"Lobpreiset all zu dieser Zeit" (Praise all at this time) is a Christian hymn in German for a new year with text by Heinrich Bone written in 1851. It is contained in the Catholic hymnal Gotteslob. It is sung to a melody that Martin Luther created in 1529.
"Lobpreiset all zu dieser Zeit" was written by Bone in 1851, to an older melody. There was a tendency in the Catholicism of the 19th century to fill the secular date of a new year with Christian interpretation.[1] Bone published five stanzas with a refrain in the 1851 edition of his hymnal Cantate!, in a section Das Fest der Beschneidung. Neujahr. (The feast of the Circumcision. New year.), which was distinguished then from the preceding Zum Schlusse des Jahres (For the conclusion of the year).[2]
The first two stanzas of the hymn, with a different third stanza dating to 1969,[3] were included in the first edition of the common German Catholic hymnal Gotteslob in 1975, as GL 158,[4] This version was retained in the second edition as GL 258, in the section Jahresschluss / Neujahr (End of a year / New Year).[5] The refrain was also slightly changed, with a focus on God as the giver of time and caring for his creation.[6] The melody is attributed to Martin Luther, who created it in 1529 for "Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g'mein",[6] The melody is also used for "Es ist gewißlich an der Zeit" in 1529,[3] which Johann Sebastian Bach set for four parts as BWV 307.[7][3] The same melody is also one of the tunes of the Christmas carol "Ich steh an deiner Krippen hier" which Bach set for four parts in his Christmas Oratorio.[8] Editor Richard Mailänder included a chorale prelude in the first volume of a 2013 collection of preludes for songs from the new Gotteslob, dedicated to Advent, Christmas and turn of the year, Choralvorspiele für Advent und Weihnachten.[9] Walter Hofmann composed a chorale prelude, included in his collection Vorpiele zu Liedern aus dem neuen Gotteslob.[10]
The song is contained in other hymnals and songbooks.[6] It is frequently sung in services connected to the turn of a year.[11]