Gottfried Lehman Chorale Book
research by Robin Gratz
Description of materials:
A bound, manuscript, Lutheran chorale accompaniment book for organ or harpsichord, with 146 chorales on 174 pages and some 210 service chant tunes on 54 pages. Compiled by Gottried Lehman, Dresden, Saxony, 1712 – (1720?). Titles are in Old German script. Written on two staves, without chorale texts, it includes melody and bass in the typical format of the period, but without figured-bass symbols. Beneath the staves are letter symbols for notes of both staves. The chorales are arranged by the church liturgical year, followed by categories of a general nature. As in many Saxon hymnals, it begins with the Advent tune, “Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland”. An alphabetical index is at the end of the volume.
It is not known if the bass lines are original or were copied from one of the many available published hymn books with music. The chant tunes are in alphabetical order by first lines of the texts. They are numbered, perhaps in reference to an existing service book. An inscription page gives the name of his son “Christiani” and the date 1720. Beneath that, in English, is the presumably later statement: “…to such one of my children as learneth to play an Organ or Spinnet.”
Gottfried Lehman (1690-1756) lived in Dresden until 1726, when he and his two sons moved about 40 miles to the first Moravian community of Herrnhut. There, he was an inn-keeper. In 1731, they immigrated to America and settled in Germantown, PA, with the Brethren. He worked as a potter. (Gospel Messenger, Mar. 6, 1948, p. 14)
The volume became part of the late-19th c. “Cassell Library” of German and Brethren-related books, some of which were sold to Mt. Morris College. Upon the closing of MMC in 1932, most of the collection was sent to the Church of the Brethren seminary (now in its library at Earlham C.) or Juniata College. This volume was in the possession of Galen Lehman, a Brethren pastor, until given to Manchester in 1967. Rev. Lehman died in 1980.
An examination of the chorales of only the main church year, shows many widely used tunes. Many are still used in current Lutheran hymnals. Page numbers of these are indicated in the list below:
Advent
1-2 “Nun komm, der heiden heiland” (in two versions)
4 “Gottes Sohn is kommen”
Christmas
6 “Christum wir sollen loben schon”
8 “Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ”
10 “Vom Himmel hoch, da komm’ich her”
16 “In dulci jubilo”
18 “Lobt Gott, ihr Christen, allzugleich”
19 “Puer natus in Bethlehem”
20 “Wir Christenleut’”
24 “Helft mir Gott’s Gute preisen”
30 “Christus, der uns selig macht”
31 “Christe, du Lamm Gottes”
33 “Trostet meine Leben (“Freu dich Sehr”)
34 “Ein Lammlein geht (“An Wasser flussen Babylon”)
35 “Herzliebster Jesu”
36 “Hilf got, dass mir’s gelinge”
37 “O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig”
38 “O Traurigkeit, o herzelied”
Easter
40 “Christ is erstanden” (v. 1) + “War’ er nicht erstanden” (v. 2) + “Alleluia” (v. 3)
43 “Christ lag in Todesbaden”
44 “Erscheinen ist der herrliche Tag”
46 “Heut’ triumphieret Gottes Sohn”
56 “Triumph Victoria” (“Ein feste Burg”)
Pentecost
55 “Komm, heiliger Geist, Herre Gott”
Trinity
60 “Kyrie Gott, heiliger Geist”
61 “Allein Gott in der Hoh”
62 “Gott der Vater wohn uns bey” | 
