You command your ways

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Cover picture from Praxis Pietatis Melica, edition from 1721.
Early print of Gerhardt's Befiehl du dich your ways (1676)

Command your way is a spiritual song by Paul Gerhardt . It was first published in 1653 in the fifth edition of Johann Crüger's hymn book Praxis Pietatis Melica .

Emergence

Nothing is known about the exact circumstances in which the text was written. The time of origin can be narrowed down to the extent that 64 new texts by Paul Gerhardt were added to the 5th edition of Crüger's hymnbook in 1653 compared to the 2nd edition from 1647.

A legend widespread in the 18th century connects the origin of the song with the recall of Paul Gerhardt from Mittenwalde in 1657 or his dismissal from the Berlin Nikolaikirche in 1666/67. This legend was u. a. also processed by Theodor Fontane in volume 4 of the walks through the Mark Brandenburg (1882).

In fact, Friedrich Nicolai was able to prove as early as 1809 that this legend cannot correspond to the facts, especially since the song must have been written before 1653.

To the text

The initial words of the twelve verses form the acrostic the psalm verse 37 , 5: "Commit to the Lord your 'way and hope on him, he will probably do it." Under this motto, the stanzas unfold the topic of trust in God with ever new references and comparisons.

Melodies

German Evangelical Hymn book (1915), Rhineland-Westphalia edition 1929
Postage stamp from the German Federal Post Office with the beginning of Befiehl du seinewege on the 300th anniversary of Paul Gerhardt's death (1976), designed by Holger Börnsen

When it was first printed in 1653 in Crüger's practice Pietatis Melica , Gerhardt's text had the note “Mel [odie] Praise God our Lord ”. This melody in Doric mode is based in part on the psalm song Bien-heureux est quiconques by Loys Bourgeois , printed in the Pseaulmes cinquante de David , Geneva 1547. Bartholomäus Gesius first printed it in 1603 in his collection Enchiridium Etlicher Deutschen und Latinischen Gesengen together with the text Praise God, our Lord . Georg Philipp Telemann edited the song in 1730 and changed the original Doric melody to minor . The song has been reprinted in this form in many hymn books to this day, for example in the Protestant hymn book under number 361.

The first half of the melody is very similar to that of the Pavane Belle qui tien ma vie from the orchésography of Thoinot Arbeau (1588).

The text was sung to other melodies throughout history. Among other things, it was placed under the melody for Mein G'müt ist mich bewret by Hans Leo Haßler (1601), to which other sacred texts such as Paul Gerhardt's O head full of blood and wounds or Herzlich tut me demand are sung by Christoph Knoll . This text underlay became particularly prominent through Johann Sebastian Bach's arrangement in his St. Matthew Passion BWV 244 (Choral No. 53). Bach's Passion setting contains five different chorale harmonizations of Haßler's melody, four of which are based on different stanzas from O Head Full of Blood and Wounds , but a fifth is based on Commanding Your Paths , which obeys the same verse scheme. On the other hand, Bach composed his four-part chorale BWV 272, which may come from a lost cantata, on the basis of Gesius' melody; However, since this choir has been handed down without a text, it is not certain which text Bach intended for this chorale.

In the Reichsliederbuch of the community movement , the song is linked to a melody by Johann Michael Haydn .

In 18th century Catholic hymn books, the text often appears with melodies in major . In the Catholic hymn book of Liegnitz (1828) it is underlaid to a melody by Melchior Teschner (1584–1635), which is also known with the texts Valet I want to give you (EG 523) or You have O Lord Your Life .

The praise of God from 2013 contains stanzas 1–4 and 12 in the ecumenical text and melody version (No. 418).

Johann Christoph Altnikol created another setting of the text as a motet ; In the 20th century, Helmut Degen (1911–1995) composed a cantata in 1948, Befiehl du seinewege .

text

Original version Common text today

You command your way /
And what hurts your heart /
The most faithful care
of the one /
Who licks the sky / Who clouds / airs and winds /
Gives ways / Run and train /
He will also find ways /
Since your foot can walk.

The Lord must you trust /
when it should go to you:
you must look at his work /
when your work should exist.
With worries and with grief
And with self-
pains, God doesn't let anything take
away from him / It has to be requested.

Your eternal faithfulness and grace /
O Father / knows and sees /
What is good or harm
to the mortal blood /
And what you choose /
You do that / strong hero /
And bring to stand and be /
What your advice pleases.

