"We Gather Together" is a Christian hymn of Dutch origin written in 1597 by Adrianus Valerius as "Wilt heden nu treden" to celebrate the Dutch victory over Spanish forces in the Battle of Turnhout. It was originally set to a Dutch folk tune. In the United States, it is popularly associated with Thanksgiving Day and is often sung at family meals and at religious services on that day.
Video We Gather Together
History
- We gather together to ask our Lord's blessing...
At the time the hymn was written, the Dutch were engaged in a war of national liberation against the Catholic King Philip II of Spain. "Wilt heden nu treden," "We gather together" resonated because under the Spanish King, Dutch Protestants were forbidden to gather for worship. The hymn first appeared in print in a 1626 collection of Dutch folk and patriotic songs, Nederlandtsche Gedenck-Clanck by Adriaen Valerius.
The hymn is customarily performed to a tune known as "Kremser", from Eduard Kremser's 1877 score arrangement and lyric translation of Wilt Heden Nu Treden into Latin and German. The modern English text was written by Theodore Baker in 1894.
According to the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, "We Gather Together's" first appearance in an American hymnal was in 1903. It had retained popularity among the Dutch, and when the Dutch Reformed Church in North America decided in 1937 to abandon the policy that they had brought with them to the New World in the 17th century of singing only psalms and add hymns to the church service, "We Gather Together" was chosen as the first hymn in the first hymnal.
The hymn steadily gained popularity, especially in services of Thanksgiving on such occasions as town and college centennial celebrations. According to Carl Daw, executive director of the Hymn Society, the "big break" came in 1935 when it was included in the national hymnal of the Methodist-Episcopal Church.
According to Michael Hawn, professor of sacred music at Southern Methodist University's Perkins School of Theology, "by World War I, we started to see ourselves in this hymn," and the popularity increased during World War II, when "the wicked oppressing" were understood to include Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.
This hymn is often sung at American churches the Sunday before Thanksgiving.
This hymn was sung at the Opening of the Funeral Mass for Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. This hymn was referenced in the second season, episode 8 "Shibboleth" of The West Wing.
Maps We Gather Together
Lyrics
Note that the English lyrics do not translate the Dutch. The Dutch third stanza is in the republishing 1871 only in the footnote on page 41, not in the sheet, because it was not good enough. Therefore it is not in all lyrics.
Literature
- Valerius, Adrianus; Loman, Abraham Dirk; von Hellwald, Ferdinand Heller (1871), Oud-nederlandsche liederen uit den "Nederlandtschen Gedenck-clank" (in Dutch and German), Utrecht: Luis Roothaan, pp. 40-41, 72, sheet music: 12 (complete: 93), retrieved 2011-08-11
References
- Franz Magnus Böhme: Volksthümliche Lieder der Deutschen, Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1895, p. 565.
- Julius Röntgen (Musik), Karl Budde (Text): XIV Altniederländische Volkslieder nach Adrianus Valerius (1626). Für eine Singstimme mit Klavierbegleitung, Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig - Brüssel - London - New York 1901, No. 14 / p. 32 ,,Siegesfeier".
- Paul Goldscheider: Gloria Viktoria. Ausgewählte Gedichte des Weltkrieges, für den Unterricht erläutert, C. H. Becksche Verlagsbuchhandlung (Oskar Beck), München 1916.
- ,,Anschluss" 1938. Eine Dokumentation. Hrsg. Dokumentationsarchiv des österreichischen Widerstandes, Wien 1988, pp. 495-526.
- Reinhard Breymayer: ,,Im Streite zur Seite": Der jüdische Autor Josef Weyl (1821-1895) und die Übersetzung des ,,Niederländischen Dankgebets" (,,Wir treten zum Beten ..."). In: Im Streite zur Seite. Rundbriefe des Tübinger Bibelkreises / Rundbriefe der A[kademischen]. V[erbindung]. Föhrberg (TBK [Tübinger Bibelkreis]). [D-72070] Tübingen, Frondsbergstr. 17, Herbst 2001, pp. 1937-1939.
External links
- We Gather Together at the Cyber Hymnal
- We Gather Together on oremus
- Wilt Heden Nu Treden at the Cyber Hymnal
Source of article : Wikipedia
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