Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary Handbook

— Biographies and Sources —

 

Palestrina, Giovanni Pierluigi Sante da, 1525-94

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (the latter name from his native city) was born 1525 or 1526 and died in 1594. He ranks as the foremost composer of the Catholic Church. He began as organist and musical director in his native town, but was soon called to Rome, where he was appointed composer to the Pontifical Chapel and Maestro of St. Peter’s. He filled many other engagements as composer, concert-master, conductor, and director in study. Palestrina’s works mark the culmination of the era of strict, simple contrapuntal composition, and brought this form of composition into its proper place as a means of expression and not as an end in itself. His complete works have been published in 33 volumes, containing 99 masses, 139 motets, and other compositions almost without number. [Dahle, Library of Christian Hymns]

PALESTRINA, Giovanni Pierluigi Sante da (1525-1594), born at Palestrina, Italy, received his early musical training at Rome, where he came under the influence of Orlando di Lasso, the great master from the Netherlands. At nineteen Palestrina became organist and chapelmaster in his home town, and after serving there a number of years, he was appointed master of the boys in the Julian Chapel in Rome. In 1555 he became a pontifical singer in the Sistine Chapel, but, after about six months, was dismissed because of a papal ruling that only unmarried priests be allowed to attend. He then became chapelmaster, first of St. John Lateran, and then of the Liberian Chapel of Santa Maria Maggiore, spending his last twenty years in practical retirement at St. Peter’s. Palestrina is ranked as the foremost composer of the Roman Catholic Church. His greatest contribution to general hymnody was his stand against the introduction of popular airs and lyrics into the church services of the 16th century. Palestrina was able to present simple, polyphonic compositions that were noble and devotional in character. Among his works are 93 masses, 139 motets, and many hymns, prayers, and responses. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

357

 

Palmer, Ray, 1808-87

Ray Palmer (1808-87), who rendered the translation for No. 382, served as a congregational preacher in Albany, New York. He was also for a time secretary for The American Congregational Union. Palmer ranks as the foremost American hymn writer. “My faith looks up to Thee” is his most famous hymn (L. H. 456). [Dahle, Library of Christian Hymns]

PALMER, Ray (1808-1887), was a direct descendant of John Alden and his wife Priscilla, and of William Palmer, who came to Plymouth in 1621. The son of Judge Thomas Palmer, he was born at Little Compton, Rhode Island, November 12, 1808. Poverty forced him to leave home at thirteen after completing grammar school. While clerk in a Boston dry-goods store for two years, he passed through deep spiritual experiences, with the result that he joined the Park Street Congregational Church, whose pastor was Sereno Edwards Dwight. Palmer’s attention was now directed to the ministry. After three years at Phillips Academy, Andover, he studied at Yale College, graduating in 1830. Palmer continued his theological studies under pastoral supervision for a year at New York. Here he wrote the hymn “My faith looks up to Thee.” Then he continued his studies for three years at New Haven, where he was associated with Ethan A. Andrews in conducting a Young Ladies Institute. He was ordained pastor of the Central Congregational Church, Bath, Maine in 1835. Here he remained fifteen years except for a trip to Europe for his health in 1847. During these years he wrote some of his best hymns. In 1850 he was appointed to the First Congregational Church at Albany, New York. Here he also labored for fifteen years but had to resign because of failing health in 1865. He moved to New York and was appointed Corresponding Secretary to the American Congregational Union, resigning this post in 1878 and moving to Newark, New Jersey, where he was in active ministerial service for the Belleville Avenue Congregational Church, having especial charge of visiting the people of the congregation. On the day before he died, Palmer feebly repeated the last stanza of his favorite hymn: [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

“When death these mortal eyes shall seal, [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

And still this throbbing heart, [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

The rending veil shall Thee reveal [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

All glorious as Thou art.” [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

Ray Palmer is said to have written more hymns than any other American. His Poetical Works, published in 1876, fill a volume of more than 350 pages. He died March 29, 1887. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

184

tr. 11, 318

 

Parry, Joseph, 1841-1903

Joseph Parry was born May 21, 1841, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. Parry’s family moved to Danville, Pennsylvania, when he was 13 years old, though he often returned to Wales. He attended the Royal Academy of Music, 1868-1871. He was Professor of Music at the University of Wales, 1873-1877, and received his doctorate of music from Cambridge in 1878. He also taught at the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire, 1888-1903. His works include operas, oratorios, cantatas, piano pieces, and hymn tunes. He died February 17, 1903, Penarth, Wales. [The Cyber Hymnal]

209, 296

 

Paulsen, Paul Christian, 1881-1948

PAULSEN, Paul Christian (1881-1948), son of Andreas Paulsen and Anne, née Holbeck, was born March 26, 1881, at Alstrup, Jutland, Denmark, and came to America in 1904. He was educated at Valley City (North Dakota) Normal School; Dana College and Trinity Seminary, Blair, Nebraska; and Chicago Lutheran Seminary, Maywood. After his ordination in 1911 he served the following parishes: Nelson-Osakis-Elmdale, Minnesota, Hartland-Oregon, Wisconsin; Chicago (south side); Calgary, Alberta, Canada; and Ferndale, California, from 1941 to 1946, when he retired to Selma, California. He died there July 26, 1948. He was secretary for nine years and president for three years of the Illinois District of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church. He contributed short stories to synodical papers and periodicals, both Danish and English, and was recognized as an outstanding translator of Danish hymns and songs. He was chairman of the joint committee created in 1925 by the two Danish synods to prepare an English hymnbook, the Hymnal for Church and Home, published in 1927, to which Paulsen contributed 63 translations from the Danish and ten original compositions. The committee also issued a Junior Hymnal. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

tr. 83

 

Pedersen, B., 1608

THIS hymn was originally printed together with another spiritual song, about the year 1608, under the following title: “Tvende aandelige andægtige Sange, Odense Byes, mine gunstige gode geistlige og verdslige Øvrigheder med deres Menigheder til et ydmygt Taknemmeligheds Tegn, udi denne Forms Bekostning dediceret af B. Pedersen, K. ibidem” (Kannik sammesteds). The author served as canon or minister in Odense or in some city in the district of Fyen. According to a resolution of the church, the fourth stanza of this hymn was to be sung after Baptism, and the fifth stanza before Communion. It has been extensively used in the parochial schools of the church and as a closing hymn on confirmation day. [Dahle, Library of Christian Hymns]

510

 

Perronet, Edward, 1726-92

Edward Perronet was the son of Rev. Vincent Perronet, whose father, David Perronet, a Frenchman, settled in England about the year 1680. Vincent, educated at Oxford, became vicar of Shoreham, Kent, 1726. He was a zealous evangelical preacher and labored with the Wesley brothers and George Whitefield. Edward Perronet was born August 2, 1721 (according to some, 1726). From his 23rd year he served with his brother Charles in the Methodist movement. In 1756 Edward Perronet wrote a satirical poem in which he bitterly attacked the State Church and its leading men. John Wesley and others were highly incensed over this poem and demanded that it should be suppressed. This was also done. Later on Edward Perronet became pastor for a congregation of dissenters in Canterbury, where he died January 2, 1792. He is mentioned as a zealous, fiery, and energetic preacher, who faithfully proclaimed the Gospel “in season and out of season.” His poems were published anonymously in three small volumes: I. Select Passages of the Old and New Testament Versified; 2. A Small Collection of Hymns, etc.; 3. Occasional Verses, Moral and Sacred, London, 1785. [Dahle, Library of Christian Hymns]

PERRONET, Edward (1726-1792), of French descent, was born at Sundridge, Kent, the son of Vincent Perronet, whose father, Pasteur Perronet, had been pastor in Switzerland. Edward was baptized and brought up in the Church of England, and originally he had no other thought than to be one of her clergy. However already at an early age, for reasons of conscience, he joined the Wesleys and became an itinerant preacher for them. Though strongly evangelical, he had a quick eye for defects which is a characteristic of his The Mitre, a bitter satire on the Church of England, published in 1757, which reflects contemporary ecclesiastical opinion and sentiment. It aroused John Wesley’s anger, and he demanded its immediate suppression. As a result, he left the Wesleys and joined Lady Huntingdon’s Connection in 1771. This he soon abandoned and became a minister of a small independent chapel at Canterbury, serving this church until his death in 1792. Later he and the Wesleys were reconciled. He died January 2, 1792, his last words being: [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

Glory to God in the height of his divinity, [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

Glory to God in the depth of his humanity, [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

Glory to God in his all sufficiency [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

Into his hand I commend my spirit. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

49

 

Peter, Philip A., 1832-1917

PETER, Philip Adam (1832-1917), was born in Hesse-Nassau, January 2, 1832. He was educated under the Rev. E. S. Henkel in Corydon, Indiana, and ordained to the Lutheran ministry in 1858. He served as pastor of the Joint Synod of Ohio and Other States and was active as author. He published The Reformation of the 16th Century, 1889; St. Paul, 1901; and translated hymns. He died in 1917. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

 

tr. 538

 

