"" ("The mouth of fools doth God confess") is a Lutheran

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 ...

of 1524, with words written 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 ...

in 1523, paraphrasing Psalm 14. It was published as one of eight songs in 1524 in the first Lutheran hymnal, the ''Achtliederbuch''. It was also published later that year in the ''

Erfurt Enchiridion The ''Erfurt Enchiridion'' (wikt:enchiridion, enchiridion, from , hand book) is the second Lutheranism, Lutheran hymnal. It appeared in 1524 in Erfurt in two competing editions. One of them contains 26 songs, the other 25, 18 of them by Martin L ...

''. It has appeared in many hymnals, both in German and in translation. The text inspired vocal and organ music by composers such as

Johann Pachelbel Johann Pachelbel (also Bachelbel; baptised – buried 9 March 1706) was a German composer, organist, and teacher who brought the south German organ schools to their peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secularity, secular music, and ...

History and text

At the end of 1523, Luther paraphrased Psalm 14 (Psalm 13 in Vulgata numbering), in Latin , attempting to make the psalms accessible to Protestant church services in German. As he did with "", Luther expanded the content of the psalm to show the precise situation of the early

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

as a time of conflict. Luther wrote six

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 of seven lines each. The hymn was one of the eight hymns in the first Lutheran hymnal, published 1524 in

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

under the title (Some Christian songs), also called ''Achtliederbuch'', which contained four songs by Luther, three by Speratus, and one by

Justus Jonas Justus Jonas, the Elder (5 June 1493 – 9 October 1555), or simply Justus Jonas, was a German Lutheran theologian and reformer. He was a Jurist, Professor and Hymn writer. He is best known for his translations of the writings of Martin Luther ...

. Later that same year it appeared in Erfurt in '' Eyn Enchiridion'', and in Wittenberg in Johann Walter's choral hymnal in a five-part setting.

Melody and settings

In the ''Achtliederbuch'', "", by Paul Speratus, was indicated as the singing tune for "". The hymn appeared with its own melody in the Walter hymnal: that melody, Zahn No. 4436, remained associated with it. The hymn was set by composers for instruments and for voices.

composed three

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 ...

s for organ as part of before 1693.

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 ...

set the hymn in a four-part setting, BWV 308, but without text. The text was added in the Neue Bach-Ausgabe.

Translation

The hymn was translated to English as "The mouth of fools doth God confess" and appeared in R. Massie's ''M. Luther's Spiritual Songs'' in 1854. It was copied to other hymnals. Other, less common translations were published in the 19th century.

References

External links

Es spricht der unweisen Mund wohl
at Hymnary.org
The mouth of fools doth God confess
at Hymnary.org {{Martin Luther 16th-century hymns in German Lutheran hymns based on Psalms Hymn tunes Hymns by Martin Luther 1520s works

History and text

Melody and settings

Translation

See also

References

External links