The hymn “Veni redemptor gentium,” securely attributed to St. Ambrose of Milan (c. 374), is one of the few Latin hymns whose authorship is undisputed, confirmed already by Pope Celestine in 430. Written in the distinctive Ambrosian meter—four iambic dimeter lines (eight syllables) per stanza—it helped establish Western hymnody by adapting Eastern congregational singing for Latin-speaking churches.

Martin Luther paraphrased Ambrose’s text in Advent 1523, creating “Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland.” Published in 1524 in both the Erfurt Enchiridion and Johann Walter’s Wittenberg chorale book, Luther’s version closely follows the Latin while shortening lines to seven syllables for natural German accentuation and adding an eighth stanza doxology. He also shaped the melody (Zahn 1174), adapting the original plainchant into the classic A-B-C-A bar form that defines the Lutheran chorale.

Luther placed the hymn prominently among Advent songs; in the 1545 Babst hymnbook it is one of only two designated for the season and has remained the traditional Lutheran Hymn of the Day for the First Sunday of Advent—the Advent hymn par excellence.

The chorale inspired extensive musical treatment. Johann Sebastian Bach used it in two cantatas for Advent 1 (BWV 61, 1714; BWV 62, 1724), four organ chorale preludes (BWV 599, 659–661), and the fughetta BWV 699. Other Baroque masters (Pachelbel, Böhm) and later composers (Reger, Strohbach) produced settings, while the melody even appears thematically in Brian Easdale’s 1948 film score for The Red Shoes.

Modern English translations, notably William M. Reynolds’s 1851 “Savior of the nations, come,” preserve Luther’s eight stanzas, ensuring this ancient-yet-Reformed cry for the coming Redeemer continues to open the church year.