"" (You, O beautiful building of the world) is a

Lutheran hymn Martin Luther was a great enthusiast for music, and this is why it forms a large part of Lutheranism, Lutheran services; in particular, Luther admired the composers Josquin des Prez and Ludwig Senfl and wanted singing in the church to move away ...

in German, with text by

Johann Franck Johann Fran(c)k (1 June 1618 – 18 June 1677) was a German politician (serving as mayor of Guben and a member of the Landtag of Lower Lusatia) and a lyric poet and hymnist. Life Franck was born in Guben, Margraviate of Lower Lusatia. After v ...

and

melody A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...

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 ...

. It was first published in Crüger's 1649 ''Geistliche Kirchen-Melodien'', and was later adopted in other hymnals, such as the 1653 edition of his . The topic is renouncing the world, hoping to be united with

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. While the hymn is no longer in practical use, one

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian ''stanza'', ; ) is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have either. ...

, "" (Come, O death, to sleep a brother), was prominently used in Bach's solo cantata ''Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen'', BWV 56; in English, it is commonly referred to as the ''"Kreuzstab cantata"''.

History

The text, a reflection on the tribulations when facing death, was written by

in eight

s. With a melody by

, the song appeared first in Crüger's hymnal ''Geistliche Kirchen-Melodien'' (Sacred church melodies) of 1649, with the incipit "Du geballtes Weltgebäude". It was included in his in the 1653 edition. A 1864 anthology of sacred poetry from Martin Luther to Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock contains seven stanzas. The hymn is no longer used.

Text

The text opens with a

condemning and renouncing worldly pleasures, longing instead to be united with

. Jesus is repeatedly addressed in the refrain of each final stanza, referring to Him as "Jesulein" (Little Jesus), with attributes such as "allerschönstes" (most beautiful) or "allerliebstes" (most beloved). More modern editions change the text, so that for example the last line of the first stanza becomes "lieber Herr und Heiland mein" (My dear Lord and Saviour). The first and the third stanzas of the English translation by

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 Luth ...

read: According to the classical philologist Egert Pöhlmann, Franck's knowledge of

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

was of help for the poetic imagery of the third stanza; here Pöhlmann finds echos of the profane ancient Greek and Latin poetry of

Sappho Sappho (; ''Sapphṓ'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; ) was an Ancient Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her lyric poetry, written to be sung while accompanied by music. In ancient times, Sapph ...

and

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...

. A literal English translation of sixth stanza starts "Come, O death, you brother of sleep" – a century earlier in a paraphrase of the

Nunc dimittis The Nunc dimittis (), also known as the Song of Simeon or the Canticle of Simeon, is a canticle taken from the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke, verses 29 to 32. Its Latin name comes from its incipit, the opening words, of the Vulgate transl ...

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

wrote the hymn " Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin" containing the verse "Der Tod ist mein Schlaf worden" (Death has become my sleep). For Franck's sixth stanza and the closing chorale of Bach's "Kreuzstab cantata", Death is addressed as a brother of sleep and asked to end the voyage of life by loosening the rudder of the pilgrim's boat or 'little ship' (''Schifflein'') and bringing it safely to harbour; it marks the end of the cantata's metaphorical journey. A metrical translation into English was provided by Henry Drinker. The current translation is a minor variant: Classical references to Death as the brother of Sleep, or as twins, go back to the Greek and Latin epics – the

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

and the

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...

– and the poetry of

Hesiod Hesiod ( or ; ''Hēsíodos''; ) was an ancient Greece, Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer.M. L. West, ''Hesiod: Theogony'', Oxford University Press (1966), p. 40.Jasper Gr ...