Peterson, Victor Olof, 1864-1929

PETERSEN, Victor Olof (18641929), was born in Skede, Smaland, Sweden, September 24, 1864, and came to America in 1867. He studied at Augustana College and Academy, Rock Island, Illinois, graduating in 1889. After a summer at the state museum at Springfield, Illinois, under his former professor, Dr. Joshua Lindahl, he taught physics and chemistry at Augustana College. After he took a chemistry course at Harvard, Augustana called him as regular professor. In 1906 he became secretary of the Rock Island Tropical Plantation Co. and from 1907 to 1913 managed the Chalchijapa Plantation in southern Mexico. Then he was engaged in the real estate and insurance business in Rock Island until in 1920 he was called as professor of chemistry at Huron College, Huron, South Dakota, where he remained until his death. He was a lover of hymns and translated a number of them from the Swedish Psalmbook. Three are in the present Augustana Hymnal. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

tr. 104

 

Petri, Olav 1493-1552

tr. 342

 

Petursson, Hallgrim, 1614-74

NEARLY two hundred and fifty years ago [written in 1913], in a lonely Icelandic farm-house a leper lay dying. Outside the doors of the cottage Nature was lavish in her gifts of beauty. To the west the waters of the Whalefirth widened towards the Greenland Sea and the sunset. To the east they narrowed into a girdle of hill and fell, forming a land-locked bay, scene of exploits told in one of the Sagas of long ago. But within the cottage all was bare and comfortless. The membrane of the primitive window rattled in the autumn wind, while on the wooden locker-bed, built into the wall of the house, amidst the heart-breaking squalor of his disease, the leper lay dying. But look! his lips are moving, and, as we listen, we hear him pour forth in his beautiful language a hymn bright with the deathless hope of Christ’s Gospel, glad with the assurance of a speedy release from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. It was the man’s swan-song. Not long afterwards, by the quiet hand of death, he gained his heart’s desire.

Such must have been, as in imagination we reconstruct the scene from the knowledge at our disposal, the passing of Hallgrim Petursson, the sacred singer of Iceland. It was a notable example of the victory of the spirit over the flesh, of the triumph of the Christian in his hour of deepest physical need. Small wonder that this was the man who out of his poverty left to his countrymen one of the most precious legacies which they have ever received—those Passion Hymns, which Iceland hearts will cherish, as a poet of their own has said, “as long as the sun shines upon the cold Jokull.”

Hallgrim Petursson was born in the year 1614. His youth was cast in one of the stirring periods of Icelandic history. The breath of the Reformation was breathing upon the dead bones and waking them to life. Odd Gottskalksson had published his Icelandic New Testament in 1540, six years before the death of Luther—a version of which Gudbrand Vigfusson could write: “It is well worthy to stand by the side of that of Tyndal or Luther, and higher praise could hardly be given to it.” Bishop Gudbrand of Holar had brought out his complete edition of the Icelandic Bible in 1584, and was issuing hymns and other religious literature from his press. It was in this bracing atmosphere that Hallgrim spent his early years, his father being sexton of the Cathedral at Holar. Here doubtless were sown in the boy’s heart those seeds which later were to bear such abundant fruit. But the harvest was not yet. Possibly owing to some youthful indiscretion, the young Hallgrim was sent from the school at Holar to Copenhagen. Here, in the great city, the boy’s talents were in imminent danger of being lost. But divine providence was watching over him. Brynjolf Sveinsson, later to become one of the most famous of Icelandic Bishops, found him in a black smith’s shop, and with quick eye discerning the gold beneath the grime, put him again to school. His education in Copenhagen was continued until an event occurred which was to cast its influence over his whole life. It was in the year 1627, the year of Bishop Gudbrand’s death, that four ships from North Africa, three of them being corsairs from Algiers, fell upon the defenceless coast of Iceland. The main attack was delivered upon the Island of Heimaey, the chief of the Westman group. The wanton and inhuman atrocities committed by the pirates so burnt themselves into the memory of the unfortunate inhabitants, that Mr. Nelson Annandale relates that during his six weeks’ stay at Heimaey in the year 1898 he heard almost daily of the raid. Between three and four hundred persons were taken captives chiefly by the Algerians, and sold as slaves in the market at Algiers. Many suffered great cruelty, largely in the form of persecution for their faith. They were “chained in insupportable positions, beaten on the hands and faces, exposed naked in public places, and again beaten until they lost the power of speech.” At length, however, an Icelander was allowed to carry a petition to the King of Denmark, asking for I,200 rix-dollars as a ransom price for the surviving captives. A subscription was raised in Iceland, to which the King of Denmark himself largely contributed. This was paid over in due course, and in 1637, ten years after the raid, thirty-four survivors out of the hundreds taken were set at liberty.

Some of these people broke their homeward journey at Copenhagen, and here it is that Hallgrim Petursson again comes into the story. During their enforced sojourn in North Africa, these survivors seem to have become more or less infected with Mohammedanism, or at least to have let a part of their Christian faith slip away into the limbo of forgetfulness. It was necessary to remedy this state of things, and to do so an Icelander, learned in Christian truth, but resident at Copenhagen, was needed. Hallgrim Petursson, now a distinguished theological student, fulfilled these conditions, and was forthwith appointed by the authorities to be the religious instructor of his rescued compatriots. Among the captives was a lady, Gudrid by name, who by her beauty had already attracted the attention of the son of the Dey of Algiers. The young prince had even wished to marry her. This, of course, could not be tolerated, and the source of temptation was sent out of the country among the other ransomed slaves. Gudrid thus became a member of the group which was confided to the pastoral care of Hallgrim Petursson. It was perhaps not unnatural that he in his turn should become a captive to those charms which had already proved too potent for the Algerian Prince. Such was the infatuation of the unfortunate man, that although Gudrid had been a married woman in Iceland before the raid, and although, for all that was known to the contrary, her husband was still living there, Hallgrim determined to leave Copenhagen and to sail back to Iceland with Gudrid. Upon their arrival in that country they remained together, and at length, hearing of the husband’s death, were married. This conduct was the great blot upon Hallgrim’s life. He did not go unpunished. The sweet fruit became bitter in his mouth. The Mohammedan leanings of his wife were through long years a pain and grief to his sensitive nature. Nor did his conscience keep silence.

“Lord, I have sown the seed of sin;

Hideous have my transgressions been.”

So he sings in one of his Passion-Hymns, and it has been thought that the words bear a special reference to this episode of his career. This sin may have been in a sense the beata culpa, which, with its attendant remorse, drove him to the Cross for that gift of pardon and renewal, of which he was afterwards to sing so peerlessly to his countrymen.

Hallgrim Petursson was ordained in 1644 and was in 1650 appointed to the parish of Saurby on the Whalefirth in the south-west of Iceland. Here he gave himself largely to the exercise of his poetic gift, writing much religious verse; and it was here that, inspired by the example of Paul Gerhardt in Germany and of Kingo in Denmark, he achieved his greatest work in the composition of the immortal Passion-Hymns. They appeared in the year 1659, a first copy of the manuscript being sent to the daughter of that Bishop Brynjolf Sveinsson who had formerly befriended him in Copenhagen. But the singer of Christ’s Passion was soon himself to pass through a very furnace of affliction. He contracted the dread disease of leprosy. This he bore with exemplary fortitude, and passed away after a lingering illness in the glory of an unclouded hope. He died at Ferstikla near the parsonage of Saurby in the year 1674.

The Passion-Hymns are fifty in number. They tell the story of Christ’s sufferings from the moment when the Master sang the Pascal Hymn with His disciples in the Upper Room until the military watch was set and the seal made fast upon His tomb. Each hymn consists, as a rule, of from fifteen to twenty stanzas. The poet begins by paraphrasing the biblical narrative of that incident in the Passion Story with which he is about to deal. He thus accomplishes what is achieved in Oratorio by the recitative. He then passes on to meditation, exhortation, prayer or praise. The hymns were written to be sung, generally speaking, to German chorales of the sixteenth century. With these tunes of stately dignity they naturally blend. To sing them to lighter modern airs would jar on the ear as a kind of sacrilege. In fact, to fully appreciate the hymns, it is necessary to hear them sung to these slow and majestic melodies from the times of Luther, which give free play and scope to the beauty of the Icelandic vowel sounds. In former days it was the custom in the scattered farm-houses of Iceland to sing the Passion-Hymns through during Lent. This custom is still to some extent observed, as, for instance, in the chief Icelandic Church in Winnipeg. Nor can a better preparation for Good Friday, the “Long Fast Day,” as it is called by the Icelanders, be well imagined. The practice however is not as universal as it was, partly owing to the indifference which pervades so much of the modern world, and partly through the prevalence of views in recent years, which, as an Icelandic clergyman has pointed out, “must make the Passion-Hymns of Hallgrim Petursson die upon the lips.” It is however still true to say that this singer of the Cross is the outstanding poet of his people. His hymns have been called “The flower of all Icelandic poetry.” He is still sung and quoted with reverence and with affection. He holds his position, we might almost say, as the Shakespeare or the Milton of his native land.

