"Stern über Bethlehem" (Star above Bethlehem) is a German sacred

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 ...

which Alfred Hans Zoller created in 1964 in the genre

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 young people by new songs for ...

. Used by star singers around

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 ...

, it has become a popular song and is part of many German hymnals and songbooks.

History

The carol's composer, Alfred Hans Zoller was a jazz pianist and church musician who founded a gospel choir in Reutti near

Neu-Ulm Neu-Ulm (, ; Swabian: ''Nej-Ulm'') is the seat of the Neu-Ulm district and a town in Swabia, Bavaria. Neighbouring towns include Ulm, Senden, Pfaffenhofen an der Roth, Holzheim, Nersingen and Elchingen. The population is 58,978 (31 Decembe ...

, while trying to introduce gospel music in church singing. Zoller wrote the lyrics and melody of the song in 1964, in response to the third competition of the

Evangelische Akademie Tutzing The ' (Protestant Academy of Tutzing) is an education and conference center in Tutzing, Bavaria, run by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria. It was founded in 1947. The main building is Schloss Tutzing on Lake Starnberg. The academy awards ...

to promote

, songs for younger audiences which incorporate elements of jazz and entertaining music. The song became popular in children's choirs and was included in regional sections 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 ...

'' (EG) and the 1975 edition of 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 ...

''. In the current ''

'', it is part of the common section as GL 261. Several choral books and song books have it in their Christmas section, including ''Cantate II'' by the ''Werkstatt Neues Geistliches Lied Bamberg''. The song is frequently sung by star singers who go from house to house collecting donations for development projects. The song title was chosen as the title of a collection of Christmas songs for guitar by Bosworth.

Theme and text

The song is part of the movement

, a revival of church music in Germany. The text is based on the biblical story of the

magi Magi (), or magus (), is the term for priests in Zoroastrianism and earlier Iranian religions. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius the Great, known as the Behistun Inscription. Old Per ...

led by a star, which is enacted by singers dressed up as Kings or magi, who cross the German and Alsatian villages singing songs around Epiphany. In this song, the circuit of the magi in the village takes on a spiritual dimension. The star is addressed, requested to show the way ("zeig uns den Weg"), and in the final

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. ...

to also shine at home, remembering the visit in Bethlehem. The composition of the German text, in four

s of four lines each, is concise, modeled on poets such as

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 ...

or Rudolf Alexander Schröder. The song is made up of short words of one or two syllables, the only word of three syllables being "Bethlehem". The call "Stern über Bethlehem" begins the first and last line of every stanza, structuring the composition. The song is used frequently in

nativity play A Nativity play or Christmas pageant is a play which recounts the story of the Nativity of Jesus. It is usually performed at Christmas, the feast of the Nativity. For the Christian celebration of Christmas, the viewing of the Nativity play is o ...

s for Christmas or Epiphany worship. It can be used as a

gradual The gradual ( or ) is a certain chant or hymn in liturgical Christian worship. It is practiced in the Catholic Mass, Lutheran Divine Service, Anglican service and other traditions. It gets its name from the Latin (meaning "step") because i ...

for Epiphany or on the first Sunday after Epiphany, or as a song after the Gospel.

Melody and setting

The melody is an example of postwar German music, stripped down to the bare essentials and focusing on musical material rather than melody. Every line is built asymmetrically in six vs. four syllables, achieving an effect of acceleration and slowing down. It adds lightness to the text, and goes well with flutes and percussion. A harmonisation was written by Friedemann Schaber, a church musician in

Rastatt Rastatt () is a town with a Baroque core, District of Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located in the Upper Rhine Plain on the Murg river, above its junction with the Rhine and has a population of around 51,000 (2022). Rastatt was an ...

in ''Alleluia 2005''. The melody was used in 2004 for the English song "

She She or S.H.E. may refer to: Language * She (pronoun), the third person singular, feminine, nominative case pronoun in modern English Places * She County, Anhui ** She Prefecture, 589-1121 * She County, Hebei * She River, or Sheshui, Hubei * ...

" by Groove Coverage.

References

External links

* *
Stern über Bethlehem
Liederdatenbank
Stern über Bethlehem
weihnachts-lieder.net
Das neue Lied im Dezember 2017 / Stern über Bethlehem
christus-koenig.eu
Kennen Sie das Lied "Stern über Betlehem"?
herbstgedanken.de
Stern über Bethlehem, Alfred Hans Zoller
2005 on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Stern Uber Bethlehem Christmas carols in German Catholic hymns in German 1964 songs Epiphany music Neues Geistliches Lied

History

Theme and text

Melody and setting

See also

References

External links