How lovely is May
How lovely is the May is an evangelical spiritual song ( Evangelical hymn book No. 501). It praises God for the joys of the spring month of May . The text is from Martin Behm . The melody in use today goes back to a model by Johann Steuerlein .
Origin and reception
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Martin Behm (1557–1622), Lutheran pastor in Lauban and spiritual writer, published his church calendar in 1606 (preface dated 1604) - This is, Christian Declaration of the Year and the Twelve Months: All pastors, school servants and house fathers wrote and wrote 13 sermons dealt with . In the foreword he explains his intention to make readers and listeners aware of God's creative work, which is incomprehensible to the human mind , because "the greatest miracles of God are considered minor because they happen every day". From perception, interpreted through the revealed word of God , gratitude and godly life should arise. Each monthly sermon closes with a rhymed prayer that summarizes the content and praises and requests God. Of these monthly songs, the one for June is also in the Evangelical Hymn book (No. 500).
According to the program of the complete work, the Mailied begins with the contemplation of the awakening life in nature and thanks to God. Then follows the request for the fruiting of the flowering plants and for protection against weather damage (“ mildew , frost, hoar frost and castle ”), further for the spiritual sun, which can also “ refresh in the cross ”, and finally for the fertility of faith in everyday work. In doing so, it essentially unfolds statements from Psalm 104 .
How lovely is the May was hardly used as a hymn for centuries and was soon overshadowed by Paul Gerhardt's younger seasonal songs , especially Go out, my heart, and seek Freud . It is missing in all editions of the Praxis Pietatis Melica and still in the German Evangelical Hymn book from 1915. For the church service chant it is found for the first time in the Evangelical Church Hymnbook from 1950, there for the first time with the joyful melody that quickly made it popular (No. 370).
Text in the Evangelical Hymnal
1. How lovely is May
from the pure goodness of God,
whom people rejoice
because everything is green and blooming.
The animals can now be seen jumping
with pleasure on green pastures,
the birds can be heard singing, they
praise God with joy.
2. Lord, be your praise and glory
for such gifts!
Increase the flower into a fruit,
let it be fruitful.
It is in your hands,
your power and goodness are great;
that is why you want to turn away
powdery mildew, frost, frost and castle from us .
3. Lord, let the sun look
into my gloomy heart,
so that it may be appropriate to be
joyful in the spirit,
to have the greatest pleasure
only in your word,
which can refresh me in the cross
and shows heaven's gate.
4. Help accomplish my work
to praise the name of yours
and let me succeed
in being fruitful in the spirit;
let the
little flowers sprout
many
things of virtue, so that I may exist
and not be reprehensible.
melody
Behm's text was initially conceived as a rhyming prayer, not a song. In the 1617 edition of his church calendar , however, he added the note: “Im Thon, I thank you dear Lord”; this melody is known today as Praise God Confidently With Singing . However, the editors of the EKG decided on a , whose original form can be found in the secular Gesengen by Johann Steuerlein (Erfurt 1575) (I am embraced with love) and which had also been associated with spiritual texts since 1581. With its happy “running” character, its catchy rhythm and its pure major tonality without modal remnants, it is also ideal for Christian hiking groups in May.
In 1947, Martha Müller-Zitzke (1899–1972) created a copy of Psalm 104 : Auf, Seele, Gott zu praising the Steuerlein melody , which was included in the Rhineland / Westphalia / Lippe / reformed edition of the Evangelical Hymnal (No. 690). Also in the Evangelical Hymnal Where we praise you, new songs are growing - plus the song is included under number 106 with seven stanzas; then in the hymn book of the United Methodist Church under number 64.
In 1978 Detlev Block wrote his song for the summer solstice The year is at its height . With this text, the melody of How lovely is May 2013 also found its way into God's praise (No. 465).
literature
- Joachim Stalmann: 501 - How lovely is Maien . In: Liederkunde zum Evangelisches Gesangbuch . No. 22 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2016, ISBN 978-3-525-50345-4 , p. 84–86 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Church calendar , digitized version of the 2nd edition, 1608
- ↑ Dedication , with reference to a quote from Augustine
- ↑ Ps 104,11f LUT
- ↑ 2 Cor 4,6 LUT
- ↑ Ps 104,23 LUT
- ↑ also in the regional part of Württemberg, there the number 602
- ↑ Where we praise you, new songs grow - plus , Munich 2018, Strube Verlag VS 4049, ISBN 978-3-89912-211-4 , No. 106