Orgelbüchlein
(Little Organ Book)
BWV 599 – 644. 46 choral preludes mostly composed during Bach’s time in Weimar. Originally
planned as 164 chorale preludes spanning the entire liturgical year. All but three are in four-voice
counterpoint, and all are short; spanning exactly the length of the chorale melody. Bach states in
the title page that the pieces offer the beginning organist instruction on how to perform a chorale in
a multitude of ways while mastering the study of the pedal which is entirely obbligato. To that end,
Bach uses a diversity of forms including canons, ornamented, decorated cantus firmus, and one in
trio sonata form.
Sechs Chorale von verschiedener Art (Six Chorales of Various Kinds)
Schübler Chorales – ca. 1748
Six organ chorales composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. Named for the engraver of the collection,
Johann Georg Schübler. It is significant that Bach went to the expense of having these published
during his lifetime.
BWV 645 – Wachet, auf – 140/4
BWV 646 – Wo soll ich fliehen hin – source lost?
BWV 647 – Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten – 93/4
BWV 648 – Meine Seele erhebt den Herren – 10/5
BWV 649 – Ach bleib uns, Herr Jesus Christ – 6/3
BWV 650 – Kommst du nun, Jesu, vom Himmel herunter auf – 137/2
Although Bach arranged this movement from Cantata 137, he titled it with the Advent title
Kommst du nun, Jesu, vom Himmel herunter auf.
Leipzig Great Eighteen – 1740 – 1750
Prepared from sources from Bach’s Weimar period. BWV 651 – 668. Expanded and elaborate
chorale preludes using the various styles of composition:
Chorale motet
The Renaissance motet, in madrigal style, forms the model for the chorale motet, used in
BWV 665 and 666. Each line of the chorale is established as a point of imitation for the
different parts, which keep to a common rhythm. This style, the earliest used by Bach, was
that employed in his Mühlhausen cantatas, such as the funeral cantata Actus Tragicus, BWV
106. A common distinctive feature is the use of musical figures to illustrate particular lines
or even words in the hymn text.
Chorale partita
The chorale partita is a set of variations on a chorale melody. Normally each variation
repeats the chorale melody and is essentially a separate movement. This style goes back to
the Dutch composer Sweelinck and was adopted by his German pupils Scheidt and
Scheidemann; the tradition was continued at the turn of the 18th century by Georg Böhm
and Pachelbel from Thuringia, who provided the model for Bach. Bach, however, broke the
norm in the two chorale preludes of this genre, BWV 656 and 667, which each have only a
small number of variations (3 and 2). This might be a homage to Buxtehude, who had
written similar partitas and whose music and virtuosity at the organ is known to have
exercised a considerable influence on Bach in his youth.
Ornamental chorale
In the ornamental chorale, a form invented and popularized in Northern Germany by
Scheidemann, the chorale melody is taken by one voice in an elaborate and highly
embellished form. Buxtehude was one of its most celebrated exponents, with his individual
expressive "vocal" ornamentation.
Five chorale preludes of the Great Eighteen were written in this style: BWV 652, 653, 654,
659 and 662.
Cantus firmus chorale
The cantus firmus chorale: The melody of the chorale is sounded in long notes throughout
the piece, was established and popularized in central Germany by Pachelbel. One of his
students was Johann Christian Bach, Bach's older brother, who in turn taught Bach
keyboard technique. There are six examples of the cantus firmus chorale: BWV 651, 657,
658, 661, 663 and 668.
Chorale trio
The chorale trio has the form of a trio sonata in which the upper parts are played on the
two keyboards of the organ and the basso continuo part is played on the pedals. Bach
elevated this form to the status of contemporary Italian trio sonatas or double concertos of
Antonio Vivaldi and Giuseppe Torelli: it is probably his single most original innovation in
the repertoire of organ chorales. The three virtuosic chorale preludes of this type are BWV
655, 660 and 664.
Clavier-Übung III (Keyboard practice) – 1735 – 1739
Referred to by some as the German Organ Mass, 21 chorale preludes (BWV 669 – 689),
setting parts of the Lutheran mass and catechism, and four duets are sandwiched between
Bach’s great Prelude and Fugue in E-flat Major (BWV 552).
