German lyrical poet and hymnwriter

Simon Dach (29 July 1605 – 15 April 1659) was a German lyrical poet and hymnwriter, born in Memel, Duchy of Prussia (now Klaipėda in Lithuania).

Contents

• 1 Early life
• 2 Mid life
• 3 Later life and poetic success
• 4 Published works
• 5 Poems of note
• 6 References
• 7 Literature
• 8 External links

Early life

Although brought up in humble cir*stances (his father was a poorly paid court interpreter for Lithuanian in Memel), he received a cl*ical education in the Domschule of Königsberg (now Kaliningrad, Russia) and in the Latin schools of Wittenberg and Magdeburg, and entered the University of Königsberg in 1626 where he was a student of theology and philosophy. In 1626, he left Magdeburg to escape both the plague and the Thirty Years' War, and returned to his Prussian homeland, settling in Königsberg, where he remained for the rest of his life.

Mid life

After earning his degree, Dach was a private tutor for a time, then was appointed Kollaborator (teacher) in 1633 and co-rector of the Domschule (cathedral school) in Königsberg in 1636. In 1639 he was appointed by Adrian Brauer to the Chair of Poetry at the Albertina University in Königsberg. This was a post he held until his death. Also, in 1640 he received a doctorate from the University.

Part of his official duties as Chair of Poetry was to create poems for various University celebrations, programs, debates and funeral services of his colleagues – all of these written either Latin or Greek. In 1644, he wrote the play Sorbuisa, which celebrated the centennial of the University of Königsberg.

Dach became one of the prominent heads of the musical Kürbishütte, a group that included, among others, George Weissel, Valentin Thilo, and Johann Franck. The summer-house of organist and composer Heinrich Albert became the meeting place of this group of poets, hymnists and musicians, who met in to create new hymns as well as to give readings of their own poetry. This group published eight books of poems and songs from 1638 to 1650, the books meeting with great success. Of the approximately 200 poems and songs contained within the books, Dach had the lion's share, with 125 being his compositions. The songs and hymns contained in these books, especially those of Dach, were sung throughout Germany and frequently appeared in pirated editions.

Later life and poetic success

In Königsberg he became friends with and collaborated with Heinrich Albert (1604–1651) and Robert Roberthin (1600–1648) and with them formed the Königsberger Dichtergruppe (loosely translated as the "Königsberg Poets' *ociation"). In 1639 he was appointed professor of poetry at Königsberg through the influence of his friend Roberthin. He sang the praises of the house of the Electors of Brandenburg in a collection of poems en*led Kurbrandenburgische Rose, Adler, Lowe und Scepter (1661), and also produced many occasional poems, several of which became popular; the most famous of them is "Anke von Tharaw öss, de my geföllt" Anke van Tharaw (rendered from Low Saxon by Herder into Standard German as "Ännchen von Tharau"), composed in 1637 in honor of the marriage of a friend.

Among Dach's best-known hymns, many of which are still sung, are the following: "Ich bin ja, Herr, in deiner Macht", "Ich bin bei Gott in Gnaden durch Christi Blut und Tod", and "O, wie selig seid ihr doch, ihr Frommen." In all, he wrote over 150 hymns, and a number of poems, and was considered the leading figure of the hymnists and poets of Königsberg.

Published works

• Handbuch des Kantorendienstes: Einf. u. Handreichung zu einem wiederentdeckten Dienst in d. Gemeinde ISBN:3-87088-144-5

Poems of note

SonnetUeber den Eingang der Schloßbrücke (1641)Lied der Freundschaft

References

• Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary Handbook, Biographies and Sources

Literature

• Alexander J. Birt: Simon Dach. Gräfe & Unzer, Königsberg i.P. 1905.
• Bruno Nick: Das Naturgefühl bei Simon Dach. – Greifswald, Univ. Diss., 1911.
• August Gebauer (Hrsg.): Simon Dach und seine Freunde als Kirchenlieddichter. Osiander, Tübingen 1828.
• Heinrich Stiehler: Simon Dach. Hartung, Königsberg i.P., 1896.
• Hermann Österley: Simon Dach; Tübingen 1876.
• Alfred Kelletat (Hrsg.): Simon Dach und der Königsberger Dichterkreis. Stuttgart: Reclam 1986. ISBN:3-15-008281-1
• Alfred Kelletat: Simon Dach und der Königsberger Dichterkreis, P. Reclam jun., 1986, ISBN:3-15-008281-1
• Barbara Sturzenegger: Simon Dach und Paul Fleming: Topoi der Freundschaft im 17. Jahrhundert. Diss. Bern 1996.
• Hermann Oesterley (1876), "Dach, Simon", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) (in German), vol.:4, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp.:685–688
• Axel E. Walter (Hrsg.), Simon Dach (1605–1659). Berlin, de Gruyter, 2008.
• Willi Flemming (1957), "Dach, Simon", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol.:3, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, p.:464

