"" (Lord God, we praise you) is a
Lutheran hymn, which
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 ...
wrote in 1529 as a translation and partial paraphrase of the Latin
Te Deum
The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Chur ...
. It is sometimes called the German Te Deum. The hymn was first published in 1529. 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 ...
,
Zahn No. 8652, is a simplification of the melody of the traditional .
It has appeared in 24
hymnals.
Text and melody
Luther translated and slightly expanded the Latin text of the
Te Deum
The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Chur ...
,
which is also known as the Ambrosian Hymn, but is currently credited to
Nicetas of Remesiana
Nicetas (c. 335–414) was Bishop of Remesiana (present-day Bela Palanka, Serbia), which was then in the Roman province of Dacia Mediterranea.
Biography
Nicetas promoted Latin sacred music for use during the Eucharistic worship and reputedly co ...
, a bishop of the 4th century. Luther wrote 27 verses, intending it for two responsorial groups.
The song of praise, thanks and petition is used regularly on festive occasions.
For a melody, Luther used a simplified version of the traditional melody of the early Christian Te Deum.
The early tune is based on an evening song of the Greek church, which in turn may go back to early Christian rites or an evening song of the synagogue. Luther's version was first published in Joseph Klug's (Spiritual Songs) in
Wittenberg
Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon language, Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the Ri ...
in 1529. No copy of this edition is extant.
It has appeared in 24
hymnals.
Musical settings
Johann Hermann Schein
Johann Hermann Schein (20 January 1586 – 19 November 1630) was a German composer of the early Baroque era. He was Thomaskantor in Leipzig from 1615 to 1630. He was one of the first to import the early Italian stylistic innovations into German ...
composed in 1618 for four choirs and two instrumental groups ("Capellen"); and in 1627 a setting for four-part choir and continuo.
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 ...
used parts of the text and melody in
cantatas
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 t ...
for New Year's Day, , and .
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...
composed a setting ''Herr Gott, dich loben wir (Te Deum)'' for solo voices, double chorus, four trombones, strings, and organ, first performed at the
Berlin Cathedral on 6 August 1843, to mark "the millennium of the founding of the German Reich".
See also
*
List of hymns by Martin Luther
The reformer Martin Luther, a prolific hymnodist, regarded music and especially hymns in German as important means for the development of faith.
Luther wrote songs for occasions of the liturgical year ( Advent, Christmas, Purification, Epiphany ...
References
External links
* Reinhard Schmidt-Rost
Predigt im Semesterschlußgottesdienst am 27.Januar 2013 über Luthers Te Deum, EG 191Bonn University
The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...
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16th-century hymns in German
Hymn tunes
Hymns by Martin Luther