Christian Keymann (also ''Christian Keimann''; 27 February 1607 – 13 January 1662) was a German hymnwriter. He is known for writing the chorale " Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht" in 1658, which served as the base for Bach's

chorale cantata A chorale cantata is a church cantata based on a chorale—in this context a Lutheran chorale. It is principally from the Germany, German Baroque music, Baroque era. The organizing principle is the words and music of a Lutheran hymn. Usually a chor ...

'' Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht, BWV 124'', and other compositions.

Career

Keymann was born in Pankratz, Habsburg Bohemia, in 1607, the son of Zacharias Keimann, a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

pastor. From 1627 to 1634, he studied at the

University of Wittenberg Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...

. After graduation he worked at the gymnasium of

Zittau Zittau (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, Upper Lusatian dialect: ''Sitte''; ) is the southeasternmost city in the Germany, German state of Saxony, and belongs to the Görlitz (district), district of Görlitz, Germany's easternmost Districts of Germ ...

, first as associate director, then as rector in 1638. He died of a stroke in 1662.

Hymns

Two of his most popular hymns were translated into English; "O rejoice, ye Christians, loudly" ("Freuet euch, ihr Christen alle") found in Chorale Book, No. 33, and "Jesus will I never leave" ("Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht") found in United Brethren's Hymn Book, No. 464. Donald G. Bloesch in his book ''The struggle of prayer'' (1980) describes it as a "moving hymn". His hymns in general have been described as "being of genuine poetic ring, fresh, strong, full of faith under manifold and heavy trials, and deeply spiritual".

Music

Keymann collaborated with composer Andreas Hammerschmidt who created tunes for Keymann's hymns. In 1646, a collection of hymns ''Mnemosyne sacra'' was published by Keymann in Leipzig, including five tunes by Hammerschmidt. In 1658, the collection ''Fest-, Buß- und Danklieder'' (Songs for feast, repentance and thanks) was printed in Zittau, containing the hymn "Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht" (I will not let go of my Jesus). In 1725,

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

based his

for the first Sunday after Epiphany on this entire hymn, but he also used single stanzas in other

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

s, from the same chorale in '' Wachet! betet! betet! wachet! BWV 70'', '' Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan, BWV 98'' and '' Mein liebster Jesus ist verloren, BWV 154''. In the first (1727/1729) version of his ''

St Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets the 26th and 27th chapters of th ...

'', Part I was concluded with the final stanza of the chorale, "Jesum laß ich nicht von mir" (Jesus I'll not let leave me). He used a stanza from "Freuet euch, ihr Christen alle" (Be joyful, all ye Christians, 1646), also on a melody by Hammerschmidt, in '' Darzu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes, BWV 40''.

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University Chu ...

based three compositions on "Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht", a chorale prelude (Op. 67 No.26, 1902), a composition for soprano, mixed choir, violin, viola and Organ (1905), and again a chorale prelude (Op. 135a No. 17, 1914). Sigfrid Karg-Elert wrote a chorale improvisation for organ (Fughetta), Op. 65 No 49.

References

Sources

* Christian Weise: Memoria Christiani Keimani. Zittau 1689 *Heinrich Julius Kämmel: Christian Keimann Programm Zittau 1856 *Theodor Gärtner (ed.): Quellenbuch zur Geschichte des Gymnasiums in Zittau. vol. 1, Leipzig 1905, p. 88-90 * Walther Killy (ed.): Literaturlexikon. Autoren und Werke deutscher Sprache (15 volumes). Gütersloh, Munich: Bertelsmann-Lexikon-Verlag, 1988–1991 (CD-ROM: Berlin 1998, )

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keymann, Christian German Protestant hymnwriters 1607 births 1662 deaths 17th-century hymnwriters