"" ("Fling wide the door") is a popular German Advent hymn, written in 17th century

Ducal Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (, , ) or Ducal Prussia (; ) was a duchy in the region of Prussia established as a result of secularization of the Monastic Prussia, the territory that remained under the control of the State of the Teutonic Order until t ...

. The lyrics were written by Georg Weissel in 1623 for the inauguration of the Altroßgärter Kirche in

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

. The melody that is now associated with the text appeared first in 1704 in the hymnal by

Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen (2 December 1670 in Bad Gandersheim — 12 February 1739 in Halle) was a theologian of the pietist Halle School and a scholar and follower of August Hermann Francke. He was the second director of the Franckeschen ...

. "" appears as number 1 in the current German Protestant hymnal ''

Evangelisches Gesangbuch ''Evangelisches Gesangbuch'' (''EG''; , "Protestantism, Protestant song book") is the current hymnal of German-language congregations in Germany, Alsace and Lorraine, Austria, and Luxembourg, which was introduced from 1993 and 1996, succeeding ...

'' (EG 1). It is also part of 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-speak ...

'' (GL 218), among others. As one of the best-known and most popular Advent songs, it was translated into English 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 ...

in 1855 as "Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates". It has also been translated into Swedish and Norwegian, as well as Indian languages like

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

and

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

History

The lyrics of "" were written by Georg Weissel in 1623. He wrote the hymn during the occasion of the inauguration of the Altroßgärter Kirche in

on the second Sunday in Advent that year, where he was appointed minister the following Sunday. For the service of his appointment as minister the following Sunday, he wrote " Such, wer da will, ein ander Ziel". It took until the mid of the 19th century that the hymn was widely published in Protestant hymnals. In the 20th century, it became a core song in hymnals. The 1938 '' Kirchenlied'' was the first

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

collection to include it. "" appears as number 1 in the current German Protestant hymnal ''

'' (EG 1). It is also part of the Catholic hymnal ''

'' (GL 218), and published in 62 hymnals. In the second half of the 20th century it was also included in several collections of Christmas carols beyond church usage.

Text

The lyrics of "" are in five

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. ...

s of eight lines each. The beginning is based on the call to open the gates for the King from

Psalm 24 Psalm 24 is the 24th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "The earth is the 's, and the fulness thereof". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint version of the Bible and th ...

, which causes the question for which king (). This passage originally meant the celebration of the entry of the

Ark of the Covenant The Ark of the Covenant, also known as the Ark of the Testimony or the Ark of God, was a religious storage chest and relic held to be the most sacred object by the Israelites. Religious tradition describes it as a wooden storage chest decorat ...

in the

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Accord ...

. It was early interpreted in the Christian church as referring also to the entry of Jesus in Jerusalem, narrated by Matthew () quoting Zechariah (). Both the psalm and the gospel are intended readings in the Protestant church in Germany for the first Advent Sunday. The last two lines of all stanzas express praise, similar to a

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeated in poetry or in music">poetry.html" ;"title="Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeat ...

. The first one praises God, the second the Saviour, the third the

Comforter A comforter (in American English), also known as a doona in Australian English, or a continental quilt (or simply quilt) or duvet in British English, is a type of bedding made of two lengths of fabric or covering sewn together and filled with in ...

, the fourth the

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

, and the final one the name of God for ever. " Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates! Behold, the King of Glory waits; The King of kings is drawing near, The Savior of the world is here. Life and salvation He doth bring, Wherefore rejoice and gladly sing: We praise Thee, Father, now, Creator, wise art Thou! A Helper just He comes to thee, His chariot is humility, His kingly crown is holiness, His scepter, pity in distress, The end of all our woe He brings; Wherefore the earth is glad and sings: We praise Thee, Savior, now, Mighty in deed art Thou! O blest the land, the city blest, Where Christ the Ruler is confessed! O happy hearts and happy homes To whom this King in triumph comes! The cloudless Sun of joy He is, Who bringeth pure delight and bliss. We praise Thee, Spirit, now, Our Comforter art Thou! Fling wide the portals of your heart; Make it a temple set apart From earthly use for Heaven's employ, Adorned with prayer and love and joy. So shall your Sovereign enter in And new and nobler life begin. To Thee, O God, be praise For word and deed and grace! Redeemer, come! I open wide My heart to Thee; here, Lord, abide! Let me Thy inner presence feel, Thy grace and love in me reveal; Thy Holy Spirit guide us on Until our glorious goal is won. Eternal praise and fame We offer to Thy name.

