"" (We should praise Christ beautifully) is 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 ...

Christmas

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 ...

with a text by

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

, first published in 1524 in the Erfurt ''Enchiridion''. He wrote it based on the Latin '' A solis ortus cardine'' and kept its melody ( Zahn No. 297a–b). A variant of the hymn tune, Zahn No. 297c, was published in 1535. The hymn was used in several musical settings, including the

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 ...

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 ...

, ''Christum wir sollen loben schon'', BWV 121. Bach wrote an organ

chorale prelude In music, a chorale prelude or chorale setting is a short liturgical composition for pipe organ, organ using a chorale tune as its basis. It was a predominant style of the German Baroque music, Baroque era and reached its culmination in the works ...

BWV 611 for his Orgelbüchlein. The tune is also used for "From East to West, from Shore to Shore." Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary, #267.

Notes

References

Literature

* Wilhelm Lucke: ''Christum wir sollen loben schon''. In: ''D. Martin Luthers Werke. Kritische Gesamtausgabe'', vol 35, Weimar 1923
S. 150–151
* Ingeborg Weber-Kellermann: ''Das Buch der Weihnachtslieder.'' Atlantis-Musikbuch-Verlag, Zürich 2003 (1982), .

External links

BWV 121.6
bach-chorales.com {{Authority control 16th-century hymns in German Hymn tunes Hymns by Martin Luther 1524 works Christmas carols in German