Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying

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Wake, awake, for night is flying, The watchmen on the heights are crying (Winkworth)

Author: Catherine Winkworth; Author: Philipp Nicolai (1599)
Tune: WACHET AUF (Nicolai)
Scripture Songs
Published in 213 hymnals

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	Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying

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Representative Text

1 Wake, awake, for night is flying,
the watchmen on the heights are crying;
awake, Jerusalem, at last.
Midnight hears the welcome voices,
and at the thrilling cry rejoices:
"Come forth, you maidens! Night is past.
The Bridegroom comes! Awake;
your lamps with gladness take!"
Alleluia!
Prepare yourselves to meet the Lord,
whose light has stirred the waiting guard.

2 Zion hears the watchmen singing,
and in her heart new joy is springing.
She wakes, she rises from her gloom,
for her Lord comes down all-glorious,
and strong in grace, in truth victorious.
Her star is ris'n; her light is come.
O, come, you Blessed One,
Lord Jesus, God's own Son.
Sing hosanna!
We go until the halls we view
where You have bid us dine with You.

3 Now let all the heav'ns adore You,
and saints and angels sing before You.
The harps and cymbals all unite.
Of one pearl each shining portal,
where, dwelling with the choir immortal,
we gather 'round Your dazzling light.
No eye has seen, no ear
has yet been trained to hear
what joy is ours!
Crescendos rise; Your halls resound;
hosannas blend in cosmic sound.

Source: Psalms and Hymns to the Living God #218

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Author: Catherine Winkworth

Catherine Winkworth (b. Holborn, London, England, 1827; d. Monnetier, Savoy, France, 1878) is well known for her English translations of German hymns; her translations were polished and yet remained close to the original. Educated initially by her mother, she lived with relatives in Dresden, Germany, in 1845, where she acquired her knowledge of German and interest in German hymnody. After residing near Manchester until 1862, she moved to Clifton, near Bristol. A pioneer in promoting women's rights, Winkworth put much of her energy into the encouragement of higher education for women. She translated a large number of German hymn texts from hymnals owned by a friend, Baron Bunsen. Though often altered, these translations continue to be used i… Go to person page >

Author: Philipp Nicolai

Philipp Nicolai (b. Mengeringhausen, Waldeck, Germany, 1556; d. Hamburg, Germany, 1608) lived an eventful life–he fled from the Spanish army, sparred with Roman Catholic and Calvinist opponents, and ministered to plague-stricken congregations. Educated at Wittenberg University, he was ordained a Lutheran pastor in 1583 in the city of Herdecke. However, he was soon at odds with the Roman Catholic town council, and when Spanish troops arrived to reestablish Roman dominance, Nicolai fled. In 1588 he became chief pastor at Altwildungen and court preacher to Countess Argaretha of Waldeck. During that time Nicolai battled with Calvinists, who disagreed with him about the theology of the real presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper. These doctri… Go to person page >

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First Line:	Wake, awake, for night is flying, The watchmen on the heights are crying (Winkworth)
Title:	Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying
German Title:	Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme
Author:	Philipp Nicolai (1599)
Author:	Catherine Winkworth
Meter:	Irregular
Language:	English
Copyright:	Public Domain
Liturgical Use:	Scripture Songs

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Notes

Scripture References:
st. 1 = Matt. 25:1-13, Isa. 52:1, 8
st. 2 = Rev. 22:16-20
st. 3 = Rev. 5:11-13, Rev. 21:21, Isa. 64:4, 1 Cor. 2:9

In 1597 the Westphalian (German) village where pastor Philipp Nicolai (PHH 357) lived experienced a terrible pestilence, which claimed some thirteen hundred lives in his parish alone. Nicolai turned from the constant tragedies and frequent funerals (at times he buried thirty people in one day) to meditate on "the noble, sublime doctrine of eternal life obtained through the blood of Christ." As he said, “This I allowed to dwell in my heart day and night and searched the Scriptures as to what they revealed on this matter.” Nicolai also read Augustine's City of God before he wrote this great Advent text and arranged its tune.

The original German text (“Wachet auf! ruft uns die Stimme”) and tune were published in Nicolai's collection of devotional poetry, Frewden-Spiegel dess ewigen Lebens (1599), with a title that read (translated into English), "Of the Voice at Midnight and the Wise Virgins who meet their Heavenly Bridegroom." Catherine Winkworth's (PHH 194) English translation was published in her Lyra Germanica (1858). The Psalter Hymnal includes that translation as altered in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978).

