"Now thank we all our God" is a popular Christian hymn. Catherine Winkworth translated it from the German "", written by the Lutheran pastor Martin Rinkart. Its hymn tune, Zahn No. 5142, was published by Johann Crüger in the 1647 edition of his Praxis pietatis melica.

Background

Martin Rinkart was a Lutheran pastor who came to Eilenburg, Saxony, at the beginning of the Thirty Years' War. The walled city of Eilenburg became the refuge for political and military fugitives, but the result was overcrowding, deadly pestilence and famine. Armies overran it three times. The Rinkart home was a refuge for the victims, even though he was often hard-pressed to provide for his own family. During the height of a severe plague in 1637, Rinkart was the only surviving pastor in Eilenburg, conducting as many as 50 funerals in a day. He performed more than 4,000 funerals in that year, including that of his wife.

Rinkart was a prolific hymn writer. In Rinkart's (Leipzig, 1636), "" appears under the title "", as a short prayer before meals. The exact date is debated, but it is known that it was widely sung by the time the Peace of Westphalia was signed in 1648. Johann Crüger published it in the 1647 edition of his Praxis pietatis melica.

Text

Below is the text in a modern version from the German hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch,Evangelisches Gesangbuch 321 (in German) Evangelisches Gesangbuch / Niedersachsen Bremen and a 19th-century translation by Catherine Winkworth:Now Thank We All Our God hymnary.org Nun danket alle Gott mit Herzen, Mund und Händen,   der große Dinge tut an uns und allen Enden, der uns von Mutterleib und Kindesbeinen an unzählig viel zu gut bis hierher hat getan.Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices, Who wondrous things has done, in Whom this world rejoices; Who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.Der ewig reiche Gott woll uns in unserm Leben ein immer fröhlich Herz und edlen Frieden geben, und uns in seiner Gnad erhalten fort und fort, und uns aus aller Not erlösen hier und dort.O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us, With ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us; And keep us in His grace, and guide us when perplexed; And free us from all ills, in this world and the next!Lob, Ehr und Preis sei Gott, dem Vater und dem Sohne, und Gott, dem Heilgen Geist im höchsten Himmelsthrone, ihm, dem dreieinen Gott, wie es im Anfang war und ist und bleiben wird so jetzt und immerdar.All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given; The Son and Him Who reigns with Them in highest Heaven; The one eternal God, whom earth and Heaven adore; For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.

Melody

The original version:

However, a modified version is more often used when the hymn is sung in English:

The melody is sometimes attributed to Rinkart,Siegmar Keil (2005) but it is usually considered to be by Johann Crüger,Michael Fischer (2007). who first published it.

Musical settings

It is used in J.S. Bach's cantatas, such as BWV 79,BWV 79.3 bach-chorales.com 192 (music lost), harmonized for four voices in BWV 252BWV 252 bach-chorales.com and 386,BWV 386 bach-chorales.com and set in a chorale prelude, BWV 657, as part of the Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes. The now-standard harmonisation was devised by Felix Mendelssohn in 1840 when he adopted the hymn, sung in the now-standard key of G major and with its original German lyrics, as the chorale to his Lobgesang or Hymn of Praise (also known as his Symphony No. 2).

Max Reger composed a chorale prelude as No. 27 of his 52 Chorale Preludes, Op. 67 in 1902. The late-Romantic German composer Sigfrid Karg-Elert used it in his Marche Triomphale. John Rutter composed Now thank we all our God for choir and brass in 1974. In 1977 Czech-American composer Václav Nelhýbel arranged a contemporary setting entitled Now Thank We All Our God: Concertato for 2 trumpets, 2 trombones and organ with tuba and timpani which incorporated "Nun Danket alle Gott" for congregational singing. Hermann Chr. Bühler made an elaborate setting of Johann Crüger's version.Gesangbuch, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1977

Leuthen Chorale It is claimed that after the Battle of Leuthen in 1757, the hymn was taken up by the entire assembled Prussian army. This narrative is, however, questioned by historians and musicologists, who identify the story as a later invention of Prussian propaganda.Hofer, Achim. "Joseph Goldes (1802–1886) Fest-Reveille (1858) über den Choral 'Nun danket alle Gott' für Militärmusik" in Peter Moormann, Albrecht Riethmüller & Rebecca Wolf eds., Paradestück Militärmusik: Beiträge zum Wandel staatlicher Repräsentation durch Musik, Transcript Verlag (2012), , .Kroener, Bernhard R. "'Nun danket alle Gott.' der Choral von Leuthen und Friedrich der Große als protestantischer Held; die Produktion politischer Mythen im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert" in Hartmut Lehmann & Gerd Krumeich eds. "Gott mit uns": Religion, Nation und Gewalt im 19. und frühen 20. Jahrhundert, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht (2000), , . Because of this story the melody is sometimes known as the Leuthen Chorale.

References

External links

Evangelisches Gesangbuch 321 (melody and text in 3 languages) l4a.org "Now Thank We All Our God" (score and audio version) on the website of the Center for Church Music Hymns Without Words lyrics and recording available for download