If we seek the reasons for the spell which the Passion-Hymns have cast over the heart of Iceland for nearly two centuries and a half, we shall not have to look far for an answer. It is true that the range of thought is not wide, that the style is sometimes almost irritatingly didactic, and that the charm of colouring from nature through metaphor or simile is conspicuous only by its absence. The Passion-Hymns possess, however, one mighty secret. In exquisite Icelandic the poet dwells upon the benefits procured for sinful man by Christ’s Passion. He isolates (and surely e may forgive him for doing so) each particular suffering which the Redeemer underwent, and shows the gain wrought for man thereby. Was Christ left alone in His hour of need? It was that we might never be forsaken. Was Christ clothed in a robe of mockery? It was that we might be arrayed in a robe of glory. Was Christ hounded to death with the cry of “Crucify Him?” It was that heaven and earth might over us call “peace.” Were Christ’s feet pierced? It was that the sins of our wayward feet might be forgiven. Was Christ’s side, as Adam’s, opened? It was that His Bride, the Church, in that healing stream of Water and of Blood, might be born. The Passion of Christ is the adoring poet’s theme. Now in homely teaching, now in pathetic prayer, now in rapturous praise, he “placards “ Christ Crucified before his countrymen. He raised, as it were, a mighty crucifix of song over Iceland, and thither, for nearly two centuries and a half, the weary and the heavy laden have turned their eyes. He sang the theme of the ages, and his song has become immortal. Matthias Jochumsson, the leading poet of modern Iceland, has written a beautiful ode to commemorate the bicentenary of Hallgrim Petursson’s death. He therein speaks of him as “the David of this land of Jokulls.” He calls him a light “who lightened two centuries.” He tells us that from the time when the child first says his prayers at his mother’s knee, until the day when as an old man he turns him to his last sleep, it is Hallgrim’s hymns which have power to soothe and to heal. And when Matthias Jochumsson is describing in another poem the passing of Gudbrand Vigfusson, the great Icelander of Oxford, he pictures him Iying with the Havamal* at his head, Heimskringla at his breast, but the Passion Hymns at his heart. That is their secret. The Passion-Hymns have spoken to the heart of Iceland.

(*Readers of Longfellow’s “Saga of King Olaf,” in the “Tales from a Wayside Inn,” will need no explanation of these terms.) [The Passion Hymns of Iceland, by C. Venn Pilcher]

The Lord into His Father’s hands

288, 339, 373

 

Pfefferkorn, Georg Michael, 1645-1732

PFEFFERKORN, Georg Michael (16445-1732), was born March 16, 1645, at Ifta, near Creuzburg on the Werra, where his father had become a pastor in 1619. After studying at the Universities of Jena and Leipzig, Pfefferkorn was for a short time private tutor at Altenburg, and then in 1688 became master of the two highest forms in the Gymnasium at Altenburg. In 1673 he was appointed by Duke Ernst the Pious of Gotha as tutor of his three sons. Three years later Duke Friedrich I appointed him pastor of Friemar, near Gotha, and in 1682 made him a member of the consistory and superintendent at Gräfen-Tonna, also near Gotha. He was an old blind man eighty-six years of age when he died on March 3, 1732. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

446

 

Pfeil, Christoph Carl Ludwig, Baron von, 1712-84

PFEIL, Christoph Carl Ludwig, Baron von (1712-1784), was born January 20, 1712, at Grünstadt near Worms, where his father was then in the service of the Count of Leinigen. After completing his course at the University of Halle and of Tübingen, he was appointed Württemberg secretary of the legation at Regensburg in 1732. He was privileged to hold a number of political offices. Finding himself no longer able to cooperate in carrying out the absolution of the Württemberg prime minister, Count Montmartin, he resigned and then retired to his estate, Deufstetten, near Crailsheim. Later on he was created Baron by the Emperor Joseph II, and in 1765 received the cross of the Red Eagle Order from Frederick the Great. An intermittent fever confined him to his bed from August, 1783, to his death, February 14, 1784, at Deufstetten. Pfeil was a man of deep and genuine piety. His hymn-writing began immediately after the spiritual change which he experienced on the tenth Sunday after Trinity, 1730, and it continued to be his favorite occupation, especially so in his later years at Deufstetten. He was one of the most productive of German hymnwriters, his published hymns numbering about 950. He published Lieder von der offenbarten Herrlichkeit und Zukunft des Herrn, Esslingen, 1741; and Evangelische Glaubens-Herzensgesänge, Dinkelsbühl, 1783. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

190

 

Pierpont, Folliott Sandford, 1835-1917

Folliott Sandford Pierpoint, M. A., was born at Spa Villa, Bath, England, October 7, 1835, and was educated at Queen’s College, Cambridge, graduating in 1871. He has published The Chalice of Nature and Other Poems, republished, 1878, as Songs of Love, The Chalice of Nature and Lyra Jesu. He has also contributed hymns to the Churchman’s Companion, The Lyra Eucharistica, etc. (J. Julian). [Dahle, Library of Christian Hymns]

463

 

Pilcher, Charles Venn, 1879-1960

tr. 288, 339, 346, 373

 

Pisne duchovni…Cithara Sanctorum, Levoca, 1636

204

 

Plumptre, Edward H., 1821-91

Edward Hayes Plumptre was born August 6, 1821, London, England. Plumptre was educated at King’s College, London, and University College, Oxford, graduating as a double first in 1844. He was for some time Fellow of Brasenose. On taking Holy Orders in 1846, he rapidly reached a foremost position as theologian and preacher. His appointments included assistant preacher at Lincoln’s Inn; select preacher at Oxford; Professor of Pastoral Theology at King’s College, Oxford; prebendary in St. Paul’s Cathedral, London; Professor of Exegesis of the New Testament, King’s College, London; Boyle Lecturer; Grinfield Lecturer on the Septuagint, Oxford; and many others. His works include: Lazarus, and other Poems (1864), Master and Scholar (1866), Things New and Old (1884), Translations of Sophocles, Æschylus, and Dante. [The Cyber Hymnal]

196

 

Polack, Herman Adolph, 1862-1930

POLACK, Herman Adolph (1862-1930), son of the Rev. W. G. Polack and Maria Elizabeth, née Hans, was born in Crete Township, Will County, Illinois, June 10, 1862. He was educated at the Missouri State Normal School, Cape Girardeau, Missouri. He married Wilhelmina Henrietta Stohs at Bremen, Kansas, February 12, 1885. He taught public school in East St. Louis, then became Lutheran parochial school-teacher, serving schools in St. Louis; Wausau, Wisconsin; Cleveland, Ohio; and other places. He was an accomplished organist, composer, and choir director. Together with H. Ilse (q. v.) he served on the music committee of the Evangelical Lutheran Hymnbook, 1912. He died at Lakewood, Ohio, April 25, 1930. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

315

 

Polack, William Gustave, 1890-1950

POLACK, William Gustave (1890-1950), son of Herman A. Polack and Wilhelmina, née Stohs, was born at Wausau, Wisconsin, December 7, 1890. He was educated at Concordia College, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri; ordained to the Lutheran ministry at Evansville, Indiana, by the Rev. C. A. Frank, founder and first editor of the Lutheran Witness. He served as assistant pastor in Trinity Church, Evansville, from 1914 to 1921, succeeding Frank as pastor. He married Iona Mary Gick in Fort Wayne, Indiana, August 9, 1914. In 1925 he was called as professor of theology to Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. He was made chairman of the Missouri Synod’s Committee on Hymnology and Liturgics in 1929, and in 1930 he organized the Intersynodical Committee on Hymnology and Liturgics for the Synodical Conference of North America, which was authorized to prepare The Lutheran Hymnal. His poetical publications include Beauty for Ashes and Martin Luther in English Poetry. His prose works include The Story of C. F. W. Walther, The Story of Luther, The Story of David Livingstone, Into all the World, The Building of a Great Church, Hymns from the Harps of God, Rainbow over Calvary, Handbook to The Lutheran Hymnal. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

tr. 34, 36, 82, 549

 

Polish, 1500

285

 

Pott, Francis, 1832-1909

Francis Pott (b. 1832, England; educated at Oxford; served as minister in various places). Pott’s rendering is commonly considered the best English version. It was published in 1861 in Hymns fitted to the Order of Common Prayer. The first English translation, “Finished is the battle now,” was rendered by J. M. Neale in 1851. [Dahle, Library of Christian Hymns]

POTT, Francis (1832-1909), born December 29, 1832, was educated at Brasenose College, Oxford. He received his B. A. in 1854 and his M. A. in 1857. Pott took holy orders in 1856 and served successively as curate of Bishopsworth, Gloucestershire, 1856-1858; of Ardingly, Berks, 1858-1861; of Ticehurst, Sussex, 1861-1866; and as Rector of Norhill, Ely, for 1866. Pott published Hymns fitted to the Order of Common Prayer, 1861; The Free Rhythm Psalter, 1898. He was a member of the original committee for Hymns Ancient and Modern. He died at Speldhurst, 1909. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

tr. 357

 