Way you allerwegen /
Submit to dirs not missing /
Your blessings do is louder /
Yours is gang louder liecht /
Your werck kan nobody stop /
Your work must not rest /
If you children what your /
is beneficial / wilt do.

And even if all the devil
want to resist /
So without a doubt
God will not go back /
What he took for him /
And what he wants /
That must finally come
to its purpose and goal.

Hope / O you poor soul / Hope
and be courageous /
God will get you out of hell /
Since grief plagues you /
With great grace
/
Just wait for the time / So you will see
the sun of the most beautiful joy.

Open / give up / give up your pain
And worry good night /
Let go / what makes the heart
sad and sad /
Are you not ruler /
Who should lead everything /
God sits in the regiment
and leads everything well.

Let him / him do and rule /
He is a wise prince /
And will behave in such a way /
That you will be amazed /
When he / as owed him /
With wonderful
advice The work brought out /
That troubled you.

He will indeed
pardon with his consolation for a while
and do his part /
As if in his mind he had given up on you
/
And should you be
afraid and need for and for fear /
So he does not ask anything about you.

But it will be /
that you remain loyal to him /
so he will
deliver you / since you believe the least /
he will loosen your heart
from the heavy burden /
which you have not
carried to any evil one so far.

Good for you / you loyal child /
You have and carry away
with glory and shouting thanks
The victory and crown of honor /
God gives you the palms
in your right hand
And you sing psalms of joy /
To whom / who turned your sorrow .

Make an end / O LORD / make an end of
all our needs /
Strengthen our feet and hands /
And let
us be your care at all times until death /
And be faithfully recommended /
So our ways will
certainly go to heaven.

Commit you your ways
and thine heart offends
the faithful care
which directs the heaven.
The clouds, air and winds
are ways, run and path, he
will also find ways,
since your foot can walk. You must trust

the gentleman
if it is to go well with you;
you must look to his work
if your work is to endure.
With worries and with grief
and with self- inflicted pain
, God does not allow anything to be taken away,
it must be requested.

Your ' eternal faithfulness' and grace,
O Father, knows and sees
what is good or what harms
the mortal blood;
and what you then
choose, you do, strong hero,
and bring to the state and essence
what your advice pleases.

Way you allerwegen,
of funds thee not lacking;
what you do is pure blessing,
your walk is pure light;
No one can hinder
your work , your work must not rest
if you
want to do what is beneficial for your children .

And although all the devils
here wanted to resist,
there is no doubt that
God will not go back;
what he has set out to do
and what he wants
must finally come
to its purpose and goal.

Hope , you poor soul,
hope and be courageous! When grief plagues you,
God will move you out of the cave with great graces; just wait for the time, and you will see the sun of the most beautiful joy. Up , up, give your sorrows and sorrows good night, let go of what makes the heart sad and sad; you are not the ruler who should lead everything, God sits in the regiment and leads everything well. Him , do it let and exercise, it is a wise prince and will behave in such a way that you'll be surprised if, as gebühret him with wonderful advice hinausgeführet the work that has troubled you. He will certainly pardon for a while with his consolation and act on his part as if he had given himself up to you in his mind , and should you float in fear and distress for and for , as if he did not ask anything about you. But if it is found that you remain loyal to him , he will deliver you because you believe it least of all; he will loosen your heart from the heavy burden that you have never borne to any evil . Good for you, you child of loyalty, you have and carry away with glory and shouts of thanks the victory and crown of honor ; God gives you the palms in your right hand, and you sing psalms of joy to him who has turned your sorrow. Make an end, O Lord, put an end to all our misery; strengthen our feet and hands and let us be recommended to your care and faithfulness at all times until death , so our paths will certainly go to heaven.


























































Translations

A Danish translation, “Befal du dine veje og al din hjertesorg til hans trofaste pleje, som bor i Himlens borg! ...” is in the Lutheran Danish hymn book Den Danske Salme Bog , Copenhagen 1993, no. 31, and was adopted and supplemented in Den Danske Salmebog , Copenhagen 2002, nos. 36 and 38. No. 36 was translated by BC Ægidius and taken over from the hymn book Flensburg 1717. After a Norwegian translation a text was taken over into the Danish hymn book Roskilde 1855, and this text appeared, edited by Nikolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig in 1853 and 1855, as No. 38 in the current hymnal from 2002: "På alle dine veje, hvor sort det end ser ud, gak rolig til dit leje, og stol på Himlens Gud! ..."

