From heaven above to earth I come (Vom Himmel hoch) Luther-Dörffel - Cantate Domino

A glad New Year to all the earth.

“Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her” (“From Heaven Above to Earth I Come”) is a hymn text relating to the Nativity of Jesus, written by Martin Luther in 1534. The hymn is most often sung to a melody that first appeared in 1539 and that was likely composed by Luther as well. That version became a classic Christmas carol, and many composers referred to it in their compositions.

In an account not confirmed by contemporary sources Martin Luther would have written “Vom Himmel hoch” in 1534 for the Christmas celebration in family circle. It is not certain but likely that Luther thought of a scenic representation. The text of the hymn was first published in 1535, the melody most commonly associated with it in 1539.

“Vom Himmel hoch” was first published as a hymn with 15 stanzas of four lines in the “Wittenberg hymnal” of 1535, under the header “Ein kinderlied auff die Weinacht Christi” (“A children’s song on the Nativity of Christ”). In that publication, the text was coupled to the melody of the then well-known secular song “Ich kumm aus frembden Landen her.” It was Luther’s only contrafactum, reusing a tune of a secular composition for a religious text.

In 1539, the hymn was published with a new melody that was probably composed by Luther himself, in Geistliche lieder / auffs new gebessert vnd gemehrt /zu Witteberg. D. Marti. Luther. Viel Geistliche gesenge / von andern frommen Christen gemacht. Gedruckt zu Leyptzick durch Valten Schumann (Spiritual Songs / newly improved and extended / … made by other pious Christians …). This is the melody generally associated with the text:

The song is an interpretation of Luke 2:8–18, a part of the Christmas story. The first five stanzas echo the annunciation addressed to the shepherds. The following stanzas are an invitation to follow the shepherds to the manger and celebrate the newborn baby. The last stanza is a short doxology and mentions the new year, as a new, peaceful time.

Another early publication containing the 1539 version of Luther’s hymn is Lotther’s Magdeburg Gesangbuch of 1540. The 1539 melody was used in various compositions, in vocal compositions often coupled to (parts of) Luther’s hymn text. “Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her” became one of Germany’s most popular Christmas carols.

In the 1560s the hymn spread to the Netherlands and the British Isles. “From Heaven Above to Earth I Come,” the version best known in English, was published by Catherine Winkworth in 1855. The Swedish-language version (“Av himlens höjd oss kommet är”) became one of the most commonly sung Lutheran hymns in Sweden and Finland, appearing in films there.

Not all settings of Luther’s hymn text after his publication of the 1539 melody refer to that melody: for instance Sethus Calvisius’ early seventeenth century motet Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her for SSATTB choir borrows some motifs from the “Ich kumm aus frembden Landen her” melody, but does not contain the 1539 tune. The Scottish translation contained in the sixteenth century Gude and Godlie Ballatis was indicated to be sung on the tune of a lullaby (“Balulalow”).

“From Heaven on High The Angels Sing” is sometimes indicated as a translation of “Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her.” It is however a translation of “Vom Himmel hoch, o Engel, kommt”, a song also known as “Susani,” first published in the early 17th century, with a different tune (About this sound “Vom Himmel hoch, o Englein, kommt!” played on a carillon (help·info)). Apart from the Christmas setting derived from Luke 2:1–18, the “Susani” repeated in this song also likens it to the “Susaninne” of the fourteenth stanza of “Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her.” There are however many other hymns, including older and English ones, with similar likenesses, e.g. the fourteenth century “A Little Child There Is Ybore,” “A Little Child There Is Yborn,” “Gloria Tibi Domine,” and Luther’s 1543 “Vom Himmel kam der Engel Schar” (de). The last one is usually sung to the “Vom Himmel hoch” melody.