"" ("In God, My Faithful God", literally: In my dear God trust is a

Lutheran hymn Martin Luther was a great enthusiast for music, and this is why it forms a large part of Lutheranism, Lutheran services; in particular, Luther admired the composers Josquin des Prez and Ludwig Senfl and wanted singing in the church to move away ...

from the 17th century. Several hymns are sung to the same

hymn tune A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part (or more) harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm (chords change frequently), with or without refrain ...

, including "", and it was set in compositions. The hymn was translated into English as "In God, My Faithful God". It is part of modern hymnals and songbooks.

History

In 1607, "" was printed in ''766 Geistliche Psalmen'' in

Nürnberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the largest city in Franconia, the second-largest city in the German state of Bavaria, and its 544,414 (2023) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest city in Germany. ...

. The publication does not name a text author for the hymn. In a 1611 hymnal, the hymn "Auf Jesum Christ steht all mein Thun" appears as a text written by Sigismund Weingärtner, an author about whom little is known. For the next hymn, "", no author name is given: it has been assumed that Weingärtner wrote this text too. The beginning is "", expressing trust in God even in anxiety and distress. A modified version of Zahn No. 2160, the melody of "Venus du und dein Kind" (

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

, you and

your child "Your Child" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige. It was written and produced by Gerald Isaac for Blige's fourth studio album, ''Mary (Mary J. Blige album), Mary'' (1999). The song was released by MCA Records as the album's fourth and final ...

), a 1574 secular song by

Jacob Regnart Jacob Regnart (French: ''Jacques Regnart''; 1540s – 16 October 1599) was a Flemish Renaissance composer. He spent most of his career in Austria and Bohemia, where he wrote both sacred and secular music. Biography Regnart was born at Douai, one ...

, appeared in 1609 with the "Auf meinen lieben Gott" text (Zahn No. 2162).

Johann Hermann Schein Johann Hermann Schein (20 January 1586 – 19 November 1630) was a German composer of the early Baroque era. He was Thomaskantor in Leipzig from 1615 to 1630. He was one of the first to import the early Italian stylistic innovations into German ...

published his variant of the tune, Zahn No. 2164, with the "Auf meinen lieben Gott" text in 1627: this version of the tune was later also used for several other hymns. "Wo soll ich fliehen hin" is one of the hymns sung to the Zahn 2164 tune. Other melodies for "Auf meinen lieben Gott", Zahn Nos. 2165 and 2166, were published in 1727 and 1731 respectively. The hymn was included in the 1653 edition of

Johann Crüger Johann Crüger (9 April 1598 – 23 February 1662) was a German composer of well-known hymns. He was also the editor of the most widely used Lutheran hymnal of the 17th century, '' Praxis pietatis melica''. Early life and education Crüger was b ...

's '' Praxis pietatis melica'', with a bass line by Crüger.

Catherine Winkworth Catherine Winkworth (13 September 1827 – 1 July 1878) was an English hymnwriter and educator. She translated the German chorale tradition of church hymns for English speakers, for which she is recognized in the calendar of the Evangelical Luth ...

translated the hymn into English as "In God, My Faithful God". The song is part of the 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 ...

'' as EG 345. It appears in regional sections 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 ...

'', and in other hymnals and songbooks.

Musical settings

Dieterich Buxtehude Dieterich Buxtehude (; born Diderich Hansen Buxtehude, ; – 9 May 1707) was a Danish composer and organist of the Baroque music, Baroque period, whose works are typical of the North German organ school. As a composer who worked in various vocal ...

composed a chorale partita, ''Auf meinen lieben Gott'',

BuxWV The Buxtehude-Werke-Verzeichnis ("Buxtehude Works Catalogue", commonly abbreviated to BuxWV) is the catalogue and the numbering system used to identify musical works by the German-Danish Baroque composer Dieterich Buxtehude (c. 1637 – 9 May 17 ...

179. Amongst Buxtehude's chorales this keyboard setting was unusual for its time, as it was both a secular suite of dances as well as a sacred set of variations with a funerary theme.

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 ...

closed his 1723 cantata ''Bringet dem Herrn Ehre seines Namens'', BWV 148, with a four-part setting of the hymn tune. The ''

Neue Bach-Ausgabe The New Bach Edition (NBE) (; NBA), is the second complete edition of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, published by Bärenreiter. The name is short for Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750): New Edition of the Complete Works (''Johann Sebastian ...

'' suggests the fifth stanza from "". Bach included a stanza from the hymn as the closing chorale of his cantata ''Ich habe meine Zuversicht'', BWV 188, probably in 1728, in a movement without text. Norwegian jazz pianist Tord Gustavesen recorded a piano-bass-drums trio recording on his 2024 album "Seeing" on the ECM Records label.

References

External links

Auf meinen lieben Gott / Text and Translation of Chorale
Bach Cantatas Website 2006

Bach Cantatas Website 2008 {{authority control 17th-century hymns in German Lutheran hymns