''Praxis pietatis melica'' (''Practice of Piety in Song'') is a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

hymnal A hymnal or hymnary is a collection of hymns, usually in the form of a book, called a hymnbook (or hymn book). Hymnals are used in congregational singing. A hymnal may contain only hymn texts (normal for most hymnals for most centuries of Chr ...

first published in the 17th century by Johann Crüger. The hymnal, which appeared under this title from 1647 to 1737 in 45 editions, has been described as "the most successful and widely-known Lutheran hymnal of the 17th century". Crüger composed melodies to texts that were published in the hymnal and are still sung today, including "

Jesu, meine Freude "" (; Jesus, my joy) is a hymn in German, written by Johann Franck in 1650, with a melody, Zahn No. 8032, by Johann Crüger. The song first appeared in Crüger's hymnal in 1653. The text addresses Jesus as joy and support, versus enemie ...

", " Herzliebster Jesu", and " Nun danket alle Gott". Between 1647 and 1661, Crüger first printed 90 songs by his friend

Paul Gerhardt Paul Gerhardt (12 March 1607 – 27 May 1676) was a German theologian, Lutheran minister and hymnodist. Biography Gerhardt was born into a middle-class family at Gräfenhainichen, a small town between Halle and Wittenberg. His father died in ...

, including "

O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), plu ...

Purpose

The volume of hymns was intended for use in both church and private services. The explanation of the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

title was given from the very first publication in 1647: "Das ist: Vbung der Gottseligkeit in Christlichen und Trostreichen Gesängen" (That is: practice of Godliness in Christian and comforting chants). The subtitle continued: "Herrn D. Martini Lutheri fürnemlich / und denn auch anderer vornehmer und gelehrter Leute. Ordentlich zusammen gebracht" (mostly by

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Luther ...

/ and other distinguished and learned people. Collected meticulously). Subsequent text on the title page varied between editions, and could include the number of hymns in the volume—the fifth edition stated it had 500 hymns, while the penultimate 44th edition contained 1316.

History

Crüger was appointed '' Kantor'' at the

Nikolaikirche The following cathedrals, churches and chapels are dedicated to Saint Nicholas: Austria *Church of St. Nikolaus, Lockenhaus *St. Nicholas Church, Inzersdorf, Vienna Albania *St. Nicholas Church, Moscopole * St. Nicholas Church, Perondi *Church ...

in Berlin in 1622, a post he held until his death in 1662. In 1640, he published a collection of 240 hymn texts and melodies as ''Newes vollkömliches Gesangbuch'' (New complete song book), which contained core songs of the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and i ...

, especially by

, and 18 new melodies composed by Crüger, mostly to texts by

Johann Heermann Johann Heermann (11 October 158517 February 1647) was a German poet and hymnodist. He is commemorated in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church on 26 October with Philipp Nicolai and Paul Gerhardt. Life Heermann was born in Raudten ...

. In 1643, Crüger met Paul Gerhardt, who had taken up a position as a tutor in Berlin. Crüger wrote melodies and choral settings for many of Gerhardt's songs. In 1647, Crüger published a second volume of hymns, titled ''Praxis pietatis melica''. Its 383 texts and 170 melodies included those published in 1640; among the new material was the first publication of 18 texts by Gerhardt. The volume's title was derived from the title of a book by

Lewis Bayley Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

, ''The Practice of Piety'', which had been translated to German in 1631. By the fifth edition in 1653, the number of hymns had increased to 500, and 82 of these were on Gerhardt's texts. It also contained "

Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele "" ("Deck thyself, my soul, with gladness", literally: Adorn yourself, O dear soul) is a Lutheran hymn in German, with lyrics by Johann Franck and a hymn tune by Johann Crüger. It was first published in Crüger's 1649 ''Geistliche Kirchen-Melo ...

", a communion hymn on lyrics by Johann Franck with a melody by Crüger. The tenth edition in 1661, the last one compiled by Crüger, had 550 hymns in all, and a total of 90 by Gerhardt. The hymnal continued being published through 1737, when its 45th and final edition was printed; for much of its existence, it had the widest distribution in German-speaking lands of any Protestant hymnal. Several of its songs are still in use, including "

" (text by Johann Franck), " Nun danket alle Gott" (by Martin Rinkart), and " Herzliebster Jesu" (by

). The term ''praxis pietatis'' led to naming the later movement

pietism Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christian life, including a social concern for the needy an ...

Hymns by Gerhardt

1647 The edition contained 18 hymns by Paul Gerhardt, including: * "" * "" * "" * "" * "" 1653 A hymnal was commissioned by Luise Henriette of Brandenburg. It contained 17 of the 18 hymns from the first edition and 20 additional hymns, including: * "" * "" The same year, the fifth edition contained the 18 and 20 hymns as described above, and additional 44 hymns, including: * "" * "" * "" * "" * "" * "" * "" 1656 A sixth edition, printed in Frankfurt, added three new hymns, including: * ""

Literature

* Johann Friedrich Bachmann: Schlawitz, Berlin 1863 (). * Johann Friedrich Bachmann: '. Oehmigke, Berlin 1866 (). * Wilhelm Bode: ''.'' In: ', vol. 5.

Breitkopf und Haertel Breitkopf may refer to: * Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf, (1695-1777) founder of Breitkopf & Härtel * Johann Gottlob Immanuel Breitkopf, (1719-1794) son of Bernhard Cristoph Breitkopf * Michael Breitkopf, member of German band Die Toten Hosen * Breit ...

, Leipzig 1871, p. 57–60, 65–83 (). * Christian Bunners: ' Frank & Timme, Berlin 2012, (). * Emanuel Christian Gottlob Langbecker (ed.): ' Eichler, Berlin 1835 * Joachim Stalmann: ''Crüger, Johann.'' In: Wolfgang Herbst (Herbst): '

Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht (V&R) is a scholarly publishing house based in Göttingen, Germany. It was founded in 1735 by (1700-1750) in connection with the establishment of the Georg-August-Universität in the same city. After Abraham Vandenhoec ...

, Göttingen 2001, , p. 66ff ()

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2017 Lutheran hymnals