Bach, Johann Sebastian - Prelude: "Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier" for String Quintet BWV 633/644 String Quintet : 2 Violins, 2 Violas, Cello |
Composer : | Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685 - 1750) | ||
Instrumentation : | String Quintet : 2 Violins, 2 Violas, Cello | ||
Style : | Baroque | ||
Arranger : Publisher : | MAGATAGAN, MICHAEL (1960 - ) | ||
Copyright : | Public Domain | ||
Added by magataganm, 25 Dec 2023 The Orgelbüchlein ("Little Organ Book") BWV 599-644 is a collection of 46 chorale preludes for organ written by Johann Sebastian Bach. All but three of them were composed during the period 1708–1717, while Bach was court organist at the ducal court in Weimar. The remaining three, along with a short two-bar fragment, were added in 1726 or later, after Bach's appointment as cantor at the Thomasschule in Leipzig. The collection was originally planned as a set of 164 chorale preludes spanning the whole liturgical year. The chorale preludes form the first of Bach's masterpieces for organ with a mature compositional style in marked contrast to his previous compositions for the instrument. Although each of them takes a known Lutheran chorale and adds a motivic accompaniment, Bach explored a wide diversity of forms in the Orgelbüchlein. Many of the chorale preludes are short and in four parts, requiring only a single keyboard and pedal, with an unadorned cantus firmus. Others involve two keyboards and pedal: these include several canons, four ornamental four-part preludes, with elaborately decorated chorale lines, and a single chorale prelude in trio sonata form. The Orgelbüchlein has a four-fold purpose: it is a collection of organ music for church services, a treatise on composition, a religious statement, and an organ-playing manual. In these chorale preludes, the traditional Lutheran hymns are subjected to various types of polyphonic treatment, with different types of countersubjects and imitative devices. The two pieces chosen by Mr. Escaich show two different compositional approaches: in the New Year chorale In dir ist Friede ("In You is Peace"), the melody is heard in close four-part imitation, elaborating on the very first two measures of the tune in particular. The Easter hymn Christ ist erstanden ("Christ Has Risen"), by contrast, is given in three variations; what is remarkable is that not only the countersubjects change from one variation to the next but the melody itself undergoes slight modifications. However, the chorale melody doesn't wander from voice to voice but stays in the treble all the way through. the setting of “Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier” (Dearest Jesus, we are here) is one of the simplest and most straightforward: once through with the chorale tune, very lightly embellished, in the top part. There are only three phrases, the first two identical, the third varied only in its first half. But those three phrases are of five bars each, the dense harmony is in five parts with an active bass, and Bach doubles the tune, sneaking it in as a two-part canon in the right hand. And when the chorale melody strikes out differently at the beginning of the third phrase, Bach overlaps it with the original opening notes. Source: Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orgelb%C3%BCchlein). Although originally created for Organ, I created this Interpretation of Choral Prelude (BWV 633/634) "Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier" (Dearest Jesus, we are here) for String Quintet (2 Violins, 2 Violas & Cello). |
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