Georg Vogler: the 1625 Catechismus and its chorales

About Georg Vogler

Georg Vogler was born in 1585, joined the Society of Jesus and became professor of controversial theology and catechetics at Würzburg. He is a different man from the better-known Abbé Georg Joseph Vogler (1749-1814), the Würzburg-born organist and theorist who worked at Mannheim; the catalogue's chorales belong to the earlier, Counter-Reformation Vogler.

His Catechismus in außerlesenen Exempeln, kurtzen Fragen, schönen Gesängern, Reymen und Reyen für Kirchen und Schulen appeared in Würzburg in 1625 and was reprinted for decades; a 1652 printing is the source named for several of the pieces here. The book is a teaching text rather than a liturgical chantbook, and its songs set the chief parts of the catechism and the seasons of the church year in simple vocal settings. The title promises examples, short questions, songs, rhymes and rounds, and the contents mix instruction with music.

The catalogue's 21 entries follow that plan. Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund is a Passion hymn; Erstanden ist der heilge Christ survives in two settings, labelled I and II; Nun bitten wir den heiligen Geist is a Pentecost hymn; and Als Maria, die Jungfraw schon belongs to the Marian repertory. Das fünft Hauptstück, whose title is garbled in the catalogue as 'Das fnft Hauptstck', marks the fifth part of the catechism. The German texts are older hymns and catechism verses, not free poems.

Listening and playing notes

These are functional chorales: the text is meant to be heard and the harmony is mostly chordal. Keep the tempo close to speech and avoid heavy accents on the barline, since the phrases follow the words rather than the metre. The German is seventeenth-century and sometimes spelled differently from modern usage, so read the text aloud before singing. Because the pieces are short, they work as a set: group them by season instead of performing one in isolation.

Selected scores

1. Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund

   The most-viewed entry: the Passion hymn 'Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund', in a short syllabic setting.

2. Erstanden ist der heilge Christ II

   The second of two settings of the Easter hymn 'Erstanden ist der heilge Christ'.

3. Nun bitten wir den heiligen Geist

   The Pentecost hymn 'Nun bitten wir den heiligen Geist', in a short setting.

4. Erstanden ist der heilge Christ I

   The first of the two Easter settings, distinguished from the second only by the numeral.

5. O Spiegel der Dreyfaltigkeit

   A hymn on the Trinity, with the older spelling 'Dreyfaltigkeit' for 'Dreifaltigkeit'.

6. Wer ist und wird genennt ein Christ

   A catechism song asking who may be called a Christian.

7. Das fünft Hauptstück

   The fifth part of the catechism, catalogued without its umlauts as 'Das fnft Hauptstck'.

8. Bey guter Zeit

   A short hymn whose title, 'Bey guter Zeit', means 'in good time'.

9. Es ist die Lieb so kommpt von Gott

   A hymn on love's origin in God, with the seventeenth-century spelling 'kommpt'.

10. Wir loben alle Jesum

    A short hymn, 'Wir loben alle Jesum'.