Thursday, December 2, 2021

Wacht auf zu dieser Freudenzeit!

We can’t have an Advent without Michael Praetorius; we just can’t. So today’s entry is “Der Morgenstern ist aufgedrungen” ("The Morning Star Is Risen"), written by a Lutheran minister named Daniel Rumpius in 1587 and set to this melody in 1609.

Rumpius pulled on an older song about the morning star waking lovers after spending the night together; presumably they are illicit lovers, but I don’t judge. Just goes to show you how Christians will turn all kinds of things—Saturnalia, pagan tree worship, adulterous love—into the service of the Gospel.

The lyrics speak of the morning star rising—perhaps prefiguring the light of Christ—and urge people to awake to joy and prepare for the new day.

The performers are the Dresdener Kreutzchor. I bought the CD this is on when I was there in 1999 for the Christkindlmarkt, so it has a special place in my heart.


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