"" ("Come, Holy Ghost, Lord God") is a Lutheran hymn for

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...

, with words written by

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

based on "

Veni Sancte Spiritus, reple tuorum corda fidelium Come, Holy Spirit is a Christian prayer for guidance. It is discussed in the ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'', paragraphs 26702672. It is used with the Catholic Church, as well as some Anglicanism, Anglican and Lutheranism, Lutheran denominati ...

". The hymn in three stanzas was first published in 1524. For centuries the chorale has been the prominent hymn (''Hauptlied'') for Pentecost in German-speaking

Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

. Johann Sebastian Bach used it in several chorale preludes, cantatas and his motet ''Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf'', BWV 226. The hymn inspired composers from , the Renaissance to contemporary to write chorale preludes and vocal compositions. It has been translated, for example by Catherine Winkworth as "Come, Holy Spirit, God and Lord" in 1855, and has appeared in hymnals of various denominations. The artist

Hans Holbein the Younger Hans Holbein the Younger ( , ; german: Hans Holbein der Jüngere; – between 7 October and 29 November 1543) was a Germans, German-Swiss people, Swiss painter and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style, and is considered o ...

featured the hymn in the painting ''

The Ambassadors ''The Ambassadors'' is a 1903 novel by Henry James, originally published as a serial in the ''North American Review'' (NAR). The novel is a dark comedy which follows the trip of protagonist Lewis Lambert Strether to Europe to bring the son o ...

''.

Text

The first stanza is an anonymous translation of the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

antiphon for Pentecost "

" (Come,

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

, fill the hearts of your faithful) from the 11th century. The German version appeared with the current tune in

Ebersberg Ebersberg is the seat of the similarly named Ebersberg ''Landkreis'' (district) in the Oberbayern ''Regierungsbezirk'' (administrative region) in Bavaria, southern Germany. The ''Ebersberger Forst'' (forest) is one of Germany’s largest continu ...

in . The stanza has nine lines, with the irregular meter 7.8.8.8.8.8.8.10.8. It opens with requesting the Holy Spirit to come. An acclamation "O Herr" (O Lord) begins the central fifth line, and the thoughts culminate in a double Hallelujah in the last line. The Spirit is asked: "fill with the goodness of your grace / the heart, spirit and mind of your believers, / kindle in them your ardent love!" Martin Luther added two more stanzas. He kept not only the meter and the tune, but also the structure, with acclamations at the beginning of lines 1 and 5, and the final Halleluja. In his stanzas, the group of "deiner Gläubigen" (your believers) is speaking directly, pronouncing "wir" and "uns" ("we" and "us"). Luther alludes to several of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to :

wisdom Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledge, ...

understanding Understanding is a psychological process related to an abstract or physical object, such as a person, situation, or message whereby one is able to use concepts to model that object. Understanding is a relation between the knower and an object o ...

counsel A counsel or a counsellor at law is a person who gives advice and deals with various issues, particularly in legal matters. It is a title often used interchangeably with the title of ''lawyer''. The word ''counsel'' can also mean advice given ...

knowledge Knowledge can be defined as awareness of facts or as practical skills, and may also refer to familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is often defined as true belief that is distinc ...

, fortitude,

piety Piety is a virtue which may include religious devotion or spirituality. A common element in most conceptions of piety is a duty of respect. In a religious context piety may be expressed through pious activities or devotions, which may vary among ...

, and

fear of the Lord Fear of God may refer to fear itself, but more often to a sense of awe, and submission to, a deity. People subscribing to popular monotheistic religions for instance, might fear Hell and divine judgment, or submit to God's omnipotence. Christian ...

. He also drew on ("because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts"), ("for one is your Master"), and ("the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities"). In the second stanza, Luther uses the attributes "heiliges Licht, edler Hort" (holy light, precious refuge) and words the request "protect us from strange doctrines / so that we may never look for any teacher / except Jesus in true belief". In the last stanza, the Spirit's "ardent love" and "sweet consolation" are named, asking for help "always to remain joyful and comforted / in your service" and "so that we may bravely struggle / through life and death to reach you!" The hymn appeared first in 1524 in , (booklet of spiritual song), collected by Johann Walter. The same year it appeared also in '' Eyn Enchiridion'' in Erfurt, titled "Der gesank Veni sancte spiritus". For centuries the chorale has been the prominent hymn (''Hauptlied'') for

in German-speaking

, the number in the current hymnal '' Evangelisches Gesangbuch'' (EG) is 125. The hymn was translated to Swedish first in 1567, "Kom Helge Ande Herre Gudh", and has appeared in a 1983 version by Britt G. Hallqvist in ' (The Swedish 1986 hymnal). The song was translated to English by Catherine Winkworth as "Come, Holy Spirit, God and Lord!", published in the first series of ''Lyra Germanica'' in 1855, among others. It has been used in different translations, appearing in hymnals of various denominations.

