"Jesu, meine Freude" ([ˈjeːzuˈmaɪnəˈfʁɔʏdə]; Jesus, my joy) is a
hymn in German, written by
Johann Franck in 1650,[1] with a melody,
Zahn No. 8032, by
Johann Crüger. The song first appeared in Crüger's hymnal Praxis pietatis melica in 1653. The text addresses Jesus as joy and support, versus enemies and the vanity of existence. The poetry is
bar form, with irregular lines from 5 to 8 syllables. The melody repeats the first line as the last, framing each of the six stanzas.
Several English translations have been made of the hymn, including
Catherine Winkworth's "Jesu, priceless treasure" in 1869,[2] and it has appeared in around 40 hymnals.[3] There have been choral and organ settings of the hymn by many composers, including by
Johann Sebastian Bach in a
motet,
BWV 227, for unaccompanied chorus, and a
chorale prelude,
BWV 610, for organ. In the modern German Protestant hymnal, Evangelisches Gesangbuch, it is No. 396.[4][5]
Text
The text is presented in six stanzas of nine lines each. It is in
bar form; three lines form the Stollen, three the Abgesang, with the
meter 6.6.5.6.6.5.7.8.6.[3] The last line of the last stanza repeats the first line of the first stanza. The song is written in the first person, addressing Jesus. The theme of turning away from the world and to Jesus made the hymn suitable for funerals, seen as the ultimate turning away from the world:
Jesu, meine Freude (Jesus, my joy)
Unter deinem Schirmen (Beneath your protection)
Trotz dem alten Drachen (I defy the old dragon)
Weg mit allen Schätzen (Away with all treasures)
Gute Nacht, o Wesen (Good night, existence)
Weicht, ihr Trauergeister (Go away, mournful spirits)[1]
The first stanza sets the theme of love to Jesus and the desire to be united with him, who is named Lamb, as in
Revelation 5:6, and Bridegroom, based on
Revelation 22:17.[6] It is a parody of the love song "Flora, meine Freude", published in 1645 by
Heinrich Albert, organist at the
Königsberg Cathedral.[7] The second stanza describes the protection of Jesus against threats by
Satan, enemies, thunder, hell and sin, all pictured in drastic images.
The third stanza repeats three times Trotz (defiance), facing the enemies "old dragon" (alter Drachen), death (Tod), and fear (Furcht). The believer, feeling safe even in adverse conditions as expressed in
Psalms 23:4, stands and sings (Ich steh hier und singe).[6] The fourth stanza turns away from worldly treasures and honours, which should not separate the believer from Jesus. The fifth stanza repeats four times "Gute Nacht" (Good night), to existence in the world, to sins, to pride and pomp, and to a life of vice.[6] The last stanza imagines the entry of Jesus as the "Freudenmeister" (master of joys), as a comforter in every misery.[6] It alludes to Jesus entering after the resurrection (
Luke 24:36).[7]
Hymn tune and musical settings
The hymn tune, Zahn 8032,[8] in
E minor culminates in the long phrase of line 8 and repeats line 1 in line 9, framing the stanza.[9] One of the earliest choral settings occurs in the cantata
BuxWV 60 by
Dieterich Buxtehude, composed in the 1680s.[10]David Pohle set it for four voices, three instruments and continuo.[11]
Settings by Christoph Graupner
The most prolific arranger of the tune was
Christoph Graupner, who, between 1709 and 1753 produced 36 original settings for performance within
his cantatas for Sundays and feast days of the church calendar.[12] Graupner uses a variety of orchestrations for these settings. For instance, in his very first setting, which ends his second cantata for the 13th Sunday after Trinity 1709 Meine Seufzer, meine Klagen (
GWV 1154/09b) the accompaniment is scored for unison violins, viola and continuo.[13] On the other hand, the setting of two stanzas from the text Nun ist auferstanden in Graupner's cantata Was sucht ihr den Lebendigen bei den Toten (GWV 1128/47) for Easter Sunday 1747 calls for a pair of trumpets and four timpani.[14] Characteristic of many of Graupner's chorale settings, he often accompanies Jesu, meine Freude with virtuoso instrumental parts. A fine example is his setting of the third stanza of Jesu, meine Freude, Trotz dem alten Drachen which concludes his 1751 cantata for the first Sunday of Lent Wer unter dem Schirm des Höchsten (GWV 1120/51).[15]
Settings by Johann Sebastian Bach
The hymn is the basis for
Johann Sebastian Bach's motet of the same name,
BWV 227.[16] Scored for five vocal parts—two
sopranos (S),
alto (A),
tenor (T) and
bass (B)—Bach alternates the stanzas of the chorale and text from Paul's
epistle to the Romans. Within an overall symmetrical structure, he varies his treatment of the verses of the hymn: stanzas 1 and 6 (transcribed below) are the same simple four part setting; stanzas 2 and 4 are settings with the
cantus firmus in the soprano and an expressive accompaniment in the lower three or four voices; stanza 5 is a
chorale fantasia with the cantus firmus in the alto; and stanza 3 is based on a free paraphrase of the hymn tune.[6][16]
Günther Marks composed in 1970 a partita for viola and organ on the tune.[20] In 2005,
Gerhard Präsent arranged Bach's chorale prelude for
string quartet, in Three Choral Preludes and Aria by
Johann Sebastian Bach, completed and arranged for string quartet, also in a version for string trio.[21]Steven Sametz composed a Fantasia on "Jesu, meine Freude" for
SATB choir and digitally delayed treble instrument in 2009.[22]