STUTTGART

Adapter: Henry J. Gauntlett

Composer (attributed to): Christian F. Witt

STUTTGART was included in Psalmodia Sacra (1715), one of the most significant hymnals of the early sixteenth century [sic: eighteenth century]. Christian F. Witt (b. Altenburg, Germany, e. 1660; d. Altenburg, 1716) was an editor and compiler of that collection; about 100 (of the 774) tunes in that collection are considered to be composed by him, including STUTTGART, which was set to the text "Sollt' es gleich." Witt was chamber organist and later Kapellmeister at the Gotha court. He composed vocal and instrumental music, including some sixty-five cantatas.

The tune title STUTTGART relates to a story about Rev. C. A. Dann's banishment from his pulpit at St. Leonard's Church in Stuttgart in the early nineteenth century. When Dann was eventually invited back to his church, his congregation greeted him with the singing of "Sollt' es gleich." Henry J. Gauntlett (PHH 104) put the tune into its present isorhythmic (all equal rhythms) form for Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861).

A simple tune of two long lines and a number of repeated tones, STUTTGART has true congregational appeal. This tune has been traditionally used for "Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus." Sing the hymn in harmony in a broad tempo. Or try singing stanza 3 unaccompanied and in parts, and stanza 4 in unison with alternate harmonization or with the descant (1983) by John Wilson (278). Use clear articulation on the organ with cheerful stops.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook, 1998

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