The melody of this tune originates from Nicolaus Selnecker’s Christliche Psalmen, Lieder, und Kirchengesänge (1587) in which he set music to Ludwig Helmbold’s “Nun laßt uns Gott dem Herren.” Selnecker’s melody, however, is a variation of the descant melody of the hymn found in Helmbod’s Geistliche Lieder, den Gottseligen Christen zugericht (1575).

In 1649, Johann Crüger introduced some modifications to Selnecker’s melody in his Geistliche Kirchen-Melodien (Zahn 159). The tune was tied to Gerhardt’s “Wach auf, mein Herz, und singe,” and as a result, the tune can be sometimes quoted as wach auf, mein herz, und singe, or awake. The tune name, nun lasst uns gott, dem herren, is far more common, especially in Germany. In some rare instances, the tune is called selnecker.

The melody occurs in Bach’s cantatas 79, 165, and 194. The closing chorale in bwv 194 is the only time this tune is associated with a Gerhardt hymn — in this case, stanzas 9 and 10 of “Wach auf, mein Herz, und singe.”

Related Hymns

10 Nun laßt uns gehn und treten
35 Wach auf, mein Herz, und singe