"Sing ''e''t dem Herrn ein neues Lied" ("Sing unto the Lord a new song") is a

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 '' ...

in four stanzas by

Matthäus Apelles von Löwenstern Matthäus Apelles von Löwenstern (20 April 1594 – 11 April 1648) was a German psalmist, musician and statesman. Life He was born in Prudnik as Matthäus Apelt. His father was a saddler. He studied at the university of Frankfurt. He directed ...

.Singt dem Herrn ein neues Lied, die Gemeine
at Johann Sebastian Bach, chorals: sources hymnologiques des mélodies, des textes et des théologies
p.&nbs
118
by James Lyon (2005) The text is based on

Psalm 149 Psalm 149 is the 149th psalm of the Book of Psalms, a hymn as the book's penultimate piece. The first verse of the psalm calls to praise in singing, in English in the King James Version: "Sing a new song unto the Lord". Similar to Psalm 96 and P ...

. The hymn was first published in 1644. Löwenstern is also the composer of its

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 ...

, in

C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and i ...

, Zahn No. 6424.BWV 411
at Luke Dahn's website (2018). Apart from this tune, the 1644 publication also contained a

basso continuo Basso continuo parts, almost universal in the Baroque era (1600–1750), provided the harmonic structure of the music by supplying a bassline and a chord progression. The phrase is often shortened to continuo, and the instrumentalists playing th ...

accompaniment, to be performed on organ when the hymn was sung. A four-part setting of the hymn by

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 ...

, BWV 411, was based on Löwenstern's tune. Basso, Alberto (1983). ''Frau Musika: La vita e le opere di J. S. Bach'', Vol. 2
''Lipsia e le opere de la maturità (1723–1750)''.
Turin: EDT, p.&nbs
846
. . Bach's setting was first published in 1786.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied Lutheran hymns based on Psalms