Weil Gott in tiefster Nacht erschienen

Weil Gott in tiefster Nacht erschienen. Dieter Trautwein* (1928-2002). Words and music of this modern Christmas hymn were written by Trautwein in 1963 for an ecumenical service in the Katharinenkirche at Frankfurt-am-Main, in which the Evangelical Church joined with the Greek Orthodox congregation. It was published in Gott schenckt Freiheit (Frankfurt/Main, 1964) and again in Trautwein’s Neue Lieder aus drei Jahrzehnten (Munich, 1992). It is found in EG in the ‘Weihnachten’ (Christmas) section. It concentrates on the perception of the shepherds, watching over their sheep in the darkness (Luke 2: 8); it is characteristic of Trautwein’s style, as described by Erik Routley* as involving, among...