Maria Luise Thurmair


Maria Luise Thurmair née Mumelter was a Catholic theologian, hymnodist and writer. She contributed the lyrics of many hymns when the Catholic hymnal Gotteslob was first published in 1975.

Career

Maria Luise Mumelter was born in Bozen, South Tyrol, then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the daughter of the towns's last Austrian. Due to political pressure, the family moved to Innsbruck, where she earned her Matura. She studied philosophy at the University of Innsbruck and attended classes in Liturgics with Josef Andreas Jungmann SJ. She wrote her doctoral thesis on Irene Angelina of Byzanz in 1936. She married Georg Thurmair, a poet in Munich, in 1941.
Thurmair and her husband were active in the and especially in the Liturgical Movement. She began during World War II to work for the Innsbruck hymnal Gotteslob, followed by contributions to several hymnals of German dioceses, the songbooks Singende Gemeinde and Kirchenlied, a precursor of the later Gotteslob. She translated Latin hymns and several books. She published during the war Liebesgespräche im Krieg, a lyrical dialogue of letters including poems which she exchanged with her husband who was a soldier. It was reprinted in 1981 by Aventinus. She lectured on subjects such as faith, liturgical year, first communion and religious education. The couple had six children and lived in Munich.
From 1963, Thurmair worked on the first Catholic hymnal for German-speaking countries, Gotteslob, as the only woman in the commission. The first edition of 1975 included 38 of her songs, which was the highest number for one hymnwriter. Some of her hymns have also been included in the Protestant hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch. The current Gotteslob includes 28 of her songs.
She received the Papal order Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice. She died in Germering, near Munich.

Works

Selected prose works

Several of her hymns appear in the current Catholic German hymnal Gotteslob, and even more in its first 1975 edition. She wrote several lyrics for the parts of the mass Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, and many psalm songs, often on traditional melodies. Several songs are related to the occasions of the liturgical year, such as Advent, Christmas and Pentecost. Other songs relate to events such as the Stations of the Cross. She wrote many Psalmlieder, rephrasing psalms. The table lists the incipit, the place of the hymn in the liturgy, a model for the text, year and author of the melody in the current Gotteslob when the song appears in it, otherwise of the first edition, the year when the text was completed, the numbers in the first and current Gotteslob, and notes.
IncipitLiturgyText sourceTuneYearGL 1975GLNote
Tau aus HimmelshöhnKyrie1952 Rohr1952103158Advent
Licht, das uns erschienKyrie2009 Alan Wilson1952129159Christmas
Gott des Vaters ewger SohnKyrie1952 Rohr1952524160
Der in seinem Wort uns hältKyrie1950 Rohr1958485164
Send uns deines Geistes KraftKyrie1950 Rohr1952246165Pentecost
Christus, GotteslammKyrie1952 Rohr1952175
Herr Jesus, König ewiglichKyrie1601 Johann Koler1962518
Preis und Ehre Gott dem HerrenGloria1962 Rohr1971486171
Herr, Gott im Himmel, dir sei EhreGloria1971 Otmar Faulstich1970458
Herr, deine Güt ist unbegrenztPsalmPsalm 361525 Greitter1971289427
Erbarme dich, erbarm dich meinPsalmPsalm 511562 1975164268Penitence
König ist der HerrPsalmPsalm 9915621971275
Herr, dir ist nichts verborgenPsalmPsalm 1391562 Ulenberg1973292428
Dich will ich rühmen, Herr und GottPsalmPsalm 1451971 Paul Ernst Ruppel1971274
Ihr Sonnen und Monde
stanzas 2–5 for Erfreue dich, Himmel		PsalmPsalm 14816691963259467
Gott ist dreifaltig einerCredo16421943489354
Dir Vater Lobpreis werdeOffertory1562 Ulenberg1975523183
Hoch sei gepriesen unser GottBenedictus15301985384
Den Herren will ich lobenMagnificatMagnificat1614 Teschner1972261395
Tag an Glanz und Freuden großChristmasDies est laetitiae13201969137Paraphrase
Das Geheimnis lasst uns kündenCorpus ChristiPange Lingua13001969544Paraphrase
Lobe, Zion, deinen HirtenCorpus ChristiLauda Sion13001972545850Würzburg region, paraphrase
Komm herab, o Heilger GeistPentecostVeni Sancte Spiritus12001971244344paraphrase, with Markus Jenny
Der Geist des Herrn erfüllt das AllPentecost1609 Vulpius1946249347
Du heller Schein, du lebendig Licht
stanzas 2–4 for Nun bitten wir den Heiligen Geist		Pentecost15001994248348
Komm, o Tröster, Heilger GeistPentecostVeni Sancte Spiritus16391972250349
Salve – Maria, KöniginSalve Regina16661979572
Maria, Mutter unsres HerrnAlma Redemptoris Mater15991969577530after an old hymn
Dank sei dir, Vater, für das ewge Leben1640 Crüger1994634484
Such uns heim mit deiner Kraft
stanzas 2–4 for Morgenglanz der Ewigkeit		1662 Ahle197566884Morning
Herr, wir hören auf dein Wort1960 Heino Schubert1959998/2449
Laßt uns den Engel preisen1614 Teschner1975687540Angels
Sieh, dein Licht will kommen1971 Markus Jenny1971147
Du schweigst, HerrPassion1965 Bertold Hummel1972185773Würzburg region, Stations of the Cross
Alles Leben ist dunkel1973 Wolfgang Menschick1971552
Komm, Herr Jesu, komm1951 Rohr1973568
Gelobt sei Gott in aller WeltApostles1970 Erhard Quack1970610882Würzburg region
In Jubel, Herr, wir dich erhebenMartyrs1970 Erhard Quack1940611
Herr, sei gelobt durch deinen Knecht1940 Erhard Quack1970612880Würzburg region
Gott sei durch euch gepriesenVirgins1971 Erhard Quack1972613
Sieh, dein Licht will kommenChristmas1971 Markus Jenny1971147
Seht unsers Herrn Erbarmen im Tempel dagestellt837785Passau region

Literature