| "Ach lieben Christen seid getrost" | |
|---|---|
| Lutheran hymn | |
 Johannes Gigas, author of the lyrics | |
| English | Ah dear Christians, be comforted |
| Written | 1561 |
| Text | by Johannes Gigas |
| Language | German |
| Melody | Zahn 4521b, 4441a and others |
| Composed | 1529 |
"Ach lieben Christen seid getrost" (Ah dear Christians be comforted) [1] is a Lutheran hymn in German with lyrics by Johannes Gigas, written in 1561. A penitential hymn, it was the basis for Bach's chorale cantata Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost, BWV 114 .
Johannes Gigas, also called Johannes Henne, wrote a hymn of consolation and penitence. It appeared first in Frankfurt an der Oder in 1561, mentioning Gigas as the author ("durch Johan. Gigas"). [2] It was part of a hymnal Gesangbüchlin in Augsburg in 1570, and of a Leipzig hymnal of 1586. In an 1817 hymnal, it appears in the section "Trost in Sterbegefahr" (Consolation in danger of death). [3] It has also been described as a penitential hymn. [4]
The lyricist tries to give comfort to "dear Christians" (lieben Christen). From the second stanza, he uses the plural "uns" (us) including himself as part of a group united in the same situation. The text is in six stanzas of seven lines each: [5]
Ach liebe Christen, seid getrost,
wie tut ihr so verzagen?
Weil uns der Herr heimsuchen tut,
laßt uns von Herzen sagen:
Die Straf' wir wohl verdienet han,
das muß bekennen jedermann,
niemand darf sich ausschließen..
In deine Hand uns geben wir,
o Gott, du lieber Vater,
denn unser Wandel ist bei dir,
hier wird uns nicht geraten.
Weil wir in dieser Hütte sein,
ist nur Elend, Trübsal und Pein,
bei dir der Freud' wir warten.
Kein' Frucht das Weizenkörnlein bringt,
es fall' denn in die Erden:
so muß auch unser ird'scher Leib
zu Staub und Asche werden,
eh' er kommt zu der Herrlichkeit,
die du, Herr Christ, uns hast bereit't
durch deinem Gang zum Vater.
Was wollen wir denn fürchten sehr
den Tod auf dieser Erden?
Es muß einmal gestorben sein,
O wohl ist hier gewesen,
welcher wie Simeon entschläft,
sein Sünd' erkennt, Christum ergreifst!
so muß man selig sterben
Dein' Seel' bedenk', bewahr dein'n Leib,
laß Gott den Vater sorgen,
sein' Engel deine Wächter sein,
b'hüt'n dich vor allem Argen.
Ja, wie die Henn' ihr' Küchelein
bedeckt mit ihren Flügelein,
so tut der Herr uns Armen.
Wir wachen oder schlafen ein,
so sind wir doch wir doch des Herren.
Auf Christum wir getaufet sein,
der kann dem Satan wehren.
Durch Adam auf uns kommt der Tod,
Christus hilft uns aus aller Not,
drum loben wir den Herren.
The lyricist is convinced that affliction may be a deserved punishment, and invites an attitude of penitent remorse, placing everything in God's hands. [4] He compares man to a grain of wheat, meant to bear fruit, which is possible on fertile soil. He recommends dying in the manner of Simeon, who "recognises his sins, grasps Christ" (sein Sünd' erkennt, Christum ergreifst). In the fifth stanza, he compares the shelter of God for body and soul to a hen covering her chicks with her wings. Finally, he confirms that we belong to God whether we are awake or sleep, that we are helped by Christ in all need, and he ends with praise. [6]
Zahn 4521b is a hymn tune composed for "Ach lieben Christen seid getrost". [7] The hymn has been associated with several other melodies, including the well-known tune of "Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält", Zahn 4441a. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]
Johann Sebastian Bach used the hymn, with the Zahn 4441a melody, in his chorale cantata Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost, BWV 114 , composed in 1724 for the 17th Sunday after Trinity. [4] [12] [13] He used three stanzas of the original text, the first as a chorale fantasia, the third with the solo soprano singing, and he closed the work with a four-part setting of the final stanza. [4] [10] The chorale harmonisation BWV 256 is another setting of the hymn by Bach, using the same melody. [11] [13] Other extant uses by Bach of the Zahn 4441a tune refer to other hymn texts. [13]
The Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis is a catalogue of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was first published in 1950, edited by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue's second edition appeared in 1990. An abbreviated version of that second edition, known as BWV2a, was published in 1998.
Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden, BWV 6, is a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach for use in a Lutheran service. He composed it in Leipzig in 1725 for Easter Monday and first performed it on 2 April 1725.
