"Christ ist erstanden" is a German Easter hymn, and is possibly the oldest Christian liturgical German song. It has inspired the music of numerous composers, such as Ludwig Senfl and Heinrich Schütz, as well as modern composers such as Oskar Gottlieb Blarr and Enjott Schneider, and has appeared in 45 hymnals, including the current German Catholic and Protestant hymnals. Translations and paraphrases include a version by Catherine Winkworth which has appeared in 231 hymnals. "Christ ist erstanden" also inspired Martin Luther to write "Christ lag in Todes Banden", deriving the melody from it.
"Gott sei gelobet und gebenedeiet" is a Lutheran hymn of 1524 with words written by Martin Luther who used an older first stanza and melody. It is a song of thanks after communion. Luther's version in three stanzas was printed in the Erfurt Enchiridion of 1524 and in Johann Walter's choral hymnal Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn the same year. Today, the song appears in German hymnals, including both the Protestant Evangelisches Gesangbuch, and in a different version in the Catholic Gotteslob.
"Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr" is an early Lutheran hymn, with text and melody attributed to Nikolaus Decius. With the reformers intending church service in German, it was intended as a German version of the Gloria part of the Latin mass, used in almost every service. Decius wrote three stanzas, probably in 1523, while a fourth was added, probably by Joachim Slüter.
"Den Herren will ich loben" is a Christian hymn by Maria Luise Thurmair, based on the Magnificat and set to a 1613 melody by Melchior Teschner, which was used for "Valet will ich dir geben". The hymn in three stanzas of eight lines was first written in 1954, and revised in 1971. It appeared in the Catholic hymnal Gotteslob in 1975, and in the current Gotteslob, but also in a German Protestant hymnal. A general song of praise, it has been set to music several times.
"Erde, singe" is a German Catholic hymn with a text by Johannes Cardinal of Geissel, Archbishop of Cologne, written in 1837 as a Christmas carol in ten stanzas. The current Catholic hymnal Gotteslob has only four stanzas as GL 411, which are in the general section of praise.
"Nun freue dich, du Christenheit" is a Catholic hymn for Easter. It goes back to a 1390 hymn, which later appeared as "Freu dich, du werte Christenheit". The final version appeared first in the Catholic hymnal Gotteslob of 1975, later in several regional sections of the Gotteslob.
"Nun jauchzt dem Herren, alle Welt" is a German Christian hymn, a paraphrase of Psalm 100. The text was written by David Denicke, based on a metered paraphrase of the psalm from the Becker Psalter, and published in his 1646 hymnal. The song appears in modern German-language hymnals, such as the Protestant Evangelisches Gesangbuch and the Catholic Gotteslob. With a joyful melody derived from a 14th-century model, it is one of the most popular psalm songs in German.
"Dein Lob, Herr, ruft der Himmel aus" is a German Catholic hymn. Adolf Lohmann adapted a 1659 hymn by the Jesuit astronomer Albert Curtz, who paraphrased Psalm 19. The melody appeared in Augsburg in 1669. It was No. 1 in the 1938 hymnal Kirchenlied and is part of the German Catholic hymnal Gotteslob as GL 381.
"Seht, er lebt" is a Christian poem written by the Catholic priest Lothar Zenetti in 1973. With an Israeli melody, it became an Easter hymn in the Neues Geistliches Lied (NGL) genre, first published in 1975. In the 2013 Catholic hymnal Gotteslob, it appears as GL 781 in the regional section for the Diocese of Limburg.
"Komm, Schöpfer Geist, kehr bei uns ein" is a Christian hymn in German for Pentecost. The text is a paraphrase of the Latin hymn Veni Creator Spiritus by Heinrich Bone. The melody is an adaptation of the Latin hymn's plainchant. It was first published in 1845. In the Catholic hymnal Gotteslob, it is GL 351.
Heinrich Bone was a German educator and hymnwriter. He wrote a reader for German studies which was used for higher education in Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and Austria, until it was banned during the Kulturkampf. He published a hymnal, Cantate!, which was used by several Catholic dioceses and became a model for common hymnals. Some of his own hymns, including paraphrases of Latin hymns, are part of recent hymnals, both Catholic and Protestant, such as "Komm, Schöpfer Geist, kehr bei uns ein" as a paraphrase of the 9th-century hymn for Pentecost, Veni Creator Spiritus.
"Komm, Heilger Geist, der Leben schafft" is a Christian hymn in German for Pentecost. The text is a paraphrase of the Latin hymn Veni Creator Spiritus by Friedrich Dörr, with a 1524 melody. It was first published in the Catholic German hymnal Gotteslob in 1975.
Cantate! (Sing!) is a German Catholic hymnal first published in 1847, and continued in seven editions until 1879. It was a collection of 444 old and new songs, edited by the educator and hymnwriter Heinrich Bone, and the first Catholic hymnal in German that was used in multiple dioceses. Several of the songs are still part of the common Catholic hymnal in the Germanosphere, Gotteslob.
"Nun singt ein neues Lied dem Herren" is a Christian hymn with German text by Georg Thurmair. He based it on Psalm 98 and wrote it in 1967 to match a traditional 16th-century melody. The song is part of German hymnals, including Gotteslob, and songbooks.
"Erfreue dich, Himmel, erfreue dich, Erde" is a Christian hymn in German. The current hymn, part of modern hymnals and song books, was written by Maria Luise Thurmair in 1963 as a Psalmlied based on Psalm 148 which deals with praise of God from his creatures. She wrote it using and expanding a short Christmas carol from the 17th century. She retained the first stanza completely and used its second half as a refrain. She also retained the old melody.
"Der am Kreuz ist meine Liebe" is the beginning of Passion hymns in German. One version was written by Johann Mentzer as a translation of the Latin "Amor meus crucifixus est", attributed to Ignatius of Loyola, to the melody of "Werde munter, mein Gemüte". A famous version was written by Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, in six stanzas, and first published in 1758. It was associated with the melody used first for "Freue dich, du meine Seele".
"Segne du, Maria" is a Christian Marian hymn in German with text by Cordula Wöhler in 1870, and a melody composed by Karl Kindsmüller and published in 1916, after the author's death. On popular demand, it is contained in the Gotteslob of 2013, and other hymnals and songbooks.
"Öffnet eure Tore" is a Christian hymn in German, written by Christoph Bernhard Verspoell for the Feast of the Ascension. The text is based on Psalm 24. While the text was written in Münster in 1810, the melody was composed for a Trier hymnal of 1846. It became part of the regional sections of the German Catholic hymnal Gotteslob.
"Freu dich, du Himmelskönigin" is a Marian hymn for Eastertide, a paraphrase of the Latin Regina caeli, first published in 1600. It has appeared in German hymnals and songbooks.
"Gegrüßet seist du, Königin" is a Catholic hymn, based on a hymn to Mary in Latin, Salve Regina. Singers call Mary, the mother of Jesus, with many attributes and request her help in the misery of the world. The first version was published in 1687 by Johann Georg Seidenbusch. It became part of hymnals with several melodies. The 2013 common German hymnal Gotteslob has a version in six stanzas as GL 536, with a melody first published in Mainz in 1712. In the U.S., the song became popular with a 1736 melody from Hildesheim.
