Evangelikų liuteronų giesmės „Pilnos rankos, pilnos rankos“ istorija
The History of the Evangelical Lutheran Hymn “Pilnos Rankos, Pilnos Rankos”

Summary/Abstract: In the Surinkimininkai (worshipers of the home-prayer services) hymnal Maʒos Giesmju Knygeles (Tilsit, 1819), which was likely prepared by preacher and teacher (Lith. šulmistras) Kristijonas Endrikis Mertikaitis (c. 1775–before 1856), there is an eight-stanza anonymous hymn marked as No. 8 entitled “Aß tikt driſu, apie ta Sʒlowe”. An unknown translator rendered this hymn from the hymn “Ich wills wagen :,: von der schönen pracht”, which was published in the hymnal Kern Alter und Neuer geiſtreicher Lieder (Königsberg, 1752) by Königsberg Pietist and professor of theology Franz Albert Schultz (1692–1763). It has been established that the author of this German hymn was the spiritual leader of the Moravian Brethren and a Pietist, Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf (1700–1760). The text published in Schultz’s hymnal, from which the Lithuanian version was translated, is compilatory. It comprises four different hymns attributed to Count Zinzendorf: “ICh wils wagen :,: von der ſchönen pracht”, “UNſre ʒeiten :,: ſind in deiner hand”, “HErʒenskönig :,: unſer ʒeugenchor ſagt dir wenig”,“HErʒ der triebe :,: hier iſt eine ſchaar”. With some essential editorial changes, the translation of Zinzendorf’s hymn “Aß tikt driſu, apie ta Sʒlowe” was reprinted in the main hymnal of the Surinkimininkai movement: Wiſſokios Naujos Gieſmes arba Ewangelißki Pſalmai (Tilsit, 1825). In the second half of the 19th century, this translation also appeared in other Lithuanian hymnals. However, unlike in the Surinkimininkai hymnals, the translation was abridged and structurally altered. The superintendent of Tilsit, Karl Wilhelm Otto Glogau (1805–1875), decided not to include the full text in the school hymnal 64 Gieſmes […] Sʒuilēms (Tilsit, 1862); he printed only the fifth stanza, beginning with the words “Pilnos Rankos”. Another instance of abridgment occurred in the collection of melodies Gieſmiu Balſai (Heidelberg, Tilsit, 1894), prepared by, among others, the superintendent of Tilsit, Karl Theodor Waldemar Hoffheinz (1823–1907). The compilers of both books treated this hymn as a shortened variant of the “Aß tikt driſu, apie ta Sʒlowe” hymn of German origin. The shorter version presented in these books was likely a reflection of the singing practices of the Surinkimininkai. In 1930, by decision of the Klaipėda Region Evangelical Lutheran Consistory, the hymn “Pilnos Rankos, pilnos Rankos” was added to the third part of the church hymnal Pagerintos Gieſmjų Knygos (Klaipėda, 1930), entitled “Trecʒioſios Dalies Papildymas”. Analysis shows that this hymn is an abridged version of Zinzendorf’s hymn translation “Aß tikt driſu, apie ta Sʒlowe”, corresponding to the fifth and sixth stanzas of the translation. In this collection, all markers connecting it to the German tradition were removed, namely the original title as well as information concerning which Lithuanian book and translation the stanzas were taken from. The structural alteration caused Zinzendorf’s hymn to gradually lose its identity. It is no longer linked to the German hymnology tradition by the émigré musician Valteris Kristupas Banaitis, nor by Liudvikas Fetingis, a priest and the current compiler of the Evangelical Lutheran hymnal Krikščioniškos giesmės (Vilnius, 2007); today, it is considered a creation of the Lithuanian folk tradition.

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