From heaven above to earth I come

From heaven above to earth I come. Martin Luther* (1483-1546), translated by Catherine Winkworth* (1827-1878). Luther’s ‘cradle hymn’, as it is sometimes called, began ‘Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her’*. It was almost certainly written for his children, to be sung at a Christmas-Eve entertainment, sometime before 1535. It was based on a secular song, ‘Ich komm aus fremden Landen her’, and has a folk-song-like simplicity. It was published in Geistliche Lieder (Wittenberg, 1535), with the title ‘Ein kinder lied auff die Weinacht Christi’ (Herl et al., 2019, Volume 1. p. 74). The ‘Weinacht’ here suggests that it may have been intended for Christmas Eve - ‘A children’s song for Christmas...