Singing the Old, Old Story
English Translation Makes 'Ausbund,' The 400-Year-Old Amish Hymnal,
More Accessible
By Laurie L. Oswald
Assistant Editor
The 69-year-old Amish man held the black Ausbund in his
farm-weathered hands as if it were a priceless treasure.
The man -- who, in keeping with Amish humility, wished not to be
identified -- had sung its 400-year-old German songs since childhood. His
parents gave this copy to him as a wedding figt in 1950.
"I just wouldn't feel comfortable in church without this old
Ausbund songbook," said the Yoder, Kan., man, who led singing in
the North District Amish church for a decade. "There are many other
hymnals that are real good...but we've always used this.
"After 40 or more years using the same book, it's just awfully hard to
sing out of another."
His parents grew up with these hymns, as did their parents and earlier
generationsof Anabaptists since 1564, when the Ausbund's first
edition was published.
Anabaptist martyrs penned many of the hymns while in prison for their
faith during the 16th-century Reformation.
The Ausbund -- which means true, or special, selection -- is the
oldest Protestant hymnbook in continuous use. It was once used in
Mennonite communities but is now primarily the hymnbook of the
Amish.
Its tunes are not written down. They are orally passed on during winter
singing practices when fields are barren but young men are ripe for
learning the ancient melodies from their fathers.
Many are medieval folk tunes and ballads put to the words of
martyrs.
The titles of some of the tunes, such as "There Went a Maiden with a Jug,"
do not seem to fit these serious themes, the Amish man said. But when
sung in the slow, almost mournful Amish style, they make a good
blend.
Now, a new translations makes many of the Ausbund's songs
accessible to those who don't know German.
Songs of the Ausbund, published last year by the Ohio Amish Library
of Millersburg, Ohio, includes 69 of the Ausbund's 140 songs. It
is the product of eight years of translation work by the eight-member Ohio
Amish Library board.
In addition to the song translations, the book contains biographical
sketches of Ausbund song writers and chapters on Ausbund
tunes and Ausbund history. The committee hopes to translate the
rest of the songs for a second volume.
"A lot of people in the community don't read German anymore but are
interested in the Ausbund," said Ed Kline of Berlin, Ohio, a member
of the Ohio Amish Library board.
For more on this story, see the Mennonite Weekly Review from
February 25, 1999