Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland
"Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" is a Lutheran chorale of 1524 with words written by Martin Luther, based on "Veni redemptor gentium" by Ambrose, and a melody, Zahn 1174, based on its plainchant. It was printed in the Erfurt Enchiridion of 1524.
The song was the prominent hymn for the first Sunday of Advent for centuries. It was used widely in organ settings by Protestant Baroque composers, most notably Johann Sebastian Bach, who also composed two church cantatas beginning with the hymn. Later settings include works by Max Reger, Brian Easdale and Siegfried Strohbach.
English versions include "Savior of the nations, come" by William Morton Reynolds, published in 1851.
History
Martin Luther wrote the text of "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" possibly for the Advent of 1523 as a paraphrase of a passage, Veni redemptor gentium, from the Latin Christmas hymn "Intende qui reges Israel" by Ambrose. Several Latin versions begin with "Veni redemptor gentium", in similarity to hymns such as "Veni Creator Spiritus". The themes from the 4th century are the humanity and divinity of Christ, as testified by his birth by the Virgin Mary. Luther wrote the hymn at the end of 1523 in a period when he wrote many hymn texts, mostly psalm paraphrases and some free poems, such as "Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g'mein". He paraphrased the seven stanzas of the Latin hymn rather closely, and added a doxology as an eighth stanza. He seems to have been more interested in keeping the traditional text than fluent German, possibly to demonstrate his closeness to the traditional theology, in contrast to a translation by Thomas Müntzer, who followed his own theology.The melody, Zahn 1174, was composed by Luther and possibly Johann Walter, based on the original plainchant melodies, such as a 12th-century version from Einsiedeln. The hymn was printed in the Erfurt Enchiridion in 1524, and was also published the same year in Walter's choral Wittenberg hymnal, Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn. In several hymnals, the hymn opens the collection, such as Klug's Gesangbuch, the Babstsches Gesangbuch, and continuing to the Evangelisches Kirchengesangbuch of 1950, which retained five of the eight stanzas. In other hymnals, the hymn opened the section related to the liturgical year, such as in Johann Crüger's Praxis Pietatis Melica. In the 1995 Evangelisches Gesangbuch it is EG 4, again in five stanzas.
Theme and text
The song, in eight stanzas of four lines each, expresses first the request for the coming of a redeemer of all people, including the heathens or gentiles, born of a virgin. It reflects his origin from the Father, to whom he will return after going to Hell. The last stanza is a doxology, translating a medieval appendix to Ambrose's hymn. The following shows the Latin original, the five stanzas by Luther contained in the 1995 Evangelisches Gesangbuch, and an English translation by William Morton Reynolds, "Savior of the nations, come", published in 1851.| Ambrose | Luther | Reynolds |
Veni, redemptor gentium; Ostende partum virginis; Miretur omne saeculum. Talis decet partus Deo. Non ex virili semine, Sed mystico spiramine Verbum Dei factum est caro, Fructusque ventris floruit. Alvus tumescit virginis. Claustrum pudoris permanet; Vexilla virtutum micant, Versatur in templo Deus. Procedit e thalamo suo, Pudoris aula regia, Geminae gigans substantiae Alacris ut currat viam. Egressus eius a Patre, Regressus eius ad Patrem; Excursus usque ad inferos Recursus ad sedem Dei. Aequalis aeterno Patri, Carnis tropaeo accingere, Infirma nostri corporis Virtute firmans perpeti. Praesepe iam fulget tuum, Lumenque nox spirat novum, Quod nulla nox interpolet Fideque iugi luceat. Gloria tibi, Domine, Qui natus es de virgine, Cum Patre et Sancto Spiritu, In sempiterna saecula. | 1. Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, der Jungfrauen Kind erkannt, dass sich wunder alle Welt, Gott solch Geburt ihm bestellt. 2. Er ging aus der Kammer sein, dem königlichen Saal so rein, Gott von Art und Mensch, ein Held; sein’ Weg er zu laufen eilt. 3. Sein Lauf kam vom Vater her und kehrt wieder zum Vater, fuhr hinunter zu der Höll und wieder zu Gottes Stuhl. 4. Dein Krippen glänzt hell und klar, die Nacht gibt ein neu Licht dar. Dunkel muss nicht kommen drein, der Glaub bleib immer im Schein. 5. Lob sei Gott dem Vater g’tan; Lob sei Gott seim ein’gen Sohn, Lob sei Gott dem Heilgen Geist immer und in Ewigkeit. | Virgin's Son, here make Thy home! Marvel now, O heaven and earth, That the Lord chose such a birth. 2. Not by human flesh and blood; By the Spirit of our God Was the Word of God made flesh, Woman's offspring, pure and fresh. 3. Wondrous birth! O wondrous Child Of the virgin undefiled! Though by all the world disowned, Still to be in heaven enthroned. 4. From the Father forth He came And returneth to the same, Captive leading death and hell High the song of triumph swell! 5. Thou, the Father's only Son, Hast over sin the victory won. Boundless shall Thy kingdom be; When shall we its glories see? 6. Brightly doth Thy manger shine, Glorious is its light divine. Let not sin overcloud this light; Ever be our faith thus bright. 7. Praise to God the Father sing, Praise to God the Son, our King, Praise to God the Spirit be Ever and eternally. |
Melody and musical settings
Luther derived the melody from the Latin hymn's medieval plainchant melodies, making changes to accommodate the more accented German. His major achievement was to repeat the first melodic line in the last, forming an ABCA structure and transforming the medieval hymn into a Lutheran chorale.The chorale was used as the prominent hymn for the first Sunday of Advent for centuries. It was used widely in organ settings by Protestant Baroque composers, most notably Johann Sebastian Bach, who set it as the opening chorale prelude of the Orgelbüchlein and three times—as BWV 659, BWV 660 and BWV 661—in his Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes. Bach used the hymn in two church cantatas for the first Sunday of Advent, his chorale cantata Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 62 and in the opening chorale fantasia of his earlier cantata Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61. Max Reger composed a setting as No. 29 of his 52 Chorale Preludes, Op. 67 in 1902.
"Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" continues to be used in modern settings. It appears in liturgically oriented Christian hymnals, for example the Lutheran Book of Worship, and as the cantus firmus for organ compositions. In Brian Easdale's score for the 1948 film The Red Shoes, the melody from the chorale is heard as a theme late in the ballet, punctuated by ringing bells, brass instruments and a grand piano. Siegfried Strohbach composed a choral setting in 1988.