page_title: Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her
section_title: The 1539 melody in other compositions
hierarchical_section_title: Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her / Reception history / The 1539 melody in other compositions
caption_attribution_description: English: Opening bars of the 5 Canonic Variations on "Vom Himmel hoch da komm' ich her", BWV 769, by J. S. Bach for organ with two manuals and pedals, encoded in lilypond on the Mutopia website
context_page_description: "Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her" is a hymn text relating to the Nativity of Jesus, written by Martin Luther in 1534. The hymn is most often sung to a melody, Zahn No. 346, that first appeared in 1539 and that was likely composed by Luther as well. That version became a classic Christmas carol, and many composers referred to it in their compositions.
context_section_description: From the second half of the 16th century the melody appeared in organ compositions, for instance by Johannes Eccard, Adam Gumpelzhaimer, Hans Leo Hassler, Michael Praetorius, Samuel Scheidt (Görlitzer Tabulaturbuch, 1650) and Heinrich Scheidemann. Early 17th century four-part chorale harmonizations include those by Jacob Praetorius, Hassler and Calvisius. Later organ compositions include those by Johann Pachelbel (chorale preludes, one of them printed in his Erster Theil etlicher Choräle c. 1693) and by Georg Böhm (chorale prelude on the "Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her" theme).
  Johann Hermann Schein made a setting of "Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her" for three voices and continuo, the unaltered 1539 melody being given to the tenor voice. Sebastian Knüpfer wrote a cantata Vom Himmel hoch da komm' ich her for six vocal soloists, choir and orchestra. Johann Christoph Bach set six stanzas of "Vom Himmel hoch" in his motet Merk auf, mein Herz und sieh dorthin, BWV Anh. 163. Also Johann Mattheson included "Vom Himmel hoch" in his Christmas Oratorio Die heilsame Geburt und Menschwerdung unsers Herrn und Heilandes Jesu Christi (1715).
  Johann Sebastian Bach set the first stanza of "Vom Himmel hoch" as one of four laudes added to the Christmas 1723 version of his Magnificat. He also used the melody three times in his Christmas Oratorio (1734). The chorale Ach, mein herzliebes Jesulein, which uses stanza 13 of Luther's hymn, closes Part I of the oratorio. Bach wrote chorale preludes based on "Vom Himmel hoch", notably BWV 606 in his Orgelbüchlein, 700, 701, 738 and 738a. In 1747 he used the chorale theme for his Canonic Variations on "Vom Himmel hoch da komm' ich her" (BWV 769).
  Carl Maria von Weber's first composition was a setting for organ of "Vom Himmel hoch". In 1831 Felix Mendelssohn wrote a chorale cantata Vom Himmel hoch, MWV A 10 based on Luther's hymn. Later he incorporated the melody in the incidental music for Racine's Athalie, Op. 74 (1845), and his sister cited it in the "December" piece of her piano cycle Das Jahr. Also Otto Nicolai's Christmas Overture was based on "Vom Himmel hoch."
  A 1910 Fugue on the chorale "Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her" is by Immanuel Faisst. Other composers citing "Vom Himmel hoch" include Sigfrid Karg-Elert, Ernst Pepping und Hugo Distler. Max Reger composed a chorale prelude as No. 40 of his 52 Chorale Preludes, Op. 67 in 1902. He quotes the tune in the Christmas section of his organ pieces Sieben Stücke, Op. 145. Igor Stravinsky wrote "Chorale Variations on 'Vom Himmel hoch'" for choir and orchestra (1956), which was an arrangement of Bach's Canonic Variations, adding extra contrapuntal lines.
  "Enkeli taivaan", the Finnish version of "Vom Himmel Hoch", appears in Act 2, scene five of Luther, an opera by Kari Tikka that premiered in 2000. The English-language version of the opera, brought to the United States in 2001, contains seven stanzas of "From heav´n above to earth I come." The opera premiered in Germany in 2004 containing stanzas of "Vom Himmel hoch" in the original language.
caption: Incipits of Bach's five variations on "Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her", BWV 769, the theme appearing, for instance, as a cantus firmus for Pedal in the first variation
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