Besides Martin Luther’s great significance for Protestant church song, the theologian and poet Paul Gerhardt (1607-1676) should also be mentioned, especially in relation to Bach’s work. Gerhardt lived in the 17th century, i.e. between Luther and Bach. That century was particularly marked by the Thirty Years’ War between 1618 and 1648, which caused millions of casualties in Germany. The martial violence and its consequences greatly influenced the creation of new ‘Creutz- und Trostlieder’. The plague epidemics and natural disasters that struck Europe in the 17th century – resulting in crop failures, famine and poverty – also led to concrete distress, which was expressed in songs. Poet Paul Gerhardt and composer Johann Crüger are important authors of this period. The hymnbook published by Crüger in 1646, which includes Gerhardt’s first songs, provides more than 50 songs of consolation in the section Vom Creutz und Anfechtung, about the cross and doubts of faith. Seven songs are meant for a plague period, nine pray for peace and 49 songs are meant as consolation in dying.
Comfort in hard times
With his songs full of faith in God, Gerhardt wanted to comfort people in all the misery of those hard times. He was convinced of the enduring importance of the church to comfort the congregation, but also saw the value of personal piety. His songs represent the transition from general church teaching to personal emotional life; from songs of confession to songs for faith building. This change is easy to recognise: with Luther, the whole congregation sings to God; with Gerhardt, the individual speaks. Gerhardt also promoted the development from the old confessional song to the devotional song, and he encouraged the trusting prayer of praise and thanksgiving.
A fine example of such a song is Auf, auf, mein Herz mit Freuden, an Easter song, in which Christ’s victory over death may serve as a consolation, for those now suffering under the threats of life.
Listen here to a 1960 recording of this song, performed by Aafje Heynis and organist Simon C. Jansen.
The text of the song can be found at Hymnary.org.
Approval of the hymnologists
All 18th-century hymnologists praised the work of Paul Gerhardt. The authoritative Lutheran preacher and bishop from Lübeck, Georg Heinrich Götze, wrote this in 1714:
‘The songs of the pious and spiritual teacher Paul Gerhardt are for me the most comforting and acceptable in these times. I openly give glory to God here and confess, that no song after the blessed Luther has touched my heart more and moved me more, than the precious songs of the good Paul Gerhardt.’
For use in worship, Götze did advise omitting the sometimes too specific references to special situations and times such as war. Moreover, the songs alone were not enough and, according to Götze, it was also necessary ‘to teach the necessary doctrines of faith and duties of life, to learn from these songs how one should thoroughly understand the important articles of faith and enrich one’s faith with a holy walk of life.’
The fear of a too strong pietistic view of faith does not go unmentioned by the orthodox Lutheran Götze. Let us therefore let Paul Gerhardt himself speak with the text of his song Befiehl du deine Wege, a twelve-strophe song of trust, each strophe of which he starts with a word from the text of Psalm 37, verse 5: ‘Befiehl dem Herren dein’ Weg und hoff auf ihn, er wird’s wohl machen’.
Bach included the first stanza of Gerhardt’s song in his St Matthew Passion, but to the melody by Hans Leo Hassler, which is also used for the song O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden. When Gerhardt’s song text was first published in 1653, it used an existing melody by Bartholomäus Gesius, which was later adapted somewhat by Georg Philipp Telemann.
Listen here to a moving performance of this song, in which actor Otto Sander recites the text, interspersed with organ playing by Torsten Laux and singing by the Thomaner from Leipzig.
The lyrics of the song can be found on Hymnary.org.
Image of Paul Gerhardt from the 17th century and an early edition of the song Befiehl du deine Wege. (Source: Wikipedia)
