Born: February 22, 1514 - Nordhausen
Died: July 12, 1581 - Świdnica (Schweidnitz)

Johannes Gigas [Heune, Hüne] was a German Evangelist theologist, poet of church hymns, humanist and reformator.

Life

Johannes Gigas attended the school in his hometown and later in Magdeburg. Soon he followed the elder Justus Jonas. After studies in Wittenberg and Leipzig, he became in 1541 Rector of the Gymnasium (Latin school) in Joachimsthal (Bohemia). However, soon after he moved to Marienberg and in 1543 to Fürstenschule (prince school) in Pforta. As a humanist he wrote Methodus scribendi carmina and wrote Epigramme and other papers. After 1545, tired of the school service, he worked at the church service. He went to North Schlesia and from 1546 worked for 27 years long as a minister in Freystadt, and since 1577 (or 1573) in Schweidnitz. There he published Katechismuspredigten, which was used much, and also sacred hymns.

Johannes Gigas is well-known for his hymns (songs): Ich armer Mensch doch gar nichts bin, Gotts Sohn ist mein Gewinn (1564), ), an arrangement of the poem by Philipp Melanchthon Nil sum, nulla miser novi solatia (1555); Ach lieben Christen, seid getrost, wie tut ihr so verzagen? (1562) and "Ach wie elend ist unsre Zeit allhier auf dieser Erden!" (1566).

Works

De certitudine religionis christianae (1550)
Smlg. kurzer Katechismuspredigten (1577)

Source: German Wikipedia Website & BBKL Website (Author: Friedrich William Bautz, 1990), English translation by Aryeh Oron (May 2006)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (August 2003), Teddy Kaufman (May 2006)

Texts of Bach Cantatas & Other Vocal Works

BWV 114

Chorale Texts used in Bach’s Vocal Works

Title

Year

EKG

Zahn

Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost (verses 2-6)

1561

Links to other Sites

Johannes Gigas (Wikipedia) [German]

Heune (Gigas), Johann (BBKL) [German]

Bibliography

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie Band 9 Seite 167
Koch I, 1866, 369 f.; - ADB IX, 167 (under Gigas).

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