Herr Gott, dich loben wir, BWV 16, is a church cantata for New Year's Day by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was first performed on 1 January 1726 in Leipzig, as part of the composer's third cantata cycle. Its libretto is by Georg Christian Lehms, opening with the beginning of "Herr Gott, dich loben wir", Luther's German Te Deum. The cantata's text was completed with a stanza from Paul Eber's "Helft mir Gotts Güte preisen" for the closing chorale.
"Herr Gott, dich loben wir" is a Lutheran hymn, which Martin Luther wrote in 1529 as a translation and partial paraphrase of the Latin Te Deum. It is sometimes called the German Te Deum. The hymn was first published in 1529. Its hymn tune, Zahn No. 8652, is a simplification of the melody of the traditional Te Deum. It has appeared in 24 hymnals.
"Holy God, We Praise Thy Name" is a Christian hymn, a paraphrase of the Te Deum.
"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.
Christopher Tambling was a British composer, organist and choirmaster. From 1997 to 2015 he was Director of Music at Downside School and organist and Choirmaster of the Schola Cantorum at Downside Abbey, leading the choir to international success.
Gotteslob 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-speaking Catholics, succeeding the first common German hymnal, the 1975 edition of the same name. Each diocese published a book containing a common section and a regional section. The first editions amounted to around 4 million copies.
"O Heiland, reiß die Himmel auf" is a Christian Advent song. The text was first printed in 1622, attributed to Friedrich Spee; the melody was first printed in 1666.
Georg Thurmair was a German poet who wrote around 300 hymns, a writer, journalist and author of documentary films.
Kirchenlied is a German Catholic hymnal published in 1938. It was a collection of 140 old and new songs, including hymns by Protestant authors. It was the seed for a common Catholic hymnal which was realised decades later, in the Gotteslob (1975).
"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.
"Das Grab ist leer, der Held erwacht" is a Catholic hymn for Easter, first printed in 1777 in the hymnal Landshuter Gesangbuch published by Franz Seraph von Kohlbrenner. Keeping only the first of five stanzas, with additional two stanzas, it appeared in hymnals of the 19th century, and later in different versions in several regional sections of the Catholic hymnal Gotteslob. It is a frequently sung hymn in Easter services.
Joseph Hermann Mohr was a German Catholic priest, a Jesuit, hymn writer, and hymnologist. He was a member of the Society of Jesus. When all its institutions were closed due to the Jesuits Law of 1872, he left Germany. He returned in 1882 and worked as a hymnologist.
"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.
"Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier" is a Lutheran hymn with text written by Tobias Clausnitzer in 1663, and a hymn tune, Zahn No. 3498b, based on a 1664 melody by Johann Rudolph Ahle. A prayer for illumination, it is suitable for the opening of a church service and to be sung before a sermon. The song is part of the Protestant hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch as EG 161. It is also part of the Catholic hymnal Gotteslob as GL 149. It is popular also in English translations such as "Blessed Jesus, at your word" by Catherine Winkworth.
Friedrich Dörr was a German Catholic priest and professor of theology, who is known as a hymnwriter. He shaped the first common German Catholic hymnal, Gotteslob, published in 1975.
"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.
"O komm, du Geist der Wahrheit" is a Lutheran hymn for Pentecost in German. The text was written by Philipp Spitta, probably in 1827, and published in 1833 in the song collection Psalter und Harfe. It is a prayer to the Holy Spirit for courage to confession in a time poor in faith. The hymn which first appeared without a melody, is now usually sung to the 1529 melody of "Lob Gott getrost mit Singen". It is part of the current Protestant hymnal, and of other hymnals.
"Manchmal feiern wir mitten im Tag" is a Christian hymn written in 1974 with German text by Alois Albrecht and a melody by Peter Janssens. The song, of the genre Neues Geistliches Lied (NGL), is part of German hymnals, including Gotteslob, and songbooks including ecumenical collections and books for young people. It begins: "Manchmal feiern wir mitten im Tag ein Fest der Auferstehung".
Kurt Rommel was a German Protestant pastor of the Evangelische Landeskirche in Württemberg, author of spiritual books, and hymnodist. He wrote text and tune of hymns contained in both Protestant and Catholic hymnals.
"Wäre Gesanges voll unser Mund" is a Christian hymn with text by Eugen Eckert, written in 1999, and a melody by Alejandro Veciana. The text is derived from a Jewish text. A hymn of the genre Neues Geistliches Lied, it is part of regional sections of the common German Catholic hymnal Gotteslob, and of other songbooks.
