List of hymns by Helmut Schlegel


The Franciscan Helmut Schlegel wrote texts of several hymns in German. With the music by various composers in the genre Neues Geistliches Lied, many of them appeared in the 2013 Catholic hymnal Gotteslob, and in other songbooks.

History

Schlegel is a German Franciscan, Catholic priest, meditation instructor, author, librettist and songwriter. He led from 2007 to 2018 the centre for Christian meditation and spirituality of the Diocese of Limburg, based at the Heilig Kreuz church in Frankfurt-Bornheim. He wrote texts for more than 200 hymns, which inspired various composers to write music of the genre Neues Geistliches Lied. Many of the songs appeared in the 2013 Catholic hymnal Gotteslob, some in the common section, others in the Limburg regional section. They also became part of other hymnals and songbooks, such as Junges Gotteslob, the hymnal for young people, the 2013 choral songbook Die Träume hüten, published by Dehm-Verlag, and the Freiburger Kinderchorbuch, commissioned by the Diocese of Freiburg and published by Carus-Verlag.

List of hymns

The sortable list has the songs initially in the order of Gotteslob, with the regional section of the Diocese of Limburg. The first column, the song's number in the hymnal, is followed by the beginning, the composer, the year of composition, and notes.
No.TitleComposerYearNotes
452Der Herr wird dich mit seiner Güte segnen Thomas Gabriel1988blessing
764Jesus Christus, Menschensohn Helmut FöllerKyrie
843Ich glaube dir, du Freund des Lebens Joachim Raabe 2008/2009Credo
849Der Herr wird dich mit seiner Güte segnen Winfried Heurichblessing
885Glauben können wie du Winfried Heurich2009Marian song
Auf zu neuen Horizonten -
Der Tag bricht an Johannes SchröderMagnificat
Du ewiges Sein Thomas GabrielPsalm 17
Ein jeder Tag Peter Reulein2016
Ich kehre zurück Ricarda MoufangNunc dimittis
Jesus Christus, Menschensohn Joachim RaabeKyrie
Wenn mein Lebenstag sich neigt Arndt BüssingNunc dimittis

Individual hymns

Jesus Christus, Menschensohn

Schlegel wrote "Jesus Christus, Menschensohn" as a three-fold call to the Jesus, like the liturgical Kyrie, addressed as the Son of man. The first stanza requests enlightenment to see God face to face. The second stanza recalls that Jesus carried on the Cross what we suffer. The third stanza requests that Jesus, called from grave and death, may be with us on life's steps.
The text was set to music by both Helmut Föller, a church musician responsible for the musical education of priests and pastoral workers at the Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology in Frankfurt, as by Joachim Raabe.

Der Tag bricht an

Schlegel wrote "Der Tag bricht an" as a free paraphrase of the Magnificat. With music by Johannes Schröder, it appeared in the collection for evensong, Auf dem Weg durch diese Nacht, published by Dehm Verlag.