Melchior Teschner (29 April 1584 – 1 December 1635) was a German

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

, composer and theologian. Born in

Wschowa Wschowa (pronounced , german: Fraustadt) is a town in the Lubusz Voivodeship in western Poland with 13,875 inhabitants (2019). It is the capital of Wschowa County and a significant tourist site containing many important historical monuments. Hi ...

in Poland, Teschner attended the ''Gymnasium'' in

Zittau Zittau ( hsb, Žitawa, dsb, Žytawa, pl, Żytawa, cs, Žitava, Upper Lusatian Dialect: ''Sitte''; from Slavic "'' rye''" (Upper Sorbian and Czech: ''žito'', Lower Sorbian: ''žyto'', Polish: ''żyto'')) is the southeasternmost city in the Ge ...

, Saxony, and studied under Johann Klee. In 1602 he began studies in music theory, philosophy and theology with Bartholomäus Gesius at the

University of Frankfurt an der Oder European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) (german: Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)) is a university located at Frankfurt (Oder) in Brandenburg, Germany. It is also known as the University of Frankfurt (Oder). The city is on the ...

In 1605 to 1608, Teschner served as cantor and lector in Schmiegel, Posen, between sessions of study in the universities of Helmstedt and

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; 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 River Elbe, north o ...

. From 1609 he spent five years as cantor at the Protestant church "Zum Kripplein Christi" in his home town of Fraustadt, before being ordained as pastor in Oberpritschen, Posen, where he died. Teschner wrote the melodies of several

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...

s: * "Anbetung dir, dem Lamme" (1613) * "Das Jahr geht still zu Ende" * "Der du zum Heil erschienen" (1613) * "Die Segenshände breite, Herr, über unser Haus" * "Dir, dem hocherhob'nen Herrn" * "Erbaut auf einem Grunde" (1613) * "Es gilt ein frei' Geständnis" (1613) * "Herr, laß nach dir uns fragen" (1613) * "Herr über Tod und Leben" (1613) * "Laß mich dein sein und bleiben" (1614) * "O Gott, nimm an die Gaben" (1613) * "O lasset uns Ihn lieben, der uns zuerst geliebt" (1613) * " Valet will ich dir geben" (1613), used also for " All Glory, Laud and Honor" The melody of "Valet will ich dir geben" was also used for the 1954 hymn "

Den Herren will ich loben "" (I want to praise the Lord) is a Christian hymn by Maria Luise Thurmair, based on the Magnificat and set to a 1613 melody by Melchior Teschner, which was used for "Valet will ich dir geben". The hymn in three stanzas of eight lines was first w ...

", Maria Luise Thurmair's paraphrase of the

Magnificat The Magnificat (Latin for " y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and, in the Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos (). It is traditionally incorporated into the liturgical servic ...

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* 17th-century German composers German Protestant clergy 1584 births 1635 deaths People from Wschowa {{Germany-composer-stub