This hymn descends from the German Lasst uns alle fröhlich sein, attributed to Urban Langhans and first printed at Wittenberg in 1611 within Johann Forster’s pastoral manual Hohe Festagsschreinlein, a resource organized around the church year that supplied sermons, texts, devotions, and hymns for each high feast. Catherine Winkworth translated it into English in 1863 for The Chorale Book for England, and Lutheran Service Book keeps her four stanzas with one notable change: its closing line restores the German original’s direct petition, “Amen, Jesus, hear us,” in place of Winkworth’s broader “Grant us now a glad New Year, and a blessed ending.” The tune, of unidentified authorship, first appeared in print in a 1632 Dresden hymnal, and the harmonization sung today was arranged in 1849 by Fridrich Layriz. The hymn sets Christ’s willing entry into “this vale of tears” against the eternal riches He bestows, and its final prayer that He remain among His people sends the congregation from the sanctuary on New Year’s Eve still trusting the Name that has stood at the center of the whole service to hear them still.
Sung at Our Saviour
2025