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Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder

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"Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder"
Lutheran hymn
EnglishAh Lord, poor sinner that I am
Textby Cyriakus Schneegass
LanguageGerman
Based onPsalm 6
Melodyby Hans Leo Hassler
Composed1601 (1601)
Published1597 (1597)

"Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder" ("Ah Lord, poor sinner that I am")[1] is a Lutheran hymn of 1597, with text by Cyriakus Schneegass paraphrasing Psalm 6. It is commonly sung with a 1601 melody by Hans Leo Hassler. Johann Sebastian Bach based a chorale cantata on it.

History and text

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Schneegass was pastor at the of the St. Blasius church at Friedrichroda; he was also a good musician who liked to use music in church services.[2] In 1597 he paraphrased Psalm 6,[3] following the example of Martin Luther to make the psalms accessible to Protestant church services in German.

The hymn is in six stanzas of eight lines each.[2][1] It became associated with a 1601 melody by Hans Leo Hassler.[4][5]

Johann Sebastian Bach used the complete hymn as the base for Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder, BWV 135, a chorale cantata composed in 1724.[3]

References

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Cited sources

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  • Braatz, Thomas; Oron, Aryeh (2005). "Chorale Melodies used in Bach's Vocal Works / Befiehl du deine Wege". Bach Cantatas Website. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  • Browne, Francis (2006). "Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder / Text and Translation of Chorale". Bach Cantatas Website. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
  • Dahn, Luke (2024). "BWV 135.6". bach-chorales.com. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  • "Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder BWV 135; BC A 100". Bach Digital. 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  • "Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder". hymnary.org. 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2017.