Ernst Gebhardt

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Ernst Gebhardt
Jubilee singer , 35th edition, Basel, 1878
Good news in songs , 76th edition, Basel, 1912

Ernst Heinrich Gebhardt (born July 12, 1832 in Ludwigsburg ; † June 9, 1899 there ) was a song writer and Methodist preacher .

Life

After attending grammar school, Gebhardt first studied chemistry and pharmacy, then agriculture and forestry, and in 1851 emigrated with relatives to Chile , where he worked on a farm. In 1856 he returned to Germany. After a revival experience , he entered the Methodist seminary in Bremen in 1859 . As a result he worked as a traveling preacher in Germany and Switzerland. In 1879 he was one of the founders of the Christian Singers Association , which he chaired from 1892. For 12 years he was editor of the singer's greeting from the Christian Singers Association , from 1895 also editor of the Methodist church newspaper Der Evangelist and Der Kinderfreund . He was actually not a traveling preacher, but a traveling preacher, as was customary in the Methodist Church at the time, that is, he was transferred to a different location every 3 to 4 years.

He came to Methodism through his bride and later wife. He married at the age of 28 and had nine children. For his parlor meetings and evangelism he had a small portable harmonium with him, which is now with his great-granddaughter in Bietigheim.

Works

In Basel Gebhardt published the song collections Happy Message (1875) and Gospel Songs (1880), with which he made the English-American revival song at home in the German-speaking area. In addition to these two most important collections of songs, there are also 26 collections of songs that can be traced back to Ernst Gebhardt, including Jugendpsalter (1868), Zionspsalter (1868), Zion's Pearl Choirs Part I (1870), Zion's Pearl Choirs Part II (1886), the Jubilee Singer (1878) , Zion's Weckstimmen (1884), Men's Pearl Choirs Part I (1888), Men's Pearl Choirs Part II (1895), Greetings from Gerok's Songs (1891), Bundeslieder, Zion's Lust for Songs, Always Happy (1884), Christmas Cheers (nd), Welcome (nd ) and gems (no year).

He also emerged as a translator and writer of songs of this kind. For example, he translated “O Bliss of the Purified” (“What luck is it to be redeemed”) by Francis Bottome . The translation of “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” (“What a friend is our Jesus”) comes from his pen, as well as the text to the Christmas carol “What cheers, what joy”.

Gebhardt has been referred to as Germany's Ira David Sankey . He was the singer of the German-speaking sanctification movement . Although part of the new awakening song material (awakening song) came to Germany as early as 1884 through Franz Eugen Schlachter , the new music only established itself in Germany through Ernst Gebhardt's efforts.

Today many of the songs are part of the repertoire of hymn books in Christian communities. The German hymn book Reichslieder from the community movement owes it to Gebhardts Lieder that it has become the most widespread songbook among the German collections of sacred folk songs. The Reichsliederbuch contains 66 songs by Ernst Gebhardt - 11 original creations and 55 translations.

The works of Gebhardt influenced u. a. the composer Emanuel Gohle . His song " Jesus Errettet mich now ", which he presented during Robert Pearsall Smith's triumphant journey in Karlsruhe on April 15, 1875, and which he had dedicated to him, also became known. The song became the slogan of the sanctification movement .

Ernst Gebhardt founded "Abstinent", a forerunner of the Blue Cross .

He also had many special assignments, including two trips across America with his daughter. They were supposed to raise money through preaching and singing to reduce the band's debts in Germany. When they returned in 1883, they had raised a large amount.

To commemorate its service in parishes and choirs, the Christian Singers Association had an obelisk erected on its grave in the old cemetery in Ludwigsburg.

See also

literature

  • Theophil Funk: Ernst Gebhardt, the gospel singer. 1965
  • Wolfgang Heiner: Well-known songs - how they came about , Stuttgart, 1995. 5th edition
  • Stephan Holthaus : healing - healing - sanctification. The history of the German sanctification and evangelization movement (1874-1909). Brunnen, Giessen 2005, ISBN 3-7655-9485-7
  • Karl Heinz Voigt: The sanctification movement between the Methodist Church and the regional church community. Brockhaus, Haan 1996, ISBN 3-417-29418-5
  • Walter Schulz, The meaning of the song poetry influenced by Anglo-Saxon Methodism for our German church chants, illustrated with the songs of Ernst Gebhardt, 1934
  • Walter Schulz, Reichsänger: Key to the German Reichsliederbuch, 1930
  • Rudolf Dellsperger u. a .: On your word. Contributions to the history and theology of the Evangelical Society of the Canton of Bern in the 19th century. Berchtold Haller Verlag, Bern 1981, ISBN 3-85570-081-8
  • Karl-Hermann Kauffmann: Franz Eugen Schlachter and the sanctification movement , biography with reference to the spiritual environment of Schlachter and with a short history of the Schlachter Bible, detailed version with 100 illustrations. Commemorative publication for the anniversary "100 Years of the Schlachter Bible". Self-published by the Free Brethren Community of Albstadt, 2005
  • Karl-Hermann Kauffmann: Franz Eugen Schlachter, a Bible translator in the context of the sanctification movement , Verlag Johannis, Lahr, 2007, ISBN 978-3-501-01568-1
  • Patrick Streiff : Gebhardt, Ernst. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
  • Walter Schulz :  Gebhardt, Ernst. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 6, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1964, ISBN 3-428-00187-7 , p. 121 ( digitized version ).
  • Karl Heinz Voigt :  GEBHARDT, Heinrich Ernst. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 26, Bautz, Nordhausen 2006, ISBN 3-88309-354-8 , Sp. 362-431.  ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Walter Schulz, The importance of song poetry influenced by Anglo-Saxon Methodism for our German church chants, illustrated by the songs of Enrst Gebhardt , 1934
  2. ↑ see EN-Wikipedia under "What a Friend We Have in Jesus"
  3. ↑ published in 1875 in: Happy Message in Songs - Song No. 17 (page 20), see: https://archive.org/details/frohebotschaftin00gebh_0/page/20 - based on a melody by the US Baptist preacher (see EN- Wikipedia Robert Lowry )
personal data
SURNAME Gebhardt, Ernst
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gebhardt, Ernst Heinrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German song poet and Methodist preacher
DATE OF BIRTH July 12, 1832
PLACE OF BIRTH Ludwigsburg
DATE OF DEATH June 9, 1899
Place of death Ludwigsburg