"" ("Come, God Creator, Holy Ghost") 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 '' ...

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 the Latin "". The hymn in seven stanzas was first published in 1524. 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 ...

s are Zahn No. 294, derived from the chant of the Latin hymn, and Zahn No. 295, a later transformation of that melody. The number in the current Protestant hymnal '' Evangelisches Gesangbuch'' (EG) is 126.

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 chorale preludes on the hymn as BWV 631 in the ''

Orgelbüchlein The ''Orgelbüchlein'' (''Little Organ Book'') BWV 599−644 is a set of 46 chorale preludes for organ — one of them is given in two versions — by Johann Sebastian Bach. All but three were written between 1708 and 1717 when Bach served as org ...

'' and as

BWV 667 The Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes, BWV 651–668, are a set of chorale preludes for organ (music), organ prepared by Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig in his final decade (1740–1750), from earlier works composed in Weimar, where he was court or ...

in the ''

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 ...

''. The hymn has been translated and has appeared with the hymn tune in several

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 Chri ...

History

Luther wrote the hymn for Pentecost as a paraphrase of the Latin in his effort to establish German equivalents to the Latin parts of the liturgy. He derived the melody from the chant of the Latin hymn. The hymn in seven stanzas was first published in 1524, both in the ''

Erfurt Enchiridion The ''Erfurt Enchiridion'' (enchiridion, from grc, ἐγχειρίδιον, hand book) is the second Lutheran hymnal. It appeared in 1524 in Erfurt in two competing editions. One of them contains 26 songs, the other 25, 18 of them by Martin Lut ...

'' and in a setting by Johann Walter in ''

Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn ' ("A spiritual song booklet"), sometimes called First Wittenberg Hymnal and ' (Choir hymnal), was the first German hymnal for choir, published in Wittenberg in 1524 by Johann Walter who collaborated with Martin Luther. It contains 32 sacred songs ...

''. The number in the current Protestant hymnal '' Evangelisches Gesangbuch'' (EG) is 126.

Musical settings

used the hymn tune Zahn 295 several times, for example setting it as the four-part chorale BWV 370. BWV^2a (1998), p. 476BWV 370
at Luke Dahn's bach–chorales.com (2018) He also made organ settings for

chorale prelude In music, a chorale prelude or chorale setting is a short liturgical composition for organ using a chorale tune as its basis. It was a predominant style of the German Baroque era and reached its culmination in the works of J.S. Bach, who wrote 46 ...

s including BWV 631 from the ''

'' and

from the ''

''.

Arnold Schönberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

arranged the latter chorale for large orchestra in 1922.

Hymn tune and use in English hymnals

The hymn has been translated and has appeared to the hymn tune "Komm, Gott Schöpfer" in twelve hymnals, for example "Come, O Creator Spirit Blest", translated by

Edward Caswall Edward Caswall, CO, (15 July 1814 – 2 January 1878) was an Anglican clergyman and hymn writer who converted to Catholicism and became an Oratorian priest. His more notable hymns include: "Alleluia! Alleluia! Let the Holy Anthem Rise"; "Come, ...

History

Musical settings

Hymn tune and use in English hymnals

See also

References

External links