Praetorius, Michael, 1571-1621

Michael Praetorius was born February 15, 1571, in Kreuzberg, Thüringen. He began his musical career as “kapellmeister” of Lüneburg. In 1604 he was called into the service of the Duke of Brunswick, first as organist, later as “kapellmeister” and secretary. He was appointed prior of the cloister of Ringelheim, but was not required to take up his residence there. Praetorius died in Wolfenbüttel upon his fiftieth birthday, February 15, 1621. He had become famous as composer of church music, among which should be mentioned the mammoth edition of over twelve hundred songs. He is also noted for various writings, among which the great Syntagma musica still furnishes much valuable source-material. He ranks high as a writer and also as a composer of church melodies. [Dahle, Library of Christian Hymns]

PRÄTORIUS, Michael (1571-1621). Michael Prätorius, the son of Michael Schultze (Praetorius being a Latinization of the name), was born at Kreuzburg Thuringia, on February 15, 1571. At an early age Prätorius attended the University of Frankfurt a. O., his brother supporting him. When his brother died, Prätorius became organist at Frankfurt and later held the same post at Lüneburg. In this latter town Prätorius began his career as Kapellmeieter. In 1604 he entered the service of the Duke of Brunswick at Wolfenbüttel and was appointed honorary prior of the Ringelheim Monastery near Goslar, but without compulsion to reside there. He died at Wolfenbüttel on February 15, 1621. Prätorius composed much and was a serious student of music. He began to write a complete encyclopedia of the art and practice of music, of which he finished three volumes with the title Syntagma Musicum. The second volume of this work is the most elaborate and valuable of all treatises on instruments and instrumental music in the 16th century. It is considered one of the most remarkable examples of musical scholarship in existance. Among his other titles were Musae Sioniae published in nine parts and Hymnodia Sionae. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

setting: 100, 112, 113, 121, 123

 

Praxis Pietatis Melica, Berlin, 1678

472

 

Prichard, Rowland Hugh, 1811-87

PRICHARD, Rowland Hugh (1811-1887), was born near Bala, spent most of his life at Bala, but in 1880 he moved to Holywell Hill. He composed tunes which appeared in Welsh periodicals. He published Cyfaill y Cantorion (The Singers Friend) in 1844. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

188, 459

 

Proulx, Richard, b. 1937

setting: 428

 

Prudentius, Aurelius Clemens, 348-c. 413

Aurelius Clemens Prudentius, 348413, the most noted of the early Christian poets in the West, was perhaps born in Tarraco in northern Spain, although some have claimed that he was born either in Saragossa or in Calahorra. From the brief and incomplete autobiographical preface attached to the first edition of his complete works, when he was 57 years old, it is evident that he received a good education, that he belonged to a noble family, that he studied law, became a lawyer, entered public life, and held a prominent position (Roman governor) under Emperor Theodosius.— At the age of 57 he retired to a monastery, where he died shortly afterwards.—The above mentioned preface also contains a list of his works.—His Cathemerinon Liber (Daily Round), contains 12 hymns, one for each hour of the day (at cock-crow, morning, before the meal, after the meal, evening, etc.) and a funeral hymn, “Deus ignee fons animarum,” Cathemerinon, No. 10. It consists of 44 verses. From this song has been derived the hymn “Jam moesta quiesce querela” (Despair not, O heart, in thy sorrow), formed from verses 31, 15, 10-12, 32-36 of the original poem. Archbishop Trench calls this song “The crowning glory of the poetry of Prudentius.”—It has been called the song of the catacombs, for it is believed to have been sung during the persecutions of the Christians in the catacombs of Rome, whose darkness was changed into light by the glorious hope of resurrection which this hymn gives. “Hors auf mit Tränen und Klagen,” has been a favorite hymn in Germany and in other countries.—Prudentius’ Liber Peristephanon consists of 14 hymns to the martyrs. They are glowing hymns which have gained world-wide admiration.—The above mentioned works, together with his Psychomachia, were among the most widely read books in the Middle Ages. From an esthetic point of view, Psychomachia is less important than the others, but it exerted a greater influence than any of his other works. In this he describes the conflict of Christianity with heathenism, presented allegorically as a conflict between Christian virtues and heathen vices. His Apotheosis and Hamartigenia are polemic writings. The former is directed against those who deny the divinity of Christ, the latter against the gnostic dualism of Marcion and his followers. Contra Symmachum (two volumes of 638 and 1131 hexameter verses) is of historic interest. The first volume attacks the heathen worship, and the second is directed against a petition by Symmachus to the emperor for the restoration of an altar and a statue of the goddess of victory, which Gratian had removed. His Dittochaeon is more of an archaeological than a literary work.— Prudentius has written about twenty-eight hymns, some of which are very long, and are found in various breviaries. One of them is divided into eight or nine hymns. It is especially in the Spanish ritual that the hymns of Prudentius are characterized by a deep earnestness. Portions of them are noted for their beauty and richness of expression, and for their dramatic power. However, some of them are artificial and stilted. It is to his credit that he followed the principle that new life and a new view of life will and must manifest themselves in new forms; and also the Latin language must take on a new form in order that it might promote the great truths which hitherto had been foreign to it. Bentley calls Prudentius “the Horace and Vergil of the Christians.”—In our day, a renewed interest in Prudentius has been awakened: J. Bergman’s Lexicon Prudentianum, Upsala, 1894; M. Schantz, München, 1904; J. R. Glover, Cambridge, 1901; F. Maigret, Paris, 1903; and many others. —Our English translation is by O. T. Sanden, 1909.

Rudelbach says: “The poetry of Prudentius is like gold set with precious stones.” Luther desired that Prudentius be studied in the schools, and also recommended his funeral hymn. [Dahle, Library of Christian Hymns]

PRUDENTIUS, Aurelius Clemens (348 - c. 413) . Of the life of Prudentius nothing is known beyond what he himself has written in a short introduction in verse to his works. He was a Spaniard, evidently of a good family, and was born somewhere in the north of Spain, either at Saragossa, Tarragona, or Callahorra. After receiving a good education befitting his social status, Prudentius applied himself for some years practicing as a pleader in the local court of law, until he received promotion to a judgeship in two cities successively and afterwards to a post of still higher authority, perhaps that of Roman governor. When Prudentius was fifty-seven, he became conscience-smitten on account of the follies and worldliness that had marked his youth and earlier manhood and determined to quit all his secular employments and to devote the remainder of his life to advancing the interests of Christ’s Church by the power of his pen. He retired to a monastery and then began that remarkable succession of sacred poems upon which his fame now rests. Prudentius is considered the most prominent and most prolific author of sacred Latin poetry in its earliest days. His hymns are contained in two of his works, Liber Cathemerinon (containing 14 hymns) and Liber Peristephanon (containing 14 hymns to the martyrs). These two works and his Psychomachia were the most widely read books during the Middle Ages. Prudentius wrote about 28 hymns in all. Bently calls him “The Horace and Vergil of the Christians. “Luther desired that Prudentius be studied in the schools, and Rudelbach was of the opinion that “the poetry of Prudentius is like gold set with precious stones.” [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

181

 

Psalmodia Sacra, C. F. Witt, 1660-1716, Gotha, 1715

87

 

Psalms of David in Meeter, Edinburgh, 1650

371

 

Pusey, Philip, 1799-1855

Philip Pusey was born June 25, 1799, and was educated in Christ Church College, Oxford. He was an elder brother of the famous Dr. Edw. B. Pusey, author and professor at Oxford University. Philip took his academic degree at Oxford, but in 1853 received also the honorary degree of D. C. L. (doctor of civic law). He died July 9, 1855. Matthæus Apelles von Löwenstern was born April 20, 1594, in Neustadt, Silesia, where his father was a saddlemaker. The son became famous as a talented musician, and in 1625 was given a position with Duke Heinrich Wenzel. Six years later he was appointed royal councillor and chamberlain. Later he entered the service of Ferdinand III and was by him raised to the nobility. Finally he became secretary of state under Duke Karl Friedrich of Münsterberg. He died April 11, 1648, in Breslau. In all he wrote about 30 hymns, several of which have been translated into English and other languages. [Dahle, Library of Christian Hymns]

PUSEY, Philip (1790-1855). Pusey’s father was a son of the first Viscount Folestone, who assumed the name of Pusey instead of that of Bouverie. His elder brother was the famous Dr. Edward Bouverie Pusey, the Tractarian leader. Pusey, born on June 25, 1799, at Pusey, England, was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, but left without taking his degree. An Honorary D. C. L. was given him at Commemoration in 1853. After leaving the university Pusey settled on his estate and devoted himself to agriculture and public service. In the former field he was one of the most progressive men of his time; he wrote largely in this field. Pusey was one of the founders of the Royal Agricultural Society. He entered Parliament and sat for Rye, Chippenham, Cashel, and Berkshire. He introduced the term “tenant-right” into the House of Commons. Disraeli said that Pusey was “both by his lineage, his estate, his rare accomplishments and fine abilities, one of the most distinguished country gentlemen who ever sat in the House of Commons.” Pusey had many accomplishments: he was a connoisseur of art, a collector of prints and etchings, a copious contributor to the reviews, and one of the founders of the London Library. He was also interested in hymnology. He wanted to supplant the Sternhold and Hopkins version of the psalms by Milman’s hymns. In this he was opposed by his famous brother. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

tr. 439

 

Rambach, Johann Jacob, 1693-1735

Johann Jakob Rambach was born February 24, 1693, in Halle. From his earliest youth he was taught to be obedient and God-fearing. His parents were both deeply influenced by the pietistic movement through Spener. Rambach’s father was a carpenter without sufficient means to permit the son to take up regular studies. But as the boy showed extraordinary talent he was sent to the gymnasium at Glaucha. At fourteen years of age he left this institution and began work in his father’s shop to assist his parents in providing for the family. The following year he sprained his foot so that he could not work for several months. Being advised by his physician not to return to the carpenter’s trade, and encouraged by his parents to take up his studies again, he entered school once more in 1708 and showed such progress that he was permitted to enter the university in 1712. On account of a serious condition of hoarseness, from which he suffered since his birth, he planned at first to study medicine. But he was strongly advised that the church does not only need preachers, but teachers as well. He then entered in earnest upon his theological studies.

