Bach, Johann Sebastian - Chorale: "Jesu, meines Lebens Leben" for Organ BWV 1107 Orgue seul |
Compositeur : | Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685 - 1750) | ||
Instrumentation : | Orgue seul | ||
Genre : | Baroque | ||
Arrangeur : Editeur : | MAGATAGAN, MICHAEL (1960 - ) | ||
Droit d'auteur : | Public Domain | ||
Ajoutée par magataganm, 09 Sep 2019 The Neumeister Collection is a compilation of 82 chorale preludes found in a manuscript copy produced by Johann Gottfried Neumeister (1757–1840). When the manuscript was rediscovered at the Yale University in the 1980s it appeared to contain 31 previously unknown early chorale settings by Johann Sebastian Bach, which were added to the BWV catalogue as Nos. 1090–1120 and published in 1985. This is another of the Bach chorale preludes unearthed in 1985 by Christoph Wolff, who discovered the Neumeister Collection at the Yale Library. Most of the Neumeister Bach works are believed to date to the years 1700 - 1708, and this one, "Ehre sei dir, Christe, der du leidest Not" (May You Be Praised, Christ, for You Suffer Pain), was probably written in the earliest years of that span. It exhibits the influence of both Pachelbel and Buxtehude and is somewhat unusual in its consistent use of what German writers call Vorimitation: thematic material is anticipated throughout the work in an imitative, fugue-like manner. For all its seemingly rigid formal qualities, this work presents the chorale theme in a majestic and imaginative way, growing from modest textures at the outset to grander and more colorful ones later on. As the work progresses, its mood takes on a more ecstatic manner, the music a fuller and more complex character. In the end, this approximately two-minute chorale prelude will likely strike Baroque enthusiasts as a compelling even if still youthful work from the pen of the young Bach. This chorale prelude is part of the Neumeister Collection, an assemblage of 82 chorales, 38 of which have more or less been attributed to Bach, that came into existence only in 1985 when organist and musicologist Christoph Wolff unearthed them at the Yale Library. "Jesu, meines Lebens Leben" (Jesus, My Life's Life; also translated less literally as Christ, the Life of all the Living) is a vigorous and bright work whose joyous manner perfectly captures the spirit of the chorale's text, as Bach was typically capable of doing even during this early phase of his career. The work opens with the cheerful chorale theme energetically played, Bach weaving much subtle contrapuntal activity into the musical fabric. He also imparts a sense of the celestial, as he milks the glorious character of the theme here and especially in the latter half when he changes the meter and uses the technique of vorimitation, where part of the theme is imitated before it actually appears in the main line. The latter half, in fact, becomes rather ecstatic in its lively sense of religious joy. Source: AllMusic (https://www.allmusic.com/composition/jesu-meines-leben s-leben-i-chorale-prelude-for-organ-neumeister-chorales -no-18-bwv-1107-bc-k180-mc0002356698). Although originally written for Organ, I created this Transcription of the Chorale Prelude "Jesu, meines Lebens Leben" (Jesus Christ, the Life of all the Living) BWV 1107 for Pipe Organ (2 Manuals & Pedals). |