Christian Keymann (also ''Christian Keimann''; 27 February 1607 – 13 January 1662) was a German hymnwriter. He is known for writing the chorale "

Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht "" ("I shall not leave my Jesus") is a German Lutheran hymn, with lyrics by Christian Keimann written in 1658. The theme of the hymn is trust in Jesus, based on memorial sermons for John George I, Elector of Saxony recalling conversations of the e ...

" in 1658, which served as the base for Bach's

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

'' Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht, BWV 124'', and other compositions.

Career

Keymann was born in

Pankratz Pankratz was a racing car constructor. Pankratz cars competed in two Formula One#Distinction between Formula One and World Championship races, FIA World Championship races - the and Indianapolis 500, Indy 500. World Championship Indy 500 result ...

Habsburg Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

, in 1607, the son of Zacharias Keimann, a

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

pastor. From 1627 to 1634, he studied at the

University of Wittenberg Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...

. After graduation he worked at the gymnasium of

Zittau Zittau ( hsb, Žitawa, dsb, Žytawa, pl, Żytawa, cs, Žitava, :de:Oberlausitzer Mundart, Upper Lusatian Dialect: ''Sitte''; from Slavic languages, Slavic "''rye''" (Upper Sorbian and Czech: ''žito'', Lower Sorbian: ''žyto'', Polish: ''żyto' ...

, first as associate director, then as rector in 1638. He died of a stroke in 1662.

Hymns

Two of his most popular hymns were translated into English; "O rejoice, ye Christians, loudly" ("Freuet euch, ihr Christen alle") found in Chorale Book, No. 33, and "Jesus will I never leave" ("Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht") found in United Brethren's Hymn Book, No. 464.

Donald G. Bloesch Donald George Bloesch (1928–2010) was an American evangelical theologian. For more than 40 years, he published scholarly yet accessible works that generally defend traditional Protestant beliefs and practices while seeking to remain in the mainst ...

in his book ''The struggle of prayer'' (1980) describes it as a "moving hymn". His hymns in general have been described as "being of genuine poetic ring, fresh, strong, full of faith under manifold and heavy trials, and deeply spiritual".

Music

Keymann collaborated with composer

Andreas Hammerschmidt Andreas Hammerschmidt (1611 or 1612 – 29 October 1675), the "Orpheus of Zittau," was a German Bohemian composer and organist of the early to middle Baroque era. He was one of the most significant and popular composers of sacred music in Ger ...

who created tunes for Keymann's hymns. In 1646, a collection of hymns ''Mnemosyne sacra'' was published by Keymann in Leipzig, including five tunes by Hammerschmidt. In 1658, the collection ''Fest-, Buß- und Danklieder'' (Songs for feast, repentance and thanks) was printed in Zittau, containing the hymn "Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht" (I will not let go of my Jesus). In 1725,

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 ...

based his

for the first Sunday after

Epiphany Epiphany may refer to: * Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight Religion * Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ ** Epiphany season, or Epiph ...

on this entire hymn, but he also used single stanzas in other

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 ...

s, from the same chorale in ''

Wachet! betet! betet! wachet! BWV 70 (Watch! Pray! Pray! Watch!) is the title of two church cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed a first version, 70a, in Weimar for the second Sunday in Advent of 1716 and expanded it in 1723 in Leipzig to , a cantata in two parts for the 2 ...

'', ''

Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan, BWV 98 Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata (What God does is well done), 98, in Leipzig for the 21st Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 10 November 1726. History and words In his fourth year in Leipzig, Bach wrote the cantat ...

'' and ''

Mein liebster Jesus ist verloren, BWV 154 (My dearest Jesus is lost), , is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it for the first Sunday after Epiphany and first performed it in Leipzig on 9 January 1724. History and words Bach performed the cantata in 1724, his fir ...

''. In the first (1727/1729) version of his ''

St Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (german: Matthäus-Passion, links=-no), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets ...

'', Part I was concluded with the final stanza of the chorale, "Jesum laß ich nicht von mir" (Jesus I'll not let leave me). He used a stanza from "Freuet euch, ihr Christen alle" (Be joyful, all ye Christians, 1646), also on a melody by Hammerschmidt, in ''

Darzu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes, BWV 40 (For this the Son of God appeared), 40, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in 1723, his first year in Leipzig, for the Second Day of Christmas, and first performed it on 26 December that year in both main churches, Thom ...

''.

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 ...

based three compositions on "Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht", a chorale prelude (Op. 67 No.26, 1902), a composition for soprano, mixed choir, violin, viola and Organ (1905), and again a chorale prelude (Op. 135a No. 17, 1914).

Sigfrid Karg-Elert Sigfrid Karg-Elert (November 21, 1877April 9, 1933) was a German composer in the early twentieth century, best known for his compositions for pipe organ and reed organ. Biography Karg-Elert was born Siegfried Theodor Karg in Oberndorf am Neckar, ...

wrote a chorale improvisation for organ (Fughetta), Op. 65 No 49.

References

Sources

Christian Weise Christian Weise (30 April 1642 – 21 October 1708), also known under the pseudonyms Siegmund Gleichviel, Orontes, Catharinus Civilis and Tarquinius Eatullus, was a German writer, dramatist, poet, pedagogue and librarian of the Baroque era. He prod ...

: Memoria Christiani Keimani. Zittau 1689 *Heinrich Julius Kämmel: Christian Keimann Programm Zittau 1856 *Theodor Gärtner (ed.): Quellenbuch zur Geschichte des Gymnasiums in Zittau. vol. 1, Leipzig 1905, p. 88-90 *

Walther Killy Walther Killy (26 August 191728 December 1995) was a German literary scholar who specialised in poetry, especially that of Friedrich Hölderlin and Georg Trakl. He taught at the Free University of Berlin, the Georg-August-Universität Göttinge ...

(ed.): Literaturlexikon. Autoren und Werke deutscher Sprache (15 volumes). Gütersloh, Munich: Bertelsmann-Lexikon-Verlag, 1988–1991 (CD-ROM: Berlin 1998, )

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keymann, Christian German Protestant hymnwriters 1607 births 1662 deaths 17th-century hymnwriters