Chorale Melody - Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ

Chorale Melodies used in Bach's Vocal Works Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ
Melody & Text \| Use of the CM by Bach \| Use of the CM by other composers

Melody & Text: Zahn: 1947 \| EKG: 15
Melody:
Earliest recorded instance of this melody is found in a manuscript from Celle about 1370. Together with Martin Luther’s chorale text, this melody appeared in print in “Geystliche Gesangk Buchleyn” (edited by Johann Walter) Wittenberg, 1524. Luther derived the text of the first verse from a Low German version of Notker’s Christmas sequence “Grates nunc omnes reddamus’. Luther translated the first verse into German and then extended the sequence by adding 4 verses of his own. This chorale belongs to the type of ‘expansions’ of “Leisen’ and other German spiritual songs from the late Middle Ages. These include the following of which each one retains the text (often in translated form) of the first verse original to which other verses are then added: “Nun bitten wir den Heiligen Geist”, “Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott”, “Wir glauben all an einen Gott”, “Mitten wir im Leben sind”, “Gott der Vater wohn uns bei”, “Gott sei gelobet und gebenedeiet”, "Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der von uns den Gotteszorn wandt” (the latter based on J. Hus’s sacred song). According to the Order of Church Services use in Württemberg in 1536, the usual one or two Psalm chorales before the sermons on the special holidays/ feast days of Christmas could be replaced by a “Leise’ such as “Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ.” Robert L. Marshall and Robin A. Leaver co-authored an article in the Grove Music Online dictionary, Oxford University Press, 2005, acc. 12/22/05, which covers the subject of “Leisen” and the ‘refrains’ which include the “Kyrie eleison” and the “Alleluja”. [The score sample given below and taken from a composition based upon “Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ” by Lucas Osiander (1584) even uses an “Alleluja” to replace the almost exclusively used refrain “Kyrie eleison”. >>The early Christian church provided a number of opportunities for congregational participation. The Ambrosian hymns were originally intended to be sung by the congregation, and congregational refrains were added to a number of liturgical chants. From the 6th century liturgical singing became the preserve of the cantor and choir. But extra-liturgical songs in the vernacular continued to be written and sung at principal festivals, some saints’ days and, later, in connection with liturgical drama. Throughout the Middle Ages the refrain ‘Kyrieleison’ was sung as part of the litany as well as after the Latin strophes of such hymns as the Te Deum or after the individual verses of psalms. By the Carolingian period, the ‘Kyrieleison’ refrain was frequently extended with short vernacular phrases, and German translations of the Latin hymn strophes themselves began to appear. The oldest surviving example is an Old High German version of the Latin hymn Aurea luce, the so-called ‘Freisinger Petrus-hymnus’, in an early 9^th-century neumed manuscript. Such vernacular hymnody was particularly strong in German-speaking regions. Between the 9^th century and 1518 over 1400 German vernacular hymns are known to have been written. The hymn of Hussite Bohemia, the English medieval carol and the Italian lauda are comparable repertories of this period. From the 12^th century the principal forms of vernacular singing that developed into the Reformation chorale were German translations of Latin chant, the Leise (German spiritual song) and the cantio (Latin spiritual song). Of all the forms of Gregorian chant, medieval translators understandably favoured the Ambrosian hymn of the monastic Offices with its short strophes, concise and straightforward language and essentially syllabic melodic style. These qualities later made it the most significant Gregorian source for the Protestant chorale writers. Single hymns such as the ‘Petrus-hymnus’ and even entire hymnaries were translated; but during the later Middle Ages hymns for the principal feasts were strongly preferred. Two of the most important German translators of the period, the Monk of Salzburg and Heinrich Laufenberg, set important precedents for Reformation poets with their choice of hymns as well as their translations. Late medieval hymn translations were rarely provided with musical notation, but the fact that they kept the original metrical schemes suggests that they were meant to be sung to the original melodies; the presence of rubrics suggests that they may have been used occasionally in some forms of liturgical worship. Apart from the hymns, the chants for the Office did not as a group stimulate many translations, but individual antiphons such as Media vita in morte sumus, formerly attributed to Notker Balbulus, and the 11^th-century Pentecost antiphon Veni Sancte Spiritus existed in the German versions Mitten wir im Leben sind and Komm, heiliger Geist, Herr Gott from at least the early 15th century. The chants for the Mass having non-strophic texts and relatively intricate melodies did not encourage translation in the pre-Reformation period, particularly since they remained the exclusive province of the clergy and choir. There were isolated translations of some items, however, such as a 15^th-century German metrical rendering of the Credo, Wir glauben in einen Gott, which served as one of several sources for Luther’s Wir glauben all an einen Gott. Of the Propers only the sequence assumed considerable, indeed outstanding, importance for the later history of the chorale as the origin of the Leise. During the late Middle Ages the practice developed of occasionally permitting the congregation to sing German versions of the sequence (itself by this time a metrical, strophic form) during the regular service at the principal feasts of the church year, immediately after the clergy and choir had performed the Latin original. These German strophes typically concluded with the refrain ‘Kyrieleis’ and thus suggested the name Leise for the genre, a name which was soon applied to other refrain songs as well. Most Leisen have a single strophe of four short lines, a simple melody often consisting of repeated motivic formulae and the ‘Kyrieleis’ refrain. Generally a Leise strophe retained the same melody throughout the centuries while the refrain continually received new settings, invariably of the simplest melodic material. Since the Leise shares stylistic and liturgical elements with the litany, the Kyrie, the hymn, the sequence and the folksong, its origins and development have been a matter of controversy. The picture is complicated by the fact that whereas there was an outburst of production of Leise texts between the 12^th century and the early 14^th, melodies for them are extant only from the 15^th century. The most important and well-known Leisen, those which survive in Protestant chorales, have particularly strong musical and even liturgical connections with the sequence. The chorales associated with the major feasts listed in Table 1, the opening strophes of which existed as Leisen in the Middle Ages, all substantially derive their melodic material from the Latin sequence for the same feast. Chorales included in the standard hymnbook of the present German Lutheran church, the Evangelisches Gesangbuch (EG), are cited by their number in that volume. Most of these Leisen appear with the corresponding Latin sequence in medieval liturgical manuscripts, and because of that they are now thought to have developed as abbreviated forms of the Latin sequence. According to this interpretation the concluding ‘Kyrieleis’ refrain, with its variable melodies, assumes only secondary importance, whereas earlier views suggested that the four-line strophe was appended to the original acclamation. The Sequence [in this instance is]: “Gratis nunc omnereddamus” The Leise [is]: “Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ”<<

