Speaking of Brightest and Best what about the "Queen of Chorales", Wie schön leuchtet (words and music both by Philipp Nicolai, 1598)? You can hear the tune as background to the Winkworth translation (O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright) in The Cyber Hymnal or in my hymnal to the Esperanto version of the Swedish hymn "Var hälsad, sköna morgonstund". (Four hundred years ago, this was cutting edge stuff! It can still be rather stirring.)

Liland