O God, condemn us not according to the multitude of our iniquities,
but quicken with Thy plenteous compassion those who confess and return unto Thee.
but quicken with Thy plenteous compassion those who confess and return unto Thee.
—From a Collect after Psalm 130
As the church approaches Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent, it is fitting to explore one of the penitential psalms, Psalm 130, with special focus on Luther’s hymn after this Psalm, “From depths of woe I cry to Thee.” Composers of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries have worked wonders with Luther’s hymn. This issue will focus on three composers—Johann Walter, Matthäus Le Maistre, and Heinrich Schütz—who worked in Dresden and who set Luther’s hymn to music.
Martin Luther (1483–1546) describes the theology of Psalm 130:
The 130th psalm is a psalm of prayer that comes from the genuine Davidic devotion and understanding. It confesses that before God no one is righteous, nor may one become righteous by his own work and righteousness, but only through grace and forgiveness of sins, which God has promised. (Reading the Psalms with Luther, p. 314)
In addition to expressing what Luther calls “Davidic devotion,” i.e., the piety of King David, Psalm 130 is also a “psalm of degrees,” later known as an “ascent psalm.” The concrete imagery here is Israel drawing closer and closer to God’s presence as she traveled to the major festivals of the Old Testament. In walking to Jerusalem, Israel prayed out of the depths for God’s forgiveness (vss. 1–4), confessed the faith of a watchman waiting for the morning (vss. 5–6), and sang of her faith in the One who would redeem her from all of her iniquities (vss. 7–8). In Jesus’ adult life, for instance, He traveled about ninety miles from Nazareth to Jerusalem, approached the Holy City, and entered the court of the Jews. In due course, our great high Priest in human flesh quite literally went a few steps further and entered the holy of holies of God’s presence as our new and greater Aaron, who made propitiation for all sin with His own blood.
Luther’s hymn based on Psalm 130 reflects his desire for “as many songs as possible in the vernacular which the people could sing during Mass, immediately after the Gradual and also after the Sanctus and Agnus Dei” (Luther’s Works, 53:56). At the very time that he was revising the Latin Mass (1523), he asked George Spalatin (1484–1545), Court Chaplain to Frederick the Wise (1486–1525), to help him “turn a psalm into a hymn as in the enclosed sample of my work,” this “enclosed sample” presumably being “From depths of woe” (Luther’s Works, 53:221). The hymn (please see the translation below the first video link) was originally written in four stanzas, but expanded to five stanzas to help emphasize the Reformation themes of faith, grace, and the Word of God. The entry in Julian’s Dictionary of Hymnology ranks this hymn among the finest metrical psalms in German. The most talented composers seem to agree, having set it to music.
Johann Walter (1496–1570) is better remembered as a composer than as a hymn writer, an ‘inversion’ of Luther’s own reputation. Even though Walter worked and lived mostly in Torgau (along with some time in Dresden), he is rightly considered Luther’s “right-hand man” in sacred music. In addition to voluminous correspondence and collaborations with Luther, Walter spent three weeks in Luther’s home in Wittenberg in 1524, helping to adapt the old church music to a Lutheran context and harmonizing hymns tunes in five parts. Walter E. Buszin describes Walter’s approach to Psalm 130, known in German as Aus tiefer not:
Luther’s hymn based on Psalm 130 reflects his desire for “as many songs as possible in the vernacular which the people could sing during Mass, immediately after the Gradual and also after the Sanctus and Agnus Dei” (Luther’s Works, 53:56). At the very time that he was revising the Latin Mass (1523), he asked George Spalatin (1484–1545), Court Chaplain to Frederick the Wise (1486–1525), to help him “turn a psalm into a hymn as in the enclosed sample of my work,” this “enclosed sample” presumably being “From depths of woe” (Luther’s Works, 53:221). The hymn (please see the translation below the first video link) was originally written in four stanzas, but expanded to five stanzas to help emphasize the Reformation themes of faith, grace, and the Word of God. The entry in Julian’s Dictionary of Hymnology ranks this hymn among the finest metrical psalms in German. The most talented composers seem to agree, having set it to music.
