congregation requested to join in doing so. The song ends in a prayer. The following table shows Gerhardt's text in the 12 stanzas contained in the Evangelisches Gesangbuch and the translation by Winkworth: Melodies and settings Johann Crüger first published the hymn in 1653 in the fifth edition of his hymnal Praxis Pietatis Melica, with a melody he composed himself. The melody has "leaping" features and modulates often. The last line, in the first stanza saying that Christ is born, moves downward, corresponding to a move from Heaven to Earth. Crüger also wrote a four-part setting. Burkhart M. Schürmann composed a chorale partita of all 15 stanzas, in both German and English (All my heart), for three-part choir in 2010. The hymn was also sung with a melody which Johann Georg Ebeling created for Gerhardt's "Warum sollt ich mich denn grämen" (EG 370). It appeared in 1666 in Pauli Gerhardi Geistliche Andachten. This melody was used by Bach in a four-part setting in his Christmas Oratorio, in Part III, "Ich will dich mit Fleiß bewahren", reflecting the preceding aria, "Schließe, mein Herze, dies selige Wunder". Bach used the melody also in 1736 in Schemellis Gesangbuch. Literature Paul Gerhardt: Dichtungen und Schriften. Munich 1957, pp. 1–3. Johann Friedrich Bachmann: Paulus Gerhardts geistliche Lieder: historisch-kritische Ausgabe. Oehmigke, Berlin 1866, pp. 95–97 (). See also List of Christmas carols References External links Fröhlich soll mein Herze springen Liederprojekt of SWR2 and Carus-Verlag Bach Cantata Translations / BWV 248-III – "Herrscher des Himmels" Emmanuel Music All my heart with joy is springing hymntime.com Lutheran hymns Hymn tunes 1653 works 17th-century hymns in German German-language Christmas carols Hymns by Paul Gerhardt