During the spring of 1719 he became ill and spent the summer as the guest of Duke Henkel at the latter’s country home. He soon regained his strength. In August he visited Jena, in which city he was called to lecture at the university. He was also frequently called on to preach in the church. Both his lectures and his sermons drew large numbers. In the spring of 1720 he received his master’s degree. In 1723 he returned to Halle, where he was appointed adjunct and inspector of the orphanage, later (1726) professor extraordinary; and at A. H. Francke’s death, 1727, Rambach was made his successor as regular professor.

Rambach was esteemed very highly both as a professor and as a preacher. It has been claimed that the jealousy of his fellow teachers at Halle caused him to leave his position there. In 1731 he received two calls; one from the Duke of Hessen, asking him to become principal theological professor and superintendent at Giessen; the other from Denmark to become German court preacher and theological professor at the University of Copenhagen. Rambach chose Giessen. Here he found conditions quite different from those at Halle. The people had but little sympathy with an earnest and living Christianity, and Rambach’s activity was soon met with scoffing and opposition. It became a matter of continued grief to him that his preaching did not seem to bear any fruit. But he continued to work with untiring zeal. In 1734 he received a call from the newly established University of Göttingen, to become principal professor of theology. He felt inclined to accept this call, but yielded to the intense desire of the duke that he should remain. The following year he was stricken with a violent attack of fever. He realized that his end was drawing near, and it was his constant prayer that he might retain consciousness until the last. He died the 19th of April, 1735. His last words were, “I hold fast to Jesus, and I am prepared to go to Him.” It has been asserted that Rambach died from intense sorrow and grief over his flock.

Rambach wrote over 180 hymns. They were published in Geistliche Poesien, Halle, 1720; Poetische Fest-Gedancken, Jena and Leipzig, 1721; Erbauliches Handbüchlein für Kinder, Giessen, 1734; Geistreiches Haus-Gesangbuch, Frankfurt and Leipzig, 1735; Wunder der bis zum Tode des Kreutzes erniedrigten Liebe, Giessen, 1750. Rambach’s Geistliche Lieder, containing 165 hymns, was published in Leipzig, 1844, by Dr. J. L. Pasig. Many of his hymns were taken up by the German hymnals of the 18th century. Many are still in use. There are fifteen of Rambach’s hymns in English translation.

Rambach’s hymns are characterized by depth of thought, combined with clearness of expression. They are thoroughly Scriptural and churchly. Bunsen says that Rambach’s hymns formed a beautiful and very necessary counteraction to the sentimental poetry of his time. And Dr. J. L. Pasig says: “Because his hymns flow out from a heart which is aflame with intense love of Jesus Christ, who alone can give that peace which the world cannot give, therefore they are also permeated by the spirit of the Holy Scriptures, and they speak no other language but the language of the Bible, in which Christ is the central figure and the guiding star.” [Dahle, Library of Christian Hymns]

RAMBACH, Johann Jacob (1693-1735), one of the outstanding leaders among the German Pietists, was born February 24, 1693, in Halle. When he entered Halle University in 1712, he felt that an impediment in his speech would make it more advisable for him to study medicine than theology; but he was strongly advised by his friends and teachers to change his mind. They recognized his great gifts and argued that the Church needed teachers as well as preachers. He then took up his theological studies in earnest. He was thirty years old when he became Professor Johann Daniel Herrnschmidt’s successor at the University of Halle. In 1727 Rambach became the successor of the great August Hermann Francke, founder of the Halle institutions. It has been claimed that the jealousy of fellow-teachers at Halle caused Rambach to leave that university in 1731 to teach at the University of Giessen. He had in that year received two calls: one from Denmark to become German court preacher and theological professor at the University of Copenhagen, the other, from the Duke of Hessen, asking him to serve as principal theological professor and superintendent at Giessen. He accepted the latter position. He found conditions at Giessen much different from those at Halle. His earnest work was not received well. He met with opposition and scoffing. He began to grieve over the fact that his preaching seemed to bear but little fruit. Yet he continued to labor with unremitting zeal at the ultimate expense of his health. He was only forty-two years old when he died from a violent attack of fever, April 19, 1735. His last words were “I hold fast to Jesus, and I am prepared to go to Him.” It has been said that intense sorrow over his unresponsive flock contributed to his untimely death. He wrote over 180 hymns in all, although he is better known as a hymnologist than as a hymn-writer. He published Über Dr. M. Luthers Verdienst um den Kirchengesang, 1813; Anthologie christlicher Gesänge, in six volumes (this is his greatest work). He was principal editor of the Hamburg Gesang-Buch, 1842. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

242, 513

 

Ramsey, Alfred, 1860-1926

The present English translation was rendered by Dr. Alfred Ramsey, 1911. Dr. Ramsey (b. 1860, Pennsylvania) is a Lutheran theologian and professor at the Theological Seminary in Chicago. [Dahle, Library of Christian Hymns]

RAMSEY, Alfred (1860-1926), was born on April 12, 1860, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He studied at Thiel College and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. He was ordained to the Pennsylvania Ministerium in 1885 and served pastorates at Scenery Hill and Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and at Minneapolis and Stacy, Minnesota. Ramsey was for thirteen years Professor of Historical Theology at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Chicago and is remembered as a skilful and fluent translator of German hymns into English. He died June 20, 1926. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

tr. 28, 52

 

Recueil de plusieurs chansons, Lyons, 1557

465

 

Redhead, Richard, 1820-1901

Richard Redhead, born 1820, composed this melody (Debenham, Redhead 143, St. Nicholas, St. Bede). At an early age he became chorister at Magdalen College, Oxford. Here he became acquainted with the Rev. F. Oakeley, who secured his appointment as organist of Margaret Street Chapel in 1839. Redhead’s Plainsong Psalter, Laudes Diurnae, 1843, and Church Hymn Tunes, 1853, and others, were the leading productions in church music during the prosperous period of the English Catholic Church of the nineteenth century. From 1864 Redhead was organist of St. Mary Magdalene Church, Paddington. He has written a number of hymn tunes which are simple and churchly in spirit. He died in 1901. [Dahle, Library of Christian Hymns]

REDHEAD, Richard (1820-1901), was born March 1, 1820, at Harrow. He became a chorister of Magdalen College, Oxford, where he came under the influence of the Rev. Frederick Oakeley, who invited him to become organist at Margaret Street Chapel (subsequently All Saints Church), prominent in the Oxford movement. After serving there for twenty-five years, Redhead became the organist of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in 1864 and served in this capacity until 1894. With Oakeley Redhead edited the first Gregorian Psalter under the title of Laudes Diurnae. This and Redhead’s other works for the Church greatly influenced the music of the Catholic revival. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

284, 364, 429

 

Redner, Lewis Henry, 1831-1908

REDNER, Lewis Henry (1831-1908), was born at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he attended public school and later became a wealthy real-estate broker. He was organist of Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia and was particularly active in organizing the Sunday-school of the church. With the help of Phillips Brooks, his pastor, he increased the attendance in the Sunday-school and Bible classes from thirty-six to over a thousand in nineteen years. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

137

 

Reed, Andrew, 1788-1862

REED, Andrew (1788-1862), son of a watchmaker of humble circumstances, was born in London, November 27, 1788. In his early years he joined the Congregational Church in the New Road, St. George’s-in-the-East. He was privately educated in his father’s business, but did not find the work to his liking. So upon the advice of one Rev. Matthew Wilks he entered Hackney Seminary in the New Road, East London, as a theological student under the Rev. George Collison in 1807. In November, 1811, he was ordained as pastor of the congregation in which he originally was a member and with which he remained until November 27, 1861. He was active in founding institutions for orphaned children in London. In 1834 Reed and the Rev. J. Matheson were sent to the Congregational Churches of America by the Congregational Union of England and Wales as a deputation, in order to promote peace and friendship between the two communities. He spent six months in America. On this visit Yale University conferred upon him the honorary degree of D. D. After his return to England he published his Visit to American Churches in 1836. In 1843 he published the Revival of Religion in Wycliffe Chapel, in 1861 his Sermons. He died February 25, 1862. His Hymn-Book was a work of years and was published in complete form in 1842. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

402

 

