Wolfgang Dachstein (1487–1553) was a German

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, and

lyricist A lyricist is a writer who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income derives ...

. He was born in

Offenburg Offenburg (; "open borough" - coat of arms showing open gates; Low Alemmanic: ''Offäburg'') is a city in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in south-western Germany. With nearly 60,000 inhabitants (2019), it is the largest city and the administrat ...

. From 1503 Dachstein studied

Music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

and

Theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

with

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 ...

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

. He entered the Dominican convent 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 ...

and in 1521 became the

at St Thomas' Church, Strasbourg. In early 1523 he left the

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

and sided with the

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 ...

. He married in 1524. In 1541 Dachstein became the

Strasbourg Cathedral Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg (, or ''Cathédrale de Strasbourg'', ), also known as Strasbourg Minster (church), Minster (), is a Catholic cathedral in Strasbourg, Alsace, France. Although considerable parts of ...

and at the same time the music teacher at the Gymnasium there. He obeyed the

Augsburg Interim The Augsburg Interim (full formal title: ''Declaration of His Roman Imperial Majesty on the Observance of Religion Within the Holy Empire Until the Decision of the General Council'') was an imperial decree ordered on 15 May 1548 at the 1548 Die ...

and stayed in his post throughout. He was the first notable

of the

. Dachstein used his poetical and musical ability in the service of the

. He was involved in the formulation of the

Agenda Agenda (: agendum) may refer to: Information management * Agenda (meeting), points to be discussed and acted upon, displayed as a list * Political agenda, the set of goals of an ideological group * Lotus Agenda, a DOS-based personal informatio ...

and provided German

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of B ...

, such as the melodies for the "Teutschen Kirchenampt 1525", an early hymnbook. His paraphrase of Psalm 137, " An Wasserflüssen Babylon" (By the Rivers of Babylon), which appeared both in the "Teutschen Kirchenampt 1525" and in Luther's "Babstschem Gesangbuch" of 1545, is well known. Today the melody is inseparably linked with Paul Gerhardt's text " Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld" ("A Little Lamb goes and bears the Guilt", EG 83). Also by Dachstein are the melody for " Im Frieden dein, o Herre mein" ("In Your peace, my Lord", EG 222) and the second melody for Luther's "

Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir "" (From deep affliction I cry out to you), originally "", later also "", is a Lutheran hymn of 1524. Its lyrics were written by Martin Luther as a paraphrase of Psalm 130. It was first published in 1524 as one of eight songs in the first Luthe ...

" ("From deep affliction I cry out to you", EG 299 II). Dachstein's

are also included in Sigmund Hemmel's psalter. He died in

on 7 March 1553.

References

* Dachstein, Wolfgang. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ABD). Volume 47, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1903, p. 610. * Siegried Fornaçon: Dachstein, Wolfgang. In: Neue Deutsche Biographie (NBD). Volume 3, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1957, , p. 465. * Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz: Wolfgang Dachstein. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexicon (BBKL). Volume 1, Bautz, Hamm 1975. 2nd unchanged edition, Hamm 1990, , p. 1192. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dachstein, Wolfgang German organists German male organists German lyricists People from Offenburg 1487 births 1553 deaths German Protestant Reformers German Dominicans 16th-century German composers