Melchior Teschner
1584 - 1635
Lutheran
Biography
Melchior Teschner was a German Lutheran pastor, cantor, and composer born in Fraustadt in Silesia, now Wschowa in Poland, in 1584. He studied philosophy, theology, and music at Frankfurt an der Oder and also studied at Helmstedt and Wittenberg. From 1609 to 1614 he served as cantor at the Lutheran church in Fraustadt, where Valerius Herberger was pastor; from 1614 until his death he served as pastor at Oberpritschen near Fraustadt.
Teschner composed the melody now known as ST. THEODULPH for Herberger’s German hymn “Valet will ich dir geben,” a text written during a severe plague in Fraustadt. The melody therefore began as music for a hymn about Christian departure and eternal hope, not as a Palm Sunday tune. Teschner issued it in polyphonic settings in the early seventeenth century, and standard hymnals commonly date the tune to 1615.
Centuries later, editors of “Hymns Ancient and Modern” paired Teschner’s melody with the English version of Theodulf’s Palm Sunday hymn. The tune then became widely known as ST. THEODULPH, although organ and Lutheran sources also retain its original name, VALET WILL ICH DIR GEBEN.
Teschner composed the melody now known as ST. THEODULPH for Herberger’s German hymn “Valet will ich dir geben,” a text written during a severe plague in Fraustadt. The melody therefore began as music for a hymn about Christian departure and eternal hope, not as a Palm Sunday tune. Teschner issued it in polyphonic settings in the early seventeenth century, and standard hymnals commonly date the tune to 1615.
Centuries later, editors of “Hymns Ancient and Modern” paired Teschner’s melody with the English version of Theodulf’s Palm Sunday hymn. The tune then became widely known as ST. THEODULPH, although organ and Lutheran sources also retain its original name, VALET WILL ICH DIR GEBEN.
Hymns by Melchior Teschner
All Glory, Laud, and Honor
Role: Composer