The 1975 edition of ''Gotteslob'' (''God's Praise'') was the first combined

prayerbook A prayer book is a book containing prayers and perhaps devotional readings, for private or communal use, or in some cases, outlining the liturgy of religious services. Books containing mainly orders of religious services, or readings for them are ...

and

hymnbook A hymnal or hymnary is a collection of hymns, usually in the form of a book, called a hymnbook (or hymn book). They are used in congregational singing. A hymnal may contain only hymn texts (normal for most hymnals for most centuries of Christi ...

authorised by the bishops of all German-speaking

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

s in Germany and Austria. It contains texts and songs for liturgy, communal prayer and private prayer, divided into a section which is common for all, and an appendix for the local songs in a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

. Forerunners for a common hymnal were the hymnal ''

Cantate! ''Cantate!'' (Sing!) is a German Catholic hymnal first published in 1847, and continued in seven editions until 1879. It was a collection of 444 old and new songs, edited by the educator and hymnwriter Heinrich Bone, and the first Catholic hymnal ...

'', published by

Heinrich Bone Heinrich Bone (25 September 181310 June 1893) was a German educator and hymnwriter. He wrote a reader for German studies which was used for higher education in Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and Austria, until it was banned during the Kulturkampf. ...

in 1847 and used by multiple diocese of German-speaking countries, and '' Kirchenlied'', a 1938 hymnal that included songs by Protestant hymnwriters.

Maria Luise Thurmair Maria Luise Thurmair née Mumelter (27 September 1912 – 24 October 2005) was a German Catholic theologian, hymnodist and writer. She contributed the lyrics of many hymns when the Catholic hymnal ''Gotteslob'' was first published in 1975. Care ...

was a member of the commission preparing the edition, and also contributed several songs to the book. Her "

Den Herren will ich loben "" (I want to praise the Lord) is a Christian hymn by Maria Luise Thurmair, based on the Magnificat and set to a 1613 melody by Melchior Teschner, which was used for "". The hymn in three stanzas of eight lines was first written in 1954, and re ...

", based on the

Magnificat The Magnificat (Latin for "y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary or Canticle of Mary, and in the Byzantine Rite as the Ode of the Theotokos (). Its Western name derives from the incipit of its Latin text. This ...

and many other liturgical hymns appeared there first.

Friedrich Dörr Friedrich Dörr (7 March 190813 May 1993) was a German Catholic priest and professor of theology, who is known as a hymnwriter. He shaped the first common German Catholic hymnal, ''Gotteslob (1975), Gotteslob'', published in 1975. Life Friedri ...

was a member of the commission who contributed mostly his translations of Latin hymns, such as "

Komm, Heilger Geist, der Leben schafft "" (Come, Creator Spirit, visit us) is a Christian hymn in German for Pentecost. The text is a paraphrase of the Latin hymn by Friedrich Dörr, with a 1524 melody. It was first published in the Catholic German hymnal ''Gotteslob'' in 1975. Hist ...

", for

Veni Creator Spiritus ''Veni Creator Spiritus'' (Latin: Come, Creator Spirit) is a traditional Christian hymn believed to have been written by Rabanus Maurus, a ninth-century German monk, teacher, archbishop, and saint. When the original Latin text is used, it is norma ...

. He wrote the Advent song "

Kündet allen in der Not "" (Tell all in need) is a Christian hymn with German text by Friedrich Dörr written in 1971 to a 1662 melody by Johann Rudolf Ahle. The song is part of the German Catholic Church, Catholic hymnal ''Gotteslob''. History Friedrich Dörr wrote th ...

" based on

Isaiah 35 Isaiah 35 is the thirty-fifth chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Isaiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. This chap ...

. From the

First Sunday of Advent Advent Sunday, also called the First Sunday of Advent or First Advent Sunday, is the first day of the liturgical year in the Western Christian Churches and the start of the Christian season of Advent; a time of preparation for the celebration of ...

in 2013 until July 2014 it was gradually phased out and replaced by the present ''

Gotteslob ''Gotteslob'' ("Praise of God") is the title of the hymnbook authorized by the Catholic dioceses in Germany, Austria, South Tyrol, Luxembourg and Liège, Belgium. First published in Advent 2013, it is the current official hymnal for German-speak ...

''.

Bibliography

* Hermann Kurzke: Das Einheitsgesangbuch Gotteslob (1975–2008) und seine Vorgeschichte. In: Dominik Fugger/Andreas Scheidgen (Hgg.): Geschichte des katholischen Gesangbuchs, Tübingen 2008, S. 51–64; . * Hermann Kurzke, Andrea Neuhaus (ed.): Gotteslob-Revision. Probleme, Prozesse und Perspektiven einer Gesangbuchreform, Tübingen 2003. * Kunibertas Dobrovolskis (ed.), Gitarrenspiel zum Gotteslob, Freiburg, (12) 2003, (Stammteil des Gotteslobs mit Gitarren-Akkorden)

External links

* {{authority control Catholic hymnals Catholicism in Germany 1975 books

See also

Bibliography

External links