Befiehl du deine Wege (12 Versetten), GWV 572 (2007)

Lothar Graap (b. 1933) — Befiehl du deine Wege (12 Versetten), GWV 572 (2007) for organ

“Befiehl du deine Wege (12 Versetten)” (2007) is based on a tune from the fifth edition of Johann Crüger’s hymnal “Praxis Pietatis Melica.” The 12 versets correspond to the 12 verses of the hymn text (by Paul Gerhardt). The initial word of each verse when taken together form an acrostic of Psalm 37:5, which is the theme of the hymn: “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.”

Lothar Graap (b. 1933) is a German composer and church musician. Educated at the conservatory in Görlitz, his primary teachers were Eberhard Wenzel and Hans Schneider. He also studied with Helmut Bornefeld and Siegfred Reda. In 1954 he began a career as a professional church musician in Niemegk, and he pursued this work at several positions until his retirement in 1998 from Cottbus, where he had been cantor at the Klosterkirche. By the time of his retirement, he had performed and directed more than 1000 vespers services and concerts in Cottbus. Graap has composed more than 700 compositions in many forms, with a particular focus on organ and choral music.

Published by Edition Musica Rinata