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A mighty fortress is our God. Martin Luther* (1483-1546), translated by Frederic Henry Hedge* (1805-1890).
This translation of Luther's version of Psalm 46 ('Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott'*) is the one that is most commonly used in the USA. As expected it is found in Lutheran publications, but it appears in books of all denominations. Hedge's translation, entitled 'Luther's Psalm', was included in the last part ('Supplement') of Hymns for the Church of Christ (Boston, 1853) edited by Hedge...
Agape
Agape: Songs of Hope and Reconciliation, edited by Maggie Hamilton and Päivi Jussila, was published by Oxford University Press in 2003 (the title, pronounced 'A-ga-pay', is a Greek term referring to the highest form of love: in Christianity, the love of God for humankind, and the reciprocal love of humans for God). It contains 110 items and was compiled for the 2003 meeting of the Lutheran World Federation Assembly, the theme of which was 'For the Healing of the World'. Hamilton's preface...
All who believe and are baptized. Thomas Hansen Kingo* (1634-1703), translated by George Alfred Taylor Rygh* (1860-1942).
Kingo's hymn began 'Enhver som tror og bliver døbt', in his Danmarks og Norges Kirkes forordnede Salmebog (1689) (Milgate, p. 158: this hymnal was not approved by the church authorities, but Kingo's hymn was found in the official book that succeeded it, Den forordnede ny Kirke-Psalme-Bog, 1699, 'The authorized hymn book'). It was translated from the Danish by Rygh as 'He...
Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr. Nikolaus Decius* (ca. 1490-1541).
The first three stanzas were probably written in 1522-23, when Decius was a schoolmaster in Braunschweig. It was published in Joachim Slüter's Eyn gantz schone unde seer nutte gesangk boek (Rostock, 1525), with a fourth stanza by Slüter. It was in Low German (Wackernagel, Das Deutsche Kirchenlied III. pp. 565-6, beginning:
Aleyne Godt yn der hoege sy eere und danck vor syne gnade...
This is the first of two such texts, the...
HUSBERG, Amanda. b. Chicago, 7 December 1940; d. New York City, 15 February 2021. Amanda Husberg graduated from Concordia Teacher's College (Seward, Nebraska, B.S., 1962) where she studied education, and organ performance with Jan Bender*. Subsequently, she completed her study in early childhood education from Hunter College (New York City, M.S., 1971).
From July 1964 onwards she was the Director of Music at St. John the Evangelist Lutheran Church in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Concurrent with her...
TEICH, Andreas Hans. b. Krefeld, Germany, 5 October 1960. A parish pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Teich studied at Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pennsylvania (AB, 1982), Christ Seminary-Lutheran School of Theology, Chicago, Illinois (MDiv, 1986). He was ordained in 1986. His pastorates at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Bellevue, Kentucky (1986-1990), and Messiah Lutheran Church, Bay City, Michigan (1994- ), are noted for employing the rich chorale tradition as well as...
HOPPE, Anna Bernardine Dorothy. b. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 7 May 1889; d. Milwaukee, 2 August 1941. Hoppe, a Lutheran Wisconsin Synod member, penned around 600 original hymns and chorale translations that remained uncollected and unpublished until 75 years after her death. She was born to German-Lutheran immigrants Albert and Emilie Hoppe. Baptized and confirmed by pastor Johann Bading of St John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, she alone of her five siblings attended the parochial school there,...
Association of Lutheran Church Musicians (ALCM)
The Association of Lutheran Church Musicians nurtures and equips musicians to serve and lead the church's song. Music is a vital expression of Lutheran worship. By sharing the knowledge, experience, and passion that honor our heritage and inspire our future, ALCM nurtures and equips those who lead music in worship.
Approximately 140 church musicians from across the United States and Canada responded to an invitation to meet at Lutheran...
CRULL, August. b. Rostock, Mecklenburg, Germany, 27 January 1845; d. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 17 February 1923. August Crull was a German-American Lutheran theologian and educator who played an important role in 19th-century American Lutheranism as a hymnal editor and hymn translator. As a hymnal editor, he helped compile and edit the first English-language hymnals of the Missouri Synod branch of American Lutheranism, thus shaping its hymnic tradition as it began to transition from German to...
KJELLSTRAND, August W. b. Skoefde, Vastergötland, Sweden, 10 February 1864; d. 29 October 1930. His family emigrated to the USA in 1870, when August was a child. He was closely associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod of North America: he graduated from Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois, in 1885. He was appointed to Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas, to teach Latin in 1886. After a further period of study, he returned to Bethany in 1893.
He graduated from Augustana...
Awake, O sleeper, rise from death. F. Bland Tucker* (1895-1984).
Written originally as an anthem text for David N. Johnson, published by Augsburg Fortress Press (Minneapolis, 1980), this was revised and made metrically stable for H82. It is based on phrases from Ephesians chapters 3,4, and 5, beginning with Ephesians 5: 14 ('Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light'), itself 'a very ancient Christian hymn, probably' (Tucker, quoted in Young, 1993, p....
Beautiful Savior. German hymn, 17th century, translated by Joseph A. Seiss* (1823-1904).
In The Lutheran Hymnal (1941) this is the opening line of the translation of 'Schönster Herr Jesu'* from a Roman Catholic Münster Gesangbuch of 1677. Seiss, the translator, was a prominent Lutheran minister and prolific author. His translation was published in The Sunday School Book for the Use of Evangelical Lutheran Congregations (Philadelphia, 1873). It had four stanzas, the last of which returns to...
KYAMANYWA, Bernard. b. Kagera Region, Tanganyika (now Tanzania); 10 May 1938. A teacher, Lutheran pastor, and hymnwriter, Kyamanywa studied to be a schoolteacher at Kigarama Teacher's College (Bukoba, Tanzania) where he received his basic musical training. He continued his study at Lutheran Theological College (now Makumira University College) in Arusha (Diploma in Theology, 1968). He became known for his exceptional mastery of Hebrew, a skill that earned him the position as a representative of...
