[ Forwarded from James Kiefer. ]

Johan Olaf Wallin of Sweden, Bishop, Hymn Writer
30 June 1839
Johan Olaf Wallin was born in Sweden in 1779, the son of a non-commissioned army officer. He attended the University of Uppsala, became a pastor, and eventually (two years before his death) the Archbishop of Uppsala and primate of Sweden. He is remembered chiefly for his hymns. The Swedish hymnal of 1819 is largely his work. Of its 500 hymns, about 130 were written by him and nearly 200 more were revised or translated by him. The 1819 hymnal continued in use in the Church of Sweden for more than a century.

Magnus Brostrup Landstad is the principal Norwegian hymnwriter. He was born in 1802 and served as a pastor for many years. He introuduced popular, contemporary language into the hymns he wrote. He died 8 October 1886.

An American Lutheran hymnal on my shelves has six hymns by Wallin and three by Landstad.

PRAYER (traditional language)

Heavenly Father, we bless thee for thy servants Josef Wallin And Magnus Landstad, to whom thou didst give the skill and the desire to write hymns; and we pray that thy Church may always have in its midst those who by writing noble and beautiful hymns may lead us in worthily singing thy praises, to thy glory and our delight; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

PRAYER (contemporary language)

Heavenly Father, we bless you for your servants Josef Wallin And Magnus Landstad, to whom you gave the skill and the desire to write hymns; and we pray that your Church may always have in its midst those who by writing noble and beautiful hymns may lead us in worthily singing your praises, to your glory and our delight; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.



Bio: Catherine Winkworth, hymnwriter and educator (1 July 1878)

Catherine Winkworth, Hymnwriter and Educator (1 July 1878)

Catherine Winkworth was born in London in 1827, and spent most of her life in Manchester. In 1845 she went to Dresden, Germany, to stay for a year. In 1853 (or 1855?) she published a collection of translations of German hymns into English, called Lyra Germanica. It was an instant success, and went into 23 editions. Her second series, published in 1858, went into 12 editions. In 1863 she published The Chorale Book For England, and in 1869 Christian Singers of Germany. Her work is one of the principal means by which the great German chorale tradition of the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries has been incorporated into English-language worship.

Some of her hymn translations widely sung today, plucked from a couple of nearby hymnals, are the following (first line, followed by author of the German, with date of writing or (preceded by a +) date of death, preceded sometimes by a star to mark one of my own favorites):

* Wake, awake, for night is flying (Philip Nicolai, 1597)
* All my heart this night rejoices (Paulus Gerhardt, 1656)
   Lord God, we worship thee (Johann Franck, 1653)
   O Jesus Christ, our Lord most dear (Heinrich vonLaufenburg, 1429)
   Deck thyself, my soul, with gladness (Johann Franck, 1649)
* Now thank we all our God (Martin Rinkart, c1630)
   Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates (George Weissel, 1642)
* Comfort, comfort ye my people (Johann Olearius, +1684)
* From deepest woe I cry to thee (Martin Luther, +1546)
   Christ the Lord is risen again! (Michael Weissel, +1534)
* Blessed Jesus, at thy word (Tobias Clausnitzer, +1684)
* If thou but suffer God to guide thee (Georg Neumark, +1681)
   Christ, the life of all the living (Ernst C Homburg, +1681)
   Dearest Jesus, we are here (Benjamin Schmolck, +1737)
* Baptized into thy name most holy (Johann J Rambach, +1735)
* O living Bread from heaven (Johann Rist, +1667)
   Lord, keep us steadfast in thy Word (Martin Luther, +1546)
   Thy Word, O Lord, is gentle dew (Carl B Garve, +1841)
   Open now thy gates of beauty (Benjamin Schmolck, +1737)
* Lord Jesus Christ, be present now (Wilhelm II, +1662)
* When in the hour of deepest need (Paul Eber +1569)
   Once he came in blessing (Johann Horn (aka Jan Roh?), +1547)
* Lord, thee I love with all my heart (Martin Schalling, +1608)
* Jesus Christ, my sure defense (anon., Berlin, 1653)
   O Christ, our light, O Radiance true (Johann Hermann, +1647)
   Rise, my soul, to watch and pray (Johann B Freystein, +1718)
   All depends on our possessing (Nuernburg Hymnal, 1676)
* Jesus, priceless treasure (Johann Franck, +1677)
   O Holy Spirit, enter in (Michael Schirmer, +1673)
* O God, thou faithful God (Johann, Franck, +1647)
   Oh, blest the house, whate'er befall (Christoph von Pfeil, +1784)
* My soul, now bless thy maker (Johann Gramann, +1541)
* Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (Joachim Neander, +1680)
   In thee is gladness (Johann Lindemann, + c1631)

(Note: Your hymnal may have a slightly different title, since hymnal compilers tend to fiddle with the wording. Thus, "All my heart this night rejoices" has been changed in some hymnals to "Once again my heart rejoices," presumably so that it can be sung on other occasions than Christmas Eve.)

In addition to translating hymns, Miss Winkworth was deeply involved in promoting women's rights, and was the secretary of the Clifton Association for Higher Education for Women, a supporter of the Clifton High School for Girls, and a member of the Cheltenham Ladies' College. She died suddenly of heart disease near Geneva on 1 July 1878.

PRAYER (traditional language):

Heavenly Father, by whose grace thy servant Catherine was moved To render into English the words of praise which she had heard in the German tongue: grant unto us a like devotion, that we may be moved to proclaim thy glory in sacred song; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, for ever and ever.

PRAYER (contemporary language):

Heavenly Father, by whose grace your servant Catherine was Moved to render into English the words of praise which she had heard in the German tongue: grant us a like devotion, that we may be moved to proclaim your glory in sacred song; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.


Unless otherwise indicated, this biographical sketch was written by James E. Kiefer and any comments about its content should be directed to him. The Biographical Sketches home page has more information.