Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder

"Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder"
Lutheran hymn
English	Ah Lord, poor sinner that I am
Text	by Cyriakus Schneegass
Language	German
Based on	Psalm 6
Melody	by Hans Leo Hassler
Composed	1601 (1601)
Published	1597 (1597)

"Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder" ("Ah Lord, poor sinner that I am") is a Lutheran hymn of 1597, with text by Cyriakus Schneegass paraphrasing Psalm 6. It is commonly sung with a 1601 melody by Hans Leo Hassler. Johann Sebastian Bach based a chorale cantata on it.

History and text

Schneegass was pastor at the of the St. Blasius church at Friedrichroda; he was also a good musician who liked to use music in church services. In 1597 he paraphrased Psalm 6, following the example of Martin Luther to make the psalms accessible to Protestant church services in German.

The hymn is in six stanzas of eight lines each. It became associated with a 1601 melody by Hans Leo Hassler.

Johann Sebastian Bach used the complete hymn as the base for Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder, BWV 135, a chorale cantata composed in 1724.

References

Cited sources

• Braatz, Thomas; Oron, Aryeh (2005). "Chorale Melodies used in Bach's Vocal Works / Befiehl du deine Wege". Bach Cantatas Website. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
• Browne, Francis (2006). "Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder / Text and Translation of Chorale". Bach Cantatas Website. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
• Dahn, Luke (2024). "BWV 135.6". bach-chorales.com. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
• "Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder BWV 135; BC A 100". Bach Digital. 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
• "Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder". hymnary.org. 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2017.