"Veni redemptor gentium" (Come, Redeemer of the nations) is a Latin Advent or Christmas hymn by Ambrose of Milan in iambic tetrameter. [1] The hymn is assigned to the Office of Readings for Advent, from 17 December through 24 December, in the Liturgy of the Hours. John Mason Neale and Thomas Helmore saw it as an Evening hymn for the period from Christmas to the eve of Epiphany. [2]
The later hymn "Veni Creator Spiritus" borrows two lines from the hymn (Infirma nostri corporis — Virtute firmans perpeti). "Veni redemptor gentium" was particularly popular in Germany where Martin Luther translated it into German as "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland," which then he, or possibly Johann Walter, set as a chorale, based on the original plainchant. [3] Luther adapted the original chant tune separately for each of three other hymns: "Verleih uns Frieden gnädiglich", " Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort " and " Gib unserm Fürsten und aller Obrigkeit ".
In the mid-nineteenth century, John Mason Neale translated "Veni redemptor gentium" into English as "Come, thou Redeemer of the earth". This text is however more often sung to the tune of Puer nobis nascitur.
In 1959, Dom Paul Benoit, OSB adapted the chant melody as the hymn tune "Christian Love", for use with the text "Where Charity and Love Prevail," Omer Westendorf's [4] common metre translation of the Holy Thursday hymn "Ubi caritas." [5]
| Latin | English |
|---|---|
1. Veni, redemptor gentium; | Come, thou Redeemer of the earth, |
2. Non ex virili semine, | Begotten of no human will, |
3. Alvus tumescit Virginis, | The virgin womb that burden gained |
4. Procedens de thalamo suo, | Forth from His chamber goeth He, |
5. Egressus ejus a Patre, | From God the Father He proceeds, |
6. Aequalis eterno Patri, | O equal to the Father, Thou! |
7. Praesepe jam fulget tuum, | Thy cradle here shall glitter bright |
8. Sit, Christe, rex piissime, | All praise, eternal Son, to Thee, |
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.
"Veni Creator Spiritus" is a traditional Christian hymn believed to have been written by Rabanus Maurus, a ninth-century German monk, teacher, archbishop, and saint. When the original Latin text is used, it is normally sung to a Gregorian Chant tune first known from Kempten Abbey around the year 1000. The hymn has been translated and paraphrased into several languages, and adapted into many musical forms, often as a hymn for Pentecost or for other occasions that focus on the Holy Spirit.
"O come, O come, Emmanuel" is a Christian hymn for Advent, which is also often published in books of Christmas carols. The text was originally written in Latin. It is a metrical paraphrase of the O Antiphons, a series of plainchant antiphons attached to the Magnificat at Vespers over the final days before Christmas. The hymn has its origins over 1,200 years ago in monastic life in the 8th or 9th century. Seven days before Christmas Eve monasteries would sing the “O antiphons” in anticipation of Christmas Eve when the eighth antiphon, “O Virgo virginum” would be sung before and after Mary's canticle, the Magnificat. The Latin metrical form of the hymn was composed as early as the 12th century.
Chorale fantasia is a type of large composition based on a chorale melody, both works for organ, and vocal settings, for example the opening movements of Bach's chorale cantatas, with the chorale melody as a cantus firmus.
The Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes, BWV 651–668, are a set of chorale preludes for organ prepared by Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig in his final decade (1740–1750), from earlier works composed in Weimar, where he was court organist. The works form an encyclopedic collection of large-scale chorale preludes, in a variety of styles harking back to the previous century, that Bach gradually perfected during his career. Together with the Orgelbüchlein, the Schübler Chorales, the third book of the Clavier-Übung and the Canonic Variations, they represent the summit of Bach's sacred music for solo organ.
Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Schwingt freudig euch empor, BWV 36, in Leipzig in 1731 for the first Sunday in Advent. He drew on material from previous congratulatory cantatas, beginning with Schwingt freudig euch empor, BWV 36c (1725). The Gospel for the Sunday was the Entry into Jerusalem, thus the mood of the secular work matched "the people's jubilant shouts of Hosanna". In a unique structure in Bach's cantatas, he interpolated four movements derived from the former works with four stanzas from two important Advent hymns, to add liturgical focus, three from Luther's "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" and one from Nicolai's "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern". He first performed the cantata in its final form of two parts, eight movements, on 2 December 1731.
Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61, in Weimar for the first Sunday in Advent, the Sunday which begins the liturgical year, and first performed it on 2 December 1714.
Johann Sebastian Bach composed the church cantata Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 62, in Leipzig for the first Sunday in Advent and first performed it on 3 December 1724. The chorale cantata is based on Martin Luther's Advent hymn "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland". It is part of his chorale cantata cycle.
"Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" is a Lutheran hymn for Advent by Martin Luther, the translation of a Latin hymn.
"Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" is a Lutheran chorale of 1524 with words written by Martin Luther, based on "Veni redemptor gentium" by Ambrose, and a melody, Zahn 1174, based on its plainchant. It was printed in the Erfurt Enchiridion of 1524.
"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.
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.
"Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott" is a Lutheran hymn for Pentecost, with words written by Martin Luther based on "Veni Sancte Spiritus, reple tuorum corda fidelium". The hymn in three stanzas was first published in 1524. For centuries the chorale has been the prominent hymn (Hauptlied) for Pentecost in German-speaking Lutheranism. Johann Sebastian Bach used it in several chorale preludes, cantatas and his motet Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf, BWV 226.
"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.
"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.
"Komm, Gott Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist" is a Lutheran hymn for Pentecost, with words written by Martin Luther based on the Latin "Veni Creator Spiritus". The hymn in seven stanzas was first published in 1524. Its hymn tunes are Zahn No. 294, derived from the chant of the Latin hymn, and Zahn No. 295, a later transformation of that melody. The number in the current Protestant hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch (EG) is 126.
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).
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, is a cantata for soloists, a choir and instruments by Georg Böhm for the first Sunday of Advent, the Sunday that begins the liturgical year.
