Maria, dich lieben ist allzeit mein Sinn

German Marian hymn

"Maria, dich lieben ist allzeit mein Sinn"
Marian hymn by Anonymous
English	Mary, to love you is always on my mind
Written	18th century, last revised 1972
Text	Unknown author, revised by Heinrich Bone, Joseph Mohr and Friedrich Dörr
Language	German

"Maria, dich lieben ist allzeit mein Sinn" (Mary, to love you is always on my mind) is a Marian hymn in German. It was created in the beginning of the 18th century as "Maria zu lieben, ist allzeit mein Sinn" (Loving Mary is always on my mind), and became the most popular Marian hymn in German. The common Catholic hymnal in German, Gotteslob, has a version modernised by Friedrich Dörr that already appeared in its first edition from 1975. It shares with the older version only the first line.

History

The author and composer of the hymn "Maria zu lieben, ist allzeit mein Sinn" are unknown. It was created in the beginning of the 18th century, and became the most popular Marian hymn in German.^[1]^[2] The text expresses in erotic language the spiritual love of the lyrical subject, to Mary, mother of Jesus. The song was possibly derived from a secular love song.^[3] It was used to conclude a pilgrimage to a place dedicated to Mary, describing the close relationship that had developed between the pilgrim and Mary.^[4]

The song was extant in several versions reproduced in leaflets, until Heinrich Bone created a version in his 1847 hymnal Cantate!, which reduced the text to five stanzas. His version is focused on intimate love with an outlook into eternal life.^[4]^{: 122–123}

Joseph Mohr created a version in nine stanzas, based on Bone and earlier sources, namely leaflets from Meschede (1752) and Paderborn (1765); his version incorporates doctrines.^[4]^{: 123–125} It was one of 23 Einheitslieder [de] (common songs) that a 1916 bishops' conference in Fulda created.^[4]^: 124 When a second approach to unify German Catholic hymns was undertaken by a bishops' conference in 1947, resulting in 72 songs, three of the additional stanzas were cut, resulting in the song's period of highest publication.^[4]^{: 125–126}

The first edition of the Gotteslob contained a version that retained only the (modified) first line from the original song, written by Friedrich Dörr, as GL 594.^[5] It was transferred without change to the 2013 edition as GL 521.^[6]

Melody

$\header { tagline = ##f } \layout { indent = 0 \context { \Score \remove "Bar_number_engraver" } } melody = \new Voice = "melody" \relative f' { \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"flute" \key f \major \time 3/4 \partial 4 \repeat volta 2 { c | <f a,> <f a,> <g c,> | <a f> <a f> <a f>8 (<bes g>) | <c a>4 <a f> <g c,> <f a,>2 } <a f>8 (<bes g>) | <c a>4 <a f> <c a> | <bes g>8 (<a f>) <g e>4 <bes e,> | <a f> <f c> <a f> | <g e>2 c,4 | <f a,> <f a,> <g c,> | <a f> <a f> <a f>8 (<bes g>) | <c a>4 <a f> <g c,> | <f a,>2 \bar "|." } verse = \new Lyrics \lyricmode { << { Ma -- ri -- a, dich lie -- ben, ist all -- zeit mein Sinn, } \new Lyrics \lyricmode { dir wur -- de die Fül -- le der Gna -- den ver -- liehn. } >> \lyricmode { Du Jung -- frau, auf dich hat der Geist sich ge -- senkt, du Mut -- ter hast uns den Er -- lö -- ser ge -- schenkt. } } \score { << \new Voice \melody \new Lyrics \lyricsto "melody" \verse >> \layout { } } \score { \unfoldRepeats { \melody } \midi { \tempo 4 = 108 } }$

References

^ Wilhelm Bäumker (1891). Das katholische deutsche Kirchenlied in seinen Singweisen. Von den frühesten Zeiten bis gegen Ende des siebzehnten Jahrhunderts. Auf Grund handschriftlicher und gedruckter Quellen bearbeitet (in German). Vol. 3. Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder. pp. 228–229 – via Internet Archive.
^ Hermann Kurzke; Christiane Schäfer (2008). "Tradition als Mischprozess. Marienlieder im Spiegel der Gesangbuchgeschichte". Herder-Korrespondenz (in German). 62 (11): 578–582.
^ Hermann Kurzke (1990). "Notizen zum Marienlied". In Teresa Berger; Albert Gerhards (eds.). Liturgie und Frauenfrage. Ein Beitrag zur Frauenforschung aus liturgiewissenschaftlicher Sicht. Pietas liturgica, vol. 7 (in German). St. Ottilien: EOS. pp. 315–318. ISBN 3-88096-287-1.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Hermann Kurzke; Christiane Schäfer (2014). "Maria zu lieben ist allzeit mein Sinn". Mythos Maria: Berühmte Marienlieder und ihre Geschichte (in German). Munich: C. H. Beck. ISBN 978-3-406-66956-9.
^ Paul Nordhues [in German]; Alois Wagner, eds. (1988). Redaktionsbericht zum Einheitsgesangbuch "Gotteslob" (in German). Bonifatius-Druck, Paderborn / Katholische Bibelanstalt, Stuttgart. p. 756. ISBN 3-87088-465-7.
^ Maria zu lieben (in German) Goethe University Frankfurt

External links

"Maria zu lieben", hymnary.org
"Maria, dich lieben ist allzeit mein Sinn", evangeliums.net
"Maria zu lieben ist allzeit mein Sinn", volksliederarchiv.de
" 'Maria zu lieben ist allzeit mein Sinn' // Marienlied", Forschungsstelle für fränkische Volksmusik (registration required)