Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern

Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern. Philipp Nicolai* (1556-1608). First published in an appendix to Nicolai’s Der Frewden-Spiegel dess ewigen Lebens (‘the joyful mirror of eternal life’, Frankfurt-am-Main, 1599). It had seven 10-line stanzas. It was entitled ‘Ein Geistlich Bräut-Lied der gläubigen Seelen, von Jesu Christo irem himlischen Bräutgam. Gestellet uber den 45. Psalm dess Propheten Davids’ (‘a spiritual bridal-song of the believing soul concerning Jesus Christ, her heavenly Bridegroom, founded on the 45th Psalm of the prophet David’). Like ‘Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme’*, it was written in 1597 during the plague at Unna, on a day when Nicolai was deeply troubled: He rose in...