Hans Adolph Brorson was a Danish Pietist

Pietism

Pietism was a movement within Lutheranism, lasting from the late 17th century to the mid-18th century and later. It proved to be very influential throughout Protestantism and Anabaptism, inspiring not only Anglican priest John Wesley to begin the Methodist movement, but also Alexander Mack to...

 bishop and hymn writer.

Brorson belonged to a clerical family, both of this brothers were energetic and successful Pietist vicars. He began publishing hymns in 1732 while a pastor in southern Jutland

Jutland

Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...

. His most important work was Troens rare klenodie (1739; "The Rare Jewel of the Faith"), which contained many translations of German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 Pietist hymns and 82 original pieces and went though seven editions in Brorson's lifetime. He was elected bishop of Ribe in 1741, where he remained for the rest of his life. His outward social success as a clerical administrator was contrasted by private sorrows (an insane son, the early death of his first wife) but he resigned himself to his fate. Some of these problems are probably reflected in a second book of hymns, Svanesang ("Swan Song"), that was published posthumously in 1765. From this collection must be mentioned the still popular and hopeful funeral hymn Her vil ties (“Here will be silent”)

Almost forgotten after his death but "re-detected" during the romantic period Brorson is now ranked among the four greatest Danish hymn writers. His tune is not as strong as that of Kingo

Thomas Hansen Kingo

Thomas Hansen Kingo was a Danish bishop, poet and hymn-writer born at Slangerup, near Copenhagen. His work marked the high point of Danish baroque poetry....

 but in return he is more of a lyricist. Besides he is perhaps the first important South Jutland poet in Danish literature.

Brorson's lyrics formed the basis of the first two of Edvard Grieg

Edvard Grieg

Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...

's Fire Salmer, 'Guds søn har gjort mig fri' ('God's son has set me free') and 'Hvad est du dog skjøn' ('O but you are beautiful').

He is buried in Ribe Cathedral.

Selected list of works

Songs

• "The Rare Jewel of the Faith"
• "Behold a Host, Arrayed in White (Den Store Hvide Flok)"
• "Here will be silent"

External links

• Song Text: Behold a Host, Arrayed in White