 Title page of the text edition, second edition, 1938 | |
| Language | German |
|---|---|
| Genre | Hymnal |
| Published | 1938 |
| Publisher |
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Kirchenlied ("Church song") 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).
Kirchenlied was published in 1938 by Josef Diewald , Adolf Lohmann and Georg Thurmair. [1] It was a collection of 140 songs from different periods, starting in the 16th century, and it included several Protestant songs as well as ten of Thurmair's own songs. [2] Known as the "Standard Songbook", [3] it was designed to be a common hymnal for German-speaking Catholics. [2]
Kirchenlied was published first by the Jugendhaus Düsseldorf , subtitled Eine Auslese geistlicher Lieder für die Jugend ("A selection of sacred songs for youth"). The hymnal, unlike other publications by Thurmair, was not immediately banned by the Nazis, because of its many Protestant songs. [2] From the fourth edition, the subtitle was shortened to "Eine Auslese geistlicher Lieder" because it was generally accepted, not only by young people. It was published by the Christophorus-Verlag, then part of the Catholic Verlag Herder. [2]
Kirchenlied was significant for ecumenical church singing in German and became the seed for the 1975 Gotteslob . 75 of its songs were included in the Gotteslob. [2]
The hymnal appeared in a text edition (Textausgabe) and an edition with musical scores (Notenausgabe). The exterior design was simple. The music books were partly in two colours, with the headers and staff red, text and notes black. Alfred Riedel was responsible for the layout with its large structuring headers for the sections, and a cover which showed a stylised view of the Altenberger Dom. The adjacent Haus Altenberg was from 1926 the centre of the Catholic youth movement. The hymnal had no illustrations and included some songs derived from Gregorian chant, rendered without rhythm and metre. [1]
The songs are grouped by themes, which are marked by section headers. Songs of general praise and petition are followed by songs for the occasions of the liturgical year, songs venerating Saints (Heiligenlieder), songs for the times of day, songs about death and dying, and hymns for the celebration of mass. All but the last header are the incipits of hymns. [1]
The collection includes 38 songs, sometimes shortened, which were written by Protestant authors, including "Lobe den Herren", "Macht hoch die Tür" and "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern". 26 of them were here published in a Catholic hymnal for the first time. Three songs by Martin Luther were included in the hymnal ("Es kam ein Engel hell und klar", "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ" and "Gott sei gelobet und gebenedeiet"), but his name was not mentioned; instead, a temporal reference, "16th century", was used. [1] While the inclusion of these songs met with criticism, Bishop or Mainz Albert Stohr, in his preface, congratulates the editors for their ecumenical effort: "Dank sei euch, daß ihr mit Liebe gesammelt habt, was uns an gemeinsamem Liedgut verbinden kann zu einem gewaltigen Gottbekenntnis aller Christen in deutschen Landen!" (Thanks be to you, for you collected with love a common wealth of songs which can unite us to a powerful profession of God by all Christians in German lands!) [1]
"Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ" is a Lutheran hymn, written by Martin Luther in 1524. It was first published in 1524 in the Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn. For centuries the chorale has been the prominent hymn (Hauptlied) for Christmas Day in German speaking Lutheranism, but has also been used in different translations internationally. It has appeared in hymnals of various denominations including the Catholic Church.
"Nun bitten wir den Heiligen Geist" is a German Christian hymn. The first stanza is a leise from the 13th century which alludes to the Latin sequence Veni Sancte Spiritus for Pentecost. It was widely known, and aside from its Pentecostal origin was also used as a procession song and in sacred plays.
Nikolaus Herman was a German Lutheran cantor and teacher, creating numerous Protestant hymns. Some of them are contained in hymnals in several languages.
"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.
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.
The Leise or Leis is a genre of vernacular medieval church song. They appear to have originated in the German-speaking regions, but are also found in Scandinavia, and are a precursor of Protestant church music.
Georg Thurmair was a German poet who wrote around 300 hymns, a writer, journalist and author of documentary films.
Adolf Lohmann was a German music educator and a composer of sacred music. Several of his hymn melodies are part of the Catholic hymnal 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.
"Macht hoch die Tür" is a German popular Advent hymn, written in Ducal Prussia in the 17th century. The lyrics were written by Georg Weissel in 1623, for the inauguration of the Altroßgärter Kirche in Königsberg. The melody that is now associated with the text appeared first in 1704 in the hymnal by Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen.
"Zu Bethlehem geboren" is a German Christmas carol. The text is attributed to Friedrich Spee, and was first printed in the collection Geistlichen Psälterlein by Johannes Heringsdorf in Cologne in 1637. The author was unknown until the 20th century, but research of style and content arrived at the attribution. The song was printed with a then-popular secular melody in 1638. The song appears in current Catholic and Protestant hymnals.
"Christ fuhr gen Himmel" is a German Ascension hymn. The church song is based the medieval melody of the Easter hymn "Christ ist erstanden". It was an ecumenical song from the beginning, with the first stanza published in 1480, then included in a Lutheran hymnal in 1545, and expanded by the Catholic Johannes Leisentritt in 1567. It appears in modern German Catholic and Protestant hymnals, and has inspired musical settings by composers from the 16th to the 21st century.
"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.
"Nun, Brüder, sind wir frohgemut" is a German Catholic hymn. It was written by Georg Thurmair as both a pilgrimage song and a Marian hymn. The melody was composed by Adolf Lohmann, who wrote a choral setting in 1936. Related to youth pilgrimages to an image of Mary at the Altenberger Dom, it is also known as "Altenberger Wallfahrtslied". The song is regarded as an Oppositionelles Lied, in subtle protest against the Nazi regime.
"Mein Gott, wie schön ist deine Welt" is a German Catholic hymn. It was written by Georg Thurmair in 1936. The melody was composed by Heinrich Neuß the same year. It was part of Thurmair's 1938 hymnal Kirchenlied, and it is part of regional sections of the Catholic hymnal Gotteslob (2013).
"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.
"O Licht der wunderbaren Nacht" is a Christian Easter hymn by Georg Thurmair written in 1963. It was part of the German Catholic hymnal Gotteslob of 1975 as GL 208, with a melody from the 14th century. It is part of the second edition of the Gotteslob as GL 334, also of regional sections of the Protestant hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch.
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.
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.
"Maria, breit den Mantel aus" is one of the most popular Marian hymns in German, first printed in 1640.