The tune to which this hymn is sung is as famous as the hymn itself. It
is ascribed to Heinrich Isaak, one of the first of the great German
church musicians. It is believed to have been composed by him in 1490,
when he was leaving his native town, Innsbruck, to establish himself at
the court of Emperor Maximilian I. It was set to the plaintive words,
"Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen." According to tradition, Isaak first
heard the beautiful melody sung by a wandering minstrel. Bach and Mozart
regarded it as one of the sublimest of all chorales, and each is said to
have declared that he would rather have been the composer of this tune
than any of his great masterpieces.

Gerhardt wrote 123 hymns in all. In addition to the hymns already
mentioned, probably his most famous is "O sacred Head, now wounded,"
based on the Latin hymn of Bernard of Clairvaux. Other hymns in common
use are "Immanuel, we sing Thy praise," "Holy Ghost, dispel our sadness,"
"O enter, Lord, Thy temple," "Shun, my heart, the thought forever,"
"Commit thou all thy griefs," "All my heart this night rejoices," "Beside
Thy manger here I stand," "Awake, my heart, and marvel," "Go forth, my
heart, and seek delight," "O Saviour dear," and "A pilgrim and a
stranger."

Only the briefest mention can be made of other German Lutheran
hymn-writers of this period. One of these, Johan Rist, pastor in Wedel,
was crowned poet laureate of Germany by Emperor Ferdinand III in 1644,
and nine years later was raised to the nobility. Rist wrote some 680
hymns, but all are not of uniform excellence. Among those in common use
to-day are "Arise, the kingdom is at hand," "Help us, O Lord, behold we
enter," "Rise, O Salem, rise and shine," "O Living Bread from heaven," "O
Jesus Christ, Thou Bread of Life," "Father, merciful and holy," which has
also been translated "Soul of mine, to God awaking," "O darkest woe," and
"Arise, arise ye Christians."

Georg Neumark, court poet and secretary of archives under Duke Wilhelm II
of Saxe-Weimar, has left us the hymn of trust in God: "Let, O my soul,
thy God direct thee," which is also known by the English translation, "If
thou but suffer God to guide thee." The hymn was written in 1641, at
Kiel, when, after being robbed of practically all he possessed except his
prayer-book, Neumark succeeded in obtaining employment as tutor in a
wealthy family. He was a destitute student at the time.

Michael Schirmer, an educator and poet who lived i