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Christ lag in Todesbanden

3 settings (1524/1544) for 4 voices or instruments.

Christ lag in Todesbanden is one of that special group of Lutheran hymns that were set repeatedly during the Renaissance and beyond. An impressive double-choir setting by Samuel Scheidt can be found in our A due cori series, no. 57.
The melody has a kind of family resemblance to another important Lutheran song, Christ is erstanden. However, the two hymns differ in one imporant respect: while Christ is erstanden focuses on the resurrection, Christ lag in Todesbanden starts with the more sombre theme of Christ's death-throes, and only gradually introduces the resurrection and the themes of redemption and celebration.
Walther´s setting comes from the 1524 edition of his Geistliches gesangk Buchleyn, published in Wittenberg. The other two settings come from Georg Rhau´s great anthology of Lutheran hymn settings, Neue Deudsche Geistlichen Gesenge für die gemeinen Schulen (Wittenberg, 1544).
Johann Walther (1496-1570) was one of the first musicians to compose settings of the newly-developed Lutheran hymn repertoire. Arnold van Bruck (c.1500-1554) was originally from Bruges, but spent his career in Austria and what is now Croatia and Slovenia: a composer in the Josquin tradition, he was a master of the cantus-firmus setting. Lupus (Wulfaert) Hellingk (c.1496-1541) was born near Utrecht, but worked mostly in Bruges; his settings of chorales in the 1544 print are the most extended and motet-like in the collection. Van Bruck and Hellingk were both Catholics: their contributions to the 1544 collection were probably directly commissioned by Rhau.
In this edition the original note values have been halved throughout. Editorial accidentals are printed small above the stave, applying to the one note only; for the sake of simplicity the original accidentals, printed on the stave, are taken as applying to the whole bar.