Dies sind die heilgen zehn Gebot

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"Dies sind die heilgen zehn Gebot"
Hymn by Martin Luther
Luther-Walter-Ten-Commandments-1524.png
EnglishThese are the holy Ten Commandments
Catalogue Zahn  1951
Textby Martin Luther
Language German
Published1524 (1524)

"Dies sind die heilgen zehn Gebot" (These are the holy Ten Commandments) is a hymn by the Protestant reformer Martin Luther based on the Ten Commandments. It appeared first in 1524 in the Erfurt Enchiridion .

Contents

History

The reformer Martin Luther wrote the hymn in twelve stanzas of four lines each as a catechetical setting of the Ten Commandments. The commandments were used for confession and for instructions. [1] After an introduction, stanzas 2 to 10 are related to the ten commandments; 11 and 12 provide a conclusion, related to Jesus. [2] In 1524, Luther published the hymn in the Erfurt Enchiridion with a hymn tune, Zahn No.  1951, based on an older melody ("In Gottes Namen Fahren wir"). [1] [3] The hymn is a "Leise", concluding each stanza by "Kyrieleis". [2] [4]

The hymn also appeared in Johann Walter's choral hymnal Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn in 1524. [4] It appeared in 1854 in Schircks's edition of Luther‘s hymns (Geistliche Lieder), and in the hymnal Unverfälschter Liedersegen in 1851. [5] In the current Protestant German hymnal, the Evangelisches Gesangbuch , it is EG 231.

An early English translation was titled "That men a godly life might live". It was published in Richard Massie's M. Luther's Spiritual Songs in 1854, and in the Ohio Lutheran Hymnal in 1880. [1] Another English translation, used in various Lutheran hymnals since the 1950s, is titled "These Are the Holy Ten Commands." [6]

Melody and settings

The melody was assigned as for "In Gottes Namen fahren wir", but other melodies were also used, such as "Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit". [4]

Johann Michael Bach composed a chorale prelude, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck wrote two variations for the organ, and Johann Hermann Schein composed a setting for two soprano voices and continuo. Johann Sebastian Bach wrote a four-part setting, BWV 298; he used the chorale in the opening movement of cantata Du sollt Gott, deinen Herren, lieben, BWV 77. [7] The chorale juxtaposes the topic of the cantata, the commandment of love. [8] In his Clavier-Übung III , he dedicated two pieces to the chorale, a chorale prelude with five voices and a fughetta for a single manual, BWV 678-679. [9] Bach also wrote the first of the catechism chorale preludes, BWV 635, for the Orgelbüchlein . [10]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Hymnary 2017.
  2. 1 2 Gesellschaft 2017.
  3. Zahn 1889.
  4. 1 2 3 Hahn 2015.
  5. Liedersegen.
  6. Hymnary 2023.
  7. Chafe 2003.
  8. Jones 2013.
  9. Chorale Preludes, BWV 669-689 (Bach, Johann Sebastian) : Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
  10. Williams 2003

Sources

Books

Online sources