition of Johann Crüger's hymna ...

". "" was published 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 b ...

who was the church musician at the Nikolaikirche in Berlin. It appeared in Crüger's hymnal ''

'' in the (lost) 1647 edition, among the first 18 songs by Gerhardt to be published, which also include the Passion hymn " Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld", the Easter hymn " Auf, auf, mein Herz, mit Freuden", the morning song " Wach auf, mein Herz, und singe", and the evening song "

Nun ruhen alle Wälder "" (literally: O world, see here your life) is a Lutheran Passion hymn in German by Paul Gerhardt. In 16 stanzas of 6 lines, it was first published in 1647 in Johann Crüger's ''Praxis pietatis melica''. The hymn is known as the source for chorale ...

". In the 1653 edition of the

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 Chr ...

, which contained 80 songs by Gerhardt, it was printed with a melody by Crüger. The hymn was sung to conclude all-day peace celebrations in Leipzig on 21 March 1763, for the

Treaty of Hubertusburg The Treaty of Hubertusburg (german: Frieden von Hubertusburg) was signed on 15 February 1763 at Hubertusburg Castle by Prussia, Austria and Saxony to end the Third Silesian War. Together with the Treaty of Paris, signed five days earlier, it mark ...

. In the German Protestant hymnal '' Evangelisches Gesangbuch'', it appears as EG 322. In the Catholic hymnal ''

'', it is GL 403 with stanzas 1, 2, 5, 6, 8 and 9.

Text

The text in German follows the Protestant hymnal ''Evangelisches Gesangbuch''. Translations, which follow the rhythm rather than the literal meaning, were made by Pamela Dellal and Charles Stanford Terry.

Melodies and settings

When Crüger published the hymn in the 1647 edition of his hymnal ''Praxis pietatis melica'', it was possibly without a melody. The hymn appears in the 1653 edition with a melody by Crüger and a

figured bass Figured bass is musical notation in which numerals and symbols appear above or below (or next to) a bass note. The numerals and symbols (often accidentals) indicate intervals, chords, and non-chord tones that a musician playing piano, harpsi ...

. The melody is close to tunes from the

Genevan Psalter The ''Genevan Psalter'', also known as the ''Huguenot Psalter'', is a metrical psalter in French created under the supervision of John Calvin for liturgical use by the Reformed churches of the city of Geneva in the sixteenth century. Background ...

, for Psalm 75 and

Psalm 97 Psalm 97 is the 97th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in the English of the King James Version: "The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice", also as "The Lord is King". The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and ...

, which also express thanks. The first two lines are connected, and the other two lines form a similar rhythmic pattern, with the climax at the beginning of the third line. In 1657/58, Crüger composed a four-part setting, using the melody and bass line. The tune is comfortable for congregational singing, and has been adopted for many other hymns. It became known as "Gräfenberg", which appears in 173 hymnals. The hymn is part of the '' Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch'' with the melody of " Lobt Gott, ihr Christen alle gleich". It is this melody that

set to close his cantata ''Dem Gerechten muß das Licht'', BWV 195. In current German hymnals, the hymn appears with Crüger's melody.

composed a

, No. 2 of his Op. 11. Ulrich Metzner composed ''Toccata sopra 'Nun danket all und bringet Ehr' '' in 2009. wrote an organ piece, subtitled ''Tanz-Toccata für Orgel'', published by in 2015. Gaël Liardon wrote five chorale preludes in 2013.

References

External links

* *
Leipzig After Bach: Church and Concert Life in a German City

Carus * Judith Schmitt-Helfferich
"Nun danket all und bringet Ehr"
SWR
Nun danket all und bringet Ehr
in ''Paul Gerhardt as a Hymn Writer and his Influence on English Hymnody'', ccel.org * {{authority control 17th-century hymns in German Hymn tunes Lutheran hymns Hymns by Paul Gerhardt