Original Melody Sources:
The melody found in the Gotha (1715) hymnal which Bach may have used appears as follows:

Yet earlier uses of this melody with examples from hymnals or settings by earlier composers include the following: 1. The original combination of the earlier melody with Luther’s translation and additional verses first appeared in print in Wittenberg, 1524:

Note: Bach uses this variant of the chorale melody for BWV 722a and BWV 722, but not, interestingly enough for BWV 697, which has the more common used form of the melody. The NBA gives this variant melody (for BWV 722) as originating from Wittenberg, 1524, where it is known there as the "Grates nunc"). The text, of course, is still the same one, "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ" by Martin Luther, first documented from 1524.
Other earlier settings based on this melody and for which score samples can be viewed are:
2. A 4-pt., chorale motet setting by Balthasar Resinarius (circa 1480-1546) with the cantus firmus in the tenor voice; first date of printing is 1544:

3. A 4-pt. chorale motet setting by Johann Walter (Walther) (1496-1570) dating from 1551 with the soprano voice having the cantus firmus:

4. A 5-pt. chorale motet setting by Antonius Scandellus (1517-1580) from 1575 [the melody indicated in the score sample is assembled from the appearance of the cantus firmus in various voices]:

5. A simple, straight-forward 4-pt. setting (stylo simplici) (or ‘stilo semplice’) by Lucas Osiander (1534-1604) from 1586:

6. Another stylo simplici, 4-pt. setting by Erhard Bodenschatz (circa 1576-1636) dates from 1608:

7. Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654) has two stylo simplici, 4-pt. settings [both with exactly the same melody as given in the score sample] dating from 1650 [see further details below]

[Other pre-Bach compositions using this melody are listed below under Other Composers]

Use of the Chorale Melody by Bach:
Text: Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ \| EKG: 15 Author: Martin Luther (Wittenberg, 1524)
Ver	Work	Mvt.	Year	Br	RE	KE	Di	BC	Score		Music Examples
7	BWV 64	Mvt. 2	1723	160	108	160	13	A15:2	PDF		Mvt. 2 (MG) [midi] \| Mvt. 2 (Leusink) [ram]
1	BWV 91	Mvt. 1	1724	-	-	-	-	A9:1			Mvt. 1 (Leusink) [ram]
2	BWV 91	Mvt. 2	1724	-	-	-	-	A9:2			Mvt. 2 (Leusink) [ram]
7	BWV 91	Mvt. 6	1724	53	109	51	130	A9:6	PDF \| PDFch		Mvt. 6 (MG) \| Mvt. 6 (MG) ch [midi] \| Mvt. 6 (Leusink) [ram
6	BWV 248	Mvt. 7	1734	-	-	-	-	D7:7
7	BWV 248	Mvt. 28	1734	-	110	-	123	D7:28	PDF		Mvt. 28 (MG) [midi]







Untexted:
Ver	Work	Mvt.	Year	Br	RE	KE	Di	BC	Score	Music Examples
-	BWV 314	-	?	287	107	288	65	FC69.1	PDF	Chorale (MG) [midi]
-	BWV 604	-	1713/15	-	-	-	-	K33
-	BWV 697	-	1707/17	-	-	-	-	K147
-	BWV 722(a)	-	1700/17	-	-	-	-	K114
-	BWV 723	-		-	-	-	-	-
BWV 314: probably from a lost cantata. BWV 604: Orgelbüchlein BWV 723: not included in the NBA – Is currently listed by the Grove Music Online dictionary as definitely being a composition by Johann Michael Bach. Also see below.