External links

• Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz (1975). "Dach, Simon". In Bautz, Friedrich Wilhelm (ed.). Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL) (in German). Vol.:1. Hamm: Bautz. cols. 1189–1191. ISBN:3-88309-013-1.
• Bücher von und über Simon Dach bei der Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin
• Encyclopædia Britannica Simon Dach
• Werke von Simon Dach als Online-Texte im Projekt Gutenberg-DE (mit Einführung)
• Kurzbiographie und Texte
• Works by or about Simon Dach at Internet Archive
• Works by Simon Dach at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)

Hymnodists
and
hymnologists

• Mikael Agricola
• Johann Georg Albinus
• Albert von Brandenburg
• Michael Altenburg
• Anna Sophia II
• Johann Sebastian Bach
• Emilie Juliane of Barby-Mühlingen
• Martin Behm
• Sigmund von Birken
• Carl Boberg
• Birgitte Cathrine Boye
• Hans Adolph Brorson
• Johan Nordahl Brun
• Joachim a Burck
• Dieterich Buxtehude
• Christian Cappelen
• Elisabeth Cruciger
• Johann Crüger
• Simon Dach
• Wolfgang Dachstein
• Nikolaus Decius
• Paul Eber
• Ludmilla Elisabeth
• Princess Eugénie
• Jacobus Finno
• Paul Fleming
• Johann Franck
• Michael Franck
• Melchior Franck
• Salomon Franck
• Frans Michael Franzén
• Erik Gustaf Geijer
• Paul Gerhardt
• Bartholomäus Gesius
• Johannes Gigas
• N. F. S. Grundtvig
• Britt G. Hallqvist
• Andreas Hammerschmidt
• Claus Harms
• Fredrik Gabriel Hedberg
• Christian Fürchtegott Gellert
• Johann Heermann
• Ludwig Helmbold
• Valerius Herberger
• Nikolaus Herman
• Johannes Hermann
• Sebald Heyden
• Anders Hovden
• Konrad Hubert
• Bernhard Severin Ingemann
• Justus Jonas
• Sigfrid Karg-Elert
• Christian Keymann
• Balthasar Kindermann
• Thomas Kingo
• Børre Knudsen
• Johann Kolross
• Johann Balthasar König
• Julius Krohn
• Magnus Brostrup Landstad
• Ludvig Mathias Lindeman
• Elias Lönnrot
• Matthäus Apelles von Löwenstern
• Matthias Loy
• Sigurd Lunde
• Martin Luther
• Wilhelmi Malmivaara
• Hemminki of Masku
• Felix Mendelssohn
• Johann Matthäus Meyfart
• Georg Neumark
• Erdmann Neumeister
• Philipp Nicolai
• Johann Pachelbel
• Hallgrímur Pétursson
• Michael Praetorius
• Christian Heinrich Postel
• Adam Reusner
• Bartholomäus Ringwaldt
• Martin Rinkart
• Johann Rist
• Christian Knorr von Rosenroth
• Daniel Rumpius
• Johan Runeberg
• Gottfried Wilhelm Sacer
• Lina Sandell
• Carl Schalk
• Martin Schalling
• Heinrich Scheidemann
• Johann Hermann Schein
• Benjamin Schmolck
• Cyriakus Schneeg*
• Johann Schop
• Johann Balthasar Schupp
• Heinrich Schütz
• Nikolaus Selnecker
• Eyvind Skeie
• Haquin Spegel
• Lazarus Spengler
• Paul Speratus
• Philipp Spitta
• Paul Stockmann
• Jesper Swedberg
• Jiří Třanovský
• Melchior Teschner
• N. Samuel of Tranquebar
• Zachris Topelius
• Leonard Typpö
• Jaroslav Vajda
• Gottfried Vopelius
• Philipp Wackernagel
• Johan Olof Wallin
• Johann Walter
• Michael Weiße
• Georg Weissel
• Olle Widestrand
• Carl David af Wirsén
• Catherine Winkworth
• Johannes Zahn

• Luther § Hymnodist
• Hymns by Luther
• Lutheran hymn
• In continental Europe
• Lutheran chorale
• Chorale setting
• Chorale cantata