Reinagle, Alexander Robert, 1799-1877

Alexander Robert Reinagle (b. 1799, d. 1877) was of Austrian extraction. He was organist of St. Peter’s in the East, Oxford, 1822-53. He published two books of hymn tunes, 1836 and 1840. [Dahle, Library of Christian Hymns]

REINAGLE, Alexander Robert (1700-1877), was born at Brighton, England, on August 21, 1799, of a well-known musical family of Austrian extraction. He served for thirty-one years as organist at St. Peters-in-the-East, Oxford. He composed a number of songs and other musical pieces and published two books of hymn-tunes, chants, etc. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

155

 

Repository of Sacred Music, John Wyeth, 1813

42, 101

 

Reusner, Adam, 1496-c. 1575

REUSNER (Renssner, Reisner, Reissner), Adam (1496-c. 1575), was born at Mündelsheim, in Swabian Bavaria. He studied at Wittenberg, supported by the famous Captain Georg von Frundsberg, very likely as companion of Frundsberg’s second son, Melchior. There he learned to know Luther and other leaders of the Reformation. He studied Hebrew and Greek under Reuchlin in 1521. He then became private secretary to Georg von Frundsberg. Later, in November, 1526, we find him and his friend Jakob Ziegler with Georg von Frundsberg’s troops on a campaign in Italy, helping Charles V fight against Clemens VII. In 1530 he visited Jakob Ziegler at Strassburg, where he met Caspar Schwenkfeldt, whose friend and adherent he became. In 1563 he lived at Frankfurt-am-Main. But later he returned again to Mündelsheim, where he was still living in the year 1572. He died about 1575. Reusner wrote hymns as early as 1530. A manuscript at Wolfenbüttel entitled Tegliches Gesangbuch . . . durch Adam Reusner contains over forty of his own hymns. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

524

 

Reuter, Friedrich Otto (Fritz), 1863-1924

REUTER, Friedrich Otto (Fritz) (1863-1924), was born in Johannsbach, October 11, 1863, in the Erzgebirge, Sachsen, Germany. His father was Johann Friedrich Reuter, his mother Ida Augusta Friedericke, née Krätzel. After his confirmation he entered the Teachers Seminary in Waldenburg, graduating in 1884. The same year he accepted the position as assistant teacher at Oberlungwitz, near Chemnitz. In 1887 he accepted the position of teacher, organist, and choir director in Klingenthal. In 1892 he served at Rheinsdorf near Zwickau. In 1893 he went to Lichtenstein-Kallnberg where he was Kantor until 1904. His conscience would not let him serve any longer in the State Church. He, therefore, joined the Lutheran Free Church of Saxony. From 1904 to 1905 he served as teacher in a private boys school in Berlin. In 1905 he accepted a call to the parochial school of the Lutheran congregation in Winnipeg, Canada. In 1907 Reuter came to Bethlehem Congregation in Chicago. In 1908 he accepted a call from the Ev. Lutheran Synod of Wisconsin and Other States to serve as teacher of music at the Dr. Martin Luther College, New Ulm, Minn. On July 14, 1894, he married Clara I. Sonntag. Reuter took all the courses offered in the music department of the Waldenburg Seminary and also studied under such well-known teachers of his day as Reichardt at Waldenburg; Schneider and Schreck at Leipzig; Reinberger at München; and Thiel of the Akademisches Institut für Kirchenmusik at Berlin. Besides teaching music he composed church music for choirs and organ. Much of his work was left in manuscript. He died June 9, 1924. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

212

 

Reynolds, William Morton, 1812-76

REYNOLDS, William Morton (1812-1876), was born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. He was educated at Jefferson College, Canonsburgy, and at the theological seminary at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. From 1833 to 1850 he was a professor at Pennsylvania College; from 1850 to 1853 president of Capital University, Columbus Ohio; and of Illinois State University from 1857 to 1860. Reynolds became a minister of the Protestant Episcopal Church in 1864. He founded the Evangelical Review, translated a number of hymns from the German, and edited a hymn-book for the General Synod. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

tr. 90

 

Rhabanus Maurus:see Maurus, Rhabanus.

 

Rheinfelsisches Deutsches Catholisches Gesangbuch, 1666

97

 

Riley, John Athelstan Laurie, 1858-1945

RILEY, John Athelstan Laurie (1858-1945), was born in London on August 10, 1858. He studied at Eton and at Pembroke College, Oxford (B. A. 1881; M. A. 1883), and served most of his life as a member of the House of Laymen of the Province of Canterbury. Riley helped compile the English Hymnal of 1906 and contributed nine translations from the Latin to it and three original hymns. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

540

 

Rimbach, J. Adam, 1871-1941

RIMBACH, J, Adam (1871-1941), son of Henry Rimbach and Catherine Elizabeth, née Brandau, was born in Elyria, Ohio, October 6, 1871. He was educated at Concordia College, Fort Wayne, and Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, graduating from the Seminary in 1893. His first charge was in Cleveland, where he taught in an academy (progymnasium), opened by the Lutheran congregations of Cleveland in order to gain more students for the ministry and the teaching professions. The Rev. O. Kolbe headed this institution for a time. Rimbach also conducted English services Sunday evenings in Zion Church, Cleveland. The panic of the early nineties and the cry of overproduction caused the school to be closed temporarily, and in 1895 he became pastor of Immanuel Church, Avilla, Indiana; in 1897 of Trinity Church, Zanesville, Ohio; in 1900 of St. Paul’s Church, Ashland, Kentucky; and in 1906 of Trinity Church, Portland, Oregon. On June 6, 1941, the Faculty of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity. He married Marie Zorn and had four children. He published, among other works, Our Father Who Art in Heaven, and contributed articles and sermons to the periodicals of his Synod. He died on December 14, 1941. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

tr. 236

 

Ringwaldt, Bartholomäus, 1532-c. 1600

Bartholomäus Ringwaldt, (Ringwald, Ringwalt), was born in Frankfurt an der Oder, November 28, 1532. At 27 he began work as a minister. In 1566 he became Lutheran pastor of Langfeld, or Langenfeld, Brandenburg, where he labored until his death, presumably in 1599 or 1600. Ringwaldt exerted considerable influence both through his sermons and through his poems. He was a zealous and faithful Lutheran and a good German patriot. He was a bold and aggressive worker and was not afraid to speak his mind. He was a keen observer and recognized clearly the need of his times. In his didactic poems, which were published in many editions, he gave a number of-very interesting sketches of his age. But he was also a pedagog, a schoolmaster who could chastise; without regard for persons he swung the lash, and his own contemporaries in the ministry were often made to feel it keenly. In poetic power Ringwaldt resembled Luther. His best known hymn, “Es ist gewisslich an der Zeit,” “Det snart forvist paa Tiden er” (Landst. 573), has even been ascribed to Luther. Ringwaldt was one of the most prolific hymn writers of the 16th century. Wackernagel attributes to him 208 poems, of which 165 are hymns. In 1577 appeared his Der 91. Psalm neben sieben andern schönen Liedern; his Evangelia auf alle Sontag vnd Fest durchs ganze Jahr, about the year 1582. It contains hymns based upon the Gospel lessons for all the Sundays and holidays of the year. Handbüchlein: geistliche Lieder und Gebetlein, etc., was published in 1586. All these were published in Frankfurt an der Oder. Several of his hymns are found scattered among his poems mentioned above (Warnung des Trewen Eckharts and Die lauter Wahrheit). A selection of 59 Geistliche Lieder was published in Halle, 1853. [Dahle, Library of Christian Hymns]

RINGWALDT (Ringwalt, Ringwald), Bartholomäus (1532 - c. 1600), was born November 28, 1532, at Frankfurt a. O. He was ordained in 1557 and was pastor of two parishes before he settled in 1566 as pastor of Langenfeld near Sonnenburg, Brandenburg. He was still there in 1597, but seems to have died there in 1599, or at least not later than 1600. Ringwaldt exerted a considerable influence on his contemporaries as a poet of the people. After 1577 he published various didactic poems, giving a mirror of the times and of the morals of the people. He was one of the most prolific hymn-writers of the sixteenth century. Wackernagel gives 208 pieces under his name, about 165 of which may be called hymns. A selection of 59 as his Geistliche Lieder, with a memoir by H. Wendelbourg, was published at Halle in 1858. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

25, 26, 538

 

Rinkart, Martin, 1586-1649

Martin Rinkart (Rinckart) was born April 23, 1586, in Eilenburg, Saxony. Having completed the course at the Latin school in his home town, he became assistant teacher and chorister in the ThomasSchule at Leipzig. In 1602 he enrolled in the university as a student of theology. In 1610 he sought the office of deacon at Eilenburg and even received the recommendation of the city council. But the superintendent denied his application, apparently on the ground that Rinkart was a better musician than a theologian, but in reality because he did not wish to have as a co-worker one who had been born and raised in the city, and one who had at times shown a rather headstrong disposition. Rinkart, however, received an appointment as teacher and cantor in Eisleben, and a few months later he became deacon of the Church of St. Anna of that city. In 1613 he moved to Erdeborn, and in 1617 the city council of Eilenburg appointed him archdeacon of his native city. During his activity here the Thirty Years’ War broke out and Rinkart, filled with untiring love and selfsacrifice, had to undergo many severe trials. In 1637 a deadly pestilence raged in the city. Eight thousand people perished, and for a long period Rinkart, three times daily, accompanied a dozen or more to the grave. Scarcely was this visitation over when a terrible famine ensued. People were driven to desperate straits, even to the extent of eating the carcasses of dogs and cats. Rinkart faithfully shared his bread with the famished followers that gathered about his home. In 1639 the Swedish general levied a forced contribution of 30,000 thaler upon the city. Rinkart went out to the leader and begged for clemency, but to no avail. When he came back, he gathered the people of the city and said: “Come, dear parishioners, we have not found grace with men; let us beseech God to help us.” The bells tolled for the hour of prayer. The congregation sang “When in the hour of utmost need,” and Rinkart, kneeling, appealed to God in a fervent prayer. This made such a profound impression upon the Swedish commander, that he yielded the greater part of the demand.

