Georg Philipp Telemann Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland

1. Chorus and Recitative (Alto) Now come, the nations’ Saviour,
born of man as maid most pure;
let all peoples marvel then
that God has sent us his Son.
The Saviour comes among us,
in our own humble flesh and blood
our help to bring us,
and he adopts us now to be his own.
O blest and highest good,
what deeds of love hast thou not done?
What wilt thou not do daily to sustain us?
Thou mak’st each day thy light
of blessing shine upon us.

2. Aria (Soprano) Come, Jesu, to thy congregation,
and grant a blest and good new year.
Inspire us all to bring thee honor,
uphold thy teaching as thy banner,
and bless thou all who enter here.

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1. Chor und Rezitativ (Alt) Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland,
der Jungfrauen Kind erkannt,
dass sich wunder alle Welt,
Gott solch Geburt ihm bestellt.
Der Heiland ist gekommen,
hat unser armes Fleisch und Blut
an sich genommen
und nimmt uns selbst zu Blutsverwandten an.
O allerhöchstes Gut!
Was hast du nicht an uns getan!
Was tust du nicht noch täglich an den Deinen!
Du kommst und lässt dein Licht
mit vollem Segen scheinen.

2. Arie (Sopran) Komm, Jesu, komm zu deiner Kirche
und gib ein selig neues Jahr!
Befördre deines Namens Ehre!
Erhalte die gesunde Lehre
und segne Kanzel und Altar!

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Klaus Hofmann
Translation: E. D. Echols

“But this I well know,” Telemann wrote in his autobiography of 1718, “that I have at all times treasured church music most, in that category have done research in the works of other composers and also have written the most works myself …” According to his report, the number of his own compositions must already then have been more than 500 church works, and probably more than 1,000 additional works were to follow in the almost fifty productive years that Telemann was yet to enjoy. Many of the compositions have been lost. Moreover, not all of the preserved works have been properly inspected; not even a tenth have been made available in new editions. Thus, despite the praiseworthy preliminary efforts of individual researchers, no complete evaluation of Telemann’s artistic achievement in this sector –

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