Use of the Chorale Melody by other composers:
Caspar Copus (mid 16^th century): Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ [no further details about this version available]
Christian Janszon Hollander (1510-1516 - 1568/1569): Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ for 5 voices taken from a printing dated 1570 Gelobet seist du Jesu Christ for 5 voices (1610)
Johann Eccard (1553-1611): Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, Chorale Motet for 5 voices, appeared in Geistliche Lieder auf den Choral (1597)
Adam Gumpelzhaimer (1559-1625): 2 schöne Weihenacht Lieder, ... Gelobet seist du Jesu Christ ... Vom Himmel hoch, 4 St. . ... Item das alte Gelobet, Fit porta Christi u. alte Joseph, 5 St., Incerti autoris, (Augsburg, 1618) [a 5-pt. setting of Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ]
Andreas Raselius [Raesel] (c1563-1602): Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ for 5 voices (1610)
Melchior Schärer (1570-1602): Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ , A-Capella Motet for SAB
Michael Praetorius (1571-1621): In his Polyhymnia Panegyrica there is an item # 32 which is Gelobet seystu Jesu Christ and is listed for performance with 2, 3, 4, or 5 ‘chori’ [which means instrumental groups] and set for 8, 9, and up to 20 voices/vocal parts] In his Polyhymnia Exercitatrix, there is a listing of a Gelobet Jesu Christ in 3 parts for 2, 4, and 6 voices. Praetorius explains that these compositions are particularly suitable for boys (‘and other musicians’) and are set according to the current Italian manner/style (Gabrieli, etc.). In his Polyhymnia X containing almost exclusively Latin motets, there is one composition with 8 vocal parts and 2 chori entitled: Gelobet seystu Jesu Christ In his Syntagma musicum Volume III, p. 181, Praetorius writes regarding Gelobet seystu Jesu Christ and a few other chorales can also be sung without Ornament-Instrumenta [‘obbligato instruments’] using only the Concertat-Stimmen [‘solo voices’] with an organ or other Fundament-Instrumenten [‘instruments in the basso continuo group’] very distinctly and gracefully/delicately [“zierlich”] as it is appropriate and with a ‘pure’ [‘clean intonation’ and/or ‘without the use of embellishments’] voice. On p. 186, Praetorius suggests the Gelobet seistu Jesu Christ can be performed as follows: Have the singers and/or choirs (including the instrumentalist choirs) sing and/or play the first line of the verse Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, after which an instrumental ritornello is played. Then the entire musical group begins, once again, from the beginning to continue through the entire verse. Or, the ritornello can be inserted between the lines Das hat er alles uns gethan and the continuation of it in seine grosse Lieb zu zeigen an.
Johann Hermann Schein (1586-1630): Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, hymn for SATB [bc] (1627) Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, Cantata for SST, bc (Opella nova, Part 1, No. 2) (1618)
Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654): Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ for Soprano SSWV135 also SSWV 442 (2 versions above). See: for Soprano SSWV135 also SSWV 442 (2 versions above). See: Score SSWV 282 Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ (chorale), SATB, bc; Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ motet for 8 voicescontained in Die Mottette vol. I, p. 153, Hänßler, Stuttgart
Johann Heinrich Scheidemann (1595-1663): Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, for organ
Johannes Crüger (1598-1662): Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ for 4 voices, 2 obbligato instruments (violins), and continuo. From the MGG1 [Bärenreiter, Kassel, 1986] Walter Blankenburg observes: “Here it becomes clear that he [Crüger] basically no longer recognizes the church modes. The old chorale melodies undergo a complete transformation through the use of innumerable instances of ‘leading tones’ and become simply major and minor melodies [and not any particular church mode]. This process of transformation [of the old, church-mode melodies into major-minor ones] had already been started by the development of the ‘cantional’ style with Crüger pushing this change even more in this [Crüger’s] manner [of setting these chorale melodies]. “Hier zeigt es sich, daß er Kirchentonalität im Grunde nicht mehr kennt. Die alten Weisen werden durch zahllose Leittonbildungen als Dur- und Moll- Weisen völlig umgeprägt. Dieser bereits durch den Kantionalstil eingeleitete Umwandlungsprozeß wurde von Crüger auf diese Weise wesentlich weiter getrieben.”
Thomas Selle (1599-1663): Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, motet for 4-voice choir & continuo, Op 3/5
Andreas Hammerschmidt (1611-1675): Sonata on Gelobet Seist Du Jesu Christ for alto, 2 trumpets, 4 trombones & continuo Gelobet seist du Jesus Christ, for voice, 2 trumpets, trombones & continuo (from Kirchen- und Tafel-musik)
Matthias Weckmann (c1616 or1621-1674): Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, Two Chorale Preludes for Organ Gelobet seist du Jesu Christ, 2 variation cycles for keyboard Regarding the latter, Alexander Silbiger in the Grove Music Online, Oxford University Press, 2005, acc. 12/22/05 states: >>Closely rivalling these works in consummate craftsmanship and in range of form and expression are the nine sets of chorale variations for organ. The individual verses present, and often amplify, almost every variation technique practised by Weckmann's predecessors, from learned canonic cantus firmus settings (in Es ist das Heil and O lux beata trinitas) to extended echo fantasias (verse 2 of the first setting of Gelobet seist du). Their textures range from thick, six-voice imitative polyphony with double pedal (verse 7 of Es ist das Heil) to effusive soloistic figurations over sustained, sensuous backgrounds (verse 2 of Magnificat secundi toni). Es ist das Heil and O lux beata trinitas stand apart from the other sets for their monumental conceptions; each takes approximately half an hour to perform and the number of verses indicates that they could not have been intended for the usual liturgical alternatim practice. Davidsson (1991, p.14) suggests that they were played at Saturday Vespers, directly after the sermon.<<
Samuel Marckfelner (1621-1674 - Bohemia/Slovakia): Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, for organ
Peter Morhard [Mohrhardt, Mohrhart] (birth date unknown - 1685): Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, Chorale Prelude for Organ A German composer and organist. He is first heard of in 1662, when he became organist of the Michaeliskirche, Lüneburg; he held the post until his death and was succeeded in it by his eldest son, Friedrich.
Johann Balthasar Erben (1626-1686): Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, set for 5 [S, 2 A, T, B] voices, 2 violins, 3 instruments, violetta, bassoon, bc (in tablature)
Constantin Christian Dedekind (1628-1715): Gelobet Seist Du
Dietrich Buxtehude (c1637-1707): Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, Chorale prelude for organ in G major, BuxWV 188 Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, Chorale prelude for organ in G major, BuxWV 189

