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 spa...(+)
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.
Puer natus in Bethlehem (A child is born in Bethlehem)
is a medieval Latin Christmas hymn. The
thirteenth-century text is traditionally associated
with a fourteenth-century tune of the same name. Bach
created a Christmas choral in the Orgelbüchlein with
this hymn (BWV 602). Interestingly, Bach includes a
repeat at the last bar, indicating the entire chorale
is to be played twice, the only such instance in the
collection. The piece is on the brief side without it,
but not excessively so by Orgelbüchlein standards, so
the reason for the repeat is not obvious. Is Bach
trying to emphasize the second person of the Trinity in
this Christmas chorale? That's pure speculation; I
don't know. In any case, all the better: one gets to
hear this delightful setting twice, and in this
realization, I have set the two repetitions with
different scoring. The first time through the verse
emphasizes the cantus firmus and the bass, while on the
repeat. In my arrangement, I have tried to bring out
the interplay in the inner voices, while also adding a
bit of heft to the outer voices for balance.
This is one of the gems of the Orgelbüchlein, a
timeless evocation of the boy in Bethlehem by the
genius of Bach.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puer_natus_in_Bethlehem)
.
Although originally created for Organ, I created this
Modern Interpretation of the Choral Prelude (BWV 603):
"Puer natus in Bethlehem" (A child is born in
Bethlehem) for Double-Reed Quartet (2 Oboes, English
Horn & Bassoon).
