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.
"Prometheus" is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, in which the character of the mythic Prometheus addresses God in misotheist accusation and defiance. The poem was written between 1772 and 1774 and first published in 1789 after an anonymous and unauthorised publication in 1785 by Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi. It is an important work of the Sturm und Drang movement.
Bernhard Flies was a German amateur composer and a doctor of medicine.
"Still, still, still" is an Austrian Christmas carol and lullaby.
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 perhaps the most famous Wiegenlied, dating from the 18th century.
Praxis pietatis melica is a Protestant hymnal first published in the 17th century by Johann Crüger. The hymnal, which appeared under this title from 1647 to 1737 in 45 editions, has been described as "the most successful and widely-known Lutheran hymnal of the 17th century". Crüger composed melodies to texts that were published in the hymnal and are still sung today, including "Jesu, meine Freude", "Herzliebster Jesu", and "Nun danket alle Gott". Between 1647 and 1661, Crüger first printed 90 songs by his friend Paul Gerhardt, including "O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden".
"Geh aus, mein Herz, und suche Freud" is a summer hymn with a text in German by theologian Paul Gerhardt written in 1653. It was first published that same year in the fifth edition of Johann Crüger's hymnal Praxis pietatis melica. It was sung to several melodies, the most popular one composed by August Harder, and later 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.
"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.
"Fröhlich soll mein Herze springen" is a Christian Christmas hymn by Paul Gerhardt, originally in 15 stanzas in artful metre. It was first published, "Frölich sol mein hertze springen", in 1653 in the fifth edition of the hymnal Praxis Pietatis Melica by Johann Crüger, who also created a melody. Johann Sebastian Bach used it as a chorale in his Christmas Oratorio, with a different melody by Johann Georg Ebeling. The song is part, with twelve stanzas, of the current Protestant hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch and other songbooks.
Two Songs for Voice, Viola and Piano, Op. 91, were composed by Johannes Brahms for his friends Joseph Joachim and his wife Amalie. The full title is Zwei Gesänge für eine Altstimme mit Bratsche und Klavier. 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.
"Da der Herr Christ zu Tische saß" is a Christian hymn related to the Passion of Jesus. The 28 stanza text was written by Nikolaus Herman and first published in 1560. Later Johann Sebastian Bach composed the four-part setting, BWV 285.
"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".
"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, composed earlier, 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.
