"Nun bitten wir den Heiligen Geist" is the title of several hymns in German. The first is one of the oldest hymns in the German language: a 13th-century leise. Subsequent versions expanded upon the leise; the original hymn became the new version's first stanza, and it now used melodies derived from its medieval tune. The Protestant reformer Martin Luther expanded the leise in 1524, and different Catholic versions were published between 1537 and 1975.
"Gelobt sei Gott im höchsten Thron" is a hymn for Easter in 20 stanzas in German by Michael Weiße, widely known with a later melody by Melchior Vulpius. Shortened, it is part of current Protestant and Catholic German hymnals.
"Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der den Tod überwand" is a hymn for Easter by Martin Luther. The text originated in 1524. Johannes Zahn listed three hymn tunes for it. Two of these, Zahn Nos. 1976 and 1977, were published in 1724. A third, Zahn No. 1978, is attributed to Luther and was first published in 1529. Variants of this melody originated up to the early 17th century.
"Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der von uns den Gotteszorn wandt" is a Lutheran hymn in ten stanzas by Martin Luther for communion, first published in 1524 in the Erfurt Enchiridion. It is one of Luther's hymns which he wrote to strengthen his concepts of reformation. The models for the text and the melody of Luther's hymn existed in early 15th-century Bohemia. The text of the earlier hymn, "Jesus Christus nostra salus", goes back to the late 14th century. That hymn was embedded in a Hussite tradition.
"Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam" is a Lutheran hymn about baptism by Martin Luther, written in 1541 and published in 1543. It has been set in many musical compositions, including cantatas and chorale preludes by Johann Sebastian Bach.
"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.
Unser lieben Frauen Traum Op. 138, No. 4, is a sacred motet for unaccompanied mixed choir by Max Reger. The German text is a poem by an anonymous poet, derived from a Volkslied. The piece is in F major and scored for up to six voices, SSATBB. Composed in Meiningen in 1914, it was published in 1916 after Reger's death as the fourth of Acht geistliche Gesänge. It is often performed in Advent.
Advent songs are songs and hymns intended for Advent, the four weeks of preparation for Christmas. Topics of the time of expectation are the hope for a Messiah, prophecies, and the symbolism of light, among others. Several of the songs are part of hymnals such as the German Catholic Gotteslob (GL) and the Protestant Evangelisches Gesangbuch (EG).
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.
"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.
"Nun lasst uns Gott dem Herren" is a Lutheran hymn of 1575 with words by Ludwig Helmbold. It is a song of thanks, with the incipit: "Nun lasst uns Gott dem Herren Dank sagen und ihn ehren". The melody, Zahn No. 159, was published by Nikolaus Selnecker in 1587. The song appears in modern German hymnals, including in the Protestant Evangelisches Gesangbuch as EG 320.
"Macht hoch die Tür" is a popular German Advent hymn, written in 17th century Ducal Prussia. 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 jauchzt dem Herren, alle Welt" is a German Christian hymn, a paraphrase of Psalm 100. The text was written by David Denicke, based on a metered paraphrase of the psalm from the Becker Psalter, and published in his 1646 hymnal. The song appears in modern German-language hymnals, such as the Protestant Evangelisches Gesangbuch and the Catholic Gotteslob. With a joyful melody derived from a 14th-century model, it is one of the most popular psalm songs in German.
"Im Frieden dein, o Herre mein" is a three-stanza German Christian communion hymn. In 1527 the early Reformer Johann Englisch wrote two stanzas as a rhyming close paraphase of the Nunc dimittis, or Canticle of Simeon. The hymn is sung to a melody by Wolfgang Dachstein, written before 1530. Friedrich Spitta revised the lyrics in 1898 and added a third stanza. His revision transformed Englisch's prayer of an individual with a focus on a peaceful death to a communal one more about peaceful life in unity.
"Kommet, ihr Hirten" is a German Christmas carol from Bohemia which was derived from a Czech carol, "Nesem vám noviny". It reflects elements from the nativity story, the annunciation to the shepherds, their walk to the manger and their Adoration, inviting to follow their example. The first line, "Kommet, ihr Hirten, ihr Männer und Fraun", addresses shepherds, men, and women.
"Bewahre uns, Gott" is a Christian hymn with text by Eugen Eckert to a melody from Argentina, of "La paz del Señor". The song of the genre Neues Geistliches Lied, a prayer for protection in hard times, is contained in several hymnals and songbooks ecumenically. Several of these list it as "Bewahre uns, Gott, behüte uns, Gott"