See 'I was there to hear your borning cry'*.
Built on the rock the church doth stand. Nicolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig* (1783-1872), translated by Carl Døving* (1867-1937).
First published in Grundtvig's Sangvärk til den Danske Kirke (1837), and later revised and abbreviated to the normal length of seven 7-line stanzas. The first line was 'Kirken den er et gammelt Hus' ('The church which is a strong house'). It is based on Matthew 16: 18, 'upon this rock I will build my church'. The hymn goes on to locate the church in the hearts and...
DØVING, Carl. b. Norddalen, Sunnmøre, Norway, 1 March 1867; d. Chicago, Illinois, 2 October 1937. Døving left Norway as a young man and lived in South Africa (1883-90), where he taught at a mission school, the Schreuder Mission in Natal, founded by the Norwegian missionary Hans Schreuder (1817-1882). Døving emigrated to the USA in 1890 and attended Luther College, Decorah, Iowa (AB, 1893) and Luther Seminary of the Norwegian Synod, St Paul, Minnesota (CT [Candidatus theologiae], 1896). He was a...
SCHALK, Carl Flentge. b. Des Plaines, Illinois, 26 September 1929; d. River Forest, Illinois, 24 January 2021. Schalk attended Concordia Teachers' College (now Concordia University) in River Forest, Illinois (BS, 1952), the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York (MM, 1958) and Concordia Theological Seminary in St Louis, Missouri (MA, 1965).
After serving at Zion Lutheran Church in Wausau, Wisconsin (1952-1958), Schalk was a music director for the International Lutheran Hour (1958-1965),...
KRAUTH, Charles Porterfield. b. Martinsburg, Virginia, 17 March 1823; d. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2 January 1883. The son of a Lutheran minister, Charles Philip Krauth, Charles Porterfield Krauth was educated at Pennsylvania College (later Gettysburg College), of which his father was the first President, and at Gettysburg Theological Seminary, graduating in 1841. He served Lutheran churches in Canton, Baltimore (1841-42), the Second English Lutheran Church, Baltimore (1843-47); Winchester,...
Come, join the dance of Trinity. Richard Leach* (1953- ).
This is Richard Leach's most published hymn. The author states that he desires to write hymn texts that are 'biblically and theologically accurate and sound' (Leach, 2007, p. 7). He accomplishes this goal in in this this by engaging the singer in an imaginative, multi-sensory celebration of the Trinity.
Leach notes that 'Dancing has a very long association with the Trinity, going back to the eighth-century theologians who used the word...
CRUCIGER (CREUTZIGER), Elisabeth (née von Meseritz). b. Meseritz, Pomerania (now Międzyrzecze, Poland), ca. 1500; d. Wittenberg, 2 May 1535. From a noble Catholic family, she was sent to be educated at a Premonstratensian convent, where she studied Latin and Biblical Studies. She became a nun, but under the influence of Johannes Bugenhagen (1485-1558, Luther's 'Doktor Pomeranus', the Lutheran apostle to Pomerania), she left the convent in 1521. She married Caspar Cruciger/Creutziger, a pupil...
Das Kreuz ist aufgerichtet. Kurt Ihlenfeld* (1901-1972).
This was the product of two 'Kirchentags', one at Cologne in 1965, the other at Hannover in 1967. It was first published in an experimental book, Werkbuch Gottesdienst. Texte – Modelle –Bericht (Wuppertal, 1967), and then in Liederheft. Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchentag (Hannover, 1967). It was included by Dieter Trautwein* in Der Frieden ist unter uns. Neue Geistliche Lieder vom Evangelischen Kirchentag (Regensburg, 1967). It has echoes...
CHERWIEN, David Mark. b. West Union, Iowa, 1 July 1957. Cherwien, organist, conductor and composer, studied at Augsburg College, Minneapolis, (BM 1979) and the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (MM 1995, DMA 2001). Additional studies in conducting, composition and organ were taken at the Berliner Kirchenmusikschule, Spandau, Germany. He has held positions as organist at the American Church (LCA) in Berlin; director of music at the First Lutheran Church of Richmond Beach (ELCA) Shoreline,...
Day of Arising. Susan Palo Cherwien* (1953– )
This hymn was commissioned for the 1996 annual assembly of the Minneapolis Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The opening line recalls Christ's encounter with those traveling on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24: 13–35) on the afternoon of Easter Day. Carl P. Daw, Jr.* comments:
Because our liturgical calendar has traditionally separated the reading of this story from the other Resurrection narratives, we usually do not hear about...
Dies sind die heilgen zehn Gebot. Martin Luther* (1483-1546).
Wackernagel, Das Deutsche Kirchenlied III.15, prints this in twelve stanzas, with the title 'Die zehen gebot Gottes, auff den thon, in gottes namen faren wir'. It was published in Eyn Enchiridion (Erfurt, 1524) and in Wittenberg in 1524 by Johann Walter* in Geystliche gesangk Buchlein, where it was the first hymn (Jenny, pp. 149-53). In 1533 it was number 11 in the Wittenberger Gemeindegesangbuch as 'Die Zehen gepot Gottes lange'...
Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ. Jakob Ebert* (1549-1614).
This hymn is found in EG in three stanzas in the 'Schöpfung, Frieden, Gerechtigkeit' section (EG 422). As the first line, 'Thou Prince of Peace, Lord Jesus Christ' suggests, it belongs in the 'Frieden' ('peace') part of this section. It is found in Wackernagel, Das Deutsche Kirchenlied III. 413, with the title 'Um Frieden zu bitten' ('To plead for peace'), one of only two hymns by Ebert in DDK. It was printed in Geistliche deutsche...
