Star that I look at
The star I look at is a Protestant hymn from the Romantic era , the text of which was written by Adolf Krummacher (1824–1884) in 1857 . It is one of the much-sung songs in the Evangelical Hymnal (EG No. 407), has been translated into numerous languages and can be found in the repertoire of numerous choirs and choral societies. It is also represented in the Mennonite hymn book (MG No. 364). It became popular through the melody that Mina Koch (1845-1924) composed in 1887 (first published in 1897).
Lyrics of the song
Star on which I look,
rock on which I stand,
guide I trust,
staff on which I walk,
bread on which I live,
source on which I rest,
goal which I strive for,
everything, Lord , are you!
Without you, where would
my strength and courage come from?
Without you, who would take
my burden, who?
Without you I
would split up in no time.
Believe, hope, love
everything, Lord, you are!
That's why I want to walk
my path
until the bells ring
and I am home.
Then with a new
ring I cheered you gladly:
I have nothing to bring,
everything, Lord, is you!
About the origin of the song
In 1857, Adolf Krummacher published a collection of poems under the title Harfenklänge . In the first place, under the heading One and All, is the poem Stern, which I look at . It only became popular after his death with the melody of Mina Koch.
The composer got to know the poem in 1887 during a visit to her brother, the pastor Karl Schapper in Groß Möringen in the Altmark, who was married to Adolf Krummacher's daughter Johanna. The poem made such a strong impression on Mina Koch that she immediately meditated on it at the piano and immediately wrote the melody on the sheet of music.
Later, Wort und Weise were printed on single sheets by the publishing house of the Educational Association in Elberfeld (where Mina Koch had lived since 1876); officially, however, the song did not come to the public until 1897, at a time when the composer had been blind for seven years.
Alternative melodies to the text
The Krummacher poem found other melodies, but they have not become nearly as popular. The song was released at the beginning of the 20th century with a melody by a further unknown JO Hillyer. However, it can be assumed that the melody was not originally created for the text, but was added later.
The melody by Wiard Popkes (1894–1954), who lived in East Frisia , comes from a later period . He created one movement each for male choir and for mixed choir.
In 1983 Marion Warrington (* 1947 in New Zealand) from the Jugend mit einer Mission e. V. revised the text and gave it a contemporary look.
Alternative lyrics to the melody
Mina Koch's melody was assigned a different text early on. It comes from Georg von Viebahn the Elder. J. (1888–1915), a son of General Georg von Viebahn (1840–1915):
- Rock of eternity,
worlds stand through you,
rock in the sea of times,
refuge in storms.
Rock that gushes
here in the gluten barren desert
Floods of life:
Rock, we praise you!
- Star on dark days
when the sun flees,
you do not give up despair of
those who look upon you.
Star, you make
our way so bright here;
source of our hope,
star, we praise you!
- Jesus wants to be
your rock and star for life ;
you never need to tremble,
you are never alone.
To stand on the rock and
look at the star
means to walk victorious
in the power of the Lord.
In 2011 Koch's melody inspired the pianist, singer and evangelist Waldemar Grab to write his own text:
- I love to be on earth,
this beautiful star,
whatever will be,
Lord, I like to live! I like to watch you
marveled at miracles
,
move through the tides,
everything, Lord, you are!
- Sun, moon and stars
shine day and night,
give light and warmth,
are witnesses of your splendor!
You give me life
and my daily bread,
I want to give my heart to you,
savior in need.
- Were so many people,
I was often alone,
then found myself,
Lord, now I'm yours!
Would like to serve you
with heart, mouth and piano,
come towards you,
because I belong to you!
Grab notes: “This song was written on a night when I couldn't sleep. In deep gratitude for all the impressions I had experienced, I wrote these thoughts down ... It was only while I was writing that I noticed that it fits the famous melody of Minna Koch exactly: 'Star I am looking at'. "
References
swell
- Text: Adolf Krummacher: Harfenklänge , Berlin 1857, p. 1
- Melodies:
- from Mina Koch:
- in: … an always happy heart. Songbook for Protestant associations and groups of young girls , Berlin-Dahlem 1925, no.250
- in: Evangelisches Gesangbuch , 1993 ff., No. 407
- by JO Hillyer in: Songs to the Glory of the Savior. Club songs of the Blue Cross (Swiss edition), Bern, 2nd edition 1937, No. 126
- by Wiard Popkes in: Pilgrim songs. 200 men's choir songs , Gießen / Basel, 4th edition 1953, no.144
- by Marion Warrington in: Song of Life. A song book by Youth with a Mission , Tübingen 1986, No. 33, ISBN 3-88076-024-1 .
- from Mina Koch:
literature
- Günter Balders, Helmut Lauterwasser: 407 - star that I look at . In: Martin Evang, Ilsabe Seibt (Hrsg.): Liederkunde zum Evangelischen Gesangbuch . No. 19 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2014, ISBN 978-3-525-50342-3 , pp. 71–79 , doi : 10.13109 / 9783666503429.71 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- Hans Brandenburg: Georg von Viebahn. General and Evangelist . 2nd Edition. Wuppertal, 1992, ISBN 3-417-24034-4 .
- Karl Schapper: Star that I look at. In memory of the poet Cornelius Friedrich Adolf Krummacher . In: Altmärkisches Sonntagsblatt, 1924.
- Karl Christian Thust: Bibliography on the songs of the Protestant hymn book . Göttingen 2006, ISBN 3-525-50336-9 , pp. 354-355.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Quoted from: Songs of Faith, 11th revised edition, Dillenburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-89436-386-4 , No. 325.
- ↑ Waldemar Grab: I love being on earth. The exotic story of the dream ship pianist. Autobiography. Giessen 2011, ISBN 978-3-7655-1123-3 , p. 5.
- ↑ Booklet for CD Waldemar Grab: I'm so happy on earth. 2011, p. 13.