Johann Friedrich Alberti (1642-1710): Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, Chorale Prelude for Keyboard
Johann Michael Bach (1648-1694): Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, Chorale Prelude for Organ which used to be BWV 723
Johann Philipp Förtsch (1652-1732): Fragments of a chorale cantata Gelobet seist du Jesu Christ
Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706): Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, Chorale Prelude for Organ. T. 38

Georg Böhm (1661-1733): Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ for clavier(?) a Chorale Partita Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, Chorale Prelude for Organ
Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow (1663-1712): Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, Chorale Prelude for Organ
Georg Friedrich Kauffmann (1679-1735): Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, Chorale Prelude in 2 versions: 1. for Oboe and Organ; 2. for Organ (manualiter) (1733)

Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767): Gelobet seist du, Jesus Christ (I) (Neumeister), sacred cantata for chorus, 2 oboes, strings & continuo, TWV 1:611 (1718) Gelobet seist du, Jesus Christ (II) (Neumeister), sacred cantata for chorus, 2 oboes, strings & continuo, TWV 1:612
Johann Gottfried Walther (1684-1748): Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, Chorale Prelude for Organ

Gottfried August Homilius (1714-1785): Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, Cantata Gelobet Seist Du, Jesu Christ, Chorale for Organ
Johann Christoph Altnikol (1720-1759): Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, for organ
Johann Philipp Kirnberger (1721-1783): Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, Chorale prelude for organ
Friedrich Zelle (1845-1927): Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, Cantata
Erhart Ermatinger (1900-1966): Gelobet seist du Jesu Christ, Chorale Prelude for Organ, Op. 24, No. 1
Kurt Hessenberg (1908-1994): Gelobet seist Du, Jesu Christ, Chorale Cantata for mixed chorus, 2 solo voices, organ and orchestra, Op. 9 (1935)
Heino Schubert (1928- ): Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, Cantata

Sources: NBA, vols. III/2.1 & 2.2 in particular [Bärenreiter, 1954 to present] and the BWV ("Bach Werke Verzeichnis") [Breitkopf & Härtel, 1998] The PDF files of the Chorales were contributed by Margaret Greentree J.S. Bach Chorales Software: Capella 2004 Software, version 5.1. Prepared by Thomas Braatz & Aryeh Oron (December 2005)

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Last update: ýApril 26, 2006 ý14:19:29