Tune and musical settings

The anonymous melody, Zahn No. 7445a, is similar to the tune of the hymn "Adesto, sancte spiritus" by Marchetto di Padua (c. 1270). Early settings were by

Heinrich Faber Heinrich Faber (before 1500 – 26 February 1552) was a German music theorist, composer, and Kantor. Born in Lichtenfels, Bavaria, he was employed as a singer by Christian II of Denmark in Copenhagen, from 1515 to 1524. He later studied in ...

, for five voices, and by Johann Walter, for four voices. The tune, which also exists in a slightly different form from the 1530s ( Zahn No. 7445b), was set for several parts by Arnold von Bruck and

Samuel Scheidt Samuel Scheidt (baptised 3 November 1587 – 24 March 1654) was a German composer, organist and teacher of the early Baroque era. Life and career Scheidt was born in Halle, and after early studies there, he went to Amsterdam to study with ...

. Johann Eccard composed a five-part

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Margar ...

. Dieterich Buxtehude wrote a chorale prelude, BuxWV 199. Chorale preludes were also written by

Heinrich Scheidemann Heinrich Scheidemann (ca. 1595 – 1663) was a German organist and composer. He was the best-known composer for the organ in north Germany in the early to mid-17th century, and was an important forerunner of Dieterich Buxtehude and J.S. Ba ...

, ,

Andreas Nicolaus Vetter Andreas Nicolaus Vetter (; October 1666 – 13 June 1734) was a German organist and composer. Biography He was born in Herschdorf, in present-day Thuringia. In his ''Zur Geschichte des Orgelspiels'' (1884), August Gottfried Ritter gives 30, Oct. 1 ...

, Georg Friedrich Kauffmann,

Johann Gottfried Walther Johann Gottfried Walther (18 September 1684 – 23 March 1748) was a German music theorist, organist, composer, and lexicographer of the Baroque era. Walther was born at Erfurt. Not only was his life almost exactly contemporaneous to that ...

and

Johann Ludwig Krebs Johann Ludwig Krebs (baptized 12 October 1713 – 1 January 1780) was a German Baroque musician and composer for the pipe organ, harpsichord, other instruments and orchestras. His output also included chamber music, choral works and concertos. ...

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 ...

composed two chorale preludes which he made part of his collection

Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes The Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes, BWV 651–668, are a set of chorale preludes for organ prepared by Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig in his final decade (1740–1750), from earlier works composed in Weimar, where he was court organist. The wo ...

, ''Fantasia super Komm, Heiliger Geist, canto fermo in Pedale'', BWV 651, and ''Komm, Heiliger Geist, alio modo a 2 Clav. e Pedale'',

BWV 652 The Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes, BWV 651–668, are a set of chorale preludes for organ prepared by Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig in his final decade (1740–1750), from earlier works composed in Weimar, where he was court organist. The wor ...

. Bach quoted the tune instrumentally as the cantus firmus in a duet of his first

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

for Pentecost ''Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten!'' BWV 172 (1714). He used the first stanza as movement 3 in his cantata for Pentecost ''Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten'', BWV 59 (1723 or 1724), and the third stanza as the closing chorale of his funeral motet addressing the Holy Spirit, ''Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf'', BWV 226 (1729). Other vocal compositions have included two masses on the tune by Georg Philipp Telemann for four parts and basso continuo, and motets by

Moritz Hauptmann Moritz Hauptmann (13 October 1792, Dresden – 3 January 1868, Leipzig), was a German music theorist, teacher and composer. His principal theoretical work is the 1853 ''Die Natur der Harmonie und der Metrik'' explores numerous topics, particular ...

, ,

Arnold Mendelssohn Bust of Arnold Mendelssohn, at the Holy Trinity Community Cemetery, Berlin Arnold Ludwig Mendelssohn (26 December 1855 – 18 February 1933), was a German composer and music teacher. He was born in Ratibor, Province of Silesia; the son of Feli ...

(1921),

Hans Humpert Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi a ...

(1932) and Rudolf Petzold (1957).

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 ...

quotes the tune in the Pentecost section of his organ pieces ''Sieben Stücke'', Op. 145.

References

External links

*
Evangelische Morgenfeier zum Pfingstmontag: „Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott“
Diocese of Trier 24 May 2010 {{Hymn tunes by Zahn number 16th-century hymns in German Hymn tunes Hymns by Martin Luther 1524 works Hymns for Pentecost