Rinkart’s people did not seem to appreciate his kindness and faithfulness toward them. He was forced to pay an exorbitant rental for the use of the parsonage, and when soldiers were billeted upon the city, his home was always filled. In addition to all this he was drawn into a long and unjust litigation, which brought him into extreme debt and poverty. The terrible war ended in 1648, and on December 8, 1649, Rinkart passed to his reward.

Rinkart did not write many hymns. Only one has been translated into Danish, namely, “Now thank we all our God,” “Nu takker alle Gud,” which appeared in Pontoppidan’s Hymnary, 1740.

Rinkart wrote a great deal and was very proficient in music. Many of his works have evidently been lost. Among other productions he wrote spiritual comedies and dramas based upon the events of the Reformation period. [Dahle, Library of Christian Hymns]

RINKART (Rinckart), Martin (1586-1649), son of Georg Rinkart or Rinckart, cooper at Eilenburg on the Mulde, Saxony, was born at Eilenburg, April 23, 1586. After passing through the Latin school at Eilenburg, he became, in November of 1601, a foundation scholar and chorister of the St. Thomas’s School at Leipzig. This scholarship also allowed him to proceed to the University of Leipzig, where he matriculated for the summer session of 1602 as a student of theology. After he completed his course, he remained for some time in Leipzig. In March, 1610, Rinkart became a candidate for the post of diaconus at Eilenburg. He was presented by the Town Council, but the Superintendent refused to sanction this arrangement, nominally on the ground that Rinkart was a better musician than theologian, but really because he was unwilling to have as his colleague a native of Eilenburg with a will of his own. Not wishing to contest the matter, Rinkart applied for a vacant mastership at the gymnasium at Eisleben and entered on his duties there in the beginning of June, 1610, as sixth master, and also as cantor of the St. Nicholas Church. After holding this appointment for a few months, Rinkart became diaconus of St. Anne’s Church, in the Neustadt of Eisleben, and began his work there on May 28, 1611. Thereupon he became pastor at Erdeborn and Lyttichendorf in 1613. Finally he was invited by the Town Council of Eilenburg to become archidisconus there, and in November, 1617, he became once again a resident of Eilenburg. Here he died December 8, 1649. A memorial tablet to his memory, affixed to the house where he lived, was unveiled at Eilenburg on Easter Monday, April 26, 1886. Rinkart was a voluminous writer and a good musician. A considerable number of his books seem to have perished; others survive only in single copies. He began to write poetry early and was crowned as a poet apparently in 1614. Among other things he wrote a cycle of seven so-called Comedies, or rather dramas, on the Reformation Period, suggested by the centenary of the Reformation in 1617. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

63

 

Rippon, J., A Selection of Hymns, London, 1787

Dr. Rippon (Baptist minister and publisher of hymn books, London, 1751-1836). [Dahle, Library of Christian Hymns]

521

 

Rische, A., 19th century

 

175

 

Rist, Johann, 1607-67

Johann Rist was born at Ottensen, near Hamburg, March 8, 1607. He was a son of Kaspar Rist, Lutheran pastor at Ottensen, and from his birth he had been designated by his parents to be a minister. He began to attend school in Hamburg, and at an early age proved to be a very gifted boy. Having graduated from the Bremen Gymnasium at the age of twenty, he entered the university of Rinteln, where he, under the influence of Josva Stegmann, began to take interest in hymnology. Having completed his work at Rinteln, he became tutor of the sons of a Hamburg merchant, and accompanied them to the university of Rostock, where he studied Hebrew, mathematics, and medicine. [It is claimed by some that he studied also at Leipzig, Utrecht, and Leyden.] At the time of his stay in Rostock, this university was almost deserted on account of the hardships caused by the Thirty Years’ War, and the pestilence kept him in the sick-bed for some length of time. After a sojourn in Hamburg he was engaged as private tutor for a family at Heide, Holstein, and while staying there he was betrothed to Elizabeth Stapfel, a sister of Judge Franz Stapfel. Shortly afterwards he was appointed pastor at Wedel, near Hamburg. In the spring of 1635 he married and settled at Wedel, where he labored until his death, August 31, 1667. Like the rest of his countrymen, Rist had to suffer much from the “famine, plundering, and pestilence” caused by the Thirty Years’ War; but otherwise he enjoyed a happy life at Wedel, devoting his time to his pastoral duties and to the writing of poetry. He was respected and honored by all who learned to know him, and gradually he became very famous. In 1644 he was made poet laureate by Emperor Ferdinand III, and in 1653 was raised to the rank of nobility by the same ruler. Duke Christian of Mecklenburg made him a councillor of his civil and ecclesiastical courts. In 1645 he was admitted as a member of the Pegnitz Order, and in 1647 as a member of the Fruitbearing Society, which had been organized by Opitz and was the most famous poets’ union of that time. In 1660 he became the founder and head of the Elbe Swan Order, which, however, did not survive his death.

Some writers describe Rist as a vain and ambitious man; but this must be refuted, and it also runs counter to the statements of several prominent historians. The fact that he belonged to the poets’ orders of his day and even organized one himself, testifies to his zeal in advancing the cause of poetry, and is by no means a proof that he cherished a vain craving for honor and fame. He has written about 680 hymns and spiritual songs. His hymn-writing embraces or covers, so to speak, the entire field of theology. There are poems for all classes and ranks and for almost all kinds of occasions in human life. Many of his songs are of inferior value and are not suited for church use, nor were they written for that purpose; but many will continue to be among the best church hymns. They are Scriptural, objective, full of Christian faith, and edifying in the best sense of that term. More than 200 of his hymns are said to have been in use in Germany, and many of them have been translated into other languages. The best of his hymns appeared in the following publications: Himlische Lieder, 50 hymns, Lüneburg, 1641, and Leipzig, 1642; Neuer Himlischer Lieder sonderbares Buch, 50 hymns, Lüneburg, 1651; Sabbatische Seelenlust, 58 hymns on the Sunday Gospels; Frommer und gottseliger Christen Alltägliche Hausmusik, 70 hymns, Lüneburg, 1854; Neüe musikalische Fest-Andachten, 52 hymns on the Sunday Gospels; Neüe musikalische Katekismus-Andachten, 50 hymns, Lüneburg, 1656. Among his secular poetry may be mentioned Friedewünschende Teutschland and Friedejauchzende Teutschland, two plays giving vivid pictures of the life and conditions of the common people during the Thirty Years’ War. [Dahle, Library of Christian Hymns]

RIST, Johann (1607-1667), was born on March 8, 1607, at Ottensen, near Hamburg, the son of the Rev. Kaspar Rist. From birth he was designated by his parents to be a minister. He attended school in Hamburg and at an early age proved to be a very gifted boy. At twenty Rist graduated from the Gymnasium Illustri at Bremen. Then he entered the University of Rinteln, where, under the influence of Josua Stegmann, he began to take an interest in hymnology. After his graduation from Rinteln, Rist became tutor of the sons of a Hamburg merchant and accompanied them to the University of Rostock, where he studied Hebrew, mathematics, and medicine. While he was at Rostock, the University was almost deserted on account of the hardships caused by the Thirty Years War. The pestilence kept Rist in the sickbed for some length of time. After a stay in Hamburg he was engaged as tutor in the house of the lawyer Heinrich Sager of Heide, Holstein. While staying there, Rist was betrothed to Elizabeth Stapfel, a sister of Judge Franz Stapfel, whose influence seems to have had a good deal to do with Rist’s appointment as pastor at Wedel, near Hamburg, shortly afterwards. In the spring of 1635 Rist married and settled at Wedel. He devoted his time to his pastoral duties and to the writing of poetry. Gradually he became famous. In 1644 he was made poet laureate by Emperor Ferdinand m and in 1635 was raised to the rank of nobility by the same ruler. Duke Christian of Mecklenburg made him a councilor of his civil and ecclesiastical courts. In 1645 Rist was admitted as a member of the Fruit-bearing Society, which had been organized by Opitz and was the most famous poets union of that time. In 1660 he became the founder and head of the Elbe Swan Order, which, however, did not survive his death on August 31, 1667. Johann Rist was a voluminous and many-sided writer. His secular works are of great interest to the student of the history of the times, and his occasional poems on marriages, etc., to the genealogist and local historian. He wrote about 680 hymns and spiritual songs, covering the entire field of theology. Not all of Rist’s hymns are of equal merit; many are poor and bombastic. But Rist never meant them for public worship, but for private use. Rist excels in his hymns for Advent and for Holy Communion. In general, the hymns of Johann Rist are Scriptural, objective, full of Christian faith, and edifying in the best sense of the word. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

