We Gather Together | Celebrating Holidays

We Gather Together

This page includes a lyric video, history, sheet music, and other resources for the classic hymn “We Gather Together.” Enjoy!

Enjoy this You Tube video, performed by Hymn Charts, with lyrics for “We Gather Together”:

History of “We Gather Together”

Dutch Hymn and Tune, Written in 1597
Published by Adrianus Valerius (1575-1620) in 1626

This hymn of praise was originally written in 1597 to celebrate the freedom of the Netherlands from Spanish rule.1, 2 The words were set to a Dutch folk tune, but it was not published until 1626 in Adrianus Valerius’ posthumous edition of Nederlandtsch Gedenckclanc.3

Interestingly, this song was probably familiar to the Pilgrims. They had lived in Holland for 12 years before making their way to the New World in 1620, so they would likely have been exposed this Dutch hymn.

Tune “Kremser” — Named after Eduard Kremser (1838-1914)

The Dutch tune was eventually named after a Vienna musician, Eduard Kremser, who published it in his collection titled Sechs Altniederländische Volkslieder, 1877. Eduard is credited with recovering the song for modern use (250 years after its original publication).4

In 1894, Theodore Baker translated the hymn from German to English. Theodore was an American musician who had studied music in Germany for many years. When he returned to the U.S., he spent much of his time translating literary works. He also produced a variety of publications, most notably his Biographical Dictionary of Musicians (1900) which is now in its 9th edition.5

Additional Resources for “We Gather Together”:

Sheet Music (PDF Compliments of Hymnary.org)

Guitar Chords (Links to Ultimate Guitar)

Visit Hymnary.org or Hymn Time.com for more on this hymn.

See our Hymn of the Week page for a list of the hymns that are included on this site.

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Sources:

1 Hymn Time, “We Gather Together.”
2 Hymnary.org, “Kremer.”
3 Hustad, Donald P. Dictionary Handbook to Hymns for the Living Church. Hope Publishing Company, 1978, p. 188.
4 Ibid.
5 Hymnary, “Theodore Baker.”

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