Sechs Chorale von verschiedener Art: auf einer Orgel mit 2 Clavieren und Pedal vorzuspielen, commonly known as the Schübler Chorales, BWV 645–650, is a set of chorale preludes composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. Johann Georg Schübler, after whom the collection came to be named, published it in 1747 or before August 1748, in Zella St. Blasii. At least five preludes of the compilation are transcribed from movements in Bach's church cantatas, mostly chorale cantatas he had composed around two decades earlier.
Chorale fantasia is a type of large composition based on a chorale melody, both works for organ, and vocal settings, for example the opening movements of Bach's chorale cantatas, with the chorale melody as a cantus firmus.
Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält is a chorale fantasia for organ composed by Johann Sebastian Bach in the early 18th century, likely between 1705 and 1710. The Zahn 4441a hymn tune for Justus Jonas's 1524 hymn "Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält", a paraphrase of Psalm 124, is the basis of the composition.
"Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit" is a Lutheran hymn, with words written by Martin Luther based on the Psalm 124. The hymn in three stanzas of seven lines each was first published in 1524. It was translated to English and has appeared in 20 hymnals. The hymn formed the base of several compositions, including chorale cantatas by Buxtehude and Bach.
There are 52 chorale cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach surviving in at least one complete version. Around 40 of these were composed during his second year as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, which started after Trinity Sunday 4 June 1724, and form the backbone of his chorale cantata cycle. The eldest known cantata by Bach, an early version of Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4, presumably written in 1707, was a chorale cantata. The last chorale cantata he wrote in his second year in Leipzig was Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BWV 1, first performed on Palm Sunday, 25 March 1725. In the ten years after that he wrote at least a dozen further chorale cantatas and other cantatas that were added to his chorale cantata cycle.
"Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält" is a Lutheran hymn by Justus Jonas, a paraphrase of Psalm 124 in eight stanzas. It was first published in 1524 in the Erfurt Enchiridion. The theme of the psalm is the need of help against raging enemies. It has been translated also as "Where the Lord God does not stand (stay) with us", "If God the Lord is not with us", "If God the Lord is not on our side", among others.
Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost, BWV 114, in Leipzig for the 17th Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 1 October 1724.
Johannes Gigas was a German Protestant theologian, hymn writer, educator and Reformer. Gigas was born in Nordhausen, Thuringia and died in Schweidnitz.
Nikolaus Herman was a German Lutheran cantor and teacher, creating numerous Protestant hymns. Some of them are contained in hymnals in several languages.
"Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort" is a Lutheran hymn by Martin Luther with additional stanzas by Justus Jonas, first published in 1542. It was used in several musical settings, including the chorale cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort, BWV 126.
"Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g'mein" is a Lutheran hymn, written in 1523 by Martin Luther. One of his early hymns, it was published as one of eight songs in 1524 in the first Lutheran hymnal, the Achtliederbuch, which contained four songs by Luther, three by Speratus, and one by Justus Jonas. It appeared also in 1524 in the Erfurt Enchiridion.
Johann Sebastian Bach's chorale cantata cycle is the year-cycle of church cantatas he started composing in Leipzig from the first Sunday after Trinity in 1724. It followed the cantata cycle he had composed from his appointment as Thomaskantor after Trinity in 1723.
"Es woll uns Gott genädig sein" is a Lutheran hymn, with words written by Martin Luther based on the Psalm 67. The hymn in three stanzas of nine lines each was first published in Wittenberg in 1524. Its best known hymn tune, Zahn No. 7247, was published in Strasbourg in 1524. Heinrich Schütz and Johann Sebastian Bach wrote settings of the hymn. It was translated to English and has appeared in dozens of hymnals.
"Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele" is a Lutheran hymn in German, with lyrics by Johann Franck and a hymn tune by Johann Crüger. 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 Praxis pietatis melica.
"Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit" is a Lutheran hymn in German. The text from c. 1550 is attributed to Albert, Duke of Prussia. The melody, Zahn No. 7568, goes back to a tune by Claudin de Sermisy, written in 1529 for a secular French song. The hymn has belonged to core Lutheran hymnody without interruption and is part of the Protestant hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch as EG 364.
"Nun liebe Seel, nun ist es Zeit", alternatively written "Nun, liebe Seel, nun ist es Zeit", is a Lutheran hymn for Epiphany, in five stanzas of six lines each, by Georg Weissel. It was first printed in 1642, set as a motet by Johannes Eccard. A version with an additional stanza is attributed to Johann Christoph Arnschwanger.