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

, Seneca and Valerius Flaccus; the metaphor of life as a journey dates back to classical times, and has been revisited in the Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque era and beyond; finally Franck's "sichern Port" echos Virgil's phrase ''beati portus'' from his early '' Catalepton''. In the seventh stanza, Franck calls the body, "the prison of the soul", an image that Pöhlmann remarks can be dated back to the

Orpheus In Greek mythology, Orpheus (; , classical pronunciation: ) was a Thracians, Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet. He was also a renowned Ancient Greek poetry, poet and, according to legend, travelled with Jason and the Argonauts in se ...

myth in

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

's ''

Cratylus Cratylus ( ; , ''Kratylos'') was an ancient Athenian philosopher from the mid-late 5th century BC, known mostly through his portrayal in Plato's dialogue '' Cratylus''. He was a radical proponent of Heraclitean philosophy and influenced the you ...

'' and Philolaos.

Melody and musical settings

The melody by Johann Crüger, Zahn No. 6773, is in

bar form Bar form (German: ''die Barform'' or ''der Bar'') is a musical form of the pattern AAB. Original use The term comes from the rigorous terminology of the Meistersinger guilds of the 15th to 18th century who used it to refer to their songs and the ...

. Other hymns sung to the same melody include

Paul Gerhardt wikisource:The New International Encyclopædia/Gerhardt, Paulus, Paulus or Paul Gerhardt (12 March 1607 – 27 May 1676) was a German theologian, Lutheranism, Lutheran minister and hymnodist. Biography Gerhardt was born into a middle-class fam ...

's "Jesu, liebster Bruder", which addresses the "dearest Brother" as anchor and rudder ("Anker" and "Ruder"). It was printed by Zimmermann in 1821.

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

composed a four-part chorale setting, BWV 301. He used the sixth stanza, "Komm, o Tod, du Schlafes Bruder" (Come, o Death, brother of sleep), for the closing chorale of his solo cantata for bass, ''Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen'', BWV 56. BWV56-5-harmonized-chorale-No-87-Becker-1831

BWV56-5-harmonized-chorale-No-87-Becker-1831

Further settings of ''"Du, o schönes Weltgebäude"'' include a cantata by Georg Telemann,

TWV The Telemann-Werke-Verzeichnis (Telemann Works Catalogue), abbreviated TWV, is the numbering system identifying compositions by Georg Philipp Telemann, published by musicologist Martin Ruhnke. The prefix TWV is generally followed by a Music genre, ...

1:394 and an instrumental chorale by

Christoph Graupner Christoph Graupner (10 May 1760) was a German composer and harpsichordist of late Baroque music who was a contemporary of Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Philipp Telemann and George Frideric Handel. Life Born in Hartmannsdorf near Kirchberg i ...

GWV 1002:39. In addition there are settings for organ and obbligato instrument by

Georg Friedrich Kauffmann Georg Friedrich Kauffmann (14 February 1679 – 24 March 1735) was a Baroque composer and organist from northern-central Germany who composed primarily sacred works for the Organ (music), organ and voice. Biography Early life and career Georg F ...

in the collection ''Harmonische Seelenlust'' and by

Gottfried August Homilius Gottfried August Homilius (2 February 1714 – 2 June 1785) was a German composer, cantor and organist. He is considered one of the most important church composers of the generation following Bach's, and was the main representative of the '' ...

in the collection HoWV.X. There is further short organ chorale prelude composed by Dame Ethel Smythe in 1884 and published in 1913, as well as a setting by contemporary German composer Axel Ruoff, the latter recorded on a Toccata Classics CD.

Notes

References

External links

* * , sung by the Baroque Choral Guild, with the Arcadian Academy, directed by Nicholas McGegan
Die Kantatentexte Benjamin Schmolcks (1672–1737). / Edition und Vertonungsgeschichte.
stephan-aderhold.de
Evangelisches Gesangbuch: nebst einem Anhange von Gebeten zur öffentlichen und häuslichen Gottesverehrung
1854 * Lorbeer, Lukas
Die Sterbe- und Ewigkeitslieder in deutschen lutherischen Gesangbüchern des 17. Jahrhunderts
2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmucke Dich O Liebe Seele 17th-century hymns in German Lutheran hymns 1649 works