Melody
| "Wenn alle untreu werden" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| Language | German |
| Written | 1814 |
| Composer(s) | based on a French hunting song |
| Lyricist(s) | Max von Schenkendorf |
"Wenn alle untreu werden, so bleiben wir doch treu" (If all become unfaithful, we remain loyal) is the opening line of a famous patriotic German popular song written by Max von Schenkendorf in 1814. Schenkendorf dedicated the song to Friedrich Ludwig Jahn for the Holy Roman Empire.
The melody was a slightly modified form of "Pour aller à la chasse faut être matineux", a French hunting song dating from 1724.
The title also refers to a German hymn of the same name, written by the German poet Novalis in 1799. The first two lines of this hymn are the same as in Schenkendorf's song. [1]
Gerhard Roßbach included the song in the activities of his German Youth Movement in which "its emphasis on loyalty in adversity and faith in Germany precisely fit Roßbach's desire to unify conservative forces behind a project of political and cultural renewal." [2] During the Third Reich the song was used extensively by the Nazi SS, and became known as Treuelied (song of faithfulness).
Wenn alle untreu werden, so bleiben wir doch treu, | If all become unfaithful, we remain loyal |
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.
Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg, pen name Novalis, was a German aristocrat and polymath, who was a poet, novelist, philosopher and mystic. He is regarded as an influential figure of Jena Romanticism.
"De Brevitate Vitae", more commonly known as "Gaudeamus igitur" or just "Gaudeamus", is a popular academic commercium song in many European countries, mainly sung or performed at university graduation ceremonies. Despite its use as a formal graduation hymn, it is a jocular, light-hearted composition that pokes fun at university life. The song is thought to originate in a Latin manuscript from 1287. It is in the tradition of carpe diem with its exhortations to enjoy life. It was known as a beer-drinking song in many early universities and is the official song of many schools, colleges, universities, institutions, student societies and is the official anthem of the International University Sports Federation.
The first Wartburg Festival was a convention of about 500 Protestant German students, held on 18 October 1817 at the Wartburg castle near Eisenach in Thuringia. The former refuge of reformer Martin Luther was considered a national symbol and the assembly a protest against reactionary politics and Kleinstaaterei.
Alle Jahre wieder is a well-known German Christmas carol. The text was written in 1837 by Wilhelm Hey. It is usually sung to a melody attributed to Friedrich Silcher, who published it in an 1842 song cycle based on a book of fables by Otto Speckter.
Josephine Caroline Lang was a German composer. Josephine Lang was the daughter of Theobald Lang, a violinist, and Regina Hitzelberger, opera singer. Her mother taught young Josephine how to play piano, and from age five it became apparent that Josephine was possessed with great potential as a composer. As early as age eleven Josephine started giving piano lessons herself. Through her godfather, Joseph Stieler, Josephine was exposed to some of the greatest artists of her time. Both Felix Mendelssohn and Ferdinand Hiller went to great lengths to ensure that Lang learned the proper theory for song-writing, and used their connections to publish Lang's music. Even Robert Schumann published a song of Josephine's in Neue Zeitschrift für Musik in 1838.
Volkslied is a genre of popular songs in German which are traditionally sung. While many of them were first passed orally, several collections were published from the late 18th century. Later, some popular songs were also included in this classification.
"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.
"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.
Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn, was the first German hymnal harmonised for choir, published in Wittenberg in 1524 by Johann Walter who collaborated with Martin Luther. It contains 32 sacred songs, including 24 by Luther, in settings by Walter for three to five parts with the melody in the tenor. Luther wrote a preface for the part books. The collection has been called the root of all Protestant song music.
"Herzlich tut mich verlangen" is a German hymn, with lyrics written in 1599 by Christoph Knoll, with a melody adapted from a secular song by Hans Leo Hassler. It is a prayer for a blessed death, beginning "Herzlich tut mich verlangen nach einem sel'gen End". Its hymn tune, Zahn No. 5385a, was later also used for Paul Gerhardt's "Befiehl du deine Wege" and "O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden".
"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.
Johannes Leisentritt, also Johann Leisentrit was a Catholic priest, dean of St. Peter in Bautzen and administrator of the Diocese of Meißen, responsible for Lusatia. He is known for publishing a 1567 hymnal.
"Süßer die Glocken nie klingen" is a popular German Christmas carol with text by Friedrich Wilhelm Kritzinger to a traditional Volkslied melody, first printed in 1860. It has remained popular and is part of many song books and Christmas recordings, evoking the sound of bells as a symbol of peace and joy.
"Liebster Gott, wann werd ich sterben" is a Lutheran hymn which Caspar Neumann, an evangelical theologian from Breslau, wrote around 1690. The topic of the hymn, which has five stanzas of eight lines, is a reflection on death. An elaborate analysis of the hymn's content was published in 1749. A few text variants of the hymn originated in the 18th century. Neumann's text is usually sung to the hymn tune of "Freu dich sehr o meine Seele".
"Das Wandern ist des Müllers Lust" is the first line of a poem by Wilhelm Müller, written in 1821 with the title "Wanderschaft" as part of a collection, Die schöne Müllerin. While wandern is defined as "hiking" today, it referred to the required journeyman years of craftsmen when written, in this case of a miller.
Friedrich Wilhelm Kritzinger was a German Protestant theologian, pedagogue, poet and hymnwriter. He was for 38 years the director of a newly founded educational institution for women teachers in Droyßig. His Christmas carol "Süßer die Glocken nie klingen", written to the melody of a popular Volkslied, has remained a favourite.
The Infantry Division Friedrich Ludwig Jahn was an infantry division of the German army during World War II. It was formed in the final weeks of the war, and existed between late March and early May 1945.
Borussia, also known as Chant national prussien, was a patriotic Prussian song. It temporarily held the status of the national anthem. The melody is made by Gaspare Luigi Pacifico Spontini, and the text by Johann Friedrich Leopold Duncker. Borussia is a neo-Latin term for Prussia and a female figure as Prussia's allegory in the song.
