"" ("In the Midst of Life we are in Death") 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 '' ...

, 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 Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the 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 the power of the ...

antiphon An antiphon (Greek ἀντίφωνον, ἀντί "opposite" and φωνή "voice") is a short chant in Christian ritual, sung as a refrain. The texts of antiphons are the Psalms. Their form was favored by St Ambrose and they feature prominently ...

Media vita in morte sumus (Latin for "In the midst of life we are in death") is a Gregorian chant, known by its incipit, written in the form of a response, and known as "Antiphona pro Peccatis" or "de Morte". The most accepted source is a New Year's Eve religious service ...

". The hymn in three stanzas was first published in 1524. The hymn inspired composers from the Renaissance to contemporary to write chorale preludes and vocal compositions.

Catherine Winkworth Catherine Winkworth (13 September 1827 – 1 July 1878) was an English hymnwriter and educator. She translated the German chorale tradition of church hymns for English speakers, for which she is recognized in the calendar of the Evangelical Lut ...

translated Luther's song to English in 1862. 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 Chri ...

s of various denominations.

History

The

" dates back to the 11th century. A German version appeared in Salzburg in 1456.

added in 1524 two stanzas following the same scheme. The hymn appeared first that year in , (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 ...

with a melody that Walter adapted from the antiphon. The same year it appeared also in '' Eyn Enchiridion'' in Erfurt, titled "Der Lobsanck / Mitten wir ym leben synd." (The song of praise /).

translated Luthers hymn to English in 1862, titled "In the Midst of Life". A translation titled "In the Very Midst of Life" appeared in 1941 in ''

The Lutheran Hymnal ''The Lutheran Hymnal'' (''TLH'') is one of the official hymnals of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). Published in 1941 by Concordia Publishing House in St. Louis, Missouri, it was the denomination's second official English-langua ...

''. It has appeared in

s of various denominations. The song is part of the Protestant hymnal '' Evangelisches Gesangbuch'' as EG 518. The first stanza is included in the Catholic hymnal ''

Gotteslob ''Gotteslob'' ("Praise of God") is the title of the hymnbook authorized by the Catholic dioceses in Germany, Austria, South Tyrol, Luxembourg and Liège, Belgium. First published in Advent 2013, it is the current official hymnal for German-speaki ...

'' as GL 503.

Text

The Latin text has ten lines of different length, with irregular

meter The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its prefi ...

. Lines 7 to 9 are reminiscent of the

Trisagion The ''Trisagion'' ( el, Τρισάγιον; 'Thrice Holy'), sometimes called by its opening line ''Agios O Theos'', is a standard hymn of the Divine Liturgy in most of the Eastern Orthodox, Western Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholi ...

, "Sanctus deus, Sanctus fortis, Sanctus immortalis, miserere nobis" (Holy God, Holy Strong One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us). When Luther added two stanzas, he kept the structure, rendering the final request for mercy in each stanza as the Greek "Kyrieleis". From stanza to stanza, a line explains the respective line in the previous stanza, leading from death in the midst of life to hell in the midst of death, in the third stanza to sin as the reason for fear of hell. Biblical sources for Luther's stanzas are , and . The lyrics are given in today's form, with the Latin original corresponding to the first stanza:

Melody and setting

The melody printed in the Wittenberg is based on the earlier one, adapted by Johann Walter. J. S. Bach composed a four-part chorale harmonization, BWV 383.

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 an SSAATTBB

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Margar ...

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 ...

as the third part of his , Op. 23.

Enjott Schneider Enjott Schneider (born Norbert Jürgen Schneider 25 May 1950 in Weil am Rhein) is a German businessman, composer, musicologist, and music educator. He is best known as the chairman of the board of the German collecting society GEMA. As a compo ...

wrote in 2015 a piece for organ and percussion, called ''Media vita – Mitten wir im Leben sind''.

References

External links

* {{Lutheran hymns, state=collapsed 16th-century hymns in German Hymn tunes Hymns by Martin Luther 1524 works

History

Text

Melody and setting

See also

References

External links