Herzlich tut mich verlangen


"Herzlich tut mich verlangen" is a German hymn, with lyrics written in 1611 by Christoph Knoll, with a melody adapted from a secular song by Hans Leo Hassler. It is a prayer for a blessed death, beginning "Herzlich tut mich verlangen nach einem sel'gen End". Its hymn tune, Zahn No. 5385a, was later also used for Paul Gerhardt's "Befiehl du deine Wege" and "O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden".

History and lyrics

Knoll wrote the "geistliches Sterbelied" "Herzlich thut mich verlangen nach einem selgen End" during the plague of 1599. It became known already during his lifetime. It appeared in Görlitz in 1613 in the hymnal Harmoniae sacrae.

Hymn tune

The tune, "Befiehl du deine Wege", was written by Hans Leo Hassler around 1600 for a secular love song, "", which first appeared in print in the 1601 Hans Leo Hassler#Works. It was combined with the sacred text "Herzlich tut mich verlangen", first in Brieg in an organ tablature. It was first printed with this text in 1613 in Görlitz in the hymnal Harmoniae sacrae. Johann Crüger published it in 1640 in his hymnal Newes vollkömliches Gesangbuch. He used the same tune for Paul Gerhardt's hymn "O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden", in his Praxis pietatis melica which was published in 1656. The rhythmic melody in phrygian mode was later sung in regular meter. Its phrygian mode and ambiguous harmonies contribute to the affekt of sadness common to all three texts. The hymn appears in 52 hymnals.

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Musical settings

The hymn was used as the base for a 1640 composition by Johann Crüger and a four-part setting by Samuel Scheidt, written in 1650. Johann Pachelbel used it in part 3 of his chorale preludes on hymns about dying, Musicalische Sterbens-Gedancken. Georg Philipp Telemann wrote a cantata of the title, translated to singable English as My longing is unbounded, for the feast of Purification. Johann Sebastian Bach used the hymn in his chorale prelude, BWV 727, and for his Weimar cantata Komm, du süße Todesstunde, BWV 161.
Johannes Brahms composed two chorale preludes as part of his Eleven Chorale Preludes, Op. 122, in 1896. Max Reger composed a chorale prelude as No. 14 of his 52 Chorale Preludes, Op. 67 in 1902. Jahn Topeit composed a setting for three instruments, titled Gedanken über den Choral "Herzlich tut mich verlangen", published by Hofmeister in 1998. wrote a partita for organ, translated to "My Heart Is Filled With Longing / Partita about dying blessedly.