Jesu, meine Freude

For the composition by Johann Sebastian Bach, see Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227.
"Jesu, meine Freude"
Hymn by Johann Crüger
The hymn in Johann Crüger's
Praxis pietatis melica, 1653
English"Jesus, Priceless Treasure"
CatalogueZahn 8032
TextJohann Franck
LanguageGerman
Published1653 (1653)

"Jesu, meine Freude" ([ˈjeːzu ˈmaɪnə ˈfʁɔʏdə]; 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]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference chorale text was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference eccl was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference hymnary was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Herbst was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Materialien / Jesu, meine Freude (EG: 396) (in German) reformation-und-musik.de