View source for O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß

{{Infobox musical composition
| name                = "{{Lang|de|O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß|italic=no}}"
| type                = Lutheran [[Passion hymn]]
| image               = Sebald Heyden O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß.jpg
| alt                 =
| caption             = The Passion hymn's melody and first and last stanza in [[Johann Hermann Schein]]'s ''Cantional'' (1645)
| translation         = {{plainlist|
* O man, bewail thy sins so great
* O man, thy grievous sin bemoan
}}
| text                = by [[Sebald Heyden]]
| language            = German
| melody              =
| meter               = 8.8.7.8.8.7.8.8.7.8.8.7.
| written             = {{Start date|1530}}
| misc                =
}}
"'''{{lang|de|O Mensch, bewein' dein' Sünde groß|italic=no}}'''" (O man, bewail thy sin so great) is a [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] [[Passion hymn]] with a text written by [[Sebald Heyden]] in 1530. The author reflects the [[Passion of Jesus]], based on the [[Four Evangelists]], originally in 23 stanzas. The lyrics were written for an older melody, "Es sind doch selig alle, die im rechten Glauben wandeln" ([[Johannes Zahn|Zahn]] No.&nbsp;8303).<ref>Luke Dahn. [http://www.bach-chorales.com/BWV0402.htm BWV 402] at {{url|bach-chorales.com}}, 2017</ref> The first and last stanzas have appeared in 11 [[hymnal]]s. [[Catherine Winkworth]] translated it as "O man, thy grievous sin bemoan". The hymn has been used in [[Passion (music)|Passion music]] and is known in Bach's setting as a [[chorale fantasia]] closing Part I of his ''[[St Matthew Passion]]''.
== Hymn ==
Sebald  originally wrote a reflection of the [[Passion of Jesus]] based on the four [[gospel]]s in 23 stanzas of 12 lines each.<ref name="Hahn" /><ref name="Tune" /> The original title begins "Der Passion auß den vier Evangelisten" (The Passion from the [[Four Evangelists]]).<ref name="Hahn" /> It reflects the Passion, narrating the [[stations of the cross]] and adding the context of ''Heilsbedeutung'' (meaning for [[salvation]]), beginning with man's sinful condition and ending with thanks.<ref name="Hahn" />
{{quote|<poem>O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß,
Darum Christus seins Vaters Schoß
Äußert und kam auf Erden;
Von einer Jungfrau rein und zart
Für uns er hier geboren ward,
Er wollt der Mittler werden,
Den Toten er das Leben gab
Und legt dabei all Krankheit ab
Bis sich die Zeit herdrange,
Daß er für uns geopfert würd,
Trüg unser Sünden schwere Bürd
Wohl an dem Kreuze lange.</poem>
}}
The first stanza opens addressing the listener "O Mensch" (O human being) and requesting him to remember and deplore his great sin (Sünde groß). The following lines state that [[Jesus Christ]] left his Father's bosom, came to Earth (kam auf Erden), born of a virgin for us (für uns), wanting to become a mediator (Mittler). The second half of the stanza mentions that he gave life to the dead and removed all sickness (all Krankheit), until it became urgent that he was sacrificed for us, carrying the heavy load of our sins (unsrer Sünden schwere Bürd), long on the cross.
The melody goes back to Matthäus Greiter, around 1524, and appears in Strasbourg hymnals of 1525 and 1526 titled "Beati immaculati.Psalm 119".<ref name="Hahn" />
Current hymnals contain only the first and last stanzas.<ref name="Hahn" />
== Musical settings ==
[[File:OMensch-autograph-BWV622.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Autograph manuscript of ''O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß'', BWV 622]]
The organ [[chorale prelude]] [[BWV 622]] by [[Johann Sebastian Bach]] from the ''[[Orgelbüchlein]]'' has remained one of his most celebrated.<ref>{{citation|title=The Organ Music of J. S. Bach|first=Peter |last=Williams|edition=2nd|year=2003|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=0-521-89115-9}}</ref> In the second version of his ''[[St John Passion]]'', Bach [[St John Passion structure#Versions|began the work]] with a [[chorale fantasia]] on the first stanza of the hymn, which he later modified to conclude Part I of his ''[[St Matthew Passion]]'' as [[St Matthew Passion structure#29|movement 29]].<ref name="Hahn" />
:[[File:Bach O Mensch bewein.jpg|left|thumb|[[Incipit]] in Bach's chorale fantasia]]
{{clear}}
[[Mauricio Kagel]] quoted the hymn in his oratorio ''[[Sankt-Bach-Passion]]'' telling [[Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach's]] life, composed for the tricentenary of Bach's birth in 1985.
== Translation ==
[[Catherine Winkworth]] translated the hymn to "O man, thy grievous sin bemoan".
== References ==
{{reflist
| refs =
<ref name="Hahn">{{cite book
| editor-last = Hahn
| editor-first = Gerhard
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ENCYFfPKzxcC&pg=PA40
| title = ''76 O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß'' in ''Liederkunde zum Evangelischen Gesangbuch, Gerhard Hahn''
| publisher = Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
| year = 2001
| pages = 40–44
| isbn = 3-52-550324-5<!-- 9783525503249 -->
| access-date = 7 March 2015
}}</ref>
<ref name="Tune">{{cite web
| url = http://www.hymnary.org/tune/o_mensch_bewein_dein_snde_gross
| title = O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß (tune)
| publisher = hymnary.org
| access-date = 7 March 2015
}}</ref>
}}
== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www3.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/O_Mensch,_bewein%27_dein%27_S%C3%BCnde_gro%C3%9F,_BWV_402_%28Johann_Sebastian_Bach%29 O Mensch, bewein' dein' Sünde groß, BWV 402 (Johann Sebastian Bach)] ChoralWiki
* [http://www1.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/O_Mensch_bewein_dein_S%C3%BCnde_gro%C3%9F_%28Johannes_Werlin%29 O Mensch bewein dein Sünde groß (Johannes Werlin)] ChoralWiki
* [http://emmanuelmusic.org/notes_translations/translations_motets/t_bach_bwv402.htm Motet Translations / J.S. Bach: "O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß,” BWV 402] Text and translation of the first stanza
{{Hymn tunes by Zahn number}}
{{German Lutheran hymns}}
{{English-language Lutheran hymns}}
{{Hymns and songs for Lent and Passiontide}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:O Mensch Bewein Dein Sunde Gross}}
[[Category:16th-century hymns in German]]
[[Category:Lutheran hymns]]
[[Category:Hymn tunes]]
[[Category:Passion hymns]]