Ein neues Lied wir haben an. Martin Luther* (1483-1546).
This was Luther's first hymn, written in 1523. It was entitled 'Eyn new lied von den sween Merterern Christi, zu Brussel von den Sophisten zu Louen verbrant'. It had twelve stanzas (Wackernagel III. 3-4). It was first published in ten stanzas in Eyn Enchiridion (Erfurt, 1524); stanzas 9 and 10 were added in Geystliche gesangk Buchlein (Wittenberg, 1524). In stanza 2 the 'Merterern Christi' were named as Johannes [Esch] and Heinrich...
Eine Heerde und ein Hirt. Friedrich Adolf Krummacher* (1767-1845).
According to James Mearns* in JJ, p. 634, this is from the Third Edition of Das Christfest (1821). Das Christfest was the second Festbüchlein, the series of publications in which Krummacher interspersed narrative, reflections and hymns. It had six 6-line stanzas, each ending with the line 'Jesus hält, was Er verspricht' ('Jesus holds – or keeps – what he promised'). The 'Heerde' in line 1 is sometimes spelt 'Herde' ('flock')....
RYDEN, Ernest Edwin. b. Kansas City, Missouri, 12 September 1886; d. Providence, Rhode Island, 1 January 1981. Born into a Swedish family, Ryden attended the Manual Training School in Kansas City, worked for a newspaper published by the Kansas City Railway, and was a telegraph editor for a newspaper in Moline, Illinois. He attended Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois, in 1910 (BA, honorary DD, 1930; he was later President of the Board); and Augustana Theological Seminary, Rock Island (BD,...
The Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book (ELHB 1912) was the first, official English-language hymnal of the Missouri Synod branch of American Lutheranism. It was published at a time when the Missouri Synod was slowly, and reluctantly, making the transition from German to English in its worship forms and ecclesial culture. As such, ELHB 1912 assisted in a far-reaching transformation of this immigrant, Lutheran church body by bringing a large portion of its German hymnody into English, while at the...
BASH, Ewald Joseph (Joe). b. Portland, Indiana, 4 November 1924; d. Minneapolis, Minnesota, 17 July 1994. Bash graduated from Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio (1948), and served Lutheran parishes in New Lexington and Eagleport, Ohio (1948-53), and Cleveland, Ohio (1953-56). After being a campus pastor at Ohio State University (1956-60), he was appointed Associate Youth Director of the American Lutheran Church. Later he taught extension courses for Augsburg and other schools in the...
For all the faithful women. Herman G. Stuempfle* (1923–2007).
Several recent hymn writers have contributed hymns that acknowledge the role of women in the biblical narrative and their contribution to the history of Christianity. These include, among others, 'For ages women hoped and prayed' (1986) by Jane Parker Huber* (1926–2008), 'Woman, weeping in the garden' (1991) and 'God, we praise you for the women' (2006) by Daniel C. Damon* (b. 1955), 'Of women, and of women's hopes we sing' (1988) by...
CARTFORD, Gerhard M. b. Madagascar, 21 March, 1923; d. Minneapolis, Minnesota, 8 February 2016. He was the son of missionary parents. He studied at St Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota (BM, 1948), The School of Sacred Music, Union Theological Seminary, New York (MSM, 1950), Luther Northwestern Seminary (now Luther Seminary*) St Paul, Minnesota (1954-1955), St John's University, St Cloud, Minnesota (1955), and the University of Minnesota (PhD in musicology, 1961). As a Fulbright scholar, he...
SPAETH, Harriet Reynolds Krauth (Harriet Krauth). b. Baltimore, Maryland, 21 September 1845; d. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 5 May 1925. Spaeth was an author and translator of hymn texts and composer of hymn tunes, and a music editor. Her best known translations are 'As each happy Christmas' and verses 3 and 4 of 'Lo, how a rose e'er blooming' (see 'Es ist ein' Ros entsprungen'*). She was the daughter of Charles Porterfield Krauth (1823-1883) and Susan Reynolds Krauth (1821-1853). C. P. Krauth,...
He is arisen! Glorious word! Birgitte Katerine Boye*(1742-1824), translated by George Alfred Taylor Rygh* (1860-1942).
Boye's one-stanza hymn began 'Han er opstanden! Store Bud!' from Psalme-bog eller En Samling af gamle og nye Psalmer (Copenhagen, 1778), edited by Ove Høeg Guldberg. Rygh's translation was dated 1909 (Polack, 1942, 1958, p. 144). The single stanza was written in the metre of Philipp Nicolai*'s 'Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern'*, and sung to his tune.
The Companion to...
MUHLENBERG, Henry Melchior ('Melchior Heinrich Mühlenberg' was his given name which he reversed, and the anglicized versions of 'Henry' and 'Muhlenberg' with no umlaut on the 'u' are normally used today). b. Einbeck, (southern Lower Saxony), Germany, 6 September 1711; d. Trappe, Pennsylvania, 7 October 1787.
Known as 'the Patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America', Muhlenberg was the seventh child in a poor family of nine. His parents were Nicolaus Melchior Muhlenberg (1660/66-1723/29) and...
Heralds of Christ. Laura L. Copenhaver* (1868-1940).
Laura Copenhaver was scheduled to speak for a conference in Northfield, Massachusetts in the summer of 1894. For personal reasons she could not attend. She wrote the poem 'The King's Highway' and sent it to the conference asking, according to her daughter Eleanor Copenhaver Sherwood, that it be 'accepted in my place' (Reynolds, 1964, p. 66).
Robert Guy McCutchan*, Methodist hymnologist and pastor, cited the author's own account of...
