Friedrich Smend (26 August 1893 – 10 February 1980) was a German Protestant

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

and librarian at the Preußische Staatsbibliothek in Berlin, publishing a catalogue of the writings of

Adolf von Harnack Carl Gustav Adolf von Harnack (born Harnack; 7 May 1851 – 10 June 1930) was a Baltic German Lutheran theologian and prominent Church historian. He produced many religious publications from 1873 to 1912 (in which he is sometimes credited ...

. He was a

liturgist Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

, teaching as professor at the Kirchliche Hochschule Berlin. His publications focus on the work of

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 ...

and

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

Life

Born in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

, Smend belonged to a family of

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

s and theologians. Members of three generations had served as pastors of the Reformed parish of Lengerich in the 18th and 19th centuries. His father Julius Smend was professor, first in Strasbourg, and then from 1918 first dean of the Protestant theological faculty of the

University of Münster The University of Münster (, until 2023 , WWU) is a public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. With more than 43,000 students and over 120 fields of study in 15 departments, it is Germany's ...

. His uncle was the theologian

Rudolf Smend Rudolf Smend (November 5, 1851 – December 27, 1913)--"the Elder"-- was a German theologian born in Lengerich, Westphalia. He was an older brother to theologian Julius Smend (1857–1930), and the father of Carl Friedrich Rudolf Smend (1882–1 ...

. Smend studierd Protestant theology in Münster, promoted to the doctorate. He worked as librarian of the Preußische Staatsbibliothek in Berlin from 1923, where he published a catalogue of the writings of

. During the Nazi regime, he was a member of the of the Bekennende Kirche and took part in the

Kirchenkampf ''Kirchenkampf'' (, lit. 'church struggle') is a German term which pertains to the situation of the Christianity in Germany, Christian churches in Germany during the Nazi Germany, Nazi period (1933–1945). Sometimes used ambiguously, the term ma ...

. After World War II, Smend was appointed prefessor of

hymnology Hymnology (from Greek ὕμνος ''hymnos'', "song of praise" and -λογία ''-logia'', "study of") is the scholarly study of religious song, or the hymn, in its many aspects, with particular focus on choral and congregational song. It may be m ...

liturgics Liturgics, also called liturgical studies or liturgiology, is the academic discipline dedicated to the study of liturgy (public worship rites, rituals, and practices). Liturgics scholars typically specialize in a single approach drawn from anothe ...

and

church music Church music is a genre of Christian music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn. History Early Christian musi ...

at the Kirchliche Hochschule Berlin, where he remained until retirement in 1958. He was awarded honorary doctorates from the universities of

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

and

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

. In 1961, he received the Commanders Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

. Smend focused on studies of the work of

and

, specifically Bach's Mass in B minor, ''

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 ...

'' and ''

St John Passion The ''Passio secundum Joannem'' or ''St John Passion'' (), BWV 245, is a Passion or oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, the earliest of the surviving Passions by Bach. It was written during his first year as director of church music in Leipzi ...

'', as well as number symbolism in Bach's works. He died in Berlin at age 86.

Publications

* ''Adolf von Harnack. Verzeichnis seiner Schriften''. Leipzig 1927; ''Nachtrag 1927-1930''. Leipzig 1931 (reprinted: ''Adolf von Harnack. Verzeichnis seiner Schriften bis 1930. Mit einem Geleitwort und bibliographischen Nachträgen bis 1985 von Jürgen Dummer.'' Saur, Munich 1990, ISBN 3-598-10321-2). * ''Joh. Seb. Bach Kirchen-Kantaten.'' in 6 volumes. Christlicher Zeitschriftenverlag, Berlin 1947–48 (2nd edition 1950; 3rd edition 1966). * ''Johann Sebastian Bach bei seinem Namen gerufen.''

Bärenreiter Bärenreiter (Bärenreiter-Verlag) is a German classical music publishing house based in Kassel. The firm was founded by Karl Vötterle (1903–1975) in Augsburg in 1923, and moved to Kassel in 1927, where it still has its headquarters; it ...

, Kassel 1950. * ''Bach in Köthen.'' Christlicher Zeitschriftenverlag, Berlin 1951–52 (in English: St. Louis,

Concordia Publishing House Concordia Publishing House (CPH), founded in 1869, is the official publishing arm of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, at 3558 S. Jefferson Avenue, CPH publishes the synod's official monthly maga ...

, 1985). * ''Goethes Verhältnis zu Bach.'' , Berlin 1955. * ''Missa; Symbolum Nicenum; Sanctus; Osanna, Benedictus, Agnus Dei et Dona Nobis Pacem (später genannt „Messe in h-moll“).'' Bärenreiter, Kassel 1956. * ''Ferner Freunde ward gedacht : ein Beitrag zu Goethes Briefwechsel mit Marianne von Willemer''. Berlin, Merseburger, 1964 * ''Bach-Studien. Gesammelte Reden und Aufsätze''. Bärenreiter, Kassel 1969.

References

External links

* * Dadelsen, Georg von
Friedrich Smend's Edition of the B-minor Mass by J. S. Bach 1
(in German) taylorfrancis.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Smend, Friedrich 20th-century German Protestant theologians Liturgists 20th-century German musicologists 20th-century German non-fiction writers Bach scholars Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 1893 births 1980 deaths

Life

Publications

References

Further reading

External links