Georg Weissel

Short Name: Georg Weissel
Full Name: Weissel, Georg, 1590-1635
Birth Year: 1590
Death Year: 1635

Weissel, Georg, son of Johann Weissel, judge and afterwards burgomaster at Doranau, near Königsberg, was born at Domnau in 1590. He studied at the University of Königsberg, from 1608 to 1611, and thereafter, for short periods, at Wittenberg, Leipzig, Jena, Strassburg, Basel and Marburg In 1614 he was appointed rector of the school at Friedland near Domnau, but resigned this post after three years, and returned to Königsberg to resume his studies in theology. Finally, in 1623, he became pastor of the newly erected Altrossgart church at Königsberg, where he remained till his death, on August 1, 1635.

Weissel was one of the most important of the earlier hymn-writers of Prussia. His hymns, about 20 in all, are good in style, moderate in length, and varied in metre. The earliest seem to have been written for use at the consecration of the Altrossgart church on the 2nd Sunday in Advent, 1623. The majority are for the greater festivals of the Christian year. The best are No. ii. below, and those for the dying. They appeared mostly in the Königsberg hymn-books, 1639-1650, and in the Preussische Fest-Lieder, pt. i., Elbing, 1642; pt. ii., Königsberg, 1644 [Berlin Library].

Those of Weissel's hymns which have passed into English are:—
i. Im finstern Stall, o W under gross. Christmas. First published in B. Derschau's Ausserlesene geistliche Lieder, Königsberg, 1639, p. 7, in 5 stanzas of 5 lines In the Preussische Fest-Lieder, pt. i., 1642, No. 14, it is entitled "On the Birth of Christ, Lux in tenebris lucet.” The translation in common use is:—
0 miracle of love and might This is a somewhat free translation, omitting stanza v., by Dr. Kennedy, as No. 104 in his Hymnologia Christiana, 1863.
ii. Macht hoch die Thür, das Thor macht weit. Advent. This is a Hymn of Triumph for the Entry of the King of Glory, founded on Ps. xxiv.; and is one of the finest German Advent hymns. First published in the Preussische Fest-Lieder, pt. i., 1642, No. 2, in 5 stanzas of 8 lines, marked as "On the 1st Sunday of Advent."
The translations in common use are:—
1. Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates. This is a good and full translation by Miss Winkworth, in herLyra Germanica, 1st Ser., 1855, p. 10, and her Chorale Book for England, 1863, No. 25. In the Congregational Church Hymnal, 1887, the Evangelical Hymnal, N. Y., 1880, and others, the original form is followed. Other forms are:—
(1) Behold One cometh from afar (i. alt.). This (partly from Mercer) is in the Supplement to the New Congregational Hymn Book, and the 1874 Appendix. to the Leeds Hymn Book.
(2) Behold He cometh from afar. In J. L. Porter's Collection, 1876, altered from No. l.
(3) Oh! hallowed is the land and blest (iii. lines 1, alt.). In the American Sabbath Hymn Book, 1858, &c.
(4) 0 blest the souls, for ever blest (iii. lines1, alt.). In Hymns of the Spirit, Boston, U.S., 1864.
(5) Fling wide the portals of your heart (iv.). In the American Unitarian Hymn Book, 1868.
2. The mighty gates of earth unbar. This is by W. Mercer, based on Miss Winkworth's translation, in his Church Psalm & Hymn Book, 1857, No. 14 (Ox. ed., 1864, No. 71), repeated in Kennedy, 1863. Another translation is: "Lift up, lift up your heads, ye gates," by G. Moultrie, in his Espousals of St. Dorothea, 1870.
iii. Wo ist dein Stachel nun, o Tod? Easter. Founded on 1 Cor. xv., 55-58. First published as No. 3 in pt. ii., 1644, of the Preussische Fest-Lieder, in 5 stanzas of 8 lines, entitled "For the Easter festival." Thence in the Königsberg Gesang-Buch, 1650, p. 193, and others. The form which has passed into English is that in the Hannover Gesang-Buch, 1657, No. 74, in 10 stanzas. This, beginning "O Tod, wo ist dein Stachel nun," is entirely rewritten, probably by Justus Gesenius. Translated as:—
O Death! where is thy cruel sting? This is a full and good version of the 1657 text, as No. 80 in the Ohio Lutheran Hymnal, 1880, marked as a compilation. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.]

-- Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)


Texts by Georg Weissel (35)sort ascendingAsAuthority LanguagesInstances
Wanikiya niyuhapiGeorge Weissel (Author)Dakota2
Vuestras cabezas, hoy, alzadGeorg Weissel (Author)Spanish2
വാതില്‍കളെ തുറന്നീടിന്‍ (Vātilkaḷe tuṟannīṭin)Georg Weissel (Author)Malayalam2
The true and joyful Sun is He (Er ist die rechte Freudensonn)Georg Weissel (Author)English2
Such' wer da will Nothelfer vielG. Weissel, g. 1590 † 1635 (Author)German3
Such', wer da will, ein ander ZielGeorg Weissel (Author)German49
Seek ye who will some other wayGeorg Weissel (Author)2
Seek ye who may another wayGeorg Weissel (Author)English4
Seek where ye may To find a wayGeorg Weissel, 1590-1635 (Author)English8
Podnieścież się wy, wierzchy bram!ks. Georg Weissel (Author)English, German, Polish2
O hallowed is the land and blestGeo. Weissel (Author)English4
O Tod, wo ist dein Stachel nun?Georg Weißel (Author)German8
O pozdvihnetez bran vasichGeorg Weissel (Author)2
O miracle of love and might!Georg Weissel (Author)English2
O death, where is thy cruel stingGeorg Weissel (Author)English5
O blest the souls, forever blestGeorg Weissel (Author)English6
Mein Mund soll fröhlich preisenGeorg Weissel (Author)German11
Make wide the door, unbar the gateGeorg Weissel, 1590-1635 (Author)1
Make broad the path, unspar the gateGeorg Weissel (Author)2
Macht hoch die Tür, die Tor macht weit, Es kommt der Herr der HerrlichkeitG. Weißel (Author)German75
Lift up your heads, you mighty gates! Behold the King of glory waits (Janzow)Goerg Weissel (Author)English3
Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates, Behold the King of glory waitsGeorg Weissel, 1590-1635 (Author)English248
Lift up your heads, ye gates on highGeorg Weissel (Author)3
Lift up the door, the mighty gatesGeorg Weissel (Paraphraser)English2
La puerta abrid de par en parGeorg Weissel (Author)Spanish3
Kto chce, niech szuka innych drógGeorg Weissel (Author)Polish2
Im finstern Stall, o Wunder großGeorg Weissel (Author)German6
Gör porten hög, gör dörren bredG. Weissel, d. 1635 (Author)Swedish3
Gjør Døren høi, gjør Porten vid!Georg Weissel (Author)Norwegian5
Gjer Dyrri høg, gjer Porten vid!Georg Weissel (Author)Nynorsk2
Fungua milango yoteGeorg Weissel (Author)Swahili2
Fling wide the portals of your heartGeo. Weissel (Author)English3
Fling wide the door, unbar the gateGeorg Weissel, 1590-1635 (Author)6
Ere earth's foundations yet were laidGeorg Weissel (Author)English1
Alzaos, ¡oh puertas!, y entraráGeorg Weissel (Author)Spanish6
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