Machet die Tore weit (Hammerschmidt)

Machet die Tore weit (German for: Make the gates wide) is a motet for Advent by Andreas Hammerschmidt. He set verses from Psalm 24 in German for six unaccompanied voices, concluded by an extended "Osianna".

Machet die Tore weit
Motet by Andreas Hammerschmidt
English	Make the gates wide
Occasion	Advent
Text	verses from Psalm 24
Language	German
Published	1967 (1967)
Scoring	SSATTB choir

History and music

Hammerschmidt set composed the motet, setting verses 7–10 from Psalm 24 in German, in the translation of the Bible by Martin Luther, in English beginning: "Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle." (Psalms 24:7-10). The motet is scored for six vocal parts, SSATTB.^[1]

In a middle section, the questions and answers are given to two subchoirs, the high voices asking, the low voices answering. The text of verse 7 appears again, and the work is concluded by a fugel setting of the acclamation "Osianna", quoting Mark 11:10.^[1]

The motet is frequently included in collections for Advent and Christmas, typically as the title piece.^[2][3]