Now Woods and Wolds Are Sleeping

Representative Text

1 Now woods and wolds are sleeping,
And darkness fast is creeping
O'er byre, hearth, and hall;
But thou, my soul, ere slumber,
For blessings passing number
Exalt the Giver of them all.

2 Ye also, O my dearest,
My friends and kindred nearest,
God rest you safe from harm!
His angel hosts attend ye,
Their golden shields defend ye,
From nightly danger and alarm.

Amen.

Source: The Hymnbook #66

Author: Paul Gerhardt

Paul Gerhardt (b. Gräfenheinichen, Saxony, Germany, 1607; d. Lubben, Germany, 1676), famous author of Lutheran evangelical hymns, studied theology and hymnody at the University of Wittenberg and then was a tutor in Berlin, where he became friends with Johann Crüger. He served the Lutheran parish of Mittenwalde near Berlin (1651-1657) and the great St. Nicholas' Church in Berlin (1657-1666). Friederich William, the Calvinist elector, had issued an edict that forbade the various Protestant groups to fight each other. Although Gerhardt did not want strife between the churches, he refused to comply with the edict because he thought it opposed the Lutheran "Formula of Concord," which con­demned some Calvinist doctrines. Consequently, he was r… Go to person page >

Translator: George Ratcliffe Woodward

Educated at Caius College in Cambridge, England, George R. Woodward (b. Birkenhead, Cheshire, England, 1848; d. Highgate, London, England, 1934) was ordained in the Church of England in 1874. He served in six parishes in London, Norfolk, and Suffolk. He was a gifted linguist and translator of a large number of hymns from Greek, Latin, and German. But Woodward's theory of translation was a rigid one–he held that the translation ought to reproduce the meter and rhyme scheme of the original as well as its contents. This practice did not always produce singable hymns; his translations are therefore used more often today as valuable resources than as congregational hymns. With Charles Wood he published three series of The Cowley Carol Book (19… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Now woods and wolds are sleeping
Title: Now Woods and Wolds Are Sleeping
German Title: Nun ruhen alle Wälder
Author: Paul Gerhardt
Translator: George Ratcliffe Woodward (1910)
Meter: 7.7.6.7.7.8
Source: Praxis Pietatis Melica, 3rd edition, by Johann Crüger, 1648
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Timeline

Media

The Cyber Hymnal #4671
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)

Instances

Instances (1 - 1 of 1)
TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #4671

Include 3 pre-1979 instances
Suggestions or corrections? Contact us