Lehms's "gallant" novels (a term referring to fiction aimed at readers of both sexes) were among the earliest of such productions in
German literature and began to appear early in his career under the pen-name of
Pallidor. The first of these was
Die unglückselige Princessin Michal und der verfolgte David ('The hapless Princess
Michal and David pursued'), published in
Hanover in 1707, followed in 1710 by
Des israelitischen Printzens Absolons und seiner Prinzcessin Schwester Thamar Staats- Lebens- und Helden-Geschichte ('The Heroic Life and History of the Israelite Prince Absolom and his Princess Sister Tamar'), published by Zieger in
Nuremberg; in 1712 the series continued with
Der weise König Salomo ('Wise King Solomon'). Lehms made his name with the collection
Teutschlands Galante Poetinnen (Germany's Gallant Poetesses). The title page of
Teutschlands Galante Poetinnen sums up the work thus: Lehms wrote
libretti for
operas and
cantatas. The cantatas, while being religious works performed as part of the
Lutheran services of the Darmstadt court, can be seen as influenced by secular poetry like the cantatas of
Neumeister. They were set to music by
Christoph Graupner, the
Kapellmeister, and his assistant
Gottfried Grünewald. The texts were published and it is assumed that
Johann Sebastian Bach obtained a copy. While working at Weimar, Bach set words by Lehms for his first two solo cantatas. He avoided the poet's larger-scale work, going on to use the more intimate texts for another eight of his surviving cantatas. There is also evidence for a lost cantata (Cantata
BWV Anh. 209) set to words by Lehms.
Selected works •
Die unglückselige Princessin Michal und der verfolgte David (The hapless Princess Michal and persecuted David) (Hanover: Nicolaus Förster, 1707) •
Des israelitischen Printzens Absolons und seiner Prinzcessin Schwester Thamar Staats- Lebens- und Helden-Geschichte (The Heroic Life and History of the Israelite Prince Absolom and of his Princess Sister Tamar)(
Nuremberg: Zieger, 1710) •
Der weise König Salomo, in einer Staats- und Helden-Geschichte (The Royal and Heroic History of Wise King Solomon) (Hamburg & Leipzig: Johann von Wiering, 1712) •
Das singende Lob Gottes, in einem Jahrgang andächtiger und Gottgefälliger Kirch-Music (The Hymning of God, in an Annual Volume of devotional Church Music pleasing to God) (Darmstadt: Johann Georg John, 1712) •
Teutschlands Galante Poetinnen (Germany's Gallant Poetesses), in two parts, (Frankfurt am Main: Samuel Tobias Hocker, 1714–15; new editions at Darmstadt, Josef Gotthard Blaschke Verlag, 1966, and Leipzig, 1973)
Bach cantatas based on texts by Lehms The table of cantatas which Bach set to music is sortable by time of first performance, occasion in the liturgical year,
BWV catalogue, Incipit and translation of the incipit. ==Notes and references==