"" (Open your gates) is a Christian

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

in German, written by

Christoph Bernhard Verspoell Christoph Bernhard Verspoell (15 May 1743 – 5 January 1818) was a German Catholic Church, Catholic priest, writer and hymnwriter. He published a hymnal with added melodies and organ settings in 1810. Some of his songs are still popular and are ...

for the

Feast of the Ascension The Feast of the Ascension of Jesus Christ (also called the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, Ascension Day, Ascension Thursday, or sometimes Holy Thursday) commemorates the Christian belief of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. It ...

. The text is based on

Psalm 24 Psalm 24 is the 24th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "The earth is the 's, and the fulness thereof". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint version of the Bible and th ...

. While the text was written in

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

in 1810, the melody was composed for a

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

hymnal of 1846. It became part of the regional sections of the German Catholic hymnal ''

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 ...

''.

History

was a

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' refe ...

during the era of enlightenment, who worked as voice teacher and writer of religious literature. He wrote the text of popular hymns such as "

Fest soll mein Taufbund immer stehn "" (My baptismal bond shall stand firmly) is a Catholic hymn in German, with text by Friedrich Matthias Berghaus. Originally in four stanzas, it was included in Christoph Bernhard Verspoell's hymnal, first in 1810 and again in 1829. The melody was ...

" for baptism and the Christmas carol " Menschen, die ihr wart verloren". He wrote the text of "" as a

in German for the

, based on

. The melody was composed by the theologian and later

Trier Cathedral The High Cathedral of Saint Peter in Trier (), or Trier Cathedral (), is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the oldest cathedral in Germany and the largest religious structure in Trier, notable for its long l ...

conductor (1806–1883) for the first Trier diocesan hymnal published in 1846. The song became part of regional sections of the German Catholic hymnal ''

'', such as GL 786 in the

Diocese of Limburg The Diocese of Limburg () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. It belongs to the ecclesiastical province of Cologne, with metropolitan see being the Archdiocese of Cologne. Its territory encompasses parts of the States ...

, and GL 822 in

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

Theme and text

The dialogue of Psalm 24, requesting the gates to open for the King of Glory, have been associated with the

ascension of Jesus The Ascension of Jesus (anglicized from the Vulgate ) is the Christianity, Christian and Islamic belief that Jesus entering heaven alive, ascended to Heaven. Christian doctrine, as reflected in the major Christian creeds and confessional stateme ...

since the second century, when the Christian philosopher

Justin Justin may refer to: People and fictional characters * Justin (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Justin (historian), Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527) ...

described (in ''Dialog mit dem Juden Tryphon'' 36,4–6) a dialogue of heavenly lords who did not recognise Jesus because of his human appearance. Verspoell's hymn had originally four

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian ''stanza'', ; ) is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have either. ...

s, two of them a paraphrase of the psalm dialogue. The other two stanzas recognise Jesus as the mighty ruler of the

Heavenly Host The Heavenly host ( ''ṣəḇāʾōṯ'', "armies") refers to the army (or host) of God, as mentioned in Abrahamic texts; the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, and the Quran in particular. The Bible typically describes the Heavenly host as being m ...

("der Engelscharen mächter Herrscher"), and call all nations to join the angels proclaiming him who seemed forsaken on the

Cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

("der am Kreuze ganz verlassen hing") but now rules as King of Heaven ("herrscht als Himmelskönig"). In the Trier version of 1955, the last stanzas were first combined to one, omitting a reference to the nativity. It became a model for further editions. In the Mainz version, even the first two stanzas are reduced to one, avoiding allusions to God as mighty in battle. Each stanza is concluded by a threefold Halleluja.

Melody and music

Lück's melody, originally in

A major A major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The A major scale is: Changes needed for the ...

, begins with energy and upward motion, and ends with a festive and jubilant repeated Halleluja. Modern versions turn to lower keys, such as

F major F major is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat.Music Theory'. (1950). United States: Standards and Curriculum Division, Training, Bureau of Naval Personnel. 28. Its relati ...

in Limburg.

References

Notes

External links

* Ansgar Franz
Kirchenlied im Kirchenjahr
(in German) theologische-buchhandlung.de * Hermann Rieke-Benninghaus
Glaubensbekenntnis: Bilder und Texte
(in German) 2016, p. 19 {{Authority control 19th-century hymns in German 1810 songs Eastertide Ascension of Jesus