STUEMPFLE, Herman G. Jr. b. Clarion, Pennsylvania, 2 April 1923; d. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 13 March 2007. Distinguished pastor, teacher and hymn writer, Stuempfle attended Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania (AB, 1945), Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg (BD, 1946), Union Theological Seminary, New York City, New York (STM, 1967), and Southern California School of Theology, Claremont, California DTh, 1971). He pastored congregations in Baltimore, Maryland; Gettysburg,...
Herr Christ, der einig Gotts Sohn. Elisabeth Cruciger (Creutziger)* (ca. 1500-1535).
This hymn is from Eyn Enchiridion oder Handbuchlein (Erfurt, 1524), and Johann Walter*'s Geystliche gesangk Buchleyn (Wittenberg, 1524), entitled 'Eyn Lobsangk von Christo'. In some later books it is 'Ein geistlich liedt von Christo, Elisabet Creutzigerin'. Wackernagel, Das Deutsche Kirchenlied III. pp. 46-7, gives four texts of this hymn. It had five 7-line stanzas, beginning:
Herr Christ, der einig Gotts...
Heut triumphieret Gottes Sohn. Kaspar Stolzhagen* (1550-1594).
This joyful Easter hymn, filled with double 'Halleluja's, comes from Stolzhagen's Kinderspiegel, oder Hauszucht und Tischbüchlein. Wie die Eltern mit den Kindern vor und nach Essens Abendes und Morgens singen und beten sollen (Eisleben, 1591), a hymnbook for children and adults to use daily. In JJ, p. 1648, James Mearns* thought the hymn 'may possibly be' by Stolzhagen, but he is given as the author in EG (109).
It was entitled...
Höga Majestät, vi alla. Samuel Johan Hedborn* (1783-1849).
Published in Psalmer av Hedborn (1812), this has been described by Marilyn Kay Stulken* as 'One of our loftiest hymns of praise' (1981, p. 322). Its use has been primarily by North American Lutherans, in translation. According to hymnary.org., it appeared in a few Swedish language books in the USA between 1890 (Lill Basunen Innehallande Andliga Sånger) and 1903 (Nya Psalmisten: sånger för allmän och enskild uppbyggelse). It was...
How lovely shines the morning star. Philipp Nicolai* (1556-1608), translated by Henry Harbaugh* (1817-1867).
This is a translation of Nicolai's great hymn, 'Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern'*, written at Unna during an outbreak of the plague in 1597, and subsequently imitated by others. The original German text was included in the Deutsches Gesangbuch: eine Auswahl geistlicher Lieder aus allen Zeitender Christlichen Kirche für öffentlichen und häuslichen Gebrauch , edited by Philip Schaff*...
OLSON, Howard. b. St Paul, Minnesota, 18 July 1922; d. Sun City Center, Florida, 1 July 2010. Howard Olson has a well-deserved reputation for his African hymns, such as 'Christ has arisen, Alleluia (Mfurahini, Haleluya)*, 'Neno lake Mungu' ('Listen, God Is Calling'), and 'Njoo kwetu, Roho mwema' ('Gracious Spirit, Heed Our Pleading'). They have have found their way into hymnals around the globe. Olson's Tumshangilie Mungu: Nyimbo za Kikristo za Kiafrika has gone through six successive...
I was there to hear your borning cry ('Borning Cry'). John Ylvisaker* (1937-2017).
Ylvisaker was the author of the text and composer of the music. The following narrative from the author's website described the circumstances surrounding the composition of this song:
During 1985, the ALC [American Lutheran Church] was doing a series on baptism called 'Reflections'. John began work on the song before any footage for the video had been shot. When the media team met to put the music with the video...
Ich gruße dich am Kreuzesstamm. Valentin Ernst Löscher* (1673-1749).
This was written in 1722, and published during Löscher's time as a Lutheran pastor in the High Church at Dresden, in an Appendix of 1728 to Das Privilegirte Ordentliche und Vermehrte Dreßnische Gesang-Buch (1722). It was headed 'Übung der Andacht, der Liebe, des Glaubens, der Hoffnung, und des Gehorsams unter dem Creutze Christi' ('The practice of devotion, love, belief, hope, and obedience at the foot of the Cross') . It...
In Adam we have all been one. Martin Franzmann* (1907-1976).
This hymn, based on Genesis 3 and 4, was written in 1961, and first published in 1963 by the Augsburg Publishing House as a supplement to their bulletin, with the tune ST FLAVIAN. It was then printed in another Lutheran context in A Selection of 13 Hymns… for use in public worship as a supplement to present hymnals (St Louis, 1967). It has appeared in subsequent Lutheran collections, including LBW and LSB. The Companion to LSB draws...
Ja, fürwahr! uns führt mit sanfter Hand. Friedrich Adolf Krummacher* (1767-1845).
According to James Mearns* in JJ, p. 634, this was first published in Krummacher's Festbüchlein, in the Third Edition, 1813, of the part entitled Der Sonntag (first published 1808). There were three Festbüchleinen: Der Sonntag (1808, 1810, 1813, 1819); Das Christfest (1810, 1814, 1821); and Das Neujahrsfest (1819). They consisted of conversations, historical observations, and stories: this hymn is sung by children...
BENDER, Jan Oskar. b. in Haarlem, Holland, 3 February 1909; d. Hanerau, Germany, 29 December 1994. Jan Bender was a distinguished church musician, organist, educator, and composer, for whom hymnody was very important. His mother, Margarette Schindler (1874-1951), was German. His Dutch father, Hermann Bender (1870-1908), a piano dealer, died the year in which Jan was born. In 1922 his mother moved back to her native town, Lübeck, Germany, where Jan studied organ, and began to compose at the...
