Week 9: Passion of Christ

Ah, Holy Jesus

Text: Johann Heermann (1585–1657), 1630

Eldest surviving child in a German Lutheran family, born in Silesia, part of modern-day Poland
Studied under a variety of tutors between intermittent bouts of severe illness
Eventually employed as a private tutor for the son of theologian Valerius Herberger, who recognized Heermann’s poetic talent and encouraged him to publish and study at university
Studies cut short by more health issues, in 1611 he returned home and was appointed deacon to a nearby church in Köben whose pastor was old and infirm
A week after beginning work, the pastor died and Heermann took over as interim pastor for the congregation, then made permanent shortly after and remained there for over 20 years
During his tenure, he saw the town hit by the black plague, a massive fire, and ransacking during the Thirty Years’ War, in addition to the death of his wife, loss of possessions, and continued ill spells
While his early poetry was in Latin, this text is from a later collection of German devotional poems titled Devoti musica cordis
Originally 15 verses, it was based on a Latin meditation written by John of Fécamp, an abbot in Normandy in the 11th century (though sometimes attributed to St. Augustine)
This translation into English is by Robert Bridges in 1897, though one by Catherine Winkworth (“O dearest Jesus, what law hast Thou broken”) is also popular

Tune: Johann Crüger (1598–1662), 1640

Son of an innkeeper, born in Groß Breesen, which today is directly on the German-Polish border
Studied both music and theology, first in Berlin and then later at the University of Wittenberg
Worked first as a tutor, then as a schoolteacher and choirmaster at the Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas’ Church, founded around AD 1220, the oldest in Berlin)
Also known as composer of the chorale tune for “Now Thank We All Our God”, and edited a number of influential Lutheran hymnals
This tune Herzliebster Jesu comes from his first edited hymnal, containing 248 hymns total
Later popularized by Johann Sebastian Bach who used it three times in his “St. Matthew Passion” and twice in the “St. John Passion”

Text: William Young Fullerton (1857–1932), 1920

Born in Belfast, Ireland, influenced as a young adult by the preaching of English Baptist Charles Spurgeon
Spurgeon later became a friend and mentor, and Fullerton helped prepare his manuscripts for publication
Prominent in the Baptist church, Fullerton compiled hymnals and wrote a number of books in addition to serving as secretary of the Baptist Missionary Union, and later president of the Baptist Union
Better known for biographies (of Spurgeon, John Bunyan, and others), this is his only hymn in common use

Tune: Traditional Irish

An Irish folk tune, its name Londonderry Air comes from the Irish county where it was first collected by one Jane Ross
Since no other folk tune collectors had recorded the tune independently, scholars believe Ross was fooled by the use of rubato and mistakenly transcribed the tune in 4/4 rather than 3/4 time
If that is true, the tune appears to be a derivative of a much older tune “Aisling an Óigfhir”
Most will recognize the tune as commonly used with the lyrics “O Danny Boy”, written in 1910
Other hymns using this tune include texts written by Timothy Dudley-Smith, Kristyn Getty, and more

What stands out as unique about this hymn, compared to other “passion” hymns? What particular insight or perspective does it give you?
- Not simply a “passion” hymn, gives a full view of God’s plan from incarnation to sacrifice to second coming
- Acknowledges the presence of the unknown in the Christian life: “I cannot tell … but this I know …”
  - The things we “know” are rooted both in scripture and in personal experience

Text: Samuel Crossman (1624–1684), 1664

An Anglican minister, interestingly he pastored two congregations: one Anglican, one Puritan
Sympathetic to Puritan ideas, he attended the Savoy Conference of 1661, attempting to revise the Book of Common Prayer to serve both Anglicans and Puritans
With the conference unsuccessful, the 1662 Act of Uniformity expelled Crossman and 2,000 other ministers from the Anglican church
Crossman later renounced Puritan theology and in 1665 was reinstated to a chaplaincy in Bristol
This text was written during his time outside the Church of England, and published in his poetry collection The Young Man’s Meditation
It shows clear influence, even borrowing some key phrases, from George Herbert’s poem “The Sacrifice” from his poetry collection titled The Temple
However, it wasn’t used as a hymn until after his death, appearing in the Anglican Hymn Book of 1686

Tune: John Ireland (1879–1962), 1919

Although of Scottish ancestry, Ireland was born and raised in Cheshire, England
His father was 70 years old at the time of his birth, and though his mother was 30 years younger, both had died before he turned 16
Trained at the Royal College of Music studying composition under Charles Villiers Stanford, he later returned to teach from 1923 to 1939
Best known for his secular piano and chamber music music, but particularly his song cycles on texts by English poets Shakespeare, Blake, Hardy, and others
His tune Love Unknown was written specifically for this text in The Public School Hymn Book of 1919
Reportedly, after receiving the request from hymnal editor Geoffrey Shaw, he wrote the tune in 15 minutes on a scrap of paper