105, 118, 322, 326, 332

 

Ristad, Ditlef Georgson, 1863-1938

RISTAD, Ditlef Georgson (1863-1938), was born November 22, 1863, at Overhallen, Norway. He attended the Kläbu Normal School and then became a teacher at the Namsos Middle School in Norway. Ristad emigrated in 1887 and attended Luther Seminary (C. T. 1892) and Chicago University. He held pastorates at Edgerton, East Koshkonong and Rockdale, and at Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Between the years 1901 and 1919 he served successively as president of Albion Academy, of Park Region Luther College, and of the Lutheran Ladies Seminary, Red Wing, Minnesota. In 1897 he edited the Lutheran Sunday-school Hymnal and served on the committee for the Lutheran Hymnary and the Lutheran Hymnary Junior. In 1922 he published a volume of poems in the Norwegian language. He died September 20, 1938. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

tr. 252

 

Rodigast, Samuel, 1649-1708

Samuel Rodigast was born October 19, 1649, in Gröben, near Jena, where his father was minister He was educated at the University of Jena, where he (1676) was appointed assistant professor of philosophy. In 1680 he accepted a position as corrector of the Greyfriars’ gymnasium at Berlin. He was offered a professorship at the University of Jena, and the rectorship of the schools in Stade and Stralsund, but declined. In 1690 he was appointed rector for the Greyfriars’ institution, in which position he continued until his death, in 1703. [Dahle, Library of Christian Hymns]

RODIGAST, Samuel (1640-1708), was born October 19, 1649, in Gröben, near Jena. He studied at Weimar and then at Jena, where he later became adjunct of the philosophical faculty. From 1680 on he served as conrector and later rector at the Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster in Berlin, where he remained, in spite of offers from other schools, such as Jena, until his death, March 29, 1708. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

519

 

Roh, Johann: see Horn.

 

Rosenmüller, Johann, c. 1619-84

The melody of this hymn is by Johann Rosenmüller, director of music, Leipzig and Wolfenbüttel, of the 17th century. The melody was composed in 1655 and later united with Albinus’ hymn, “Straf mich nicht in deinem Zorn” (L. H. 522). [Dahle, Library of Christian Hymns]

253, 424, 454, 509

 

Rosenroth, Christian Knorr, Baron von, 1636-89

Christopher Knorr von Rosenroth, a learned German theologian, Orientalist, and hymn writer, was born in Altranden, Silesia, July 15, 1636. He was educated in Leipzig and Wittenberg; later he traveled in France, England, and Holland. On these travels he met Dr. Henry More, Rabbi Meier Stern, and Dr. John Lightfoot, and was induced by them to study alchemy, Oriental languages, and especially Kabbala (the oral tradition of the Jews, transmitted from Adam; the secret wisdom of the Rabbis). [Kabbala means, in this connection, the Jewish mystico-theosophic philosophy of religion; it arose from a desire for a deeper religious consciousness, as mysticism in Christianity.] Through these studies Rosenroth came in touch with Palsgrave Christian August, who in 1668 appointed him prime minister and privy councillor. In 1677 he was created baron by Emperor Leopold I. Rosenroth strove to harmonize the doctrines of Kabbala and Christianity. His monumental work, Kabbala Denudata, Sulzbach, 1677, made him world-famous. He ranks high as a writer of hymns. His hymns were published in 1684 under the title: Neuer Helicon mit seinen neuen Musen, das ist: Geistliche Sitten-Lieder. This volume contained 70 hymns, of which a few are translations from the Latin, others are versions of old German hymns. Sixteen of Rosenroth’s hymns were taken up by Freylinghausen in his hymnal, published in 1704, and again in 1714. The hymnologist Hoch says of Rosenroth’s hymns that they are the product of a noble, pure, and deep mysticist, with a truly poetic sentiment, and a fervent desire for union with Christ. Rosenroth died in 1689. [Dahle, Library of Christian Hymns]

ROSENROTH, Christian Knorr, Baron von (1636-1689), was born on July 15, 1636, at Altrauden, Silesia, where his father was a pastor. He studied at Stettin, Leipzig, and Wittenberg and continued his studies traveling to Holland, France, and England. On these travels von Rosenroth met Dr. Henry More, Rabbi Meier Stern, and Dr. John Lightfoot. Although he was an ardent seeker after the philosopher’s stone, von Rosenroth found truth and peace only in Christianity. Later he served as pastor in Silesia. He became proficient not only in philosophy and chemistry, but also in theology and cabalistic lore. His memory was so unique that he knew nearly the whole Bible by heart. He died at Sulzback, Bavaria, at the very hour, so it is said, which he himself had predicted, May 8, 1689. He wrote 70 hymns, which show him to be a mystic of the school of Scheffler; they are full of a glowing desire for inner union with God in Christ. He was, indeed, a great scholar and statesman, and his learning led to his being taken into the service of the Palsgrave Christian August of Sulzbach, and that prince made him his prime minister in 1668. He was created a baron by Emperor Leopold I. His greatest pleasure was the study of the Kabbala - the oral tradition of the Jews, supposedly transmitted from Adam; the secret wisdom of the rabbis. He edited rabbinical writings, and his Kabbala Denudata made him world-famous. He strove to harmonize the doctrine of the Kabbala and Christianity. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

75, 84

 

Ross, Roger R., 1817-99

289

 

Rothe, Johann Andreas, 1688-1758

Johann Andreas Rothe was born in Lissa, near Görlitz, Silesia, May 12, 1688. His father was pastor in Lissa. From the “Gymnasium” of Görlitz and Breslau young Rothe went, 1708, to the university of Leipzig to study theology. Following the final examinations he accepted a position as private tutor in the family of von Schweidnitz, near Görlitz. He preached frequently in the neighboring churches, and at one time Count N. L. von Zinzendorf happened to hear him and was so favorably impressed with the young man that he called him as pastor of Berthelsdorf in 1722. He was installed on August 30, 1722. His field included also the congregation of the Moravian Brethren of Herrnhut. Rothe’s firm stand in matters pertaining to the Church together with his fearlessness over against Zinzendorf finally brought on a break between the two. When Rothe was requested to report to the church authorities concerning Zinzendorf’s doctrine and practice, the latter was highly incensed, and Rothe resigned and accepted a call to Hermsdorf, near Görlitz. In 1739 he moved to Thommendorf, near Bunzlau, and labored there until his death, July 6, 1758.

There can be no doubt that Rothe in the beginning of his activity was greatly influenced by Zinzendorf, his colleague, as he was, on the whole, in sympathy with the Pietistic tendencies. This is especially apparent in his hymn writing and has rather enhanced the value of his hymn poetry. Whereas his forty or more church hymns are of a churchly character, they are all permeated by a marked sincerity and depth of feeling which characterizes the best productions of Zinzendorf and the Pietistic school. Later he approached more and more the strict and orthodox Lutheranism. For this reason also Zinzendorf failed in his attempt to again enlist Rothe’s services in the Moravian Church. Rothe is described as an able theologian, a fearless witness for truth, and a prominent preacher. [Dahle, Library of Christian Hymns]

ROTHE, Johann Andreas (1688-1758), son of the Rev. Ägidius Rothe, was born at Lissa, May 12, 1688. As student of theology he graduated from the University of Leipzig; in 1712 he was licensed at Görlitz as a general preacher. Count von Zinzendorf heard him preach and later gave him a pastorate at Berthelsdorf (August 30, 1722). In 1737 Zinzendorf was displeased with Rothe’s doctrinal views; so Rothe accepted a call to Hermsdorf, near Görlitz, where he became minister in 1737. In 1739 he became assistant pastor at Thommendorf, near Bunzlau, where in 1742 he was made chief pastor and remained there until his death on July 6, 1758. His hymns number about 40. Though they do not rank high as poetry, yet they are characterized by glow and tenderness of feeling and by depth of Christian experience. [Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal]

 

499

 

Rung, Henrik, 1807-71, composer, born 31 March 1807 in Copenhagen, died the same place 12 December 1871. His childhood was in Næstved, where his father was toll-collector; in his younger years he studied the guitar, but first later he attained a real artistic development from his musical abilities (under L. Zinck and Weyse). Some years he was contrabassist in the royal chapel, but it was first in 1837 when he performed as composer of the music for “Svend Dyrings Hus” that he became known to a greater public. A number of years Rung lived as a real artist’s life in Italy in the Thorvaldsen circle and studied old Italian music; later he set himself to studying the art of singing in Paris. In 1842 Rung was installed as song-master at the royal theater and was at that tie a very much employed, productive theater composer for various plays and operas, of which non continue in the repertoire. His talent was a real lyric character, and his significance therefore came at being a composer of some romances, some hymn-melodies and folk-style songs. The fresh, natural melody and the folk-like