RIEDEL, Johannes. b. Neustadt, Poland, 16 May 1913; d. Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, 20 August 1996. A distinguished musicologist with a strong sense of the inter-connectedness of things across a broad historic, ethnic, and stylistic range, Riedel's interests included the sociology of music; the history of music; music in the present; both 'classical' and 'popular' music; and church music in its choral and congregational forms. He joined theory and practice in a curiosity and concern about music...
KUNZE, John Christopher. b. Artern, Saxony, Germany, 5 August 1744; d. New York City, 24 July 1807. A prominent, innovative educator and Lutheran clergyman of Pietist persuasion, Kunze was orphaned in 1758. He attended the orphanage school in Halle, and received a classical education at the gymnasia in Rossleben and Merseburg. He went on to study history, philosophy, and theology at the University of Leipzig, following which he worked as a teacher for three years at Closter-Bergen, near...
DAHLE, John. b. in the interior valley county of Valdres, Norway, 3 January 1853; d. St Paul, Minnesota, 16 July 1931. His father was the klokker (precentor or lead singer) in his local church, and singing teacher in the parish school. Dahle graduated from Hamar Normal School (1870), learned to play the violin and organ, and went to Oslo to study language, drama, and singing. In 1876 he married Johanna Sørlie. They came to the United States where he taught singing and Norwegian at St Olaf...
YLVISAKER, John Carl. b. Fargo, North Dakota, 11 September 1937; d. Waverly, Iowa, 9 March 2017. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) composer of over 1,000 songs and hymns, church musician, and a performer, he was influenced by the music of the Civil Rights Movement in the USA, including the songs of Pete Seeger (1919-2014). The content of many of the texts and the folk musical style of his songs led Gracia Grindal* to call him the 'Bob Dylan of Lutheranism' (Ortárola, Star...
HERL, Joseph. b. Lockport, New York; 27 May 1959. Herl earned a BA in music from Concordia College (Bronxville, New York, 1981), where he was honored with prizes in music and classics. He subsequently received a Master's degree in organ performance from North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas, 1985), and a PhD in musicology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2000). At the University of Illinois, Herl assisted his advisor, Nicholas Temperley*, in...
TRANOVSKÝ, Juraj (Tranoscius). b. Teschen, Silesia (Cieszyn, Poland), 9 April 1592; d. Liptovský Svätý Mikuláš, Hungary, 29 May 1637. He studied at the Gymnasium (Grammar School) at Guben from 1603-05 and at Kolberg, and later at Wittenberg (1607-12), returning to Prague, where he taught in the St Nicholas Gymnasium, later becoming rector of a school in Holešov, Moravia. He was ordained in 1616, and became pastor of Meziřiči. In 1623 he was imprisoned during the persecution of Protestants...
FALCKNER, Justus. b. Langenreinsdorf, near Zwickau, Saxony, 22 Nov 1672; d. probably in America, ca. 1723. The son of a Lutheran pastor, he studied at Halle under August Hermann Francke (I)*. The intense and demanding Pietism of Halle made him feel inadequate to be a minister, and he became a lawyer in Rotterdam; but he responded to a call from a Swedish pastor, Andrew Rudmann, for help for the Lutherans in America, where he agreed to be ordained (1703). He ministered to a Dutch congregation...
IHLENFELD, Kurt. b. Colmar, Alsace, 26 May 1901; d. Berlin, 25 August 1972. His family moved to Silesia at the outbreak of World War I in 1914, and he was at school at the Gymnasium at Bromberg (now Bydgoszcz, Poland). He then studied theology and art history at Halle and Greifswald. In 1923 he was awarded the Dr.phil. degree for a thesis on the medieval gravestones of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. He became a pastor in various parts of Silesia. During his time as pastor in Breslau (Wroclaw),...
MILLER, Lester David Jr. b. Lenoir, North Carolina, 15 April 1919; d. Columbia, South Carolina, 21 May 2003. David Miller was a minister, musician, and teacher. His father, for whom he was named, was a Lutheran pastor. He earned degrees from Lenoir-Rhyne College (now University) (AB, 1939) and Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (BD, 1942). While a student, he served as minister of music at St Paul's Lutheran Church, Columbia, South Carolina. Following graduation and ordination, he held a...
History
The territory of present-day Latvia, a country of approximately 25,400 square miles, situated on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, has been inhabited since 9,000 BCE and by Baltic tribes since 2,000 BCE. These tribes settled various regions that have come to be known by their tribal names – Kurzeme (Courland), Zemgale (Semigallia), Latgale (Letgallia) and Vidzeme (Livland). These regions differed linguistically, with all but the Livs, who were Finno-Ugric speakers like their...
Copenhaver, Laura Lu (née Scherer). b. Columbus, Texas, 29 August 1868; d. Rosemont, Marion, Virginia, 18 December 1940. She was the daughter of native Virginian, Lutheran minister and denominational leader Jacob Scherer (1830-1919) who founded Marion Female College in 1873 two years after his return to Virginia from Texas. At the early age of ten, Laura began teaching Sunday School classes and writing plays that were produced at the College. After graduating from Marion Female College in 1884...
REED, Luther Dotterer. b. North Wales, Pennsylvania, 21 March 1873; d. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 3 April 1972. Reed's distinguished career included a wide spectrum of activity in liturgics, church art and architecture, church music, and hymnody. He attended Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania (AB, 1882, MA, 1897), the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia ['Mt. Airy'] (BD, 1895), with further study in Germany, Scandinavia and Great Britain (1902-1903). He was...
Luther Seminary in St Paul, Minnesota began with a cluster of Norwegian schools which became part of the American Lutheran Church (ALC): Augsburg Seminary, Augustana Seminary, Luther Seminary, Red Wing Seminary, and the United Church Seminary. The earliest of these was founded in 1869. In 1917 Luther Seminary was created from the former Luther Seminary, Red Wing Seminary, and the United Church Seminary. Augsburg Seminary joined it in 1963. In 1967 Northwestern Seminary moved next to Luther...