Johann Walter (1496–1570) is better remembered as a composer than as a hymn writer, an ‘inversion’ of Luther’s own reputation. Even though Walter worked and lived mostly in Torgau (along with some time in Dresden), he is rightly considered Luther’s “right-hand man” in sacred music. In addition to voluminous correspondence and collaborations with Luther, Walter spent three weeks in Luther’s home in Wittenberg in 1524, helping to adapt the old church music to a Lutheran context and harmonizing hymns tunes in five parts. Walter E. Buszin describes Walter’s approach to Psalm 130, known in German as Aus tiefer not:
The cantus firmus [melody] is very plain and to the point, totally devoid of melismatic figuration or other ornamental effects. The tenors carry the cantus firmus and in the entire composition the cantus firmus is the pivot. In fact, one gains the impression that in this type of composition the cantus firmus draws the other voice parts to itself with centripetal force. (Theodore Hoelty-Nickel, ed., The Musical Heritage of the Church, III:92)
In the following recording of stanzas 1 and 5, listen for the centrality of the cantus firmus or melody. This style, simpler than Palestrina yet more complex than today’s typical hymn, is at the heart of the music of the Reformation.
| 1 From depths of woe [Aus tiefer not] I cry to Thee Lord, hear me I implore Thee. Bend down Thy gracious ear to me, My prayer let come before Thee. If Thou rememb’rest each misdeed, If each should have its rightful meed, Who may abide Thy presence? 2 Thy love and grace alone avail To blot out my transgression; The best and holiest deeds must fail To break sin’s dread oppression. Before Thee none can boasting stand, But all must fear Thy strict demand, And live alone by mercy. 3 Therefore my hope is in the Lord, And not in my own merit; My soul shall trust His gracious Word, To them of contrite spirit: That He is merciful and just; This is my comfort and my trust. His help I wait with patience. 4 And though it tarry till the night And till the morning waken, My heart shall never doubt His might, Nor count itself forsaken. Do thus, O ye of Israel’s see, Ye of the Spirit born indeed; Wait for your God’s appearing. 5 Though great our sins and sore our woes, His grace much more aboundeth; His helping love no limit knows, Our utmost need it soundeth. Our Shepherd good and true is He, Who will at last His Israel free From all their sin and sorrow. (The Lutheran Hymnal 329) |
Matthäus Le Maistre (circa 1505–1577), who might be unfamiliar to many readers, was a Flemish Renaissance choirmaster and composer. His music was influential to the Reformation, the Counter-Reformation, and the Lutheran courts due to his talent and his conversion from Roman Catholicism to Lutheranism. He succeeded Walter in Dresden as choirmaster for the State Chapel, where he wrote music that reflects his mastery of polyphony, but not without a clear sense of melody. The following setting of stanzas 1, 2, and 5 of Aus tiefer not is from his musical setting of the Small Catechism for soprano, alto, and tenor voices. Here Luther’s plaintive melody, also known as “De profundis” and “Luther’s 130th,” is heard in the soprano solo (st. 1), with instrumental accompaniment (st. 2), and then with all voices and instruments (st. 5).
Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672) also worked for the court of the elector of Saxony in Dresden. His importance to music history in general and to sacred music cannot be overstated. Martin Geier, First Court Preacher in Dresden, summarized the legacy of Schütz as a master of song in his funeral sermon on Psalm 119:54, “Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage”:
It is obvious that for 57 years Schütz served faithfully at this court of the elector of Saxony and produced many a piece of lovely song such as occasional tafelmusik [“table music,” i.e., music for a feast] and especially those composed for the court chapel. His sincere and splendid melodies for the psalms of David are still used continually each week, to say nothing of his other great works that are well known both within and beyond Germany. (Robin A. Leaver, Music in the Service of the Church: The Funeral Sermon for Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672), p. 25)
As you listen to his setting of all five stanzas of Aus tiefer not, notice how the music has developed since the settings of Walter and Le Maistre. The melody is clearly heard in the soprano, for instance, in stanzas 1 and 2, but who carries the melody in stanza 3? (See the answer in the paragraph following the prayer below.) All voices and instruments converge in the final two stanzas, with congregations through the ages possibly joining in.
