"", alternatively written "" (Now, dear soul, now it is time), 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 ...

for

Epiphany Epiphany may refer to: Psychology * Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight Religion * Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ ** Epiphany seaso ...

, 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 six lines each, by Georg Weissel. It was first printed in 1642, set as a

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 preeminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to the Eng ...

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 ...

. A version with an additional stanza is attributed to Johann Christoph Arnschwanger. Hymnals indicate "" as the singing tune for both the five-stanza and six-stanza versions of the hymn. With this melody,

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 ...

used its last stanza in Part V of his ''Christmas Oratorio''.

History

Weissel was the pastor at the Altrossgarten Church 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 ...

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

, from 1623 until his death in 1635. The hymn was first published in the first volume of ''Preußische Festlieder'' (Prussian festive songs) in Elbing in 1642. It appeared in hymnals such as '' Das Vollständige und vermehrte Leipziger Gesang-Buch'' (1729) in the section for

, and with "" given as its tune. Arnschwanger's six-stanza version was likewise adopted as a hymn for Epiphany to be sung to "", in hymnals such as the 1734 ''Ulmisches Kirchen-Gesang-Buch''.

Text

Weissel's hymn as published in ''Das Vollständige und vermehrte Leipziger Gesang-Buch'' (1729): 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Arnschwanger's version

A six-stanza version of the hymn is attributed to Johann Christoph Arnschwanger. Arnschwanger's additional stanza is inserted after the third stanza of Weissel's version, thus renumbering stanzas 4–5 of Weissel's hymn to 5–6 in this variant version: 4.

Musical settings

Eccard's motet

In the first publication in 1642, the hymn appeared in a six-part

setting (SSATTB) by

. It was recorded in 2013 by the

RIAS Kammerchor The RIAS Kammerchor (RIAS Chamber Choir) is a German choir based in Berlin, Germany. It receives support from the Rundfunk Orchester und Chöre GmbH Berlin ("Berlin Radio Orchestra and Choirs"), a limited-liability company owned by the public br ...

, conducted by Hans-Christoph Rademann, as part of a Christmas collection. The motet is part of the

Advent Advent is a season observed in most Christian denominations as a time of waiting and preparation for both the celebration of Jesus's birth at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Chri ...

collection of the vocal ensemble Singer Pur, published by

Schott Music Schott Music () is one of the oldest German music publishers. It is also one of the largest music publishing houses in Europe, and is the second-oldest music publisher after Breitkopf & Härtel. The company headquarters of Schott Music were foun ...

in 2015.

Based on the hymn tune "In dich hab ich gehoffet, Herr"

used the last stanza of the hymn, "" (Your radiance destroys all darkness), as a

chorale A chorale is the name of several related musical forms originating in the music genre of the Lutheran chorale: * Hymn tune of a Lutheran hymn (e.g. the melody of " Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme"), or a tune in a similar format (e.g. one o ...

, movement 46 in Part V of his ''Christmas Oratorio''. The stanza was also translated as "All darkness flies" and "Your radiance consumes all darkness". Bach used a melody which

Sethus Calvisius Sethus Calvisius or Setho Calvisio, originally Seth Kalwitz (21 February 1556 – 24 November 1615), was a German music theorist, composer, chronologer, astronomer, and teacher of the late Renaissance. Biography He was born into a peasant family ...

composed in 1581 for the hymn "" ( Zahn 2461c). Part V of the ''

Christmas Oratorio The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance in a churc ...

'' was first performed on 2 January 1735, the Sunday after New Year's Day. Bach also used the Zahn 2461 hymn tune in other compositions: * Chorale prelude ''In dich hab ich gehoffet, Herr'', BWV 712; * "" (text: first stanza of the hymn with the same name), sixth movement (closing chorale) of the cantata ''Falsche Welt, dir trau ich nicht'', BWV 52; * "" (text: fifth stanza of ""), 32nd movement (chorale) of ''

St Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets the 26th and 27th chapters of th ...

'', BWV 244;BWV 244.32
at * "" (text: seventh and last stanza of ""), fourth movement (closing chorus) of the cantata ''Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit'', BWV 106.

References

External links

*
BWV 248(5).46(4)
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