Vater unser im Himmelreich

Vater unser im Himmelreich. Martin Luther* (1483-1546). First published as a broadsheet, and then in the edition of Luther’s hymns by Valentin Schumann, Geistliche Lieder (Leipzig, 1539). It had nine 6-line stanzas, and was entitled ‘Das Vater unser Kurtz Ausgelegt und jnn Gesangweise gebracht’ (‘The Lord’s Prayer briefly laid out and brought into song form’). It appears in full in EG in the Rechtfertigung und Zuversicht (‘Justification and Confidence’) section (EG 344). The first line of each verse is a phrase from the Lord’s Prayer which is then expounded with fine economy and directness in the following lines. In Schumann’s edition it appeared with a tune from a Bohemian Brethren hymn...