Wolfgang Dachstein (1487–1553) was a German

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...

, composer, and

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's incom ...

. He was born in

Offenburg Offenburg ("open borough" - coat of arms showing open gates; Low Alemmanic: ''Offäburg'') is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With nearly 60,000 inhabitants (2019), it is the largest city and the administrative capital ...

. From 1503 Dachstein studied

Music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

and

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

with

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

. He entered the

Dominican convent The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of ...

in Strasbourg and in 1521 became the

St Thomas' Church, Strasbourg St Thomas' Church (french: Église Saint-Thomas, german: Thomaskirche) is a historical building in Strasbourg, eastern France. It is the main Lutheran church of the city since its cathedral became Catholic again after the annexation of th ...

. In early 1523 he left the

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...

and sided with the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

. He married in 1524. In 1541 Dachstein became the

Strasbourg Cathedral Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, or ''Cathédrale de Strasbourg'', german: Liebfrauenmünster zu Straßburg or ''Straßburger Münster''), also known as Strasbourg ...

and at the same time the music teacher at the Gymnasium there. He obeyed the

Augsburg Interim The Augsburg Interim (full formal title: ''Declaration of His Roman Imperial Majesty on the Observance of Religion Within the Holy Empire Until the Decision of the General Council'') was an imperial decree ordered on 15 May 1548 at the 1548 Diet ...

and stayed in his post throughout. He was the first notable

of the

. Dachstein used his poetical and musical ability in the service of the

. He was involved in the formulation of the

Agenda Agenda may refer to: Information management * Agenda (meeting), points to be discussed and acted upon, displayed as a list * Political agenda, the set of goals of an ideological group * Lotus Agenda, a DOS-based personal information manager * Pers ...

and provided German

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

, such as the melodies for the "Teutschen Kirchenampt 1525", an early hymnbook. His paraphrase of

Psalm 137 Psalm 137 is the 137th psalm of the Book of Psalms in the Tanakh. In English it is generally known as "By the rivers of Babylon", which is how its first words are translated in the King James Version of the Bible. Its Latin title is "Super flum ...

, "

An Wasserflüssen Babylon "An Wasserflüssen Babylon" (By the rivers of Babylon) is a Lutheran hymn by Wolfgang Dachstein, which was first published in Strasbourg in 1525. The text of the hymn is a paraphrase of Psalm 137. Its singing tune, which is the best known part ...

" (By the Rivers of Babylon), which appeared both in the "Teutschen Kirchenampt 1525" and in Luther's "Babstschem Gesangbuch" of 1545, is well known. Today the melody is inseparably linked with Paul Gerhardt's text " Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld" ("A Little Lamb goes and bears the Guilt", EG 83). Also by Dachstein are the melody for "

Im Frieden dein, o Herre mein "" (In Your peace, o my Lord) is a three-stanza German Christian communion hymn. In 1527 the early Reformer Johann Englisch (Johannes Anglicus) wrote two stanzas as a rhyming close paraphase of the Nunc dimittis, or Canticle of Simeon. The hymn ...

" ("In Your peace, my Lord", EG 222) and the second melody for Luther's "

Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir "" (From deep affliction I cry out to you), originally "", later also "", is a Lutheran hymn of 1524, with words written by Martin Luther as a paraphrase of Psalm 130. It was first published in 1524 as one of eight songs in the first Lutheran ...

" ("From deep affliction I cry out to you", EG 299 II). Dachstein's

are also included in Sigmund Hemmel's psalter. He died in Strasbourg on 7 March 1553.

References

* Dachstein, Wolfgang. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ABD). Volume 47, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1903, p. 610. * Siegried Fornaçon: Dachstein, Wolfgang. In: Neue Deutsche Biographie (NBD). Volume 3, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1957, , p. 465. * Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz: Wolfgang Dachstein. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexicon (BBKL). Volume 1, Bautz, Hamm 1975. 2nd unchanged edition, Hamm 1990, , p. 1192. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dachstein, Wolfgang German organists German male organists German lyricists People from Offenburg 1487 births 1553 deaths German Protestant Reformers German Dominicans 16th-century German composers