Melodies

It took some time until the text of "" was connected with the melody popular today. The first music for the lyrics was a five-part choral

setting Setting or Settings may refer to: * A location (geography) where something is set * Set construction in theatrical scenery * Setting (narrative), the place and time in a work of narrative, especially fiction * Setting up to fail a manipulative tec ...

by Johann Stobäus, whom Weissel knew from his time of studies in Königsberg. In 1642, Stobäus re-published ''Preußische Fest-Lieder auf das ganze Jahr für 5–8 Stimmen'' by his teacher

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 t ...

, which was first printed in 1598. He included his setting of "Macht hoch die Tür" in its ''Erster Teil'' (First part). The melody that is now associated with the text appeared first in 1704 in a hymnal by

, titled ''Geist-reiches Gesang-Buch'' (Song book rich in spirit).

: ''Geist-reiches Gesang-Buch''. 3. Auflage. Waisenhaus, Halle 1706, S. 7 f. (). The hymn has often been set to music.

Friedrich Silcher Philipp Friedrich Silcher (27 June 1789 in Schnait (today part of Weinstadt) – 26 August 1860 in Tübingen), was a German composer, mainly known for his lieder (songs), and an important Volkslied collector.Luise Marretta-Schär, Silcher, (Ph ...

composed a four-part setting: \header \layout global = soprano = \relative a' alto = \relative g' tenor = \relative c' bass = \relative g verse = \lyricmode \score \score

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University Chu ...

composed a five-part choral setting, No. 1 of his 1899 composition ''Zwölf deutsche geistliche Gesänge'', WoO VI/13/1.

Translations

As one of the best-known and most popular

Advent songs Advent is a season observed in most Christian denominations as a time of waiting and preparation for both the celebration of Nativity of Christ, Jesus's birth at Christmas and the return of Jesus in Christianity, Christ at the Second Coming. I ...

, "" was translated to several languages. Niels Johannes Holm translated it to Norwegian in 1829, revised by

Magnus Brostrup Landstad Magnus Brostrup Landstad (7 October 1802 – 8 October 1880) was a Norwegian parish priest and provost, hymn writer, and poet who published the first collection of authentic Norwegian traditional ballads in 1853. Biography Landstad was born i ...

in 1861, as "Gjør døren høy".

wrote a translation to English in 1855, "Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates". A Swedish version, "Gör porten hög" was translated by for

Jesper Swedberg Jesper Swedberg (28 August 1653 (O.S)–26 July 1735 (N.S)) was a bishop of Skara, Sweden. He was one of Sweden's most notable churchmen. He published the first edition ever of a Swedish book of hymns in 1694, and was the father of scientist and m ...

's ''Book of Hymns'', printed in 1694. It was revised for a later edition by Johan Olaf Wallin. In English, it has been translated as "Fling Wide the Door" by .

References

External links

*
Macht hoch die Tür
Liederprojekt of SWR
Macht hoch die Tür', die Tor' macht weit
lieder-archiv.de
''Macht hoch die Tür''
Christliche Liederdatenbank * Xaver Frühbeis

BR-Klassik BR-Klassik is the common branding of the classical music offerings of the Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), the public broadcaster of Bavaria. It is principally associated with the Munich-based radio station, created in 1980 and called Bayern 4 Klassik ...

, 25 December 2015
Max Reger / Macht hoch die Tür (Adventlied) / aus: Zwölf deutsche geistliche Gesänge / op. WoO VI/13, 1, 1899

Carus Marcus Aurelius Carus ( – July or August 283) was Roman emperor from 282 to 283. During his short reign, Carus fought the Germanic tribes and Sarmatians along the Danube frontier with success. He died while campaigning against the Sassanid ...