Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der den Tod überwand
"Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der den Tod überwand" is a hymn for Easter by Martin Luther. The text originated in 1524. Johannes Zahn listed three hymn tunes for it. Two of these, Zahn Nos. 1976 and 1977, were published in 1724. A third, Zahn No. 1978, is attributed to Luther and was first published in 1529. Variants of this melody originated up to the early 17th century.Text
Below is the original German version of the text
An English translation of the first stanza by George MacDonald :
Settings
One of the early melodies for "Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der den Tod überwand" appeared in the Erfurt Enchiridion. The later hymn tune, Zahn No. 1978, was adopted, for instance, in compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach.''Erfurt Enchiridion'' (1524)
The 1524 Erfurt Enchiridion contained the hymn with the Zahn No. 1977 melody:
Zahn No. 1978
Two four-part settings of the were included in Samuel Scheidt's 1650. Further chorale preludes for organ were composed by Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow, by Johann Pachelbel and by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Johann Sebastian Bach also wrote a chorale harmonization :