Paul D. Weber notes four reasons that Luther’s hymn on Psalm 130 is important today. First, it became a core hymn of great comfort for Luther during his own trials. Second, it preaches justification by grace through faith in Christ. Third, it became an important funeral hymn, having been sung at the funeral of Frederick the Wise and during Luther’s own ceremony as he lay in state. Fourth, it is a “catechetical aid to reinforce the meaning of confession as described in Luther’s Small Catechism” (Lutheran Service Book Companion to the Hymns, 2:703–704).
All four of these reasons resonate in your liturgical and sacramental life this Lent. Psalm 130 provides great comfort for you who mourn your sins and remember, in the words of the Ash Wednesday liturgy, “Dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” Aus tiefer not gives you voice to place your petitions at the foot of the crucified One, in Whom is plenteous redemption. “From depths of woe” is fitting not only for the actual Christian funeral; it is also fitting for the ‘funeral’ of your sins as you kill them by confessing them. Singing this hymn through the Lenten journey, you learn yet again that the daily pattern of the Christian life is death and resurrection—death to your multitude of iniquities and to everything in you that is not of Christ, and new life as you behold God’s plenteous redemption in the life-giving cross, on which was hung the salvation of the world.
All four of these reasons resonate in your liturgical and sacramental life this Lent. Psalm 130 provides great comfort for you who mourn your sins and remember, in the words of the Ash Wednesday liturgy, “Dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” Aus tiefer not gives you voice to place your petitions at the foot of the crucified One, in Whom is plenteous redemption. “From depths of woe” is fitting not only for the actual Christian funeral; it is also fitting for the ‘funeral’ of your sins as you kill them by confessing them. Singing this hymn through the Lenten journey, you learn yet again that the daily pattern of the Christian life is death and resurrection—death to your multitude of iniquities and to everything in you that is not of Christ, and new life as you behold God’s plenteous redemption in the life-giving cross, on which was hung the salvation of the world.
O Lord, we beseech Thee: let Thy merciful ears attend to the prayer of Thy humble servants, because with Thee there is forgiveness of sins; that thou mayest not mark our iniquities, but vouchsafe to us Thy mercies; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen. (from The Brotherhood Prayer Book, p. 325)
Addendum: The melody in stanza 3 of the Schütz setting is in the strings, while the bass soloist sings a harmonic line. This unique combination set the stage for mature Baroque music, where the voices and instruments often function as equal partners in melody and harmony.
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Extra Choral Credit: Hearing J. S. Bach’s Organ Preludes on Aus tiefer not
Extra Choral Credit: Hearing J. S. Bach’s Organ Preludes on Aus tiefer not
The chorale prelude is a timeless musical treasure that utilizes the chorale tune and prepares the faithful to sing the tune with the corresponding hymn text. J. S. Bach (1685–1750) wrote numerous chorale preludes, often using tunes associated with Luther’s hymns. In many cases, he wrote two chorale preludes on the same tune: one that is rather simple and straightforward, and one that is significantly more complex. Bach’s two settings of “Luther’s 130th” are a case in point. In the first video, enjoy the smaller-scale prelude, which might have been intended for a small organ. In the second video, enjoy the convergence of all six parts, perhaps best performed on a larger pipe organ. In both cases, enjoy the flowering of musical genius, associated with the “Class of ‘85”: Luther (b. 1483), Schütz (b. 1585), and Bach (b. 1685).
BWV687
BWV687
BWV 868
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