literature

  • Elke Axmacher: Johann Arndt and Paul Gerhardt. Studies in theology, piety and spiritual poetry of the 17th century. (Mainz Hymnological Studies, Volume 3) Francke, Tübingen and Basel 2001, ISBN 3-7720-2913-2 .
  • Elke Axmacher, Andreas Marti: 361 - Command your way . In: Liederkunde zum Evangelisches Gesangbuch . No. 23 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2017, ISBN 978-3-525-50346-1 , p. 44–56 , doi : 10.13109 / 9783666503467.44 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  • Reinhard Ellsel: You come and make me great. Sermons to songs by Paul Gerhardt. Luther-Verlag, Bielefeld 2006, ISBN 3-7858-0497-0 .
  • Jürgen Franck, Bengt Seeberg (Ed.): Singing and Saying. A collection of sermons from the Evangelical Church of Kurhessen-Waldeck about songs from the Evangelical Hymnal. Evangelischer Medienverband Kassel, 2000, ISBN 3-89477-900-4 , pp. 185–191.
  • Raymund F. Glover (Ed.): The Hymnal 1982 Companion. Volume 3 B. Church Publishing, New York 1994, ISBN 0898691435 , pp. 1231 ff. ( Limited preview in Google book search).
  • Silke Janssen, Gerd Höft (Ed.): You command your way. Ten moving chorales - ten touching impulses. Aussaat Verlag, 2009, ISBN 978-3-7615-5678-8 , pp. 12-16.
  • Johannes Lähnemann : song sermons. Seubert, Nürnberg 1996, ISBN 3-926849-17-7 .
  • Dieter Martin: Barock um 1800. Klostermann, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-465-03039-7 (also Habilitation University of Freiburg i. Br.), Pp. 512-521 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
  • Martin Gotthard Schneider , Gerhard Vicktor (ed.): Old chorales - re-experienced. Creative use of hymns in schools and congregations. Kaufmann, Lahr 1993, ISBN 3-7806-2277-7 , pp. 35-37.
  • Klaus Tanner, Matthias Loerbroks (ed.): 30 song sermons. A year with Paul Gerhardt. Radius, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-87173-514-1 , pp. 96-103.

Web links

Commons : Command your way  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Johann Crüger: Pietatis Melica practice. That is: Exercising godliness in Christian and comforting chants. Editio V. Runge, Berlin 1653, p. 610 ff. ( Digitized version of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek).
  2. ^ Theodor Fontane: Complete Works. Vol. 1-25, Volume 12, Munich 1959-1975, pp. 244-254 ( Mittenwalde at Zeno.org .).
  3. ↑ Dieter Martin: Baroque around 1800. Klostermann, Frankfurt am Main 2000, ISBN 3-465-03039-7 , pp. 512-521
  4. ↑ Wilhelm Hüffmeier : "A song, a sentence, a word bears infinite fruit". Paul Gerhardt with Theodor Fontane. In: Günter Balders , Christian Bunners (ed.): “And what he sang has not yet faded away”. Paul Gerhardt in the mirror of literature. (Contributions by the Paul Gerhardt Society Volume 7) Frank & Timme, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-86596-360-4 , pp. 11–26, here p. 22 ( limited preview in the Google book search)
  5. ↑ Ps 37,5  LUT
  6. ↑ a b Chorale Melody: Command your way at bach-cantatas.org
  7. ↑ Friedrich Blume (Ed.): Michael Praetorius. Complete edition of the musical works, Volume 21: Register. G. Kallmeyer, 1960, p. 61 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
  8. ↑ Command your way - Text and Translation at bach-cantatas.org (English)
  9. ↑ 7.6.7.6 D in en: Meter (hymn)
  10. ↑ Notes in the public domain for Untexted Choral BWV 272 in the Choral Public Domain Library - ChoralWiki (English)
  11. ↑ You have, O Lord, your life . Sheet music (PDF, 6.62 kB)
  12. ↑ Theo Mang, Sunhilt Mang (ed.): Der Liederquell . Noetzel, Wilhelmshaven 2007, ISBN 978-3-7959-0850-8 , pp. 1073-1076 .
  13. ↑ DNB catalog entry
  14. ↑ Text version based on: Evangelical hymn book . Edition for the Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Bavaria and Thuringia. 2nd Edition. Evangelical Press Association for Bavaria, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-583-12100-7 , pp. 661-663. - Adjusted to new spelling.
  15. ↑ Cf. Otto Holzapfel : Lied index: The older German-language popular song tradition ( online version on the Volksmusikarchiv homepage of the Upper Bavaria district ; in PDF format; ongoing updates) with further information.