Lutheran Book of Worship (LBW). LBW was published by Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis in 1978. It is the service book and hymnal edition of the larger project with the same title developed by the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship. The hymnal was published in pew and accompaniment editions. Eugene L. Brand (1931- ) served as project director and Leonard R. Flachman (1936-2013) as managing editor. The compilers describe their task as working 'for an equitable balance among hymns of the...
Immigration and Organization
Danish Lutherans came to Hudson Bay in 1619 with Rasmus Jensen (d. 1620) and probably Den danske Psalmebog (Copenhagen, 1569) of Hans Thomissøn (1532-73) (see Danish hymnody*). Within a year they died or returned home. Lutherans from the Netherlands came to New York City in 1623. In 1657 when Johannes Gutwasser (fl. 1650s) led services, he was arrested by the Reformed authorities and in 1659 sent home. Swedish Lutherans came in 1638 to the Delaware River with...
The Society was formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1958, the result of discussions and recommendations from a meeting in Des Moines, Iowa the previous year attended by distinguished musicians, including Walter E. Buszin*, Daniel T. Moe (1926–2012), and Gerhard Cartford*. That group visioned an organization of a national, inter-synodical body of Lutherans interested in the promotion of Christian worship, music, ecclesiastical architecture, art, and literature within the Lutheran church. The...
SEDIO, Mark. b. Minneapolis, Minnesota, 16 November 1954. He studied music at Augsburg College, Minneapolis (BA 1976), the University of Iowa (MA 1979), in the MDiv program at Luther Seminary, St Paul, MN (1982-1986), and in the liturgical studies program at St John's University, St Joseph, MN (2003). At Luther Seminary he directed the choir for six years and played the organ for chapel services for twenty-five years. He taught music history and world music, conducted the Chapel Choir at...
Mensch, wiltu leben seliglich. Martin Luther* (1483-1546).
This hymn is a short hymn on the Ten Commandments ('Die zehen gebot auffs kürßte', Wackernagel, Das Deutsche Kirchenlied, III. 17). It was first printed in Johann Walter*'s Geystliche gesangk Buchlein (Wittenberg, 1524). Jenny (p. 329) notes it as 'Die Zehen gepot kurtz' at number 12 in Das Wittenberger Gemeindegesangbuch (1533). It had five stanzas, with 'Kyrioleis' after each stanza. In the title 'kürßte' was used to distinguish it...
SCHIRMER, Michael. b. Leipzig, 1606 (baptised 18 July); d. Berlin, 4 May 1673. He was educated at the Thomasschule at Leipzig, and studied theology at the University there. He was a youthful prodigy, who began his undergraduate study at the age of 13. He became Rektor at Freiberg (Saxony) in 1630, combining it with the post of pastor at Striegnitz. He was crowned as a 'King's Poet' in 1637.
In 1636 he was appointed Sub-Rektor at the Gymnasium at the Greyfriars Cloister in Berlin, where he...
Monarche aller Ding. Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen* (1670-1739).
First published in Freylinghausen's Neues Geist-reiches Gesang-Buch (Halle, 1714). It had eleven 6-line stanzas. It was described by James Mearns* in JJ as 'a fine hymn of Praise, on the majesty and love of God' (p. 396). Its stanzas began as follows (with John Wesley*'s translation in parenthesis. He omitted stanzas 3, 4, and 8):
Monarche aller Ding ('Monarch of all, with lowly fear')
Du bist die Majestät ('Before thy Face,...
NETO, Rodolfo Gaede. b. Ituêta, Minas Gerais, Brazil; 26 July 1951. Neto, a pastor in the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil (IECLB), is a composer and hymnwriter. The son of Herman Carlos Ludwig Gaede and Hilda Dummer Gaede, Gaede Neto pursued the Bachelor of Theology, master's, and doctoral degrees from the Escola Superior de Teologia in São Leopoldo, Rio Grande do Sul state.
From 1979 to 1985, Neto served congregations in the Parishes of Alto Jatibocas (Itarana,...
DECIUS, Nikolaus. b. Upper Franconia, Bavaria, ca. 1490?; d. Stettin, 21 March 1541. He was also known as Nikolaus a Curia, Nikolaus von Hofe, and Nikolaus Hovesch. He became 'Probst' ('Provost') of a monastery at Steterburg, near Wolfenbüttel in 1519. Convinced by the Reformers, he left the monastery in 1522, and became a schoolmaster at Braunschweig. He matriculated at the University of Wittenberg in 1523, and became a Lutheran preacher at Stettin in 1526, before being appointed preacher at...
Nun jauchzet, all ihr Frommen. Michael Schirmer* (1606-1673).
Published by Johann Crüger*, Schirmer's colleague at the Greyfriars Cloister and Gymnasium, Berlin, in his Newes vollkömliches Gesangbuch/ Augspurgischer Confession (Berlin, 1640). It was in the Advent section, where it was entitled 'Ein ander schön Adventliedlein. M. Michael Schirmers'. The 'ander' refers to 'Macht hoch die Tür, die Tor macht weit'*, with which it is presumably to be compared and contrasted.
It is found in the...
O blessed spring. Susan Palo Cherwien* (1953– )
'O blessed spring' was written in 1993 and first appeared as a choral anthem (1994) in a setting by Robert Buckley Farlee*, followed by a second choral setting entitled Life Tree by the author's husband David Cherwien* (Herl et al., 2019, p. 595). The first appearance in a hymnal was in the Canadian VU (1996) and then in the author's collection O Blessed Spring: Hymns of Susan Palo Cherwien (Minneapolis, 1997). Since these publications, the hymn...
O Bread of Life from heaven. Latin, 17th century or earlier, translated by Philip Schaff* (1819-1893).
