A Lutheran chorale is a musical setting of a Lutheran hymn, intended to be sung by a congregation in a German Protestant Church service. The typical four-part setting of a chorale, in which the sopranos sing the melody along with three lower voices, is known as a chorale harmonization.
"Das Veilchen", K. 476, is a song for voice and piano by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, written in Vienna on 8 June 1785, to a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit, BWV 111, is a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach for use in a Lutheran service. He composed the chorale cantata in Leipzig in 1725 for the third Sunday after Epiphany and first performed it on 21 January 1725, as part of his chorale cantata cycle. It is based on the hymn by Albert, Duke of Prussia, published in 1554, on the topic of the Christian's acceptance of God's will.
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.
"Schlafe, mein Prinzchen, schlaf ein" is a German lullaby dating from the 18th century.
"Geh aus, mein Herz, und suche Freud" is a summer hymn with a text in German by the theologian Paul Gerhardt, written in 1653. It was first published in the same year in the fifth edition of Johann Crüger's hymnal, Praxis pietatis melica. The hymn was sung to several melodies, with the most popular one composed by August Harder. Later, it became a Volkslied in an abridged version.
"Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her" is a hymn text relating to the Nativity of Jesus, written by Martin Luther in 1534. The hymn is most often sung to the melody, Zahn No. 346, which first appeared in a 1539 songbook and was probably also composed by Luther. This classic Christmas carol remains popular and has inspired many choral and organ works by other composers.
"Vom Himmel hoch, o Engel, kommt", also known as "Susani", is a German Christmas carol. It was first printed in 1622 as an alternate text to an older melody. In eight stanzas of two lines each, the angels are requested to come from Heaven, bring their musical instruments, and play and sing of Jesus and Mary, and ultimately for peace for the people.
"Maria durch ein Dornwald ging" is a German Advent song. By origin it was a pilgrimage song that initially was spread orally in the 19th century, starting in the Catholic Eichsfeld.
"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.
"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.
Two Songs for Voice, Viola and Piano, Op. 91, were composed by Johannes Brahms for his friends Joseph Joachim and his wife Amalie. The text of the first song, "Gestillte Sehnsucht", is a poem by Friedrich Rückert, composed in 1884. The text of the second, "Geistliches Wiegenlied" was written by Emanuel Geibel after Lope de Vega, and set to music in 1863. They were published together in 1884.
"Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld" is a Lutheran Passion hymn in German by Paul Gerhardt. The hymn text was first published in Johann Crüger's Praxis Pietatis Melica, starting from the lost 1647 edition. Wolfgang Dachstein's 16th-century "An Wasserflüssen Babylon" melody is commonly indicated as its hymn tune, although other settings exist.
"Du, o schönes Weltgebäude" is a Lutheran hymn in German, with text by Johann Franck and melody 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. The topic is renouncing the world, hoping to be united with Jesus. While the hymn is no longer in practical use, one stanza, "Komm, o Tod, du Schlafes Bruder", was prominently used in Bach's solo cantata Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, BWV 56; in English, it is commonly referred to as the "Kreuzstab cantata".
"Lobt Gott, ihr Christen alle gleich" is a German Christmas carol with lyrics and melody by Nikolaus Herman. It is part of Protestant and Catholic hymnals, has inspired musical settings, and has been translated. The title is also known as "Lobt Gott, ihr Christen allzugleich".
"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.
"Harzreise im Winter" is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, inspired by his ascent of the Brocken in the Harz mountains during the winter of 1777. He reached the summit in the heat of midday, in deep snow, with the landscape below him shrouded in cloud. The Brocken had always been a place of mystery, connected with witches and devils; where illusions such as the Brocken spectre might confuse an unwary traveller, and where few ventured by choice. This was the inspiration and the setting for his poem.
"Die Blümelein, sie schlafen" is the first line of the German lullaby "Sandmännchen" (Sandman), from Anton Wilhelm von Zuccalmaglio's collection Deutsche Volkslieder (1840). The melody is based on a French song from the late 1500s which was also used for the Christmas carol "Zu Bethlehem geboren" (1638) to a text by Friedrich Spee.
Two Motets, Op. 74, are two sacred motets for unaccompanied mixed choir by Johannes Brahms, published together. Number 1, composed in 1877 in several movements, is Warum ist das Licht gegeben dem Mühseligen?, based on Biblical texts and a chorale. Number 2, believed to have been composed in 1863/64, is O Heiland, reiß die Himmel auf, containing different settings of the stanzas of Friedrich von Spee's "O Heiland, reiß die Himmel auf". The two motets were published by N. Simrock in December 1878 and dedicated to Philipp Spitta.
Schneeflöckchen, Weißröckchen is a German christmas carol. The original version comes from Hedwig Haberkern (1837–1901), who published the song in her first book in 1869.
