Nikolaus Decius
Nikolaus Decius (c. 1485 – 21 March 1541[1] (others say 1546[2]) was a German monk, hymn-writer and composer.
He was probably born in Hof in Upper Franconia, Bavaria, around 1485. He studied at the University of Leipzig and obtained a masters degree at Wittenburg University in 1523 and became a monk.[3] Although a monk, he was an advocate of the Protestant Reformation and a disciple of Martin Luther.[3] He was Probst of the cloister at Steterburg from 1519 until July 1522 when he was appointed a master in the St. Katherine and Egidien School in Braunschweig.[1][4] He wrote in 1523 for Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr, adapted by Luther in 1525, a German paraphrase of the Latin Gloria.[5] Decius's version was first sung on Easter Day at Braunschweig on 5 April 1523.[6] Decius's Low German version first appeared in print in Gesang Buch by Joachim Sluter, printed in 1525.[6]
In 1526, Decius became preacher at the Church of St. Nicholas in Stettin at the same time as Paulus von Rhode was appointed preacher at St. James's in Stettin.[1] In 1535 he became pastor of St. Nicholas and died there in March 1541 after a suspected poisoning.[1] Shortly before his death he wrote the hymn "de" (O Lamb of God, innocent) sung on a tune from the 13th century. Decius's version was first published in Anton Cornivus's Christliche Kirchen-Ordnung in 1542.[3] Johann Sebastian Bach used it as a cantus firmus in the opening chorus of his St Matthew Passion. It was translated into English by Arthur Tozer Russell in the 19th century.[3]
Sources
- Ludger Stühlmeyer: Nikolaus Decius – ein Kirchenlieddichter aus Hochfranken. In: Jahrbuch der Erzdiözese Bamberg 2014. Heinrichs-Verlag Bamberg, 89. Jahrgang 2013, S. 72–76.
- Ludger Stühlmeyer: Die Kirchenlieder des Hofers Nicolaus Decius. In:Curia sonans. Die Musikgeschichte der Stadt Hof. Eine Studie zur Kultur Oberfrankens. Von der Gründung des Bistums Bamberg bis zur Gegenwart. Phil.Diss., Bayerische Verlagsanstalt, Heinrichs-Verlag Bamberg 2010, ISBN 978-3-89889-155-4, S. 110–112, 135–137, 357–358.
- Werner Merten: Decius, Nikolaus. In: Wolfgang Herbst: Wer ist wer im Gesangbuch? S. 73-74 Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2001, ISBN 3525503237
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- Th. Ruys. P. D. Utrecht 1919 (Diss. Amsterdam). H. J. Jaanus. P. D. (Documenta Reformatoria 1960, 247ff.).
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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