Nun ruhen alle Wälder

Paul Gerhardt wrote the text of "Nun ruhen alle Wälder". It was first published in 1647 in Johann Crüger's hymnal Praxis Pietatis Melica, with the note to sing it to the tune of "O Welt, sieh hier dein Leben". This tune, first documented in 1598, is a sacred contrafact of Heinrich Isaac's "Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen", dating back to around 1495.^[2][3] The tune, which comes in many rhythmic variations, was used by Johann Sebastian Bach in chorales such as BWV 392 and several movements of both his St John Passion and his St Matthew Passion.^[1] Johann Georg Ebeling, Crüger's successor at the Nikolaikirche in Berlin, composed a new melody in 1666/67 when he published a new edition of Gerhardt's song, but it was not widely distributed. Beginning in the 1650s, the song became part of many Protestant hymnals.^[2]

The song, appealing by rather simple poetry, nature observation and evening mood, became part of many secular songbooks such as the 1843 Liederbuch des deutschen Volkes and the 1925 Vaterländisches Volkslied. The song was ignored for Catholic hymnals, but it became part of the ecumenical Kirchenlied in 1938.^[2] The eighth stanza was often used independently as an evening prayer for children.^[2]

"Nun ruhen alle Wälder" is part of the Protestant hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch as EG 477 in all nine stanzas with a 1605 four-part setting by Bartholomäus Gesius. The Mennonitisches Gesangbuch [de] has the song in all nine stanzas as No. 229, and the Gesangbuch der Evangelisch-methodistischen Kirche [de] includes it in eight stanzas as No. 633, with a four-part setting and guitar chords. While it was not included in the Catholic 1975 Gotteslob, it was included in the 2013 Gotteslob as GL 101, in seven stanzas omitting 5 and 7, and with an equalised tune similar to Bach's settings. ^[2]

The text is given in the version of the Evangelisches Gesangbuch which differs only slightly from the original print, together with a translation by Catherine Winkworth.^[1]

The first melody, as the older ones from which it was derived, features irregular longer and shorter notes, while Bach used mostly steady quarter notes (with embellishments) in his setting, BWV 392, the same way as in his settings in the Passions, such as "Wer hat dich so geschlagen" in the St Matthew Passion.

Matthias Claudius took the same rhyme scheme for his Abendlied "Der Mond ist aufgegangen" which was first sung to the same tune as "Nun ruhen alle Wälder", until the melody by Johann Abraham Peter Schulz became popular.^[2]

The wording "es schläft die ganze Welt" was regarded as ridiculous during the Age of Enlightenment. When parishes in Berlin-Brandenburg opposed a new hymnal missing songs by Gerhardt, Frederick the Great argued for tolerance and a free choice but mentioned "Nun ruhen alle Wälder" as an example of a stupid song.^[2]

The song was translated into Danish as "Nu hviler mark og enge, nu alle går til senge" in several versions from 1682, 1850 und 1889. It became part of the 2006 hymnal of the Heimvolkshochschule, Højskolesangbogen in its 18th editions as No. 533. A 1850 version in five stanzas by Frederik Hammerich of Peder Møller's 1682 translation became part of the Danish hymnal Den Danske Salmebog in 1953 as No. 703, and was retained in its 2002 edition as No. 759.^[4]

The song was translated into English by Catherine Winkworth as "Now all the woods are sleeping", published in the Chorale Book for England in London in 1865.^[1]