The parable of the ten virgins (Matt. 25:1-13) was the inspiration for stanzas 1 and 2, and John's visions of the glory of Christ and the new Jerusalem (Rev. 19, 21, and 22) provide the basis for stanza 3. Erik Routley (PHH 31) says this hymn is filled with "pageantry, energy, light, color, and expectancy"; it is surely a great hymn about the joyful anticipation of Christ's coming again, and one that brings comfort and hope to Christians in all situations.

Liturgical Use:
Advent; other times when our eyes of faith long for the return of Christ; with preaching on Matthew 25.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook, 1987

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Tune

WACHET AUF (Nicolai)

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This hymn was based on the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins in Matthew 25:1-13. The opening stanza calls the followers of Christ to be roused and alert for His Second Coming. Stanza 2 describes the joyous scene when the Bridegroom returns and takes His bride, the church, in to the wedding feast. Finally, the third stanza adores the Lamb of God and describes the glorious scene in heaven, as given in Revelation 19 and 21, where the saints will worship in song forever.

Text:

Philipp Nicolai was a German minister whose parish of Unna in Westphalia was struck with a pestilence that killed 1300 people in the six months from July 1597 to January 1598. During that time, when he performed as many as thirty burials in one day, Nicolai began to meditate on what he called “the noble, sublime doctrine of Eternal Life obtained through the Blood of Christ” (as quoted in John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, vol. 1, p. 805). The result of his meditation was a book titled Freuden-Spiegel des ewigen Lebens (Mirror of the Joy of Eternal Life), which was published in 1599 at Frankfurt-am-Main. The text of this hymn was included.

Numerous translations have been made of this text. One of the best-known and most popular is by Catherine Winkworth, and appeared in her second series of Lyra Germanica in 1858. Many hymnals have altered Winkworth's translation or made a composite translation based on hers, though the three-stanza structure and basic meaning are retained.

Tune:

WACHET AUF is usually regarded as composed by Philipp Nicolai, but he may have borrowed parts of the tune from other sources such as the melody “Silberweise” by Hans Sachs (1494-1576) or the fifth Gregorian psalm tone. It was published with this text, for which it is named, in Nicolai's Freuden-Spiegel in 1599. Like many German chorale tunes, WACHET AUF has two versions for the rhythm. The original version is called the rhythmic version, because it retains the variety of note values as the composer wrote them, while in the isorhythmic version, the notes are adjusted to a more regular rhythm, often by making all notes of equal value.

When/Why/How:

“Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying” is often associated with Advent, and appropriately so, for the celebration of Christ's first coming naturally leads to anticipation of His Second Coming as well. However, it was written for the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins in Matthew 25:1-13 and the theme of eternal life, and is also appropriate for services on those themes.

In 1731, J. S. Bach wrote a cantata (BWV 140) at Leipzig based on this hymn for the 27th Sunday after Trinity, the last possible Sunday before Advent in the Lutheran liturgical calendar of the time. Advent was a penitential season in Leipzig, during which ornate music like a cantata was not performed. Hence, this hymn provided the basis for Bach's last opportunity for free musical expression before Christmas. WACHET AUF is the main melody for three of the seven movements, one of which was later reworked for the well-known setting of this tune in the Schübler Chorales for organ. WACHET AUF has been called the King of Chorales (another Philipp Nicolai tune, WIE SCHÖN LEUCHTET, is the Queen). It is very popular in settings for the organ, which is the instrument most closely associated with chorale tunes. Preludes, postludes, and improvisations in various styles abound in collections such as “Improvisations for the Christmas Season, Set 1,” the Advent suite “The King of Glory Comes,” and “Advent Postludes for Organ.”

Tiffany Shomsky,
Hymnary.org

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The Cyber Hymnal #7103

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Psalter Hymnal (Gray) #613

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The United Methodist Hymnal #720

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Worship and Rejoice #164

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MIDI file from The Cyber Hymnal #7103
Audio recording from Psalter Hymnal (Gray) #613
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MIDI file from The United Methodist Hymnal #720
Audio recording from The United Methodist Hymnal #720
MIDI file from Worship and Rejoice #164

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Psalms and Hymns to the Living God (2023), p.278

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Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying

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