Chorale Melodies used in Bach's Vocal Works
Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her

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

Melody & Text:

"Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her" ("From Heaven Above to Earth I Come") 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 that first appeared in 1539 and that was likely composed by M. Luther as well. That version became a classic Christmas carol, and many composers referred to it in their compositions.
In an account not confirmed by contemporary sources M. Luther would have written "Vom Himmel hoch" in 1534 for the Christmas celebration in family circle. It is not certain but likely that M. Luther thought of a scenic representation. The text of the hymn was first published in 1535, the melody most commonly associated with it in 1539.
"Vom Himmel hoch" was first published as a hymn with 15 stanzas of four lines in the "Wittenberg hymnal" of 1535, under the header "Ein kinderlied auff die Weinacht Christi" ("A children's song on the Nativity of Christ"). In that publication, the text was coupled to the melody of the then well-known secular song "Ich kumm aus frembden Landen her." It was M. Luther's only contrafactum, reusing a tune of a secular composition for a religious text.
In 1539, the hymn was published with a new melody that was probably composed by M. Luther himself, in Geistliche lieder / auffs new gebessert vnd gemehrt /zu Witteberg. D. Marti. Luther. Viel Geistliche gesenge / von andern frommen Christen gemacht. Gedruckt zu Leyptzick durch Valten Schumann (Spiritual Songs / newly improved and extended / … made by other pious Christians …). This is the melody generally associated with the text:.
The song is an interpretation of Luke 2:8-18, a part of the Christmas story. The first five stanzas echo the annunciation addressed to the shepherds. The following stanzas are an invitation to follow the shepherds to the manger and celebrate the newborn baby. The last stanza is a short doxology and mentions the new year, as a new, peaceful time.
Another early publication containing the 1539 version of M. Luther's hymn is Lotther's Magdeburg Gesangbuch of 1540. The 1539 melody was used in various compositions, in vocal compositions often coupled to (parts of) M. Luther's hymn text. "Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her" became one of Germany's most popular Christmas carols.
In the 1560's the hymn spread to the Netherlands and the British Isles. "From Heaven Above to Earth I Come," the version best known in English, was published by Catherine Winkworth in 1855. The Swedish-language version ("Av himlens höjd oss kommet är") became one of the most commonly sung Lutheran hymns in Sweden and Finland, appearing in films there.
Not all settings of M. Luther's hymn text after his publication of the 1539 melody refer to that melody: for instance Sethus Calvisius' early 17th century motet Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her for SSATTB choir borrows some motifs from the "Ich kumm aus frembden Landen her" melody, but does not contain the 1539 tune. The Scottish translation contained in the 16th century Gude and Godlie Ballatis was indicated to be sung on the tune of a lullaby ("Balulalow").
Source: Wikipedia (October 22, 2018)

J.S. Bach set the first stanza of "Vom Himmel hoch" as one of four laudes added to the Christmas 1723 version of his Magnificat (BWV 243a). He also used the melody three times in his Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248) (1734). The chorale Ach, mein herzliebes Jesulein, which uses stanza 13 of M. Luther's hymn, closes Part I of the oratorio. J.S. 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).

Melody: Zahn 346
Composer: Martin Luther (1539), based on a secular song

Text: Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her (NLGB 13; GH 21; EKG 16; EG 24)
Author: Martin Luther (1534; published 1535)

Hymnal versions Bach may have known:

1539 melody and first five stanzas of Vom Himmel hoch in the Straßburger Gesangbuch (1541) | Luther's Christmas hymn Vom Himmel hoch in a print from 1567 ( Digital Image Archive, Pitts Theology Library, Candler School of Theology, Emory University)

Melody & text of Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her (NLGB 13) from the Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch (1682), 24-27

Melody & verse 1t of Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her (GH 21) from the Gotha Hymnal (1715), pp 11-12

Use of the Chorale Melody by Bach:

Text:

Chorale Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her (Mvt. 2a) from Magnificat in E flat major BWV 243a (1723) (verse 1)

Chorale Ach mein herzliebes Jesulein (Mvt. 9 (9)) from Weihnachts-Oratorium BWV 248/1 (1734) (verse 13)

Untexted:

Chorale Prelude Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her (I), BWV 606

Chorale Prelude Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her (II), BWV 700

Chorale Prelude Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her (III), BWV 701

Chorale Prelude Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her (IV), BWV 738
Chorale Prelude Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her (IV), BWV 738a

Canonic variations on the Christmas hymn Vom himmel hoch, da komm ich her (I), BWV 769
Canonic variations on the Christmas hymn Vom himmel hoch, da komm ich her (II), BWV 769a

Use of the Chorale Melody by other composers:

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 Johann Heinrich Scheidemann. Early 17th century four-part chorale harmonizations include those by Jacob Praetorius, Hans Leo Hassler and Sethus Calvisius. Later organ compositions include those by Johann Pachelbel (chorale preludes, one of them printed in his Erster Theil etlicher Choräle c1693) 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 OraDie heilsame Geburt und Menschwerdung unsers Herrn und Heilandes Jesu Christi (1715).
Carl Maria von Weber's first composition was a setting for organ of "Vom Himmel hoch". In Felix Mendelssohn wrote a chorale cantata Vom Himmel hoch, MWV A 10 based on M. 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 J.S. 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 USA 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.
"Ett barn är fött på denna dag" is a Swedish Christmas song partly based on the "Vom Himmel hoch" hymn.

Sources: Bach Digital; BGA; Zahn; BCML discussions on BCW; Charles Sanford Terry's Bach Chorals books
Photos from Gottfried Vopelius: Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch (Vopelius 1682) & Christian Friedrich Witt: Psalmodia Sacra, Oder: Andächtige und schöne Gesänge… (Gotha Hymnal, 1715), were taken from digital copies of the books downloaded from Bayerische Staatsbibliothek München. These copies are Out of copyright - non commercial re-use (Europeana Rights).
Prepared by Aryeh Oron (October 2018)