Eugen Eckert (born 1954) is a German social worker, minister, singer-songwriter and academic teacher. He is known for his lyrics for new spiritual songs (

Neues Geistliches Lied ''Neues Geistliches Lied'' (, ''new spiritual song''), abbreviated NGL, is a music genre of songs in German intended for church usage, and based on contemporary lyrics and with music by contemporary composers. History The idea to reach youn ...

), and his oratorios and musical plays.

Career

Born in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian dialects, Hessian: , "Franks, Frank ford (crossing), ford on the Main (river), Main"), is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as o ...

, Eckert first worked as a social worker. He studied from 1977 Protestant theology, pedagogic psychology and

Slavic languages The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavs, Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic language, Proto ...

at the

Frankfurt University Goethe University (german: link=no, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main) is a university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealt ...

and the

Mainz University The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (german: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. With approximately 32,000 stu ...

. In 1990 he became the minister of the Protestant parish of Offenbach-Lauterborn. He has been a minister for students (''Studentenpfarrer'') of the Frankfurt University since 1996, and is the minister of the stadium

Commerzbank-Arena The Waldstadion (, ''Forest Stadium''), currently known as the Deutsche Bank Park for sponsorship purposes, and formerly known as the Commerzbank-Arena, is a retractable roof sports stadium in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. The home stadium of the ...

. He has also worked for broadcasters and wrote books. From 1993 to 2013 he lectured at the

Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main The Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts (german: Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main, italic=no, link=no, HfMDK) is a state Hochschule for music, theatre and dance in Frankfurt and is the only one of its k ...

. Eckert wrote from 1976 lyrics of

, producing more than thousand songs, ten

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

s, several Singspiele and cantatas. He was in 1975 founding member of the band

Habakuk Habakkuk, who was active around 612 BC, was a prophet whose oracles and prayer are recorded in the Book of Habakkuk, the eighth of the collected twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible. He is revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Almost al ...

, for which he has worked as songwriter, singer and manager. Eckert was active in the

Arbeitskreis Kirchenmusik und Jugendseelsorge im Bistum Limburg ''Neues Geistliches Lied'' (, ''new spiritual song''), abbreviated NGL, is a music genre of songs in German intended for church usage, and based on contemporary lyrics and with music by contemporary composers. History The idea to reach youn ...

from 1980. When Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, then the bishop, dismissed its president

Patrick Dehm Patrick Dehm (born 1962) is a German Catholic theologian, supervisor and clinical Gestalt therapist. He and his brother founded the Eugen Dehm foundation, supporting a holistic health concept, in memory of their father. Dehm is director of the De ...

as director of the "Haus der Begegnung", Eckert resigned to express his protest. Eckert is a founding member and vice president of the ecumenical association

inTAKT inTAKT is a German ecumenical association (''Verein'') for the promotion of new Christian songs for church services (Neues Geistliches Lied, NGL), and of art, culture and musical education. Its members are mostly hymnwriters and composers intereste ...

, founded on 8 April 2013 to promote Neues Geistliches Lied.

Selected works

Eckert wrote the lyrics for more than 1000 songs of the genre Neues Geistliches Lied, oratorios and musical plays. Several songs have been included in the Protestant hymnal '' Evangelisches Gesangbuch'' and the 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 ...

''.

Oratorios

* ''Hiob'', 1994, music: * ''Daniel'', 1996, music: Thomas Gabriel * ''Emmaus'', 2002, music: Gabriel * ''Simeon'', 2007, music: Gabriel * ''Eleasar'', 2008, music: * ''Junia'', 2010, music: Gabriel * ''Und dann war Licht'', 2013, Merseburger Orgeltage, music: Gabriel * ''Maria'', 2014, music: Gabriel, premiered 29 March 2014, Evangelische Friedenskirche,

Ratingen Ratingen ( li, Rotinge) is a town in the district of Mettmann in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It lies in the northwestern part of Berg about 12 km northeast of Düsseldorf. Administration With a communal reform of 1975 the independent m ...

