Wär_Gott_nicht_mit_uns_diese_Zeit

Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit

Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit

1524 hymn by Martin Luther

"Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit" (German: [vɛːɐ̯ ˈɡɔt nɪçt ˈmɪt ʔʊns ˈdiːzə ˈtsaɪt]; "Were God not with us at this time") is a Lutheran hymn, with words written by Martin Luther based on the Psalm 124. The hymn in three stanzas of seven lines each was first published in 1524. It was translated to English and has appeared in 20 hymnals. The hymn formed the base of several compositions, including chorale cantatas by Buxtehude and Bach.

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History

Luther wrote "Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit" as a paraphrase of Psalm 124 in three stanzas of seven lines each.[1][2] It was first printed in 1524 in Johann Walter's Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn. It was translated to English and has appeared in 20 hymnals.[3]

Lyrics

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Melodies and settings

When the hymn was first published in 1524 in the Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn, it was associated with a hymn tune in Doric mode, Zahn No. 4434, which was also used for "Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält", a paraphrase of the same psalm by Justus Jonas in eight stanzas.[5][6][7] Luther had a tendency to retain traditional texts and melodies.[8][relevant?] In 1537, the hymn was printed again with a different tune by Walter, Zahn No. 4435.[7] The second melody has been regarded as an improvement and became the standard in further publications.[4][failed verification]

Dieterich Buxtehude set the hymn as a chorale cantata, BuxWV 102, for choir, two violins and continuo.[9] Johann Sebastian Bach composed a chorale cantata, Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit, BWV 14, in 1725 for the fourth Sunday after Epiphany.[10] In this cantata he uses the Zahn 4434 tune.[11] For "Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit", BWV 257, one of his four-part chorales, he used the Zahn 4441a melody, one of the hymn tunes composed for "Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält".[11][12]

In the Protestant hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch, EG 297 combines under the title "Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält" stanzas from both paraphrases of Psalm 124, taking stanzas 1, 2, 5 and 6 from Jonas (5 from 6, 6 from 8 in the original hymn), and Luther's second and third stanza as stanzas 3 and 4."[5][13]

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Luther 2017.
  2. [2]
    Browne 2006.
  3. [3]
    Hymnary 2017.
  4. [4]
    Neuendorf 2014.
  5. [5]
    Bräuer 2003, p. 80–83.
  6. [6]
    Browne 2007.
  7. [7]
    Zahn 1890.
  8. [8]
    Werthemann 2009.
  9. [9]
    Carus 2017.
  10. [10]
    Braatz & Oron 2009.
  11. [11]
    Dürr & Kobayashi 1998.
  12. [12]
    Bach Digital.
  13. [13]
    Dreisbach 2017.

Sources

  • Bach Digital. "Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit BWV 257; BC F 212.1".
  • Braatz, Thomas; Oron, Aryeh (2009). "Chorale Melodies used in Bach's Vocal Works / Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält". Bach-Cantatas. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  • Browne, Francis (2006). "Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit / Text and Translation of Chorale". Bach-Cantatas. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  • Browne, Francis (2007). "Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält / Text and Translation of Chorale". Bach-Cantatas. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  • Bräuer, Siegfried (2003). "297 Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält". In Hahn, Gerhard; Henkys, Jürgen (eds.). Liederkunde zum Evangelischen Gesangbuch (in German). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. pp. 80–83. ISBN 9783525503300.
  • Dreisbach, Günther (2017). "Lieder Martin Luthers" (in German). Günther Dreisbach. Archived from the original on 13 January 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  • Dürr, Alfred; Kobayashi, Yoshitake, eds. (1998). Bach Werke Verzeichnis: Kleine Ausgabe – Nach der von Wolfgang Schmieder vorgelegten 2. Ausgabe [Bach Works Catalogue: Small Edition – After Wolfgang Schmieder's 2nd edition] (in German). Kirsten Beißwenger (collaborator). (BWV2a ed.). Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Härtel. pp. 480–481. ISBN 9783765102493. Preface in English and German.
  • Werthemann, Helene (2009). "Bachkantaten in der Predigerkirche". bachkantaten.ch. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  • "Dieterich Buxtehude / Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit". Carus-Verlag. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  • "Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit". hymnary.org. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  • "25. Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit" (PDF). Luther-Gesellschaft. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  • Neuendorf, Christopher J. (2014). "Were God Not with Us at This Time". The Free Lutheran Chorale-Book. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  • Zahn, Johannes (1890). Die Melodien der deutschen evangelischen Kirchenlieder. Vol. III. Gütersloh: Bertelsmann. pp. 72–73.
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