"" ("Praise be to You, Jesus Christ") 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 ''a ...

, written by

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

in 1524. It was first published in 1524 in the . For centuries the chorale has been the prominent hymn (Hauptlied) for Christmas Day 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 ...

, but has also been used in different translations internationally. It has appeared in

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 ...

s of various denominations including the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

Text

Luther expanded a pre-

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

stanza which is attested in Northern Germany in the 15th century, mainly in prayerbooks from the convent of Medingen, based on Grates nunc omnes, the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, 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 ...

sequence In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is called ...

of the midnight mass for

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

, by six stanzas. Each stanza ends on the acclamation

Kyrie Kyrie, a transliteration of Greek , vocative case of (''Kyrios''), is a common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, also called the Kyrie eleison ( ; ). In the Bible The prayer, "Kyrie, eleison," "Lord, have mercy" derives f ...

leis. The hymn was published in '' Eyn Enchiridion'' in Erfurt in 1524.

Tune

''Melody as it appears in the final movement of the cantata by Bach (BWV 91)'' Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ (1524)

The

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 refrai ...

( Zahn No. 1947) was first printed in , a ''booklet of spiritual song'', collected by

Johann Walter Johann Walter, also known as ''Johann Walther'' or ''Johannes Walter'' (original name: ''Johann Blankenmüller'') (1496 – 25 March 1570) was a Lutheran composer and poet during the Reformation period. Life Walter was born in Kahla, in present-d ...

but is attested also in the prayerbooks from the convent of Medingen and even appears on an antependium made by the nuns in the late 15th century. It seems likely that both Luther and Walter collaborated to modify an older melody. In the first verse, the highest notes accentuate important words such as Jesu, (man), (virgin), (angels).

Musical settings

Balthasar Resinarius Balthasar Resinarius (born Balthasar Harzer; c. 1483 – 12 April 1544) was a German composer, and a Lutheran bishop, one of the first Lutherans in Bohemia. Life and career It is regarded as proven the Resinarius, listed by the music publisher ...

's chorale motet based on "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ" was printed in 1544. A setting of the hymn by Walter is dated 1551,

Antonio Scandello Antonio Scandello (January 17, 1517 – January 18, 1580) was an Italian composer, born in Bergamo. He worked as musician at the court of the Electors of Saxony in Dresden. In 1549 he became court-bandmaster, and in 1568 Kapellmeister succeedin ...

's 1575. Lucas Osiander wrote a four-part setting in 1586, Erhard Bodenschatz in 1608,

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 ...

wrote two settings in 1650. A five-part motet of

Johannes Eccard Johannes Eccard (1553–1611) was a German composer and kapellmeister. He was an early principal conductor at the Berlin court chapel. Biography Eccard was born at Mühlhausen, in present-day Thuringia, Germany. At the age of eighteen he went ...

was printed in 1597, one of

Adam Gumpelzhaimer Adam Gumpelzhaimer, also Adam Gumpeltzhaimer (1559 – 3 November 1625) was a Bavarian composer and music theorist. Born in Trostberg, he studied music with the monk Jodocus Enzmüller. In 1581 he became cantor at the Augsburg Cathedral; a post he ...

in Augsburg in 1618,

Andreas Raselius Andreas Raselius, also known as Andreas Rasel (c. 1563 – 6 January 1602) was a German composer and ''kapellmeister'' during the Renaissance. He worked for much of his career as a teacher and cantor in Regensburg, before being appointed as the cour ...

wrote a five-part setting in 1610. Melchior Schärer (1570–1602) set the hymn as a motet

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

for three parts, and

Michael Praetorius Michael Praetorius (probably 28 September 1571 – 15 February 1621) was a German composer, organist, and music theorist. He was one of the most versatile composers of his age, being particularly significant in the development of musical forms ba ...

composed various settings. Johann Hermann Schein wrote a

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 o ...

for three parts in 1618,

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 ...

set it for four voices, two obbligato instruments (violins) and continuo. The hymn appears in several of

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 ...

Christmas cantata A Christmas cantata or Nativity cantata is a cantata, music for voice or voices in several movements, for Christmas. The importance of the feast inspired many composers to write cantatas for the occasion, some designed to be performed in church serv ...

s. He inserted its seventh stanza in one of his church cantatas, ''Sehet, welch eine Liebe hat uns der Vater erzeiget'', BWV 64, written for the Third Day of Christmas 1723. He used the complete chorale as the base for one of his chorale cantatas, ''Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ'', BWV 91, composed in Leipzig for Christmas Day of 1724. He included the sixth and seventh stanzas of the hymn respectively in the first and third cantatas of his ''

Christmas Oratorio The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance on one of ...

'' (1734). BWV 314, one of his four-part chorale settings of the hymn tune, in

D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : Cha ...

, and appearing in the

Dietel manuscript The Dietel manuscript, Ms. R 18, also known as the Dietel Collection and, in German, , is the oldest extant manuscript with a large collection of four-part chorales by Johann Sebastian Bach. It contains 149 of Bach's chorale harmonisations ...

, was likely also written as part of a Christmas cantata. Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel used the hymn's fifth stanza in the centre of his Christmas cantata '' Kündlich groß ist das gottselige Geheimnis''. Cantatas based on the hymn were also composed by Gottfried August Homilius, , and

Kurt Hessenberg Kurt Hessenberg (17 August 1908 – 17 June 1994) was a German composer and professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt. Life Kurt Hessenberg was born on 17 August 1908 in Frankfurt, as the fourth and last child of ...

, whose Op. 9 is 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 mult ...

based on the hymn, written in 1935 for mixed chorus, two solo voices, organ and orchestra. The hymn inspired organ settings by Protestant Baroque composers such as

Dieterich Buxtehude Dieterich Buxtehude (; ; born Diderik Hansen Buxtehude; c. 1637 – 9 May 1707) was a Danish organist and composer of the Baroque period, whose works are typical of the North German organ school. As a composer who worked in various vocal a ...

Johann Pachelbel Johann Pachelbel (baptised – buried 9 March 1706; also Bachelbel) was a German composer, organist, and teacher who brought the south German organ schools to their peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secularity, secular music, and h ...

, Georg Böhm, Bach, Homilius, Johann Christoph Altnikol and

Johann Philipp Kirnberger Johann Philipp Kirnberger (also ''Kernberg''; 24 April 1721, Saalfeld – 27 July 1783, Berlin) was a musician, composer (primarily of fugues), and music theorist. He was a student of Johann Sebastian Bach. According to Ingeborg Allihn, Kirnber ...

. It is used prominently in

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 sym ...

's Piano Trio No. 2 as the culminating melody of the finale. Robert Schumann used the chorale for the theme and variations in the third movement of his Violin Sonata No.2 in D minor, Op. 121, changing the meter to triple time.

References

External links

*
O Jesus Christ, All Praise to Thee

bach-chorales.com {{Authority control 16th-century hymns in German Hymn tunes Hymns by Martin Luther German-language Christmas carols

Text

Tune

Musical settings

See also

References

External links