"" (Should I not sing to my God?) is a sacred song in 12 stanzas by Paul Gerhardt, first published in 1653 to a 1641 melody by Johann Schop in Johann Crüger's hymnal . It is still part of Protestant hymnals and of songbooks. Catherine Winkworth and others created versions in English.

History Paul Gerhardt wrote the text of "". It was first published in 1653 in Johann Crüger's hymnal Praxis pietatis melica. The song became part of Protestant hymnals.

The text had originally 12 stanzas of ten lines each. The rhyme scheme combines three different forms, A–B–A–B—C–D–D–C—E–E. The last two lines are the same for all stanzas except the last one. The topic of the song is trust in the grace and love of God, concluding the stanzas with (Everything lasts its time / God's love into eternity). The final stanza, talking about the vision of eternity, concludes (until I, after this time / praise and love you eternally).

Translation The song was translated into English several times, including versions by Charles Wesley and Catherine Winkworth, "Shall I not sing praise to Thee"."Shall I not sing praise to Thee" translated six stanzas into Portuguese;Cantarei ao Pai amado there are also translations into Norwegian, "Skulde jeg min Gud ei prise",Skulde jeg min Gud ei prise hymnary.org, retrieved 13 April 2024 and Polish, "Czyżbym nie miał ṡpiewać Bogu". Czyżbym nie miał ṡpiewać Bogu bei hymnary.org, retrieved 13 April 2024

Melody The first publication in 1653 used a Dorian melody by Johann Schop that he had used in 1641 for a text by Johann Rist. This version is used as no. 325 in the Evangelisches Gesangbuch. A melody in a major scale by Albrecht Peter Bertsch was published in 1825 and is used as no. 724 in the Swiss hymnal .: Sollt ich meinem Gott nicht singen'. Ein Lied der Kernliederliste", In: Musik und Gottesdienst 66, 2012, pp. 63–66.

Johann Sebastian Bach wrote a four-part chorale harmonisation, BWV 413."BWV 413", bach-chorales.com

SourceEvangelisches Gesangbuch, no. 325, via hymnary.org

References

External links

"First print in Praxis Pietatis Melica 1653", pp. 422–426 Sollt ich meinem Gott nicht singen, melody (Schop) and text concordiabuch.de German text (12 stanzas), Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki) , New Apostolic Church Stuttgar Choir, 1978 live