Meter: 8.7. 8.7. 8.8.7.
Composer: Martin Luther
Source: Etlich Christlich lider (Achtliederbuch), Wittenberg, 1524
Proper Text: Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice (Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g’mein)
- Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice (Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g’mein)
- If Thy Beloved Son, O God (Wenn dein Herzliebster Sohn, o Gott)
- Lord God, Our Father, Praise to Thee (Herr Gott Vater, wir preisen dich)
- On Christ’s Ascension, This Alone (Auf Christi Himmelfahrt allein)
- Thank God! My Jesus Cleanseth Me (Gott lob, mein Jesus macht mich rein)
The tune “Nun freut euch” is the first to appear in any Lutheran hymnal. It was joined to Luther’s text “Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice (Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g’mein)” in the Achtliederbuch of 1524 (a scan is available here). It was also used in a much more complex form in Johann Walter’s Geystliche gesangk Buchleyn, Wittenberg, 1524, where another tune was also offered for Luther’s text. In many subsequent hymnals of the sixteenth century, the tune “Es ist gewisslich” was joined to “Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice,” but the first tune came to be regarded as proper to the text.