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