This was published in Schaff's Christ in Song (New York, 1869), with an exclamation mark in the title and the Latin inscribed below ('O esca viatorum, O panis angelorum, O manna coelitum'). Schaff noted that this came from a Latin hymn, 'De Sanctissimo Sacramento', found in Daniel*, Thesaurus Hymnologicus II. 369. Like the original, it had three stanzas:
O Bread of Life from heaven To saints...
O Heilger Geist, kehr bei uns ein. Michael Schirmer* (1606-1673).
Published by Johann Crüger*, Schirmer's colleague at the Greyfriars Cloister and Gymnasium at Berlin, in Newes vollkömliches Gesangbuch/ Augspurgischer Confession (Berlin, 1640). It was in the Whitsun-tide section, where it was entitled 'Ein ander PfingstLiedlein M. Mich. Schirmers' ('another short Whitsun-tide hymn by Michael Schirmer'). It is found in EG in seven 7-line stanzas, with line 4 as an effective pause with (in most...
O Son of God, in Galilee. Anna Hoppe* (1889-1941).
This hymn is often printed with the first line as 'O thou who once in Galilee'. It was published in The Northwestern Lutheran (Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1928), with the title 'Jesus, the Great Physician'. It also appeared in Hoppe's Songs for the Church Year (Rock Island, Illinois, 1928), and in an altered version in the American Lutheran Hymnal (Columbus, Ohio, 1930), headed 'For the Deaf Mute' (Companion to LSB, 2019, Volume 1, pp. 1287-89,...
SPANNAUS, Olive Adelaide (née Wise). b. St Louis, Missouri, 23 January 1916; d. Seattle, Washington, 10 May 2018. Olive Wise was educated at Normandy High School, Brown's Business College and Washington University in St Louis. In 1939 she married the Revd Ruben Edward Spannaus (1913-2006), and lived in Seattle, Washington (1942-57), and Elmhurst, Illinois (1957-78), before retiring with her husband to Seattle. She was included in a documentation of 'key feminists who ignited the second wave...
SMEBY, Oluf Hanson. b. Rock County, Wisconsin, 31 January 1851; d. 6 July 1929. Educated at Luther College (AB, 1871) and Concordia Seminary, St Louis, Missouri, Smeby was pastor at Albert Lea, Minnesota, for almost half a century. An eminent Lutheran, he was chairman of the English Committee for The Lutheran Hymnary (1913), used by the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Synod, the Hauge Evangelical Lutheran Synod, and the United Norwegian Lutheran Church of America. His translations from Norwegian...
CAMPOS DE OLIVEIRA Jr, Oziel. b. Recife, Pernanbuco, Northeast Brazil, 26 July 1946. He studied theology at the Escola Superior de Teologia in São Leopoldo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and later at Luther Theological Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA. Oziel has served as pastor of the Evangelical Church of Lutheran Confession in Brazil (IECLB, Igreja Evangélica de Confissão Luterano no Brasil) since 1973. Despite not having any formal training in music, Oziel has always maintained an...
WESTERMEYER, Paul Henry. b. Cincinnati, Ohio, 28 March 1940. Westermeyer is a well-respected and articulate church musician, theologian, author, and educator. Born of the marriage of Paul Henry and Ruth Caroline (née Hackstedt), Westermeyer's earliest musical memories are of singing with the congregation at his home church, Salem Evangelical and Reformed Church in Cincinnati. He sang with his father in the church choir, studied piano with his mother, and methodically worked through the hymnal...
MORTENSEN, Ralph. b. Mankato, Minnesota, 29 January 1894; d. Southington, Connecticut, September 1986. Mortensen attended Augsburg College and Seminary, Minneapolis, Minnesota (BA 1913), the University of Oslo, Norway, and Hartford Seminary, Hartford Connecticut, (STM 1918, PhD 1927). He was a Lutheran (American Synod) missionary in China and Hong Kong (1918-58), and the organizing chairperson of the Hymnbook and Tunebook Revision Committee that produced Hymns of Praise [頌主聖詩 (Hong Kong?,...
Refreshed by gentle slumbers. JJohann Kaspar Lavater* (1741-1801), translated by Henrietta Joan Fry* (1799-1860).
We have not been able to discover the publication details of this hymn (the Editors would welcome any information). Although Henrietta Fry translated many hymns by Lavater, this one was not found in The Pastor's Legacy; or Devotional Fragments from the German of Lavater (Bristol and London, 1842: thanks to Lucy Saint-Smith, Society of Friends Library, London, for this...
HILLERT, Richard Walter. b. Grafton, Wisconsin, 14 March 1923; d. Melrose Park, Illinois, 23 February 2010. Distinguished composer, editor, and teacher, Hillert attended Concordia Teachers' College, River Forest, Illinois [now Concordia University Chicago] (BSEd, 1951), Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois (MM, 1955, DMus 1968, in composition), with additional study at the Tanglewood Music Center, Lenox, Massachusetts. He taught and directed music in Lutheran congregations and schools in...
LEACH, Richard. b. Bangor, Maine, 7 August 1953. Richard Leach graduated from Bowdoin College (BA, Religion, 1974) in Brunswick, Maine, and Princeton Theological Seminary (MDiv, 1978). Leach was a pastor for United Church of Christ congregations from 1978-1999 and is now a layperson in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. He has worked in various capacities: as a business manager for a software company, as a poet, and as a visual artist specializing in paper collage. He currently resides...
PÂQUIER, Richard. b. Bursins (Switzerland), 25 October 1905; d. Vevey, 28 January 1985. The son of Ernest Henri, farmer, and Cécile Justine Masson, he became a Swiss Reformed pastor, ecumenical theologian, liturgist, and historian of the Vaud canton. A fellow student and friend of the philosopher Marcel Regamey (1905-82), he studied theology in Lausanne (1923-27) and at Hartford Seminary, Hartford, Connecticut (1929) . He was pastor in Bercher (1929-1943) and Saint-Saphorin (1943-1966). He...
