5.Be Steel My Soul
(Katerina von Schlegal’s Song)
The 18th century German poem which became the well loved hymn “Be Still My Soul” is now re-translated, reconfigured and reimagined for the 21st century.
The church band I play with wanted to add a modern bridge to the old poem “Be Still My Soul.” The new bridge arrived almost without effort and is included in this new version of the song.
I read the original 1750’s German poem in Katarina von Schlegal’s native language. I saw many rich figures and metaphors that were not in earlier translations. So I set out to reconstitute the entire poem as a new project, and managed a translation that I felt was a little more faithful to the author’s vision. Additionally, I found a verse in the German that had never (to my knowledge) been put into English, so I also added that to the song. The song is now musically composed with six verses, the additional bridge, and a rewritten “Finlandia” tune of the old hymn with a more varied and modern structure.Enjoy!
Jim and The Topcoats
