Martin Schalling the Younger
Martin Schalling the Younger was a Protestant theologian, reformer and hymnwriter. He was the son of Martin Schalling the Elder.Life
Schalling studied in Wittenberg and became a magister in 1554. He moved to Regensburg as a deacon, but came into conflict with Nicolaus Gallus and moved on to Amberg. As Frederick III was seeking to introduce the Reformation to his lands with the assistance of Caspar Olevian, Schalling defied him and sought advice from Wittenberg. Schalling had to leave Amberg and next went to Vilseck. Only during the reign of Louis VI was he able to return to Amberg as a court preacher and superintendent. He worked at the 'Konkordienbemühungen', backing his tutor Philipp Melanchthon, but later withdrew. In 1585 he was a pastor in Nuremberg and continued working for twenty years.
His best-known work as a hymn-writer is "Herzlich lieb hab ich dich, o Herr", which has been set by several composers, including Heinrich Schütz, Dietrich Buxtehude and Johann Sebastian Bach. He drafted its text on 2 July 1569 as a closing prayer for a sermon.
