Melody & Text | Use of the CM by Bach | Use of the CM by other composers

Melody & Text: Zahn: 5820 | EKG: 324

The original melody was composed by Johann Schop (1590-1667) and first appeared as a spiritual/sacred song Wach auf, mein Geist, erhebe dich in his collection Himlische Lieder (the 3^rd set of 10 compositions), Lüneburg, 1642. Johann Crüger adapted and modified slightly Johann Schop’s melody, combined it with Rist’s text O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, and then published it in his [Crüger’s] collection called Praxis pietatis melica (5^th edition, Berlin 1653).

A version of Crüger’s adaptation of the melody published in 1658 is given below:

Johann Schop’s best efforts as a composer of songs were directed at setting Rist’s spiritual (chorale) texts to music that was simple enough for congregations to sing. Some of his best-known melodies which are still sung today in churches include Wach auf, mein Geist, erhebe dich, Lasset uns den Herren preisen, Werde munter, mein Gemüthe, Ermuntre dich, mein schwacher Geist, and O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort. [From this latter statement in the MGG1, it is not clear whether Schop had originally attached a different melody to Rist’s text O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort or whether the Schop’s connection with O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort was only made possible by Crüger’s adaptation of Schop’s original melody for Wach auf, mein Geist, erhebe dich. This MGG1 report only confuses the issue, while the earlier statement is closer to the truth as it presents reliable documentation of the true sequence of events.]

Use of the Chorale Melody by Bach:

Text: O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort | EKG: 324
Author: Johann Rist (1642)

Ver

Work

Mvt.

Year

Br

RE

KE

Di

BC

Score

Music Examples

1

BWV 20

Mvt. 1

1724

-

-

-

-

A95:1

-

Mvt. 1 (Leusink) [ram]

8

BWV 20

Mvt. 7

1724

26

276

26

-

A95:7

PDF

Mvt. 7 (MG) [midi] | Mvt. 7 (Leusink) [ram]

12

BWV 20

Mvt. 11

1724

26

276

26

-

A95:11

PDF

Mvt. 11 (MG) [midi] | Mvt. 11 (Leusink) [ram]

1

BWV 60

Mvt. 1

1723

-

-

-

-

A161:1

-

Mvt. 1 (Leusink) [ram]

1

BWV 513

-

b 1733-4

-

-

-

-

F218

-

Chorale (RMM) [midi]

BWV 20: For BWV 20/1, 7, 11 1724 Bach uses verses 1, 8, and 12 respectively from the shortened 12 verse version that appeared in Gottfried Vopelius’s hymnal from 1682 and not the original Rist chorale text with a total of 16 verses. Mvts. 7 and 11 have the same melody form and harmonization. This is the same as listed as Breitkopf 26
BWV 513: from the Anna Magdalena Notebook 1725.

Untexted:

Ver

Work

Mvt.

Year

Br

RE

KE

Di

BC

Score

Music Examples

-

BWV 397

-

?

274

275

274

23

F156:1

PDF

Chorale (MG) [midi]

BWV 397: probably from a lost cantata.

Use of the Chorale Melody by other composers:

Tobias Zeutschner (1621-1675):
Setting of the Chorale O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort in P. Sohr(e), in Musicalischer Vorschmack (Ratzeburg, 1683)

Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767):
Church Cantata: O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort (Neumeister), 1:1189 (1723)

Johann Gottfried Walther (1684-1748):
O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, Chorale Prelude for Organ

Johann Tobias Krebs (1690-1762):
O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, Chorale Prelude for Organ, T 83

Felix Draeseke (1835-1913):
O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, Chorale Prelude for Organ (1909)

Georg Scheel (1866-1945):
O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, Chorale Prelude for Organ

Franz Schmidt (1874-1939):
O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, Chorale Prelude for Organ from Vier kleine Choralvorspiele

Sources: NBA, vols. III/2.1 & 2.2 in particular [Bärenreiter, 1954 to present] and the BWV ("Bach Werke Verzeichnis") [Breitkopf & Härtel, 1998]
The PDF files of the Chorales were contributed by Margaret Greentree J.S. Bach Chorales
Software: Capella 2004 Software, version 5.1.
Prepared by Thomas Braatz & Aryeh Oron (December 2005)