Classic Hymns and Their Stories
Puzzle 63 · Across Languages and Borders · Page 89 in print
O Sacred Head
The melody commonly sung with “O Sacred Head” first appeared with a secular love song by Hans Leo Hassler in 1601.
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The words
Arnulf
The medieval writer associated with the Latin cycle.
Compassion
The pity requested by the singer.
Didymus
Alexander’s pen name on his first printed translation.
Hassler
The composer of the original secular melody.
Hofwyl
The tune name used in The Christian Lyre.
Joshua Leavitt
The editor who included Alexander’s translation.
Knoll
Christoph Knoll, whose hymn was an early sacred pairing.
Leuven
The place attached to Arnulf’s name.
Lustgarten
His 1601 collection containing the melody.
Maria
The name formed by the original song’s acrostic.
Mittenwalde
Gerhardt’s parish when he translated the cycle.
Partbook
A separate volume for one musical voice.
Paul Gerhardt
The German poet whose adaptation underlies the English hymn.
Thorns
The material of the crown in the hymn.
Trenton
The city where James W. Alexander was then a minister.
Sources
- O Haupt voll Blut und WundenChris Fenner et al., Hymnology Archive
- O sacred head now woundedJames W. Alexander, public-domain hymn text in its representative form via Hymnary