S. Preiswerk › Tunes

Preiswerk, Samuel, son of Alexander Preiswerk, pastor at Rümlingen, in the canton of Basel, was born at Rümlingen, Sept. 19, 1799. After studying at the Universities of Basel, Tübingen, and Erlangen, he was for some time curate in charge at Benken, in the canton of Basel. In 1824 he was appointed preacher at the Basel Orphanage, and in 1829 tutor of Hebrew at the Basel mission house. In 1830 he was chosen as pastor of Muttenz, near Basel, but on the outbreak of the Revolution of 1832 had to leave. After being from 1834 to 1837 professor of Old Testament Exegesis and Oriental languages in the Evangelical Theological Institution at Geneva, he returned to Basel, where he was instituted, in 1843, as pastor of St. Leonard's church, and in 1859 as antistes, or highest dignitary in the Cathedral. He died at Basel, Jan. 13, 1871 (0. Kraus, 1879, p. 400; Allgemeine Deutsche Biographiexxvi. 552, &c).

Preiswerk was a distinguished preacher. He was one of the editors of the Basel Gesang-Buch, 1854. His hymns were written at various times, generally to be used at Mission and other meetings in which he was to take part. Sixteen were included in a collection edited by two of his friends and published at Basel, 1844, as the Evangelischer Lieder Kranz (271 hymns old and new). Nine of his hymns are in Knapp's Evanglischer Lieder-Schatz, ed. 1850.

The only one translation into English is:—
Das ist der Gemeine Starke. Missions. In 1844, as above, No. 98, p. 124, in 5 stanzas of 4lines. Included in Knapp's Evanglischer Lieder-Schatz, 1850, No. 1160 (1865, No. 1200). Translated as:—
Hark, the Church proclaims her honour. In full by Miss Winkworth in her Lyra Germanica, 2nd ser., 1858, p. 59, and her Chorale Book for England, 1863, No. 104 (she misquotes the first line as Dies ist der Gemeinde Stärke). Repeated in the Psalms & Hymns, Bedford, 1859, and the Ohio Lutheran Hymnal, 1880. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.]

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)