Farlee, Robert Buckley. b. Santa Monica, California; 23 February 1950. Robert Farlee is the second of four children born to Lee (1917–1999) and Irene (née Berglund) (1921–2016) Farlee. He was raised in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod tradition at First Lutheran Church of Culver City and Palms (Los Angeles). His early education took place in Missouri Synod elementary and secondary schools. He graduated from Concordia Teachers' College (now Concordia University, Nebraska) in secondary music...
MANN, Robin. b. Murray Bridge, near Adelaide, South Australia, 26 July 1949. He was the son of sixth-generation German Lutheran parents. He was educated at Immanuel College, where he took piano lessons, and the University of Adelaide, where he completed a BA and Dip Ed. He underwent some musical and theological training at Luther Seminary, Adelaide. Three years of high-school teaching followed, before he took up work as a parish lay worker for St Stephen's Lutheran Church, Adelaide (1976-95)....
Speak, O Lord, Thy servant heareth. Anna Sophia*, Countess of Hesse-Darmstadt (1638-1683), translated by George Alfred Taylor Rygh* (1860-1942).
The German original began 'Rede, liebster Jesu, rede'. It was printed in the Countess's Der treue Seelen-Freund Christus Jesus (Jena, 1658). The full text is available in Polack (1942, Revised 1958, p. 213). Rygh translated four stanzas of the German five, dated 1909, printed in the Lutheran Hymnary (Minneapolis, 1913) of the Norwegian Churches in...
STARKE, Stephen Paul. b. Bay City, Michigan, 25 October 1955. Starke earned an AA at Concordia College in Ann Arbor, Michigan (1975) and a BA in secondary education (with an art major and a music minor) at Concordia Teachers' College in River Forest, Illinois (1977). Upon graduation he spent a successful year teaching art at Luther High School North in Mount Clemens, Michigan. Pastoral ministry was beckoning, however, and he decided to enter seminary as soon as it was financially feasible. To...
The happy Christmas comes once more. Nicolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig*, translated by Charles Porterfield Krauth* (1823-1883).
This Christmas hymn,'Det kimer nu til Julefest', is from Grundtvig's Nyeste Skilderie af Kjøbenhagen (1817). It was translated by Krauth for the Lutheran Church Book (Philadelphia, 1867), and almost immediately included in Christ in Song, edited by his fellow Lutheran Philip Schaff* (New York, 1869). It has become Krauth's best known work in hymnals.
It had nine...
LEUPOLD, Ulrich Siegfried. b. Berlin, Germany, 15 January 1909; d. Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 9 June 1970. He undertook musicological studies at Friedrich Wilhelm University, Berlin (1927–31), under such leading musicologists as Johannes Wolf, Arnold Schering, Curt Sachs, and Hans Joachim Moser; theological studies at the University of Zürich under Reinhold Seeberg, and in Berlin with Leonhardt Fendt, Emil Brunner, and Hans Asmussen, among others. His PhD thesis, Die liturgischen Gesänge der...
LÖSCHER, Valentin Ernst. b. Sonderhausen, Thuringia, 29 December 1673; d. Dresden, 12 February 1749. He was educated at schools in Zwickau and Wittenberg, where his father had become General Superintendent and Professor of Theology at the University. He studied History at Wittenberg University, graduating in 1692, after which he taught for a year in the Philosophy Department. In 1694 he moved to the University of Jena, followed by a year of travel, returning to Wittenberg in 1698 at the...
BUSZIN, Walter Edwin. b. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 4 December 1899; d. Omaha, Nebraska, 2 July 1973. Walter Buszin was born to Paul Theodore Buszin (1873-1944), a Lutheran school teacher and musician, and Lydia Buszin (née Lang, 1876-1953). He was baptized at St Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His paternal grandfather, Theodor Ludwig Buszin (1834 or 1830-1892), was born into a Jewish family in Germany. His name may have been Ludwig Levin, though that is not certain. He...
Was mein Gott will, gescheh allzeit. Albrecht*, Count (Markgraf) of Brandenburg-Ansbach, Duke of Prussia (1490-1568). ('Whatever God wills, let that happen always').
It is found in EG in the 'Angst und Vertrauen' section (EG 364). It was written in 1547 after the death of his first wife, Princess Dorothea of Denmark. It is found in Wackernagel, Das Deutsche Kirchenlied III. 1070-1, unattributed: Wackernagel prints two texts, one from Fünff Schöne Geistliche Lieder (Dresden, 1556), the other...
Why should cross and trial grieve me. Paul Gerhardt* (1607-1676), translated by John Kelly* (1834-1890).
This is a translation of part of Gerhardt's 'Warum sollt ich mich denn grämen'*, first published in Johann Crüger* and Christoph Runge*'s D.M. Luthers und andere vornehmen geistrichen und gelehrten Männer geistlicher Lieder und Psalmen (Berlin, 1653) ('the Crüger-Runge Gesangbuch'); it was then published in the 1656 edition of Crüger's Praxis Pietatis Melica. Kelly's translation was made...
Wir glauben all' an einen Gott. Tobias Clausnitzer* (1619-1684).
According to James Mearns*, this hymn for Trinity Sunday first appeared in a Gesang-Buch published at Culmbach-Bayreuth in 1668, where it had the initials 'C.A.D.' (JJ, p. 238). It appeared with Clausnitzer's name in a Nürnberg Gesang-Buch (1676) in three stanzas, corresponding to the three persons of the Holy Trinity:
Wir glauben all' an einen Gott, We all believe in One true God, Vater, Sohn, heiligen...