"" (The morning star is risen) is an

Advent song Advent songs () are songs and hymns intended for Advent, the four weeks of preparation for Christmas. Topics of the time of expectation are the hope for a Messiah, prophecies, and the symbolism of light, among others. Several of the songs are part o ...

and

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a Carol (music), carol on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas and holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French or ...

with lyrics by

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 ...

minister Daniel Rumpius (or Rump), published first in 1587. The common melody by

Michael Praetorius Michael Praetorius (probably 28 September 1571 – 15 February 1621) was a German composer, organist, and Music theory, music theorist. He was one of the most versatile composers of his age, being particularly significant in the development of ...

appeared later in 1609. It was reprinted, slightly revised by

Otto Riethmüller Otto Riethmüller (26 February 1889 – 19 November 1938) was a German Lutheran minister, writer, and hymnwriter. He was the president of Protestant youth organisations from 1928, published songbooks, and was a leading member of the Confessing C ...

in 1932, and is part of the current Protestant hymnal ''

Evangelisches Gesangbuch ''Evangelisches Gesangbuch'' (''EG''; , "Protestantism, Protestant song book") is the current hymnal of German-language congregations in Germany, Alsace and Lorraine, Austria, and Luxembourg, which was introduced from 1993 and 1996, succeeding ...

'' and other song books.

History

Rumpius, a Lutheran minister in Stepenitz, published the song in seven stanzas in 1587 in his (Song booklet, containing doctrine, consolation, admonition, confession, request, prayers, intercessions, thanksgiving etc.). He placed it in a section for

Advent Advent is a season observed in most Christian denominations as a time of waiting and preparation for both the celebration of Jesus's birth at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Chri ...

, titled , which indicates that he understood Advent as a time of

repentance Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past or present wrongdoings, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better. In modern times, it is generally seen ...

in preparation of Christmas, and that he wrote it as an occasional song for a sick widow in distress ("''kranckn betrübten Witwe''"). Rump adapted the song from a secular song in

Low German Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...

Ludwig Uhland Johann Ludwig Uhland (26 April 1787 – 13 November 1862) was a German poet, philologist, literary historian, lawyer and politician. Biography He was born in Tübingen, Württemberg, and studied jurisprudence at the university there, b ...

(ed.): ''Alte hoch- und niederdeutsche Volkslieder. Liedersammlung in 5 Büchern'', vol. 1 (Buch 1–3). Cotta, Stuttgart und Tübingen 1844
p. 171
a '' Tagelied'', or wake-up-call for lovers after a night spent together. He followed the model closely in the first two stanzas. Rump introduced

angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

s in the first stanza, to connect the call to Christmas. It is closed with a praise of the morning star as a symbol of

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. The song appeared in 1925 in a collection by Wilhelm Witzke, (Sixty selected German folk songs). Otto Riethmüller published it in 1932 as an Advent song, changing the last line of the second stanza to connect the song to the

metaphoric A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...

equation of Jesus as the Bridegroom, found in "" based on the

Song of Songs The Song of Songs (), also called the Canticle of Canticles or the Song of Solomon, is a Biblical poetry, biblical poem, one of the five ("scrolls") in the ('writings'), the last section of the Tanakh. Unlike other books in the Hebrew Bible, i ...

. The song was included, using four stanzas, in the Protestant hymnal '' Evangelisches Kirchengesangbuch'' in the regional part for Hesse and Nassau. This version was made part of the current hymnal ''

'' in the common section as EG 69. It is associated with

Epiphany Epiphany may refer to: Psychology * Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight Religion * Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ ** Epiphany seaso ...

, understanding the morning star as the

star of Bethlehem The Star of Bethlehem, or Christmas Star, appears in the nativity of Jesus, nativity story of the Gospel of Matthew Matthew 2, chapter 2 where "wise men from the East" (biblical Magi, Magi) are inspired by the star to travel to Jerusalem. There, ...

. The hymn is contained in several other song books.

Text

Rump took a folk song in Low German as a model. He wrote his lyrics in six stanzas of four lines each. Four of them became part of the hymnal ''

'':

Melody

The melody in use today appeared in the collection ''Musae Sioniae'' by

in 1609. It has been set by composers such as

Siegfried Strohbach Siegfried Strohbach (27 November 1929 – 11 July 2019) was a German composer and conductor. He founded and directed choirs and the vocal ensemble Collegium Cantorum and is notable for the composition of choral music. He was a conductor of major t ...

and

Magdalene Schauss-Flake Magdalene Schauss-Flake (25 July 1921 – 24 September 2008) was a German composer and organist who gave recitals throughout the United States and Europe. Biography Schauss-Flake was born in Essen, where she studied church music at the Folkwang Sc ...

. \header \paper \layout global = sopranoVoice = \relative c'' verse = \lyricmode \score

References

External links

"Der Morgenstern ist aufgedrungen"
Liederdatenbank
"11.01.2013 / Lied der Woche / 'Der Morgenstern ist aufgedrungen

ERF Medien ERF Medien e. V. (German: Evangeliumsrundfunk) is a German evangelical media corporation, based in Wetzlar, Hesse. The Corporation is producing Radio- and TV as well as online content with Christian-evangelical messages. The organization was foun ...

2013. {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgenstern Ist Aufgedrungen Advent songs Christmas carols in German 1587 works Lutheran hymns 16th-century hymns in German

History

Text

Melody

See also

References

External links