| "Ein Haus voll Glorie schauet" | |
|---|---|
| German Catholichymn byJoseph Mohr | |
 Siegburg, with theMichaelsberg Abbey above the town | |
| English | A house full of glory looks |
| Text | by Joseph Mohr |
| Language | German |
| Published | 1876 (1876) |
"Ein Haus voll Glorie schauet" (A house full of glory looks) is a popular German Catholichymn, frequently sung duringpilgrimages, during the consecration of churches (Kirchweihe), and on their subsequent anniversaries. Text and tune were written and composed, in a similar tempo to thePrussian Armymilitary marches that were widely popular during theGerman Empire, as an anthem ofnonviolent resistance toOtto von Bismarck'santi-CatholicKulturkampf by Fr.Joseph Mohr in 1875. The lyrics were changed significantly for the post-Vatican II CatholichymnalGotteslob (GL 478), with stanzas two to five written by "Hans W. Marx" (a pseudonym) in 1972, which has since attracted criticism by someTraditionalist Catholics.[1] It has inspired musical settings for festive occasions such as the millennium of theBamberg Cathedral.
BornJoseph Hermann Mohr inSiegburg in 1834 the son of a teacher, the hymn writer was a member of theSociety of Jesus from 1853, and apriest from 1866. Before his consecration as a priest, he was president of theMarianische Kongregation and responsible for music (Musikpräfekt). He published a hymnal which was succeeded by his hymnalCäcilia, which appeared in 1936 in the 36th edition.[2] He devoted his life tochoral music in the Church, publishingManuale cantorum (Cantors' manual) and editing later editions of the hymnalCantate!, which first contained "Ein Haus voll Glorie schauet".[2][3]
The Society of Jesus was persecuted as part ofOtto von Bismarck'sJesuits Law (1872), a part of hisKulturkampf against theCatholic Church in Germany. Therefore, Mohr had left Germany when he wrote text and melody of the hymn, possibly in 1875.[2] He may have been inspired by the Michaelsberg Abbey on a mountain overlooking his hometown. Published in 1876, the song is regarded as an anthem of Catholicnonviolent resistance (kirchlicher Widerstand) to the Iron Chancellor and to the concept ofCaesaropapism. Fr. Mohr accordingly chose to transfer the style of patriotic songs popular during theGerman Empire into a Catholic hymn.[3] It became popular immediately, and is still his most popular creation.[3][4]
The song is a confession of faith, and a processional song, proclaiming Catholic identity.[5] The text provides powerful images of how the Catholic Church in Germany still had much to recover from afterthe Reformation,the Enlightenment, and the 1803German mediatization. Heinrich Peters says that the original hymn corresponds to the Church's teachings from theFirst Vatican Council in 1870.[6] Mohr's hymn became known locally as theSiegburg Hymne.[3]
After theSecond Vatican Council and the promulgation of theMass of Paul VI, thetraditionalist exclusivity of Fr. Mohr's salvation theology as expressed in his lyrics drew harsh criticism from ascendantModernists, most notably byIda Friederike Görres, for allegedly being "dated". A similar desire for a radically new direction for theCatholic Church in Germany[6] inspired Hans W. Marx to write and submit four new stanzas for the 1975Gotteslob Catholic hymnal, in which the last three new stanzas appeared; only Mohr's first stanza from 1876 was left intact. All Marx's stanzas, with Mohr's first, are still part of the second edition ofGotteslob of 2013, as GL 478.[7] Marx's replacement stanzas, like those in the many other similarly rewritten hymns in bothGotteslob hymnals, have since received extremely harsh criticism over their alleged inferiority to Fr. Mohr's original lyrics, on theTraditionalist Catholic websiteOnePeterFive.[8]
Ein Haus voll Glorie schauet
Weit über alle Land',
Aus ew'gem Stein erbauet
Von Gottes Meisterhand.
Gott! wir loben dich;
Gott! wir preisen dich;
O laß im Hause dein
Uns all geborgen sein![9]
The hymnic melody, reminiscent of a Prussian military march,[3] is suitable for festive occasions and processions. In the traditional and Pre-1975 lyrics, the last lines are therefrain: "Gott, wir loben dich, Gott, wir preisen dich. O lass im Hause dein uns all geborgen sein" (God, we laud You, God, we praise You. O let us all be sheltered within Your house). Their melody moves up and forward.[4]
In 2012Christopher Tambling composed a setting of the hymn to celebrate the 1000th anniversary ofBamberg Cathedral. Tambling's version was for choir, orchestra and organ, with different scoring in the five stanzas.[4]Naji Hakim wrote in 2017variations on the hymn for organ for the 50th anniversary of St. Nikolaus inBergen-Enkheim.[10]