* ''Feuerzungen'', 2014, music:

Peter Reulein Peter Reulein (born 1966) is a German composer, organ improviser, academic teacher and church musician, from 2000 at the church Liebfrauen in Frankfurt am Main. In 2016 he composed for the Catholic Diocese of Limburg the Franciscan oratorio ''Lau ...

, premiered 7 June 2014, Liebfrauen, Frankfurt * ''So lang hier stehet Stein auf Stein'', 2016, in memory of 350 years plague in Flörsheim * '' Bruder Martin'', 2017, Luther oratorio, music: Gabriel, premiered on 17 September 2017, open air in

Tecklenburg Tecklenburg () is a town in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Its name comes from the ruined castle around which it was built. The town is situated on the Hermannsweg hiking trail. The coat of arms shows an anchor ...

* '' Eins'', 2021, Ecumenical oratorio for Ökumenischer Kirchentag 2021, text with

Helmut Schlegel Helmut Alfons Schlegel (born 15 May 1943) is a German Franciscan, Catholic priest, meditation instructor, author, librettist and songwriter. He is known for writing new spiritual songs (Neues Geistliches Lied), set to music by various composers. ...

Songs

* "Besser als ich noch", 1999, music: Horst Christill * " Bewahre uns, Gott", music: * "Eingeladen zum Fest des Glaubens", music: Alejandro Veciana * "Gott, deine Liebe reicht weit", music: Winfried Heurich * " Gott, der du warst und bist und bleibst", music: Herbert Heine (1993) * "

Gott hat mir längst einen Engel gesandt "" ("God sent an angel to me long ago") is a 1996 Christian song with text by Eugen Eckert, set for a four-part choir by Thomas Gabriel as part of the rock oratorio ''Daniel''. It became a hymn of the genre Neues Geistliches Lied, which is contai ...

", music: Thomas Gabriel * "

Jesus Christus, Sohn des Lebens "" ("Jesus Christ, son of life") is a Christian hymn of the genre Neues Geistliches Lied by Eugen Eckert, with a melody by Peter Reulein. The song is an extended paraphrase of the Agnus Dei. It is part of hymnals and songbooks. History "" was w ...

", music:

* "Ich lasse dich nicht", music: Reulein, song competition of the in Berlin 2003 * "

Lamm Gottes, für uns gegeben "" (Lamb of God, given for us) is a Christian hymn in German with text by Eugen Eckert and a tune by Horst Christill. It is of the genre Neues Geistliches Lied. The song reflects the liturgical Agnus Dei. It is part of regional sections of the comm ...

", music: Christill * "

Meine engen Grenzen "Meine engen Grenzen" ("My narrow limits") is a Christian poem by Eugen Eckert, written in 1981, and made a hymn of the genre Neues Geistliches Lied with a melody and setting by Winfried Heurich the same year. The song, bringing one's shortcomings ...

", music: Heurich and Gerhard Fleischer * "

Ob ich sitze oder stehe "Ob ich sitze oder stehe" (Whether I sit or walk) is a Christian poem by Eugen Eckert, written in 1988, and made a hymn of the genre Neues Geistliches Lied with a melody and setting by Torsten Hampel the same year. It is based on Psalm 139. The son ...

("Von allen Seiten umgibst du mich"), music: Torsten Hampel * "Sehnsucht nach dem ganz Anderen", music:

Ludger Stühlmeyer Ludger Stühlmeyer (born 3 October 1961 in Melle, West Germany) is a German cantor, composer, docent and musicologist. Biography Stühlmeyer was born to a family of cantors and made his first steps under the guidance of his father in the town ch ...

* "Wir haben seinen Stern gesehen", music: Reulein * "Wo die Liebe wohnt", music: Veciana

References

External links

*
Habakuk

Wo Blumen den Asphalt aufbrechen
gesangbuch-lieder.de {{DEFAULTSORT:Eckert, Eugen German social workers German singer-songwriters Goethe University Frankfurt alumni Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz alumni 1954 births Living people Clergy from Frankfurt Academic staff of the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts