J.

S Bach's
Great Eighteen Organ Chorales
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J . S. BACH'S

Great Eighteen
Organ Chorales

Russell Stinson

OXPORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS

2001
 OXJORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS

Oxford New York

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Copyright © 2001 by Oxford University Press

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All rights reserved. No part oi this publication may be reproduced,
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Stinson, Russell.
J. S. Bach's great eighteen organ chorales / Russell Stinson.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-19-511666-6
J . Bach, Johanri Sebastian, 1685—1750. Chorale von verschiedener Art,
BWV 651-668. 2. Chorale prelude. 1. Title: Great eighteen organ chorales. 11. Title:
J. S. Bach's great 18 organ chorales. III. Title: Great 1.8 organ chorales: IV. Title.
Ml/110.B13S89 2000
786.5'189925'092—dc,2l 00-023687

1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
 To Laurie,
on her fortieth birthday
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 PREFACE

The "Great Eighteen" chorales (BWV 651-68) are undeniably among

Bach's most celebrated works for the organ. The collection has long
been championed by organists as church and concert repertory and
recognized by scholars as a milestone in the history of the organ cho-
rale. Not surprisingly, the music has also spawned a vast literature.
Still, most of these writings either superficially cover the entire set
or dwell on single pieces. In this monograph 1 hope to satisfy the need
for a comprehensive study of the Great Eighteen, one that discusses the
individual settings in detad and places the collection as a whole in a
broader context. 1 also attempt to bring the English-speaking reader
up-to-date on such critical matters as the chronology and stylistic ori-
entation of the music, while allowing ample room for rny own observa-
tions. This book is the first in any language devoted to these master-
pieces.
In the opening chapter ("Compositional Models and Musical
Style"), 1 consider the stylistic background of the music, with an eye to
its stunning originality. Admittedly, in certain pieces Bach closely im-
itated the chorale types of his predecessors. But for the most part he
chose boldly to combine these types with such "secular" genres as the
concerto and trio sonata. The Great Eighteen therefore illustrate two
general patterns: the elevation of preexisting forms to their highest pos-
sible level and the invention of various hybrid designs.
The second chapter ("The Genesis of the Collection") takes a close
look at the autograph manuscript. It seeks to draw the reader into the
viii Preface

always fascinating world of Bach's workshop and to eavesdrop on the

master as, piece by piece, he compiles this source. Central to the dis-
cussion here is the issue of compositional process, for the manu-
script—contrary to what scholars have previously implied—preserves
many compositional emendations. We will also investigate how Bach's
entries in this source compare musically to the preliminary versions of
the chorales found elsewhere.
Chapter 3 ("Significance") examines the different "identities" of the
Great Eighteen, as well as the structure of the collection. Since Bach
composed the works for worship services in his capacity as a church
organist, their original purpose may have been rather pragmatic.
Decades later, though, when he decided to revise the pieces and as-
semble them into the present set, the intent behind the music had ob-
viously changed. For one thing, Bach's position at that time did riot re-
quire him to produce organ music of any kind.
Chapter 4 ("The Music and Its Performance") offers commentaries
on the individual settings. Here various aspects of the music come into
play, including contrapuntal and harmonic structure and textual-musi-
cal relationships. The Great Eighteen also pose intriguing problems of
performance practice: registration, ornamentation, and tempo, to name
but a few. Tt is to be hoped that even the most experienced organist will
find in this chapter new ways not only of thinking about these pieces
but also of playing them.
The fifth and final chapter ("Reception History") traces the various
roles played by the Great Eighteen in Western music from Bach's life-
time to the present. Happily, the dramatis personae of this story include
many of the greatest composers in music history: Johannes Brahms,
Cesar Frariek, Felix Mendelssohn, Max Reger, Arnold Schoenberg,
Robert Schumann, and Ralph Vaughan Williams.
This book could not have been written without the help of a great
many institutions arid individuals. I would like to thank, first of all, Dr.
Helmut Hell and the staff of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin for allowing
me to examine firsthand Bach's autograph manuscript of the Great
Eighteen. Thanks are also due to the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Bach-
Archiv Leipzig, Leipziger Stadtische Bibliotheken, Johann-Sebastian-
Bach-Institut (Gottingen), Kunstsammlungen zu Weimar, and Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania Libraries for providing me with photocopies of
sources in their possession. I am grateful to Lawrence Archbold, David
Buice, Dean Covinglon, Reinmar Emans, Marjorie Hassen, Karen
Holyer, Robin Leaver, Teryn Me Duff, William Peterson, and Peter
Wollny for assistance of various kinds and to Kathy Whittenton for her
help in tracking down secondary sources. A special word of apprecia-
 Preface ix

tion goes to Kevin Jackson, who for two years was my research assis-
tant on this project. For supporting my work in the form of travel grants
I would like to thank the administration of Lyon College. My deepest
debt is to Maribeth Payne of Oxford University Press for her coopera-
tion and patience during all stages ol this enterprise and for suggesting
a book on the Great Eighteen 111 the: first place.

fiaiesville, Arkansas 11. S.

December 1999
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 CONTENTS

Abbreviations xm

1 : C O M P O S I T I O N A L M O D E L S A N D M U S I C A L STYLE 3
The Chorale Motet 4
The Chorale Parlila 6
The Ornamental Chorale 8
The Cantus Firrnus Chorale \ 6
The Chorale Trio 20

2: T H E G E N E S I S OE T H E C O L L E C T I O N 29
The Autograph Manuscript 30
Compositional Process 38

3: S I G N I F I C A N C E 55
Function and Purpose b6
The Structure of the Collection 63

4 : T H E M U S I C A N D ITS P E R F O R M A N C E 75
"Komm, Heiliger Geist, Hern; Goll"
(Come, holy Ghost, Lord Cod), BWV 651 75
"Komm, Heiliger Geisl, Ilerre Colt"
(Come, Holy Ghost, Lord God), BWV652 76
"An Wasserflussen Babylon"
(By the Waters of Babylon), B WV 653 78
xii Contents

"Schmucke dick, o liebe Seele"

(Adorn Yourself, 0 Dear Soul), BWV654 80
"Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend"
(Lord Jesus Christ, Turn to Us), BWV 655 82
"0 Lamm Gottes, unschuldig"
(0 Lamb of God, Innocently Slaughtered), BWV 656 83
"Nun danket alls Gott"
(Lei Everyone Now Thank God), BWV 657 85
"Von Gott will ich nicht lassen"
(From God 1 Do Not Want to Leave), BWV 658 85
"Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland"
(Come Now, Savior of the Heathen), BWV 659 87
"Nun komm,, der Heiden Heiland"
(Come Now, Savior of the Heathen), BWV 660 89
"Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland"
(Come Now, Savior of the Heathen), BWV 661 95
"Allein Golt in der Hoh sei Ehr"
(Alone to God on High Be Honor), BWV 662 96
"Allein Gott in der Hoh sei Ehr"
(Alone to God on High Be Honor), BWV 663 97
"Allein Golt in der Hoh sei Ehr"
(Alone to God on High Be Honor), BWV 664 100
"Jesus Christus, unser Heiland"
(Jesus Christ, Our Savior), BWV665 J O I
"Jesus Christus, unser Heiland"
(Jesus Christ, Our Savior), BWV 666 102
"Komm, Gott Schiipfer, Heiliger Geist"
(Come, God Creator, Holy Ghost), BWV 667 103
"Vor deinen Thron tret ich hiermit"
(Before Your Throne 1 Now Appear), B WV 668 104

5: R E C E P T I O N H I S T O R Y 107
The Eighteenth Century 108
The Nineteenth Century 113
The Twentieth Century 127

Notes 133

Bibliography 149

Index 165
 ABBREVIATIONS

BuxWV Buxtehude-Werke-Verzeichnis. Georg Karstadt, Thematisch-

systematisches Verzeichnis der musikalischen Werke von
Dietrich Buxtehude (Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Hartel, 1974).
BWV Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis. Wolfgang Schmieder, Thematisch-
systematisches Verzeichnis der musikalischen Werke Johann
Sebastian Bachs (Leipzig: Breilkopf & Hartel, 1950; revised
edition, Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Hartel, 1990).
KB Kritischer Bericht (critical report of the Neue Bach-Ausgabe).
NBA Neue Bach-Ausgabe. Johann Sebastian Bach,: Neue Ausgabe
samtlicher Werke (Kassel: Barenreiter; Leipzig: VEB
Deutscher Verlag fiir Musik, 1954—present).
P Partitur (music score; abbreviation used by the
Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin—Preussischer Kulturbesilz,
Musikabteilung mil Mendelssohn-Archiv).
SBB Slaatsbibliothek zu Berlin—Preussischer Kulturbesitz,
Musikabteilung mil Mendelssohn-Archiv.
This page intentionally left blank
 Q/.c?.PAu-A't
£y-i>eaS, (pfJtMeew, &r-aan yjfwm/jA
This page intentionally left blank
 G*?/
ip/wfA^e^ i

COMPOSITIONAL MODELS
AND MUSICAL STYLE

°1/l/
yr ith the possible exception of the Well-Tempered Clavier, the
Great Eighteen chorales are the most diverse collection of pieces Bach
ever wrote. Extremely innovative works coexist with rather conserva-
tive ones; densely textured settings lor lull organ sland alongside deli-
cate trios. As Peter Williams has suggested, variety of idiom may have
been a "guiding principle" of the set.'
One way of understanding this diversity is through the preexisting
forms taken by Bach as compositional models. While some of these
come directly from the organ music of his predecessors, others are bor-
rowed from such disparate realms as orchestral, chamber, and even
dance music. We will take into account the models themselves, their use
by Bach in general, and their appropriation within these eighteen pieces.
First, some definitions. "Organ chorale" will refer to any organ work
based on a chorale tune. (Although "chorale prelude" is often used to
mean the same thing, this formulation is best reserved for pieces spe-
cifically written to introduce congregational hymns.) What is meant by
"chorale" is a congregational hymn of the Lutheran church. Slrophic in
design arid sung in the vernacular, this creation of Martin Luther has
been called the very soul of his denomination. It look several decades
beyond the Reformation itself, but by the late sixteenth century organ-
ists routinely performed on chorale melodies during worship. 2 These
performances often took the form of improvisations, but nolaled
arrangements were not uncommon. By 1685. the year of Bach's birth,
literally thousands of organ chorales had been committed to paper.

3
4 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

As a young man, Bach contributed mightily to this tradition. Of his

roughly two hundred extant organ chorales, as many as fifty probably
originated before 1707, the year he became organist at the Church of
St. Blasius in Miihlhausen. These juvenilia demonstrate well the bud-
ding composer's fluency with all the organ-chorale types of the day.
On the basis of their relatively soph isticated style, none of the Great
Eighteen could have been composed before this date. Except possibly
for the final work in the set, "Vor deinen Thron tret ieh hiermit," they
all exist in early versions whose sources date from Bach's tenure as
court organist in Weimar, which lasted from 1708 to 1717. Thus, none
of them could have been composed after 1717.
In all but one instance, these sources are not autographs but manu-
script copies penned by two members of Bach's Weimar circle: Johann
Gottfried Walther, a cousin of Bach and organist at the town church of
Weimar while Bach was there; and Johann Tobias Krebs, who first stud-
ied under Walther from about 1710 to 1714 and then under Bach from
about 1714 to 1717.'15 Unfortunately, it is riot possible to assign any of
these sources to specific years within Bach's Weimar period. Rather, in
dating these early versions one must rely heavily on issues of musical
style.

T H K C H O R A L E MOTET

Conceived along the lines of the Renaissance vocal motet, the chorale
motet emerged at the turn of the seventeenth century and quickly be-
came a favorite form of the central-German organ school. Its modus op-
erandi is merely to establish each phrase of the chorale as a point of imi-
tation, always using the same basic rhythms for each imitative statement
(as opposed to a concluding statement in augmentation). Depending on
the length of the tune, the technique can become monotonous, which
might explain why Bach left behind only a few youthful specimens of
this chorale type, including two ("Ehre sei dir, Christe, der du leidest
Not" and "Nun lasst uns den Leib begraben") from the recently dis-
covered Neumeister Collection of organ chorales from the Bach circle.
Perhaps as he matured as a composer, Bach found the severity ol the
chorale motet a hindrance to his creativity.
The Great Eighteen contain three chorale motets: the two settings of
"Jesus Christus, unscr Heiland," the first with pedal, the second for
manuals alone; and the second arrangement ol "Komm, Heiliger Geist,
I lerre Gott." They are likely among the first pieces in the collection to
have been composed, and for reasons other than just the presence of
 Compositional Models and Musical Style 5

this chorale type. For, as Jean-Claude: Zehnder has recently shown, all
three settings are very similar in style to church cantatas composed by
Bach during his year in Muhlhausen (1707—8).4 Accordingly. Zehnder
dales these three organ chorales to this year as well.
In an impressive series of articles on Bach's early style. Zehnder has
brought such evidence to bear on many of (he Great Eighteen cho-
rales.5 His findings have greatly clarified how these works relate to the
music of Bach's predecessors and contemporaries and how they com-
pare to other compositions—particularly church cantatas—by Bach
himself. At the same time, Zehnder has proposed a convincing, albeit
tentative, chronology of the individual pieces according to their early-
versions (whose BWV numbers normally include the suffix "a"). His
research forms the basis of the present chapter.
Returning to Bach's Muhlhausen cantatas, which are the composer's
earliest, one of their hallmarks is the depiction of individual lines and
even individual words of the text. Whereas this procedure achieves a
particularly close correspondence between text and music, in agree-
ment with Luther's notion of "the proclamation of the word," 6 Bach
often applies it with sufficient emphasis to fragment a single movement
into several distinct sections. Two of the chorale motets from the Great
Eighteen use similar techniques. The pedaliler "Jesus Christus, unser
Heiland" changes counlerrnclodies between phrases for the sake of
text painting, while the "Kornrri, Heiliger Geist" arrangement ends with
a veritable flurry of notes to symbolize; the word "Hallelujah." That the
bass voice of the pedaliler "Jesus Chrislus" vacillates between manual
and pedal is a further sign of an early date.''
The last movement of the most famous of the Muhlhausen cantatas,
Gottes Zed ist die allerbesie Zeit. BWV 1.06, and the rnanualiter "Jesus
Christus, unser Heiland" offer a further analogy. Both are chorale set-
tings whose basic rhythm changes midway through from quarters arid
eighths, respectively, to sixteenth notes. In neither instance, though,
does this unusual acceleration seem textually motivated.
Bach's organ chorale "Valet will ich dir geben," BWV 735a, whose
earliest source dates from circa 1708—10, provides additional evi-
dence that the three chorale motets from the Great Eighteen are rela-
tively early. As Zehneler points out, not only is this work also a chorale
motet, but much of its figuration is virtually identical to that of thepeof-
aliter "Jesus Christus, unser Heiland." In both pieces, the chorale tune
tends te> sound against the same two motives—a dotted rhythm and a
disjunct, syncopated figure—which are integrated to produeie continu-
ous motion in sixteenth notes (see Examples 1-1 and f -2). Bach's model
here w i t h respect to form arid figuration was probably Georg Bohm, or-
6 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

E X A M P L E 1-1. "Valet will ich dir geben," BWV 735a

E X A M P L E 1 -2. "Jesus Christus, unser Heiland," BW V 665a

ganist at St. John's Church in Liineburg while Bach was a student there
from 1700 to 1702 and an important composer of chorale motets.8

THE C H O R A L E PARTITA

The chorale partita is simply a set of variations on a chorale melody.

Typically, each variation presents the complete tune, and the variations
function as independent movements. The earliest surviving examples,
which imitate the variation style of the English virginalists, are by the
Dutch master Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562 — 1621). Sweelirick, in
turn, passed on the design to his German pupils Samuel Scheldt and
 Compositional Models and Musical Style 7

Heinrich Scheidemann. By the turn of the eighteenth century, the cho-

rale partita was closely associated with central Germany, most notably
with the Thuringians Georg Bohm (who grew up in Thuringia but worked
in northern Germany) and Johann Pachelbel. Bohm, in particular, was
a profound influence on Bach's earliest works of this type.
Bach's chorale partitas range from youthful manualiter settings such
as "0 Gott, du frommer Gott" to the very late Garionic Variations on
"Vom Himmel hoch." The two Great Eighteen chorales that qualify,
"Komm, Gott Schopfer, Heiliger Geist" and "0 Lamm Gottes, unschul-
dig," pose notable exceptions to the norm. They contain only two and
three variations, respectively, and in each work the music flows with-
out any pause from one variation to the next. In the case of "0 Lamm
Gottes," Bach's use of three variations corresponds to the number of
stanzas in the chorale text. His use of only two variations for "Komm,
Gott Schopfer" has no obvious rationale.
Chorale partitas such as these that dispense with the customary
breaks between variations are exceedingly rare. Indeed, perhaps the
only other examples are Dietrich Buxtehude's "Nun lob, mein Seel,
den Herren," BuxWV 213. arid Johann Michael Bach's "Meine Seele
erhebt den Herren."9 Like "0 Lamm Gottes," both of these works con-
tain only three variations, although the chorales themselves have five
and eleven stanzas, respectively. As in both of J. S. Bach's partitas, the
last variation of Buxtehude's presents the chorale tune in the pedals.
Buxtehude's huge impact on the young J. S. Bach has long been ac-
knowledged, and we will discuss this topic in more detail vis-a-vis the
ornamental chorale. As for J. M. Bach (1648-94), the father of Johann
Sebastian's first wife, the unearthing of the Neumeister Collection has
shown that he, too, was an important model for the young Sebastian
Bach, especially in terms of musical form, texture, and harmonic vo-
cabulary.10 It is quite possible, then, that one or both of these partitas
served as prototypes for "0 Lamm Gottes" and perhaps "Komm, Gott
Schopfer" as well.
"0 Lamm Gottes" may also be one of the earliest of the Great Eigh-
teen chorales, for the way in which Bach depicts the word verzagen
("despair") in the third variation agrees completely with his Miihl-
hauseri cantata style. Exactly at this point in the piece, descending
chromatic lines suddenly appear, and the meter switches from com-
pound to simple triple. Bach uses precisely this type of chromaticism
to symbolize grief in the second movement of the Muhlhausen cantata
Gott ist mein Konig, BWV 7.1, and in \hepedaliter "Jesus Christus, unser
Heiland" from the Great Eighteen. Because of its relationship to the
Miihlhausen cantatas, Zehnder assigns "0 Lamm Gottes" to f 707—8.
8 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

"Komm, Gotl Schb'pfer" is clearly later. Its first variation, according

to the early version, is a carbon copy of a work (BWV 63 la) from Bach's
Orgelbiichlein that was composed directly into the autograph of that
collection between 1709 and 1713." Therefore, this Great Eighteen
chorale must have originated sometime between 1709 and 1717, when
Bach left Weimar.

THE O R N A M E N T A L C H O R A L E

The idea behind (he ornamental chorale is lo present the complete hymn
melody in one voice, usually the soprano, amid profuse embellishment.
Evidently the brainchild of Sweelinek's pupil Heinrich Scheidcmann,
this chorale type enjoyed great popularity in northern Germany. Its great-
est and most prolific advocate was Dietrich Buxtehude, whose thirty-
odd specimens are notable for their use of expressive, "vocal" embell-
ishments.
Virtually all these early ornamental settings indicate that the em-
bellished chorale tune is to be played alone on the Riickpo.riliv, a man-
ual division located behind the player and a standard feature on north-
German instruments of the tune. In most churches, the Riickpositiv wras
also the division of the organ closest Lo the congregation, which is why
composers considered it so appropriate for this purpose. In central Ger-
many, the Posiliv division was represented by an Oberwerk or Brustposi-
Uv situated in the main case. Still, an organist could easily achieve a tim-
bral contrast between keyboard divisions by means of contrasting stops.
According to our definition, no fewer than seven of the Great Eigh-
teen chorales qualify as ornamental chorales, making this the most
common chorale type in the whole collection. (Two of these works are
trios, and we will discuss them later in connection with that chorale
type.) In each instance, Bach gives the embellished hymn melody its
own manual. One sees soon enough, though, that far more is involved
here than a bow to tradition, liather. in these seven masterpieces Bach
thoroughly transforms the ornamental chorale by granting unprece-
dented importance to the accornpanimental voices (that is, the voices
other than the one that states the chorale tune). By combining this cho-
rale type with other compositional models he achieves a synthesis of
incredible richness and intricacy.
Eel us consider these works according to Zehnder's chronology, be-
ginning with the second setting of "Komm, Heiliger Geist." If this title
sounds familiar, it is because we have already categorized this piece as
a chorale motet. "Yet the presence of the ornamental chorale is indis-
 Compositional Models and Musical Style 9

putable: each point of imitation concludes with a lavishly decorated

statement in the soprano, played on a separate manual.
Perhaps even more surprising than the conflation of these two chorale
types is the evocation of French dance music, lor this work also imitates
the sarabande, the slow triple-meter dance commonly found in Baroque
dance suites. Observe, lor example, such classic traits of this dance type
as the use of hemiola rhythms in the bass line to prepare for cadences
and the regular accentuation of the second beat with a dotted quarter
note. 12 The organ chorale is also sarabande-like in its use of stepwise
melodic lines, French agremenls, relatively slow rhythms, and, of course,
triple meter. Such a model strongly suggests, once again, the influence
of Georg Bo'hm, the most prolific composer of dance-based organ cho-
rales before Bach. Bach was surely acquainted with the sarabande per se
by his adolescence. According to his obituary, while a student in Lu'ne-
burg (1700-1702) he "acquired a thorough grounding in the French
taste" from French musicians working in the nearby duchy of Celle.1'5
For reasons already discussed, Zehnder dates this setting of "Komm,
Heiliger Geist" as 1707-8. Our next chorale appears to be somewhat
later. It is the first of three arrangements in the Great Fighteen of
"Allein Gott in der Floh sei Ehr" and Bach's most florid organ chorale
of all. Whereas most of the ornamentation of the previous work was in-
dicated by symbols (French practice), here it consists largely of runs in
thirty-second and even sixty-fourth notes, much in the style of con-
temporary Italian violin music. These rhythms are extremely rare in
Bach's Miihlhausen cantatas but quite standard in his earliest datable
cantatas from Weimar, composed in 1713 — 14. One of these cantatas,
Ich hatte viel Bekurnmernis, BWV 21, offers an especially close paral-
lel, since its introductory sinfonia—which makes regular use of these
fast rhythms—includes in its penultimate bar a brief oboe cadenza.
This setting of "Allein Gott" also concludes with a solo caden/a, a most
unusual gesture for an organ chorale.
A further clue as to date of composition is how the accompanimen-
tal voices of this chorale refer throughout to the two themes stated at
the outset by the inner parts (see Example 1-3). Such unanimity im-
mediately brings to mind Bach's Orgelbiichlein, a collection of organ
chorales distinguished by motivically unified accompaniments. Bach
probably began work on the Orgelblichlein early during his Weimar pe-
riod, but by 1712 at the latest.1'1 On the basis of this correspondence,
plus those involving the cantatas, /ehnder dales this arrangement of
"Allein Gott" as 1711-13.
The nature of this work's accompaniment also distances it from the
ornamental chorales of the north-German organ school, particularly
10 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

E X A M P L E 1 -3. "Allein Gott in der Iloh sci Ehr," BWV 662a

those of Dietrich Buxtehude. While his settings do sometimes contain

the sort of rapid ornamental figuration as described here, their accom-
panimental voices lack cohesion. He usually varies his accompani-
ment from phrase to phrase or writes chordal filler.
During the four months in 1705-6 that Bach studied in Liibeck
under Buxtehude, the young composer mighl well have received in-
struction in composing ornamental chorales. And a work like "Ach
llerr, mich armen Sunder," BWV 742, an ornamental setting with an
essentially chordal accompaniment, might even be a direct product of
this study period. On the whole, though, the accompanimental voices
of Bach's earliest ornamental chorales have common motives (see, for
instance, "Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend," BWV 709, and the
Orgelbiichlein settings of "Das alte Jahr vergangen 1st" and "Wenn wir
in hochsten Noten sein"). In the ornamental chorales from the Great
Eighteen, the accompanimental voices tend to share common themes.
And when Bach treats these themes in the mariner of a ritorneflo, as
will be discussed shortly, they acquire special significance.
 Compositional Models and Musical Style 11

Looking again at the aecompaniment of this "Allein Gott" setting,

we see that the right hand plays the embellished hymn tune only aboul
half the time, a far smaller percentage than in Buxtehude's ornamental
settings. In other words, the passages that contain nothing but accom-
paniment are considerably longer than in Buxtehude. One could make
similar statements about almost any of the ornamental chorales from
the Great Eighteen, which are among the longest in the organ repertory.
In this collection, therefore, Bach also expands the ornamental chorale
by lengthening the accompanimental introductions and interludes.
By far the longest of these passages is the introduction, which con-
stitutes a lull-blown fugal exposition in three voices, complete with a
regular subject and countersubject. The fugaJ context is beyond doubt,
despite the "premature" entrance of the alto and bass. Just observe how
the first theme (the subject) appears successively in all three accom-
panimental voices, alternating between the tonic and dominant keys.
(The theme is simplified in the bass al mm. 5-7 for the sake of pedal-
ing.) An additional model for this intriguing piece, therefore, is fugue,
that most standard of organ genres and probably one of the first in
which Bach composed.
Equally compelling is our third ornamental chorale, the first of three
settings of the Advent hymn "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland." Since
this work employs the same type of decorative passagework as the pre-
vious piece, Zehnder also dates it as 1711 — 13. This arrangement like-
wise draws from diverse sources. Whereas Bach may have cribbed its
ornamental style from his Italian colleagues, he concludes by quoting
a fellow German. Surely it cannot be happenstance that Buxtehude's
ornamental setting of this same chorale also features a dramatic octave
leap on g in the right hand exactly where the final pedal point begins,
accompanied by the same parallel thirds in the left hand, and followed
by a move toward the subdommant (see Examples 1-4 and 1-5). In both
works, moreover, the embellishment from this point on is at its most
profuse—standard north-German practice—allowing for a final, cli-
mactic flourish. 15
This final surge is also the reason that the last ornamental phrase in
both settings is the longest. Buxtehude otherwise sticks to four-bar
phrases, allotting a half note's value; to each note of the chorale tune.
Bach begins each of his phrases as if it would last about two bars, at
the rate of a quarter note for each chorale note. All four phrases end up.
however, being two to three times this long. In this respect, Bach's set-
ting again suggests the influence of Georg Bb'hm.
This work's pedal line, however, has no precedent in organ music. It
represents the only instance of a true "walking-bass" pedal in any of
12 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

E X A M P L E 1-4. Dietrich Buxtehudc, "Nun komrri, der Heidcn Holland,"

BuxWV 211

EXAMPLE 1-5. " \ u n k o m m , der Heideri Heiland," BWV 659a

Bach's organ chorales. (A walking bass is characterized by constant

stepwise motion in a note value half that of the main pulse.) He cer-
tainly hints al this type of pedal in the Orgelbiichleiri.^' But there ihe
"walking" tends to last only a few measures before being interrupted
by a long cadential note or, as in the case of "Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu
Christ," the line consists largely of repealed notes. In the present com-
position, the pedal moves for the most part by step and for up to nine
measures al a time. It is a constant presence. Here, then, Bach unities
his accompaniment not with common themes or motives but with a
common type of bass figuration.
Without question, the walking bass also enhances the Italian flavor
of Bach's recipe, for il is every bit as Italianate as the ornamentation
 Compositional Models and Musical Style 13

within the soprano line. Such bass lines do not regularly appear in
music history until the sonatas and concertos ol the late seventeenth-
century Italian violin school, most notably those of Arcangelo Corelli
and Giuseppe Torelli. Both the soprano and bass figuration of Bach's
work seem especially close to the ornamental slow movements of Co-
relli's Opus 5 violin sonatas.
A further ornamental chorale (rorn the Great Eighteen is the famous
setting of "Schmucke dich, o liebe Seele." With its multitude of agrc-
rnents, this work signals a return to French ornamental style. Still, due
primarily to its accompanimental style, Zefmder dates the piece slightly
later than the two previous settings. What is differenl about the ac-
companiment of "Schmucke dich" is that this is the first piece in our
coverage to approach ritornello form, the standard design of late Ba-
roque arias and concerto movements. The premise of this form, as is
well known, is a recurring theme (called the ritornello) played by the
accompanying orchestra at the beginning of the movement, prior to the
soloist's entrance; several times during the movement, while the soloist
is silent; and at the end of the movement, following the soloist's last ap-
pearance. In a chorale-ritornello movement, the individual phrases of
the hymn tune normally take the place of the soloist's passages, and the
phrases are separated by statements of the ritornello.
Georg Bohm is recogm/ed as the first composer to write chorale-
ritornello movements for organ, which suggests that he might once again
have been Bach's model. Nowhere in the Great Eighteen, however, does
Bach utili/e Bohm's standard ritornello type, which is really nothing
more than a long sequence. Instead, Bach fashions his ritornellos pri-
marily after the initial chorale phrase. When he uses supplementary
melodic models, as we will discuss later, he draws from the Italian con-
certo repertory.
The ritornello of "Schmucke dich" appears whole only at the outset.
Nor does it return after the last chorale phrase, since the last note of this
phrase is held to the very end, like most of Bach's chorale-ritornello
settings for organ (arid like most Baroque organ chorales in general).
Yet portions of the theme are found in all the interludes, and during the
final interlude the opening four measures are recapitulated twice.
In the previously discussed setting of "Allein Gotl," nothing of this
sort occurs. There the initial accompanimenlal idea—the fugue sub-
ject—returns in no interlude beyond the note-for-note repeat of the
Stollen. True, the accompaniment of this work derives much of its ma-
terial from the same two themes. But with the opening theme com-
pletely absent from the interludes during the second half of the piece,
it seems inappropriate to speak of a "ritornello." What is more, (he in-
14 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

terludes of this work adhere strictly to the keys dictated by the hymn
tune; those m "Schmiicke dich" venture far beyond. Note especially
ihe emphatic cadences in F minor in measures 22—23, before a cho-
rale phrase in E-flat major, and in A-fiat major in measures 98-99, be-
fore a chorale phrase in E minor. 17 Just as in a concerto movement or
da capo aria, Bach's ritornello carves out new key areas before ulti-
mately, in the final ritornello statement, reprising both the tonic key
and the opening melodic material (m. 116).
With regard to its modulatory ritornello form, "Scbmiicke dich" dis-
plays a number of strong similarities to cantatas by Bach from 1714 —
16. But its extremely close correspondence to Cantata 199, Mein Hcrze
schwimmt Im tilut, suggests a slightly earlier composition date. Written
in the summer of 1713,18 the cantata includes a soprano aria, "Tief
gebilckt und voller Reue," in E-flat and in f time whose ritornello be-
gins with basically the same material as the organ chorale. Eor the first
four bars, the bass lines are practically identical, the soprano lines
share the same contour and several of the same pitches, and the har-
monies are extremely similar as well (see Examples 1-6 and 1-7). All
this leads Zehiider to assign "Schmucke dich" to 1712-14.
Issues of chronology aside—and Italian influence notwithstand-
ing—"Schmucke dich" also projects a distinctly Erench facade, for it,
too, is a kind of sarabande. The work possesses all the traits of the sara-
bande as the ornamental "Komm, Heiliger Geist" does, and its rela-
tively homophonic texture and downbeat start align it even more
closely with that dance type. Again, Bach's approach to composition is
synthetic as well as international: he sets a German chorale simulta-
neously as a French dance and Italian ritornello movement.
A fifth ornamental chorale from the Great Eighteen is "An Wasser-
flussen Babylon." In contrast to the previous ornamental settings, the
embellished hymn tune here sounds not in the soprano but in the tenor
voice, played on a separate manual. 19 This disposition, plus the nu-
merous agrements—realized only in the late version—and relatively
slow rhythms in the accompanimental voices, gives "An Wasserfliis-
sen" the character of a Tierce en Taille. (literally, "the Tierce stop in the
tenor"). In this movement type, a standard item in French Baroque
organ collections, the left hand plays an ornamental line on its own
manual. And, yes, this work, too, is a sarabande, more so than any in
the collection. It exemplifies all the traits of that dance type cited ear-
lier, save homophonic texture, but it also favors four-bar phrases, the
sine qua non of all dance music. All the chorale phrases except the last
are of this length, and the ritornello that Bach employs consists of two
such phrases.
 Compositional Models and Musical Style 15

E X A M P L E 1-6. Aria "Lief gebiickt und voller Reue," from Mein Herze schwimmt
im Blut, BWV 199. Piano reduction by Max Schneider, Edition BreilkopI 7 199.
Breitkopf & Ilartel, Wiesbaden—Leipzig. Used by permission.

EXAMPLE 1 -7. "Schmiicke dich, o Hebe Sede," BWV 654a

At first blush, this ritornello appears to be only seven bars long,

since the embellished chorale tune enters in measure 7. Actually,
though, the ritornello overlaps with the first chorale phrase for two bars
and does not end until the tonic triad on the downbeat of measure 8.
Throughout the piece, both phrases of the ritornello appear often
enough, either as interludes or simultaneously with the embellished
chorale, to suggest an oslinato. As in "Schmiicke dich," the final ritor-
nello statement brings back the opening phrase in the home key. In
terms of compositional models, then, "An Wasserflussen" is our most
complex work yet. It is at once a Tierce en Taille, a sarabande, a ritor-
nello movement, and an ornamental chorale.
The close affinity of this remarkable piece to "Schmiicke dich"
(sarabande traits, ritornello form) suggests that "An Wasserflussen" may
also have originated between 1712 and 1 714. It was around this same
time that Bach copied out Nicholas de Gngny's Premier livre d'orgue,20
a collection whose Tierce en Taille is the most celebrated in the whole
organ repertory. Was this movement a factor in Bach's thinking?
16 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

T H K CANTUS FIRM US CHORALE

In a cantus firmus chorale, the entire hymn tune appears in long notes,
like a cantus firmus in a Renaissance mass. The chorale tune is nor-
mally stated in half notes, with accornpanimental figuration in eighth
or sixteenth notes. But if the accompanimenlal parts consist largely of
sixteenths or thirty-seconds, the melody may be written in quarter notes
and s t i l l give the same "sustained" effect. The t u n e usually sounds in
the soprano or bass, with little or no ornamentation, and with interludes
between phrases.
Although movements in this style are common in the chorale parti-
tas of Sweelinck and his pupil Scheldt, the central-German master
Johann Pachelbel (1653—1706) was the first to establish the cantus fir-
mus chorale as a standard design for works in only one movement. About
fifty such works by Pachelbel survive, mostly in three voices.21 As well
as being the most prolific composer of cantus firmus chorales for organ,
Pachelbel crystaili/ed the form through the use of pre-irrntalion for
some or all of the chorale phrases. According to this technique, before
a phrase of the chorale is stated in long notes by one of the outer voices,
it is the subject of imitation in the other parts, in rhythms either two or
four times as fast. Otherwise, Pachelbel's accompaniment consists of
little more than running parts that lack any thematic or motivic unity.
By the turn of the eighteenth century, the Pachelbel type of canlus
firmus chorale was a standard chorale form in central Germany, culti-
vated by the likes of Andreas Armsdorff, J. M. Bach, Christian Fried-
rich Witlc. and (Handel's teacher) Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow, as well
as by Pachelbel's pupils Johann Heinrich Buttstedt and Andreas Nieo-
laus Vetter. Buttstedl, in turn, passed the design on to his pupil (and
J. S. Bach's kinsman) J. G. Walther.
Another of Pachelbel's students was Sebastian Bach's older brother
and keyboard instructor, Johann Christoph Bach (1671-1721). In 1695,
after having lost both of his parents, the nine-year-old Sebastian moved
to Ohrdruf to live under this sibling's roof and remained there until
1700. During these five years, Christoph probably taught, the boy every-
thing from keyboard playing to organ maintenance and repair. None of
Christoph's own compositions are extant. One can well imagine, though,
that he schooled his younger brother in the forms taught to him by his
teacher Pachelbel, including of course the cantus firmus chorale. Since
two cantus firmus chorales by J. S. Bach ("Christe, der du bist Tag und
Lichl" and "Wie nach einer Wasserquclle") are preserved in the Neu-
meister Collection, which evidently contains Bach's earliest works of
any kind, he appears to have adopted this form very early on. That he
 Compositional Models and Musical Style 17

also employed it at a rather late date is attested to by the presence of five

such works in Part 111 of the Clavierubung, published in 1739.
The Great Eighteen contain five cantus firrnus chorales proper. "Nun
danket alle Cott" and "Vor deinen Thron tret ich hiermit" are both
clear-cut specimens of the Pachelbel type in their use of pre-imitation
(or all phrases of the chorale tune, which is stated in both works by the
soprano voice. (In "Vor deinen Thron." however, the hymn melody
moves twice as fast as one would expect in a cantus firrnus chorale.)
Still, Bach easily surpasses this model in several respects. He strictly
maintains four, not three, voices; he varies his imitative writing through
the use of stretto, augmentation, diminution, and inversion; and he de-
velops and unifies his accompanimenta! voices in general to a far greater
extent by means of common motives.
The composition date of "Vor deinen Thron" is a complex—even
mysterious—matter best understood in conjunction with the autograph
manuscript of the Great Eighteen. We will therefore revisit this issue in
the next chapter. As (or "Nun danket," Zehnder has pointed out that
the chorale setting "Jesu, deine Passion" from Bach's Weimar cantata
Himmelskimig, sei willkornmen, 13WV 182, also represents the Pachel-
bel type of cantus firrnus chorale, with pre-imitation of all the chorale
phrases and a soprano cantus firrnus to boot. Since the cantata dates
from 1714, perhaps the organ chorale does as well.
The other cantus firmus chorales from the Great Eighteen include
the famous "fantasy" on the Pentecost hymn "'Komm, Heihger Geist.
Herre Gott"; the third and final setting of "Nun komrn, der Heiden Hei-
land"; and "Von Gott will ich nicht lassen." In these arrangements,
Pachelbel's style is abandoned in favor of a more synthetic design, one
that incorporates the genres of fugue and concerto. As in the ornamen-
tal chorales from the Greal Eighteen, this fusion of genres allows Bach
to unify and expand his aecompanimcntal material well beyond anything
that earlier composers of cantus firmus chorales could have dreamed.
And he makes this material so compelling that the presentation of the
hymn tune seems almost incidental.
The first two of these works are as close as any in the collection.
They are the only settings designated by Bach in the autograph manu-
script as in organoplena ("for full organ"). In each, the chorale melody
appears in the bass voice (played on the pedals), while the upper three
parts comprise a fugue whose subject derives from the first phrase of
the chorale. Both pieces also display tendencies of ritornello form in
conjunction with perpetual sixteenth-note motion.
We have already established that the ornamental setting of "Allein
Gott" begins with a fugal exposition. In that work, however, as soon as
18 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

the embellished hymn melody enters, the fugue ends. Although the ae-
companimental voices continue to refer to the fugue's subject and
countersubject, they never again do so in afugal context. The composer
of a fugue may have carte blanche beyond the opening exposition. But
the form, at least according to the Bachian model, typically continues
with many more imitative statements of the subject in various keys,
sometimes involving such devices as inversion, augmentation, and
stretto. One searches in vain for anything of this ilk in the "Allein Gott"
arrangement.
The two works presently under consideration, conversely, illustrate
almost every aspect of this scheme. In both, the initial exposition (which
in "Kornm, Heiliger Geist" is disguised by a pedal point) is followed by
several imitative statements of the subject in different keys; some of
these statements, furthermore, are inverted. The "INun komm" setting
even features a slrelto statement of the inverted and upright forms of its
subject, timed to coincide with the final pedal entrance.
There is no denying, either, that both works are also ritornello move-
ments. As in the ornamental settings of "Schmiicke dich" and "An Was-
serfliissen Babylon," the same theme (the fugue subject) presents itself
in all the interludes and often in keys not governed by the chorale
melody. But "Komm, Heiliger Geist" and "Nun komm" are even more
unified than these two works through their constant surface motion in
sixteenth notes—a feature of the fugue subjects themselves—which
imparts to the music a strong sense of rhythmic drive.
It is hard not to view this combination of ritornello form and perpet-
ual motion in connection with the concertos of Antonio Vivaldi. Bach
evidently got acquainted with these works in 1713, after Prince Johann
Ernst of Weimar had sent to the Weimar court a large quantity of
music—presumably including Vivaldi's L'Estro Armonico concertos—
bought during his stay in the Netherlands. 22 During the next few years,
until he left Weimar in 1717, Bach made organ transcriptions of some
of these concertos (see BWV 593, 594, and 596) and began to assimi-
late Vivaldi's concerto style into his own vocal and instrumental com-
positions. Two organ works presumably from this period are the Toc-
cata in F Major, BWV 540/1, and the "Dorian" Toccata, BWV 538/1.
Both are ritornello movements that open with a triad-oriented theme in
continuous sixteenths, one of Vivaldi's favorite melodic types (see Ex-
amples 1-8 and 1 -9).23
Significantly, the ritornello themes of our two organ chorales are cut
from the same cloth, with arpeggiation of the tonic arid leading-tone
seventh chords in "Komm, Heiliger Geist," and tonic and dominant tri-
ads in "Nun komm" (see Examples 1-10 and 1-11). In fact, the ritor-
 Compositional Models and Musical Style 19

EXAMPLE 1 -8. Toccata in E Major, BWV 540/1

EXAMPLE 1-9. Toccata in D Minor (Dorian), BWV 538/1

nello of the "Nun komm" arrangement employs the same four-note head
motive as the two toccatas. "Komm, Heiliger Geist," meanwhile, opens
with exactly the same texture—and in the same key—as the F-major
toccata: imitative writing in two parts above a low F pedal point.
When might Bach have composed these two chorale settings? Cer-
tainly during his years of "Vivaldi fever," 1713-17, but most likely
around 1714. For in the penultimate movement oi Cantata 172, Er-
schallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten, written for Pentecost Sunday
1714, Bach treats the chorale "Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott" in
the same highly exceptional way as in our organ setting: instead of set-
ting all ten phrases of this unusually long melody, he omits the fourth,
fifth, sixth, and seventh phrases.24 Considering the extremely close
similarities between this organ chorale and the "Nun komm" arrange-
ment, one can tentatively assign the latter work to 1714 as well.
Like these two settings, the remaining canlus firmus chorale from
the Great Eighteen, "Von Gott will ich nicht lassen," contains a ritor-
nello in imitative (though not iugal) texture, with the hymn tune played
on the pedals. (Here, though, the pedals represent the tenor voice, and
the bottom manual part the bass, as in the pedaliter settings of "Christ,
unser Herr, zum Jordan kam" and "Jesus Christus, unser Heiland"
from Part 111 of the Clavieriibung). It may also date from 1714.
20 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

E X A M P L E 1-10. "Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Cott," BWV 65la

E X A M PLE 1 - 1 1 . "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland," BWV 661 a

THE CHORALE TRIO

Associated with central Germany, the chorale tno is a three-voice sel-

ling in which ihe upper two parts are played on separale manuals and
the boltom voice on the pedals. Throughoul ihe lale seventeenth and
 Compositional Models and Musical Style 21

early eighteenth centuries, composers such as Pachelbel, Zachow,

Armsdorff, and Walther frequently employed this disposition for can-
tus firmus chorales, with one voice staling the entire chorale tune in
long notes. That Bach composed such works himself is evinced by the
miscellaneous settings of "Wo soil ich fliehen hin," BWV 694, "Wir
Christenleut," BWV 710, and "Nun freut eueh, lieben Christen g'mein,"
B W V 734, as well as the pedaliter selling of "Jesus Chrislus, unser
Heiland" from Part III of the Ciavierubung. In (he Great Eighteen cho-
rales, though, he elevated ihe chorale trio far beyond the status of a tex-
ture lo a legitimate chorale type, one that openly simulated the fast
movements of contemporary Italian trio sonatas and concertos. As
Werner Breig has maintained, this thoroughly modern design may w e l l
represent Bach's single greatest innovation to the genre of the organ
chorale.2'1
Arguably the most progressive chorale trios from the Great Eigh-
teen—and possibly the most forward-looking pieces in the entire col-
lection—are "Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend" and the third set-
ling of "Ailein Gott in der Hb'h sei Ehr." Both works adopt the same
idiosyncratic design, which joins a ntorneilo form lo a eantus firmus
chorale. In each, the ritornello theme is stated initially in imitative tex-
ture. (The "Allem Gott" setting commences, remarkably, with a total of
six fugal statements of its ritornello.) Following the last of these imita-
tive statements, where the listener expects the first phrase of the cho-
rale proper, free episodic material appears instead. This new material
leads to a modulation, after which the ritornello resurfaces in the new
key. Eor roughly the next fifty measures of each piece, statements of the
ritornello in various keys alternate with free material. Only at the very
end does the chorale melody proper sound (as a pedal part), in sus-
tained notes. In "Herr Jesu Christ," the entire melody is given; in the
"Ailein Gott" setting, only the first two phrases.
Clearly, the main difference between this type of ritornello form and
that encountered elsewhere in the Great Eighteen is the music that oc-
curs between the statements of the ritornello: by inserting free material
instead of the successive phrases of the chorale, Bach devises a scheme
that cornes infinitely closer to Italian instrumental music of his day. He
is not in any way bound by the chorale melody or its harmonic impli-
cations but is able to modulate to any key and to offer as many state-
ments of the rilornello as he wishes. Since he is content merely, in the
ritornello theme, to paraphrase the tune or, in the free episodes, lo ig-
nore it, the music sounds less like a chorale setting than a movement
from a trio sonata (three-voice texture) or concerto (ritornello form with
free episodes).26 Both manual parts are also in the treble register, like
22 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

the vast majority of Baroque trio sonatas. With respect to texture, form,
range, and figuration, the parallels to Bach's six trio sonatas for organ
are clear.
Zehnder argues convincingly that the specific Italian models for
these two works arid several others from Bach's Weimar period include
the Opus 8 concertos of Giuseppe Torelli, published posthumously in
1709. Bach may have gotten to know this collection—a watershed in
the history of the concerto—through Torelli's student Johann Georg
Pisendel, who visited Weimar in 1709. At any rate, Walther's organ
transcriptions of two concertos from this opus document its reception
in Weimar. That Bach himself studied Torelli's music is attested to by
his keyboard arrangement of one of Torelli's concertos (BWV 979),
probably also prepared in Weimar.
In "Herr Jesu Christ," the style of Torelli's Opus 8 asserts itself in
different ways, including the type of figuration used. But the Italian's
influence is most evident in the extreme brevity of the ritornello, which
is only one bar long, and the key scheme of I—V—vi—iii employed for
its first four statements. Such a concise melody is far removed from the
long, segmented ritornello themes favored by Vivaldi and other concerto
composers of the time. The key sequence, too, with its distinctive pair-
ing of ritornello statements according to mode (major-major followed by
minor-minor), differs from Vivaldi's practice. Of Bach's Weimar compo-
sitions ihat employ similarly short ritornello themes, only two are se-
curely datable: the "Hunting" cantata, Was mirbehagt, 1st nur die muntre
Jagd!, BWV 208, from 1712 or 1713; and Gantata 182, Himmelsltonig,
sei willkommen, composed for Palm Sunday 1714. This leads Zehnder
to date "Herr Jesu Christ" as 1712-14.
Because of its many close similarities to "Herr Jesu Christ," the set-
Ling of "Allein Gott" probably also originated during these years. This
work employs neither Torelli's type of ritornello nor his unusual modu-
lation pattern. Instead, it follows his technique of using the same mate-
rial for two or more solo episodes within one movement. In the organ
chorale, the first and third episodes (mrn. 35—43 and 56-64) contain
the same music, as do the second and fourth (mrn. 46-56 and 67—79).
Zehnder shows that much of this chorale's figuration also bears Torelli's
stamp. But it would be hard to deny the influence of Vivaldi in a passage
such as Example 1-12, whose pedal motive is a veritable cliche of his.
Just think of how Vivaldi begins the slow movement of his A-minor con-
certo, op. 3, no. 8, as transcribed for organ by Bach (see Example 1-13).
Another of the Great Eighteen chorales that we should take up here
is the second setting of "Allein Gott in der Hb'h sei Ehr." Despite its
free voice leading, which sometimes encompasses five parts, Bach
 Compositional Models and Musical Style 23

E X A M P L E 1 -] 2. "Allein Gott in der Iloh sei Khr," BWV 664a

E X A M P L E 1-13. Bach-Vivaldi, Adagio from Concerto in A Minor, BWV 593

scores this work primarily for three parts, with each hand taking its own
part, frequently on its own manual. Thus, the piece has the unmistak-
able sound and palpable feel of a chorale trio. For the first fourteen
bars, it proceeds similarly to the third setting of this hymn, just dis-
cussed. A lively ritornello theme appears in the top voice, accompa-
nied by a slower couritermelody in the pedals, and moves successively
to the alto (left hand) and bass (pedals). These two melodies also have
roughly the same shape as those in the third "Allein Gott" setting. As
the texture thickens to three parts, a fugal exposition occurs. And yet
the hands remain on the same manual. Only after the opening fugal
passage is a second keyboard engaged, for the phrase-by-phrase pres-
entation of the chorale tune in the tenor register, in a highly embel-
lished form. This last feature means, of course, that this work is also a
clear-cut example of an ornamental chorale. Zehnder hazards no guess
about a composition date. But considering its trio orientation and close
analogies to the third "Allein Gott" setting, why could this piece not
have originated at about the same time as the previous two?
A final chorale trio from the Great Eighteen is the second setting of
"Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland." In terms of compositional models,
this arrangement ranks as one of the more interesting in the whole col-
lection. It, too, represents an ornamental chorale in ritornello form. In
other significant respects, though, the piece breaks new ground. For
24 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

one thing, it is Bach's only trio—of any sort—with the inverted dispo-
sition of one treble and two bass lines (in accordance with the com-
poser's own subtitle, "a due Bassi"). The feel and left hand combine to
spin out a rilornello theme, while the right hand plays the embellished
hymn tune. Although Bach could have devised this scoring entirely on
his own, models were certainly available, from his native Germany and
elsewhere. Take, for instance, Buxlehude's trio sonatas for violin, gamba,
and continue or the trio sonatas for one treble and two bass parts by
Giovanni Legren/i. 27 Bach's knowledge of this Italian's music is docu-
mented by the Fugue in G Minor, BWV 574, which is based on a theme
by Legrenzi.
But a more tangible influence is that, once again, of Antonio Vivaldi,
for here is the only Great Eighteen chorale that employs Vivaldi's
patented rilornello formula. This is a type of ritornello, appropriated by
Bach on so many occasions, that consists of three clearly differentiated
and easily separated segments, each of which has its own function. The
first segment grounds the tonality with mostly tonic and dominant har-
monies, ending usually on the dominant; the second entails a sequence
whose chords progress in the order of descending fifths; and the third
concludes the theme with a satisfying dominant-tonic cadence. In the
ritornello of his organ chorale, Bach follows this syntax to the letter (see
Example 1-14). The first segment (mrn. 1 —3), once it moves beyond the
chorale tune, alternates between tonic and dominant harmonies, con-
cluding on the dominant; the second (mm. 4-5) forms a textbook circle-
of-fifths sequence (and adopts such additional Vivaldian traits as mo-
toric sixteenth notes and triadic contours); and the third (mm. 6—7)
brings things to a close with an authentic cadence.
Regarding Bach's use of canon for the first three measures of his ri-
tornello, one mighl assume this was the master contrapuntist's way of
grafting his own style onto an otherwise "foreign" design. But Vivaldi
was no stranger to this technique. Two of his most famous concertos
open with canons, and both of them were transcribed for organ by Bach
(BWV 594 and 596). The latter transcription, that of the D-rninor con-
certo, op. 3, no. 1 1, even begins, like our organ chorale, in trio texture
and with canonic writing at the unison in the tenor and bass registers.
In light of this connection, it may be significant that Bach's auto-
graph manuscript of this transcription originated during 1714-17,
since this is also the date of his autograph of the early version of this
organ chorale.28 Because the latter is not a composing score, even though
it contains compositional revisions, this dating means only thai 1 717 is
the latest possible year of composition. Considering Vivaldi's profound
impact on the work, it can scarcely date from before 1713. Zehnder's
 Compositional Models and Musical Style 25

E X A M P L E 1-14. "Nun komm, dor Heiden Heiland," BWV 660a

findings indicate that Bach did not begin writing "Vivaidian" ritornel-
los until his church cantatas of .1715—16, suggesting that this chorale
selling also stems Irom these years. 11 so, the trio on "Nun komm" was
one of the last of the Great Eighteen chorales to be composed.

The conclusions of this chapter are summarized in Table l-l. It indi-

cates that Bach followed no fewer than a dozen different models in com-
posing the Great Eighteen. This table also lists the works in roughJy
chronological order. If our chronology is correct, the composition of the
these extraordinary pieces involved Bach intermittently throughout his
Weimar tenure (1708-17). Certain settings appear to be from the be-
ginning ol this period (or even as early as 1707, while Bach was in
Mtihlhausen), others from the middle, and at least one (the "Nun kornin"
trio) from the end.
During this lime, Bach's overall compositional style changed dra-
matically due lo his encounter with contemporary Ilalian music, par-
ticularly thai of Vivaldi. Indeed, Bach's assimilalion of this repertory
TABLE 1-1 The Compositional Models of the Great Eighteen Chorales,
according to the Early Versions

Proposed
BWV Chorale Other Composition
No. Title Type(s) Model(s) Date

665a "Jesus Chrisms. chorale motet 1707—8

u riser Heiland"

666a "Jesus Christus, chorale motet 1707—8

unscr Heiland"

652a "Komm, Heiliger chorale motet sarabande 1707—8

Ceist, Herre Gott" orname ntal chorale

656a "() Lamm Gottes, chorale partita 1707-8

unschuldig"
667a "Komm, Gott chorale partita 1709-17
Schopfer,
Heiliger Ceisl"

662a "Allein Gott in ornamental chorale Italian violin 1711—13

der Ho'h sei Ehr" music
fugue

659a "Nun komm, der ornamental chorale Italian violin 1711-13

Heiden Heiland" music

654a "Schmucke dich. ornamental chorale sarabande 1712—14

o liebe Seele" ritornello form

653a "An Wasserflusseri ornamental chorale sarabande 1712 — 14

Habylon" Tlera, gn Tmlle

ritornello form

657a "Nun danket alle canlus firmus 1714

Gott" chorale

651a "Komm, Heiliger caritusfirmus fugue 1714

Ceist. Herre Cotl" chorale Vivaldi's
concertos
661a "Nun komm, der cantusfirrnus fugue 1714
Heiden Heiland" chorale Vivaldi's
concertos
658a "Von Gott will ieh cantus firrnus ritornello form 1714
nichl lassen" chorale

26
 Compositional Models and Musical Style 27

Proposed
BWV Chorale Other Composition
.No. Title Type(s) Model(s) Date

655a "Herr Jesu Christ, chorale trio ntornello form 1712—14

dich /u uns wend" camusfirmus Itallan

chorale instrumental
music

664a "Allein Gott in chorale trio ritornello form 1712—14

der Hiili sei Khr" ( . antus fim|us Italjan

chorale instrumental
music
fugue

663a "Alleiri Colt in ornamental ritornello form 1712 — 14

der Hoh sei Khr" chorale
chorale trio fugue

66()a "Nun komm. der ornamental ritornello form 1715 — 16

Heiden lleiland" chorale
chorale trio Vivaldi's
concertos

during the latter half of his Weimar period represents the single most
critical development toward the formation of his own personal style, a
style whose basis is the blending of Halianisms with complex polyph-
ony. 29 The Great Eighteen chorales, as tabulated here, clearly repre-
sent a case study of ihis process. The earliest settings tend also to be
the most simple and conventional: for the most part, they adopt only
one model, and that a chorale type. The remaining works Lake a decid-
edly eclectic approach to chorale composition, one that relies heavily
on Italian models.
But our emphasis here has been less on chronology than on Bach's
compositional exemplars and the many musical issues they raise. Their
sheer variety is astonishing, as is the composer's uncanny ability to
adapt them all to the narrow confines of a chorale setting. To study the
models for the Great Eighteen, therefore, is to learn about nol only ihe
Baroque organ chorale but also Baroque music in general.
This page intentionally left blank
 C2^/
ipfWfMe^ 2

THE GENESIS OF THE COLLECTION

\^y ne often reads that the Great Eighteen originated as independent

works. While this remains an unproven assumption, we have no reason
to doubt it. There is no evidence whatever that these pieces constituted
a collection o( any kind until late in Bach's life.
When, in 1717, Bach left Weimar to become Kapellmeister in Cothen,
his baggage must have included the (lost) autograph manuscripts of the
early versions of the Great Eighteen chorales. His new position did not
oblige him to compose for or even play the organ, but this does not nec-
essarily mean that during his six years in Cothen Bach left the Great
Eighteen untouched. Among other things, he may have taught some of
the pieces to his private keyboard pupils there, as he appears to have
done with the Orgelbiichlein.
In 1723, Bach moved from Cothen to the city of Eeipzig. Here he
r
w as cantor at St. Thomas and municipal director of music, a title he
held until his death in 1750. This post did not entail the production o(
organ music, cither. Indeed, the only hard evidence of Bach's involve-
ment with the Great Eighteen chorales irom the beginning oi his Leip-
zig tenure to around 1740 is a manuscript copy of the first setting of
"Allein Gott" (early version) by Bach's pupil Heinrieh [Nicolaus Ger-
ber. Gerber presumably prepared this source in Leipzig around 1725,
under Bach's direct supervision.'

29
80 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

THE AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT

That Baeh began around 1740 to compile the Great Eighteen into a col-
lection is documented by the autograph manuscript of the set. Housed
today in the Staatsbibhothek zu Berlin under the shelf number P 271,
this source also contains the autographs of the Ganomc Variations on
"Vom Himmel hoch" and the six trio sonatas for organ.2 Since the au-
tographs of most of Bach's organ works have not survived, this ranks as
one of the most important sources altogether for this repertory.
It actually consists of three separate manuscripts that date from var-
ious times in Bach's life. In their order of appearance, they are (1) the
autograph of the trio sonatas, from 1727—32; (2) the autograph of the
Great Eighteen and Canonic Variations, from circa 1739-50; and (3)
the autograph of the early version of the trio on "Nun komm" from the
Great Eighteen, from 1714—17.'! At some point, either Bach himself or
one of his heirs bound the first two manuscripts together. Sometime
later, after Bach's death, the third manuscript was appended to this
bound volume, but by whom is unclear.
Eor obvious reasons, we will focus here on the second of these sources.
Unlike the other two, it is not entirely autograph. It begins with the first
fifteen of the Great Eighteen chorales in Bach's hand, followed by the
sixteenth and seventeenth chorales in the hand of Johann Christoph
Altnikol, a pupil of Bach in Leipzig from 1744 to 1748. The Canonic
Variations appear next, in Bach's hand, followed by the eighteenth cho-
rale in the hand of an anonymous scribe (see Table 2-1).
In his groundbreaking research on Bach's handwriting, undertaken
in the 1950s, Georg von Dadelsen dated all of Bach's entries in this
source between circa 1744 and 1748.4 Dadelsen also maintained that
the entries of the fourteenth and fifteenth chorales originated at a dis-
tinctly later time within this period than the first thirteen. Relying on
documents unavailable to Dadelsen, Yoshitake Kobayashi has recently
demonstrated that Bach notaled the first thirteen chorales somewhat ear-
lier, around 1739—42, and the fourteenth and fifteenth chorales around
1746-47.5 Thus, Bach began to compile the Great Eighteen shortly
after completing Part III of the Clavieriibung, published in 1739. As we
will discuss in the next chapter, he probably also regarded the two from
a musical perspective as complementary collections.
The changes in Bach's handwriting that led Dadelsen and Kobay-
ashi to assign the fourteenth and fifteenth chorales to a later time are
illustrated in Figure 2-1. This page of the autograph begins with the
last measures of the second setting of "Alleiri Gott," notated between
circa 1739 and 1742, and continues with the opening bars of the third
TABLE 2-1 The Contents of the Autograph Manuscript

BWV
No. Title Foliation Scribe Date of Entry

f. I 1 (blank
page)
651 "Komm, Heiliger Geisl, f. l v -3 r Bach ca. 1739-42
Ilerre Gott"
652 "Komm, Ileiliger (;eist, f. 3V-5V Bach ca. 1739-42
Herre Gotl"
653 "An Wasserfliissen f. 5v-6" Bach ca. 1739-42
Babylon"
654 "Schmiicke dich, f. &-T Bach ca. 1739-42
o liebe Seele"
655 "Herr Jesu Christ, dich f. 7v-9r Bach ca. 1739-42
zu uns wend"
656 "0 Lamm Gottes, f. 9r-l()r Bach ca. 1739-42
unschuldig"
657 "Nuri danket alle Gott" f. 10V-11' Bach ca. 1739-42
658 "Von Gott will ich nicht f. ll v -12 r Bach ca. 1739-42
lassen"
659 "Nun komm, der f. 12r-13' Bach ca. 1739-42
Heiden Heiland"
660 "Nunkomm, dor f. 13'-13V Bach ca. 1739-42
Heiden Heiland"
661 "Nunkomm, der f. 13V-14V Bach ca. 1739-42
Heiden Heiland"
662 "Allein Gott in der Hoh f. 15r-15v Bach ca. 1739-42
sei Ehr"
663 "Allein Gott in der Hoh f. 15V-17V Bach ca. 1739-42
sei Ehr"
664 "Allein Gotl in der Hoh f. 17V-19' Bach ca. 1746-47
sei Ehr"
665 "Jesus Chrislus, unser f. 19v-20r Bach ca. 1746-47
Heiland"
666 "Jesus Christus, unser f. 20v-21r Allriikol August 1750-
Heiland" April 1751
667 "Komm, Gott Schopfer, f. 2l v -22 r Altnikol August 1750-
Hoiliger Geisl" April 1751
769a Canonic Variations on f. 22v-25% Bach ca. 1747-48
"Vorri Himmel hoch"
668 "Vor deineri Thron trel f. 25V anonymous April—July 1750
ich hiermit" copyist
(incomplete)
f. 26 (lost)

31
F I G U R E 2-1. Autograph score of "Allein Gotl in der Hoh sei Ehr," BWV 663,
mm. 120-27; and "Allein Golt in der Hoh sei Ehr," BWV 664. mm. 1-16
(StaaLshihliothek zu Berlin—Preussischer Kullurbesitz, Musikabteilung mil
Mendelssohn-Archiv, Mus. ms. Bach P271, p. 90)

32
 The Genesis of the Collection 33

setting, entered about four years later. (Since most of the first fifteen
chorales overlap in this way, it is obvious that all of them were notated
in their order of appearance.) Generally speaking, Bach's hand in the
earlier entry tends to slant somewhat to the right, as opposed to the
more vertical (and smaller) script of the later entry. Differences also
exist with respect to particular symbols. A glance at the second, third,
and fourth systems, for instance, reveals that the quarter rests of the
earlier entry are relatively ornate. Most telling are the half notes with
downward stems, which in the earlier entry have oval note heads with
stems on the left arid in the later entry have rounder nole heads (which
are sometimes open at the top) with stems in the middle.
Bach's entry of the fifteenth chorale is followed on the next four pages
by AltnikoPs entries ol the sixteenth and seventeenth chorales. The
next seven pages contain Bach's entry of the Canonic Variations. This
work was published in 1747, to commemorate Bach's induction in June
of that year into Lorenz Mizler's Society of the Musical Sciences. The
published version (BWV 769) is clearly earlier than that found in the
autograph (BWV 769a), which implies that the latter version did not
originate before 1747. To judge from Bach's script, he entered this ver-
sion into the autograph in either 1747 or 1748.6
To return to Altnikol, his presence in this manuscript raises a host
of questions. Scholars have traditionally assumed that his two entries
predate Bach's entry of the Canonic Variations, and this theory agrees
with both Kobayashi's redating of the autograph and the lime frame of
AltnikoPs study with Bach. The composer could have instructed his pu-
pil to add these two compositions to the fifteen he had already notated.
Why. however, would Bach have entrusted this task to a student
when he could have entered both works himself? In preparing this manu-
script, he was not laboring under any time constraints, such as a Sun-
day deadline, that would have necessitated outside help. Rather, he
was taking time to inscribe these works in a remarkably legible and
even calligraphic fashion and to revise the musical content of each and
every one as well.
Moreover, recent investigations into Bach's musical estate imply that
Altnikol could have entered both works sometime after Bach's death in
1750. For in 1749 Altnikol had married Bach's daughter Elisabeth Ju-
liana Friederica, and there is reason to believe she inherited autograph
manuscripts of her father's music. If the autograph of the Great Figh-
teen was one of these, Altnikol had direct access to this source from
] 750 until his death in 1759. Also suggestive in this regard is the fact
that Bach's son Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, at the time of his death in
1788, owned the autograph, as well as several of AltnikoPs J. S. Bach
34 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

copies.8 He may have come into the possession of all these sources,
through his sister, shortly after Altnikol's death.
Very recently, Peter Wollny has uncovered further evidence that
points in this direction. 9 He has shown, first of all, that Altnikol's two
entries in the autograph represent a different phase of his handwriting
than do his Leipzig manuscripts that carry actual dates (1744 and
1748). Again, most revealing are the half notes with downward steins,
which in the dated sources feature oval note heads with stems on the
left or right. As can be seen in Figure 2-2, Altnikol's entry of the man-
ualiier "Jesus Chnstus, unser Heiland," he draws these symbols in the
autograph of the Great Eighteen with relatively large, round note heads
and with stems in the middle.10 Wollny also points out that the only Alt-
nikol manuscripts that match his script in the Great Eighteen auto-
graph are also partially in the hand of Bach's very last pupil, Johann
Gottfried Miithel. During a year's leave of absence from the court at
Schwerin, Miithel studied first with Bach in Leipzig from early May
1750 and then for a while with Altriikol in JN'aumburg. These jointly
copied sources therefore could not have originated later than 1751. That
they were prepared after Miithel left Leipzig—for Allriikol could have
collaborated with him in Leipzig, say while visiting his sick father-iri-
law—is indicated by their watermarks, which are atypical of that city.
We may conclude, then, that Altnikol made his two entries in Naum-
burg between August 1750—Bach died on July 28—and April 1751.
Along with Kobayashi's redating of the autograph, the likelihood that
Allnikol's portions of the manuscript originated after Bach's death sig-
nificantly changes our understanding of the Great Eighteen as a col-
lection, since Altnikol apparently added the sixteenth and seventeenth
chorales without the composer's authorization. (As we will discuss in
the next chapter, this hypothesis also bears profound implications
for the musical structure of the collection.) It follows that Bach left
blank the four pages between the fifteenth chorale and the Canonic
Variations simply as a means of separating the latter work—which is
unquestionably an independent composition—from the preceding fif-
teen. Accordingly, Allnikol was careful in choosing two works of rela-
tively modest size that would not exceed the available space. But size
was obviously not the only criterion, since the first chorale he notated
("Jesus Christus, unser Heiland") is based on the same hymn as Bach's
entry that precedes it.
The fragmentary eighteenth chorale is not in Bach's hand, either. This
work appears on the very last page of the autograph, directly beneath the
last system of Bach's entry of the Canonic Variations. Eor years it was be-
lieved that this piece, too, was entered by Altnikol. The early Bach bi-
F I G U R E 2-2. Altnikol's entry of "Jesus Christus, unacr HeilamL" B W V 666,
mm. 1—24 (Staatsbibliothek x,u Berlin—I'reussischer Kulturhesitx, Musikableilurig
mit Mendelssohn-Arehiv, Mus. rris. Bach P 271, p. 96)

35
36 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

ographer Joharm Nicolaus Fork el, writing around 1800, even reported
that Altnikol had copied down ihe work as dictated by Bach on his
deathbed. This aceount was taken as holy writ—and made ihe stuff of
legend—until Dadelsen's discovery that the scribe is actually an anony-
mous copyist (known in the Bach literature as "Anon. Vr") who also ap-
pears in the original performing parts of sacred vocal works by Bach
from the 1740s.1' Clearly, this individual belonged to Bach's Leipzig cir-
cle toward the end of the composer's life, and since his hand appears
most often in continue) parts, he was probably an organist. His entry of
the eighteenth chorale, "Vor deinen Thron," is found in Figure 2-3.
The compositional history of Bach's "deathbed" chorale, alas, is
rather complicated. Its original version is the ornamental Orgelbiich-
lein chorale "Wenn wir in hoehsten Noten sein," BWV 641, composed
evidently no later than 1713.12 At some point, while he was still in
Weimar or later, Bach removed the ornamentation from the soprano
voice and added imitative passages before each phrase of the chorale,
transforming the work into a cantus firmus chorale a la Paehelbel. This
version of the piece, cataloged as BWV 668a, was appended to the origi-
nal print of Bach's Art of Fugue, published posthumously in 1751, to
compensate for the incompleteness of its final fugue. The fragmentary
version of the chorale that appears in the autograph of the Great Figh-
teen, tilled "Vor deinen Thron tret ich hiermit" (BWV 668), represents
a slightly revised version of BW V 668a.
According to the original print of the Art of Fugue, probably edited
by no less an authority than C. P. F. Bach, Sebastian Bach had dictated
BWV 668a in his blindness "on the spur of the moment to the pen of
one of his friends." Considering that Bach went blind sometime after his
first unsuccessful eye operation at the end of March 1750, the anony-
mous scribe could have entered "Vor deinen Thron" no earlier than
April 1750 and presumably sometime before Bach's death on July 28.
But this entry contains none of the revisions we might expect from a
dictation score: it is a fair copy entirely free of corrections. And, as
Chrisloph Wolff has observed, the notion of the blind composer flaw-
lessly dictating an entire work written thirty years earlier is hard to
fathom. 1 ' 5 For even in his prime Bach did not rely solely on his mem-
ory. Whether he was preparing performing parts for a just-finished
score or revising pieces composed decades earlier, he still used the
original manuscripts as a guide. Bach's overall health at this time must
also be taken into account, as recent research indicates he was suffer-
ing from untreated diabetes.14
Wolff proposes instead an eminently more credible scenario. At some
point during Bach's last few months, the blind composer asks someone
I1 IGljRE 2-3. Autograph score o( Canonic Variations on "Vom Himmel hoch,
da komrn ich her," BWV 769a, final variation, mm. 38—42; and anonymous scribe's
entry of "Vor deinen Throri tret ich hiermit," BWV 668 (Slaaisl)ibliolhek 7,11 Berlin—
Preussiseher Kulturhesit/, Musikabteilung rait Mendelssohn-Archiv, Mns. rns. Bach
F 2 7 l , p . 106)

37
38 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

to play for him his organ chorale "Wenn wir in hochsten No'ten sein,"
BWV 668a (a hymn whose title translates, so fittingly with regard to
Bach's personal situation at the time, as "When We Are in the Greatest
Distress"). Bach next dictates a number of revisions to the work, which
an assistant—possibly the same person as our anonymous scribe—
copies onto a now lost manuscript. With his thoughts turning increas-
ingly to the hereafter, Bach renames the piece "Before Your Throne I
Now Appear" and requests that it be added to the autograph of the Great
Eighteen. Working from the lost manuscript, the anonymous scribe en-
ters the revised version, BWV 668.
This entry breaks off at the very end of the last system of the page,
in the middle of measure 26, and concludes with directs for the next
beat (that indicate the same pitches found at this juncture in BWV
668a).15 The fascicle structure of the manuscript shows beyond any
doubt that this page was originally followed by another lolio, which at
some point became detached from the rest of the source. All indica-
tions are, then, that the scribe entered a complete copy of BWV 668,
of which only the first half is extant. Unfortunately, no other source for
this version of the work survives.

COMPOSITIONAL PROCESS

The contents of the autograph of the Great Eighteen—according to

BWV number, work title, foliation, scribe, and date of entry—are sum-
marized in Table 2-1. As we continue, let us observe how Bach com-
piled this manuscript from one piece to the next. Our mam focus will be
compositional process, since the autograph shows that most of Bach's
entries contain compositional revisions and not merely corrections of
copying errors. (Tn most instances, the autograph preserves a clearly
visible initial reading that was partially erased or altered in some way.)
On the whole, then, the autograph of the Great Eighteen exemplifies
what Robert Marshall has termed a "revision copy," wherein the com-
poser is copying from an existing source but simultaneously making
compositional changes more "grammatical" than formative in nature. 16
In most cases, Bach first entered a reading from the early version.
But he also on occasion added material not found in the early version
that itself preserves compositional changes. We will limit ourselves to
revisions of particular musical interest, and once a certain type of re-
vision has been covered (for example, the alteration of "straight"
rhythms to dotted ones), the other occurrences of that type will not nec-
essarily be discussed in any detail. This means that as our coverage
 The Genesis of the Collection 39

proceeds, it will become more general. Nonetheless, it will touch on

about every kind of discrepancy that exists between the different ver-
sions of these works.
We are admittedly ignorant about some basic issues, for example,
the amount of time that elapsed between entries, whether hours, days,
weeks, months, or years. Nor can it be ascertained when Bach made the
compositional revisions—whether immediately after entering his ini-
tial readings or much later—or whether he revised the works one at a
time or as a group. But we can be sure that his "master copies" or ex-
emplars were the lost autographs of the early versions of the Great
Eighteen (plus the surviving autograph of the early version of the "Nun
komm" trio). As he worked, most of his revision must have been purely
mental. For despite the numerous discrepancies between versions,
only in isolated cases does the autograph itself present much evidence
of revision. Given Bach's reputation as a "clean" composer, this comes
as no surprise. Still, the possibility exists that in some instances even
he might have sketched out revisions beforehand, especially in the case
of added material. He certainly relied on sketches elsewhere.
As a point of reference, Table 2-2 enumerates all the compositional
revisions in the autograph wherein the original readings are reasonably
clear. Such a list has never before been attempted, riot even in the crit-
ical commentary to Hans Klot/'s edition of the Great Eighteen for the
Neue Bach-Ausgabe, published in the late 1950s. Like so many others
before and since, Klotz unhesitatingly accepted the autograph as a
Reinschrift or "fair copy."17
The manuscript contains no title. Perhaps one was intended for the
first page, which is entirely blank. In the left upper corner of the first
work entered, the Fantasia on "Komm, Heiliger Geist," is the inscrip-
tion "J. J." (see Figure 2-4). These two letters stand for Jesujuva ("Jesus,
help"), a motto that Bach frequently penned into his music manu-
scripts. As he begins, the composer asks for divine guidance. The work
heading that follows, which is representative of the manuscript in gen-
eral, indicates the type of setting (which to Bach, at least, was a "fan-
tasy"), the name of the chorale set, the location of the chorale tune, and
the composer: Fantasia supferj Kom heiliger Geist. canto fermo in Pedal,
di JS Bach ("Fantasy on Come Holy Ghost, cantus firmus in the pedal,
by J. S. Bach"). To the lefl of the first stave brace is the inscription In
Organo plena ("for full organ"). As was customary, the pedal line ap-
pears at the bottom of the left-hand staff, prefaced by the cue Pedal}&
Thanks to a popular facsimile edition, this page is a familiar sight,
and like the manuscript as a whole, it is a masterpiece of calligraphy.19
Were it not for the use of soprano clef for the right-hand staff, a stan-
TABLK 2-2 Compositional Revisions in the Autograph of the Groat Eighteen
Chorales

Measure Heat Voice Revision

"Kotnm, lleiliger Geist, llerre Gott," BWV 651

53 3-4 alto „ changed to J_.T.
91 3 —4 tenor note originally faster rhythm than J
97 1—2 soprano note originally (aster rhythm than J
98 1 tenor first note changed from a to g
101 1—2 alto 1 note originally faster rhythm than J
102 3 —4 alto note originally faster rhythm than J
103 1—2 soprano note originally laster rhythm than J
103 3 soprano second note changed from b' lo a'

"Koinm, Heiliger Geist, llerre Gott," BWV 652

118 2 alto on second half of beat, eighth note on g' changed to
two sixteenths on g' and f
128 2 tenor on second half of heat, eiglilh note on e' changed to
two sixteenths on e'-sharp and h

"An Wasserfiussen Babylon," BWV 653

1 2 alto r h y t h m changed from LLT to [ Li
2 1—2 alto original reading is quarter note on g' followed by
eighth note on f '
8 2 bass pitch changed from A to e
39 2—3 soprano original reading is half note on a'
79 1—2 soprano original reading is half note 011 e"

"Sehrnucke dich. o liebe Seele," BWV 654

80 3 soprano rhythm changed from J J to J. J
86 1 soprano rhythm changed from J J to J. J
105 1—2 bass J changed to j j

"Ilerr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend," BWV 655

72 2 bass original reading is eighth note on g followed by
eighth rest

"0 Lamm Cottes, unschuldlg," B W V 656

55 2 alto both pitches (a' and e') originally half notes
61 1 soprano original reading is half note on a'
70 2 allo upper note (a') originally hall note
128 9 allo pilch changed from f lo g'

40
 The Genesis of the Collection 41

Measure Beat Voice Revision

"Von Colt w i l l ich nicht lassen," BWV 658

7 3 soprano original reading is four sixteenth notes on d", b', g',
arid b'

"Nun komm, der Heideri Heiland," BWV 659

5 2 soprano original reading laeks appoggiatura on a'
16 3 —4 soprano . changed to j
24 3 —4 soprano . changed to J

"Nun komm, der Heideri Heifarid," BWV 660

25 3 —4 left-hand original reading is half note on g

"Alleiri Got! in der Ilcih sei Ehr," BWV 663

26 1 alto original reading is half note on g'
26 3 alto original reading is half note on b
27 1 alto original reading is half note on e'

"Jesus Chnstus, unser Heiland," BWV 665

16 2 bass second note changed from B to e-sharp
29 1—2 soprano 0changed to J j

dard feature of this source, a modern performer could play from this
page almost as easily as from a printed edition. As was his wont, Bach
even furnishes directs at the ends of systems to alert the player as to
ihe pitches that begin the next system. Only in the first bar of the bot-
tom system, where the last note of the tenor voice intersects the beam
used for the alto's sixteenth notes, is there some uncertainty about
pitch or rhythm. Here, to alleviate any potential confusion, the tabla-
ture symbol for f-sharp indicates the correct pitch.
Of course, it was easy for Bach to produce a note-perfect page in this
instance because he was merely copying the first twenty-seven mea-
sures of the early version. The two versions agree completely until mea-
sure 43, at which point the composer decided to set all ten phrases of
this unusually long chorale melody, rather than, as in the early version,
just phrases 1, 2, 3, and 8. In so doing, he increased the work's size
from 48 to 106 bars, by far the most dramatic instance of sectional ex-
pansion in any of the Great Eighteen chorales.
In addition to being about twice as long as a normal chorale, this
tune is extraordinarily repetitive: phrases 2 and 6 are identical, as are
3 and 7; phrases 4 and 8 are the same except at the end; and phrases
F I G U R E 2-4. Autograph score of "Komm, Heiiiger Geist, Ilerre Gotl," BWV 651,
mm. 1-27 (Slaatsbibliothek zu Berlin—Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Musikahteilurig
mil Mendelssohn-Archiv, Mus. rns. Bach P 271, p. 58)

42
 The Genesis of the Collection 43

] and 5 conclude with the same stepwise ascent. This large amount ol
shared material is the reason that phrases 2-4 and 6-8 are set to vir-
tually the same music (mm. 55-86 are a note-for-note repeat of mm.
12 — 43). Bach had to compose new music only for the end of phrase 4
and the first three measures of phrase 5, along with an interlude be-
tween the two phrases. Not surprisingly, this newly composed passage,
found at measures 44 — 54, preserves the first compositional revision
(see Figure 2-5). It occurs in the third measure of the penultimate sys-
tem of the second page (m. 53), where the large size of the alto's b-natural
quarter note on beat 3 shows that the original reading was a half note.
The musical effect ol the change—always the most important ques-
tion—is greater rhythmic activity between the inner voices.
All the remaining compositional revisions take place in the other
newly composed section, measures 89-103, which contains the ninth
and tenth phrases of the chorale tune. (The "coda" that follows in mm.
104—6 comes riote-for-note from the conclusion of the early version.)
The intense compositional activity here is due simply to the use of new
thematic material: to set the word "Hallelujah," Bach introduces in
measure 89 a fugue subject that he will manipulate for a full fifteen
bars. In the newly composed passage at measures 44-54, he sticks
with the same accompanimental theme stated at the outset.
The second newly composed section confines itself, conveniently, to
the last page o( this entry, shown in Figure 2-6. Just as soon as the new
theme appears for the first time, in the last bar of the top system, alto
voice, Bach's script begins to lose its beautiful, calligraphic appear-
ance, especially with regard to the placement of: accidentals and spac-
ing between notes. To focus on the compositional revisions, the one in
measure 98, which changed that inverted statement of the fugue sub-
ject from real to tonal, was dictated by the prevailing C-mirior harmony.
In five other instances, a half note was fashioned from some faster
rhythm, but exactly which is impossible to say since all values less than
a half note have the same size of note head (and same length of stem).
Still, in all these revisions save that in measure 102, the half note is
preceded by the first seven sixteenth notes of the subject, in the same
voice, implying eighths or sixteenths. An eighth note would have con-
tinued the theme, while a sixteenth would have allowed for back-to-
back statements of its first half, as in measures 90, 93-96, and 100.
Bach might well have made some additional revisions here, for his
exposition of the "Hallelujah" theme is marred by minor inconsisten-
cies, such as one might expect from a composing score. Only the tenor
statement in measures 92 — 93 ends like the first one, with a trill fol-
lowed by two thirty-second notes. For no apparent musical reason, the
F I G U R E 2-5. Autograph score of "Konnri, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gotl," 15WV 651,
mm. 28-57 (Slaalsbibliothek -m Berlin—Preussisoher Kulturbcsilz, Musikabtoilurig
mil Mendelssohn-Archiv, Mus. ras. FSach P 271, p. 59)

44
FIG [J RK 2-6. Autograph score of "Kornm, I leiliger CeisL Hcrre Gott," RWV 651.
mm. 86—106 (Staalsbibliothek zu Berlin—J'reussischer Kullurbcsilz, Musik-
aljleilung mil Mendclssohn-Archiv, Mus. ms. Bach P 271. p. 61)

45
46 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

second arid third statements conclude with an anticipatory sixteenth

note instead, and the final statement lacks a trill symbol. The performer
should have no compunction about playing all three statements just
like the initial one, with a trill followed by two ascending thirty-seconds.
On the next page of the manuscript appears a second setting of the
same chorale, marked olio modo ("a different way"), a designation like-
wise used by Bach for chorales with multiple settings in the Orgelbiich-
lein and Part 111 of the Clavieriibang. (As Figure 2-2 attests, Altnikol
also used this formulation.) Due to the lengthening of the cadences o:(
phrases 2 — 4 and 6—8, the revised version here is also longer than the
early version, but only by six bars.
Example 2-1, taken from Heinz Lohmann's edition, illustrates the
reworking of the first of these cadencies (mm. 39—42). with the read-
ings from the early version appearing in small print at the top of the
system.20 This passage was expanded by one measure at the beginning,
while the last two bars were kept more or less intact. Here the revised
version improves on the early one through its use of contrary motion
and suspensions between the inner voices, its tasteful introduction of
sixteenth notes, and its relatively active pedal line.
The tendency to lengthen arid embellish is central to Bach's revi-
sional practice. Almost without exception, whenever he changed the
length of a work when reworking it he made it longer, and he almost
never simplified material during the process. How, then, is one to ac-
count for the higher degree of ornamentation throughout the soprano
voiee of the early version? The only plausible explanation is that this
ornamentation stems not from Bach but, at some point in the manuscript
transmission, from a copyist (which would by no means be an unusual
circumstance in the Bach sources). Not only does the ornamentation
pose an exception to what we know about Bach's techniques of revi-
sion; it is also distinctly un-Bachian in its simultaneous use of orna-
mented (upward stems) and unornarnented readings (downward stems).
One Bach-circle copyist fond of this quirky notation is J. G. Walther,
and both sources for the early version—one of which is by Walther's
pupil J. T. Krebs—could very well stem from a lost Walther copy.21
As for the two compositional revisions in this entry, in both instances
Bach copied from the early version an eighth note but, to intensify the
rhythm, changed the reading to two sixteenths. These changes are com-
pletely analogous to the differences between the versions in measure
51, but there the autograph itself preserves no evidence of revision.
The next entry in the manuscript, titled "An WaBer FluBen Babylon
a 2 Clav. et Pedal di J. S. Bach," is also six measures longer than its
early version, thanks to an ingenious extension of the final cadence. As
 The Genesis of the Collection 47

EXAMPLE 2-1. "Komra, Heiliger Geist, Herre Golt," BWV 652/652a, as edited
by Heinz Lohmann, Edition Breitkopf 6587. Breitkopf & Hiirtel, Wiesbaden—
Leip/ig. Used by permission.

in the first setting of "Komm, Heiliger Geist," one of the composilional

revisions (that in m. 79) takes place in this newly composed section.
Three compositional changes are preserved here in the first eight mea-
sures alone (see Figure 2-7), and in each case the original reading ap-
parently stems from the early version (BWV 653a).22
In the opening measure, as indicated by the high placement of the
dot and the close spacing between the first two notes, the ailo originally
contained on beal 2 the relatively prosaic reading of an eighth note and
two sixteenths. The soprano rhythm on ihe next beat was likewise sharp-
F I G U R K 2-7. Autograph score of "Komm, Heiligcr Geisl, Herre Oott." 13WV 652,
mm. 191-99: and "An Wasserllusseri Babylon," BWV 653, mm. 1-29 (Slaatsbiblio-
thek zu Berlm—Preussischcr Kulturhesitz. Mustkabteilung rmt Mendelssohn-
Archiv, Mus. ms. Bach P 271, p. 66)

48
 The Genesis of the Collection 49

ened to a dotted eighth and two thirty-seconds, but there only the re-
vised reading was ever notated.
On the first beat of measure 2, the misshapen note head of the last
alto note shows that the pitch was originally f, and the first two notes
are too close together for an eighth followed by a sixteenth. The de-
formed note head is just far enough away from the (irst nole to have
begun a new beat. Thus, the original reading was evidently that found
in the early version, a quarter note on g' followed by an eighth note on
I' (or at least a note head for the latter). Bach surely aimed this revision
at the stasis that results from yel another alto quarter note.
His alteration in measure 8, conversely, achieves harmonic variety.
Here an erasure shows that the original pitch was lower, and it must
have been A. as in the early version. This revision adds an E-rninor
chord to a measure whose only harmony in the early version is C major
(the A serves only as a passing tone). Although the same discrepancy
exists between the two versions on the repeat ol this passage (rn. 20),
the revision there is purely mental.
Any reference here to the "early version" of this piece means the
version known as B WV 653a. the model for the revised version entered
by Bach into the autograph of the Great Eighteen. But a third version
of this composition (which also lacks the six-bar coda) exists as well, a
five-part setting with double pedal and with the ornamental chorale
tune in the soprano. Known as BWV 653b. il is taken by most scholars
today as the original version of this work complex. 23
Such a view is understandable, since the figuration of both the ac-
companiment and the solo chorale lune is less ornate than in the other-
two versions. Still, in light of Bach's strong tendency to embellish as he
revised, it is hard to believe he would have simplified the texture from
five to four voices. Are there any documented cases in which he re-
sorted to textural simplification? Furthermore, as Robert Marshall has
recently argued, Bach's authorship of the double-pedal version seems
highly dubious on its own terms, lor the double pedal "Lends to obscure
and complicate rather than to enrich the texture." 24 To cite perhaps the
most egregious examples, the subdominant inflections in measure 14
and especially in measures 73-75 sound downright crude (see Ex-
ample 2-2). Gould Bach have devised such primitive harmonies—
none of which appear in either of the other two versions—as late as his
Weimar period?
The evidence either way is inconclusive, but it is entirely possible
that the double-pedal version was arranged from BWV 653a by some-
one other than Bach. Again, the prime candidate is Walther, who pre-
pared copies of both BWV 653a and 653b. One thing is for sure: the
50 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

E X A M P L E 2-2. "An Wasserflusscn Babylon," BWV 653b

double-pedal version had absolutely no impact on the final version.

Despite its popularity among organists, BWV 653b plays only a mar-
ginal role in the collection known as the Great Eighteen chorales.25
To return to Bach's compilation of the Great Eighteen, he next en-
tered "Schmiieke dich." Compared to the previous work, in which only
sixteen of the eighty-three bars of the revised version remain un-
changed Irom the early one, the revision here is slight. Both versions
are the same length, and the alterations are mostly directed at the hon-
ing of certain rhythms. The latter is true, for example, of the first two
compositional revisions in the autograph entry, where in both instances
a pair of eighth notes from the early version was altered to a dotted
eighth and sixteenth. In measure 86, this change heightens the veryr real
sense that measures 85-92 are a varied repeat of measures 76—83,
since at the analogous spot in the earlier passage Bach lei the eighth
notes stand.
A revision of a different sort occurs in measure 105. In the early ver-
sion, a pedal point on E extends from the beginning of this bar until the
downbeat of measure 107. Probably because this pedal point merely
doubled the sustained f in the soprano, it was replaced with wide-
ranging motivic figuration. Bach copied from the early version the half
note that begins the measure but—bearing in mind that the time sig-
nature is |—changed his mind before drawing the dot.
Me next notated the trio on "Ilerr Jesu Christ." Both versions of this
chorale are also the same length. Although several discrepant readings
exist between the two, the most interesting of which involve the contour
of the ritornello theme,26 this entry preserves only one compositional
revision. It takes place one measure from the end (m. 72), where the
penultimate statement of the main pedal motive ( 7 J J J J^ P7) was rewrit-
ten to end on a quarter note rather than an eighth.
 The Genesis of the Collection 51

To understand the context of the revision, consider that measures 1—

51 of this work constitute a free ritornello form in which the pedal mo-
tive appears ten times, that measures 52—69 largely abandon the ritor-
nello and completely forsake the pedal motive in favor of a phrase-by-
phrase rendering of the chorale tune in the pedals, and that measures
70—73 form a coda in which the ntornello is reinstated and accompa-
nied by two further statements of the pedal motive. The only other
statement of the pedal motive in either version that ends with a quar-
ter note—Bach's way ol fortifying the final cadence—is the very last
one (mm. 72-73). Since these last two statements comprise a back-to-
back unit effectively isolated from all other statements, it makes sense
that they have the same rhythm.
The next entry, the three-verse setting of "0 Lamm Gottes," is of
special interest. For one thing, Bach recast over 30 of the 120 bars of
the early version, especially in Variation 2. He also switched the time
signature of the third variation from | to 4 (and, beginning in m. 135 of
the revised version, to |) and, consequently, replaced all eighth-note
triplets with quarters. This change may be thought of as a correction
dictated by the half-note pulse of the pedal line. 2 ' A further difference
is that the early version is six bars shorter, as the repeat in Variation 2
lacks measures 64-69. This omission results in an alarmingly swift
move to the next phrase of the chorale melody.
Three of the four compositional revisions in the autograph entry
occur in the second variation as well. Those in measures 55 and 70 en-
tail the arpeggiation of an A-major triad in the so-called style brise (bro-
ken style). In the early version, however, the arpeggiation in both pas-
sages is temporarily impeded by a half note on e'. Bach eliminated this
defect by using quarter notes instead, not only for this voice but for the
upper alto voice as well.
As for the revision in measure 61, once again a half note was changed
to a quarter. But in another respect, this is a truly exceptional, even
unique, occurrence in this manuscript: it is the only instance of a re-
vised passage, as opposed to one newly composed, whose original read-
ing can be identified as something other than that found in the early
version (which has four sixteenths on this beat). Bach did not rely on
the early version here, obviously, because its soprano voice is an oc-
tave higher at this juncture (and for most of the previous bar as well).
The result would have been a jarring upward leap of a ninth.
His next entry, "INun danket alle Gott," is another matter entirely,
since this is the work least changed from its early version. The amount
of revision here is so negligible, in fact, that no edition ol the early ver-
sion exists (not even in the Neue Bach-Ausgabe) and no listing for it is
52 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

to be found in the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis. As is true of ail the remain-

ing entries except the second setting of "Allein Gott," both versions are
the same length.
The only difference between the two is the length of the soprano note
that ends the Stollen, which in the early version is notaled as two tied
whole notes. Bach's concern here, presumably, was how this note ex-
tended through the modulation to the dominant that occurs in the sec-
ond ending. For once the music starts to change keys, this note loses
its sense of finality. Cutting it off in the middle of the measure neatly
avoided this problem. Although no modulation occurs in the first end-
ing, the note was shortened there as well, for the sake of uniformily.
Bach next notated "Von Gott will ich riicht lasseri." He added many
fast rhythms to the accompaniment, as well as passing tones to the cho-
rale tune. Yet the autograph preserves only one compositional revision,
illustrating the former type of alteration.
The first setting of "Nun komm" follows. Here the ornamental cho-
rale tune was embellished in various places and certain rhythms were
sharpened as well, allowing for a better musical flow. The revisions in
measures J6 and 24 both involve the lengthening of a cadential tone in
this line from a quarter to a hall note, in accordance with the cadence
in measure 8.
Bach next entered a second setting of this hymn. In addition to
changing the time signature (for whatever reasons) from cut time to
common time, he revised the ornamental chorale tune here in much the
same way as in the previous work. But in measures 25-26 he also im-
proved the contour of the part, even to the extent of transposing two six-
teenth notes (on f-sharp and g ) up an octave. As the one compositional
revision evinces, he embellished the left-hand voice as well.
A third setting of this chorale follows. Its autograph entry contains
no compositional revisions. Still, numerous discrepant readings exist
between the two versions, most notably those that affect how the fugal
countersubject ends. For reasons that remain unclear, Bach also re-
barred this work from common time with sixteenths as the basic sub-
division to cut time with eighth notes. As a result, the revised version
has twice as many measures—but the amount of material is identical.
Nor is there any evidence of compositional activity in the next entry,
the first of three settings of "Allein Gott." Bach did, however, make
some minor improvements to the early version, most of which involve
the ornamental chorale tune. For example, the strikingly beautifui six-
teenth-note triplets in measure 14 were originally a pair of anapests.
As for the second setting of this hymn, its two versions differ sub-
stantially, especially with regard to rhythmic sharpening of the orna-
 The Genesis of the Collection 53

mental chorale tune and refinement of accompanimental figuration.

The latter is represented by the three compositional revisions in the
autograph entry, in which the original readings are rather more homo-
phonic. Most interesting is the expansion of the cadenza-like passage
in measure 96 from one to two bars, which makes the revised version
one measure longer.
Alter this entry, lest we forget, Bach laid aside the autograph for
about four years' time. When he returned to it, it was to notate a third
selling of "Allein Colt," ihe magisterial trio setting in A major. The re-
vised version here almost amounts to a systematic reworking of all three
voices with respect to contour, rhythm, and ornamentation. 28 These dif-
ferences notwithstanding, no compositional revisions are apparent in
the autograph.
The last of the Great Eighteen chorales entered by Bach himself is
the first setting of "Jesus Chnstus, unser Heiland." Among the several
changes made to ihe early version is the addition of chromatic notes
(all of them c-sharps) above the final pedal point. Of the two composi-
tional revisions in the autograph, that in measure 16 allowed the bass
voice to sound consecutively all seven degrees of the E-minor scale, in-
stead of leaping from the fifth lo the seventh. The same discrepancy ex-
ists between the two versions in measures 18—19, where this material
appears in the dominant key, but there only the reading with the com-
plete scale was entered.
An important realization to be drawn from this survey is that Bach's
first three entries into this manuscript are the only ones with a signifi-
cant amount of added material. One might also say, therefore, that these
three entries are the most revised. This statement suggests that when
he began to compile the Great Eighteen, Bach's energy was particularly
high. Gould it be that later on in the process his enthusiasm waned?
This would explain not only the four-year hiatus between the thirteenth
and fourteenth settings but also—as we will discuss in the next chap-
ter—the likelihood that the collection was never properly completed.
It is infinitely more important, though, to realize that in no instance
was Bach content just to copy a work: some inner foree drove him as
well lo revise every one of the fifteen chorales he entered. This force,
which may be regarded as the basic and final objective of the com-
poser's methodology, was nothing less than the quest for perfection. 29
Accordingly, the revised versions of the Great Eighteen chorales do not
represent the "definitive" or "final" forms of these masterworks. They
merely advance the music toward its ultimate goal.
This page intentionally left blank
 Chapter 3

SIGNIFICANCE

/'Whatever the word "significance" might imply, it seems fitting for

a chapter on function, purpose, and structure. To be more specific, our
discussion here will tackle such issues as the liturgical and organolog-
ical context of the music, the role it played in Bach's evolution as a com-
poser, and Bach's criteria for ordering the works as he did when he
brought them together as a collection.
Not all these themes are new. For example, we established in chap-
ter 1 that the Great Eighteen served as a catalyst for Bach's assimilation
of the Italian concerto style. Throughout the collection, he superim-
poses this foreign idiom onto the chorale types cultivated by his fore-
bears; he "sanctifies" the concerto form. Since it gave unprecedented
importance to the accompariimerital voices, this fusion of styles ex-
panded these chorale types to unheard-ol proportions. Tl also led to hy-
brid designs of great sumptuousness and intricacy. To quote Manfred
Bukoizer, the Great Eighteen "transcend by their magnitude and depth
all previous types of chorale prel ude."' To be sure, the sheer size of the
individual works is one of their most salient traits, and one greatly ad-
mired by commentators over the years.
Enter Albert Schweitzer. In his highly influential Bach monograph,
originally published in 1905, Schweit/.er, too, hailed the Great Eigh-
teen as "masterpieces."2 Yet in a remarkable aside instigated by the
pedahter setting of "Jesus Ghrislus, unser Heiland" from Part I I I ol the
Clavierubung, he also revealed an intense dislike of "long" chorale
arrangements. Schweitzer faulted this work (or its fragmented chorale
melody, which results from the use of a long ritornello between all

55
56 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

phrases. His criticism applies just as well to the Great Eighteen cho-
rales, many of which, as we saw in chapter 1, adopt this same proce-
dure. He concluded that once the aceompanimental voices of a chorale
setting "become an independent picture, in which the lines of the can-
tusfirmus follow one, another at long intervals, we get a piece of music
that is neither intellectually nor formally satisfactory."
What Schweitzer is really saying is that the ideal chorale setting is
one that presents the chorale melody in continuous fashion; in such a
work, the aceompanimental voices are perforce always subordinate. Not
surprisingly, the Bach organ chorales especially championed by the
great humanitarian are those that closely follow this prototype: the cho-
rales of the Orgelbiichlein.
If the job of the chorale arranger is merely to render the melody as
sung by a congregation, perhaps Schweitzer has a point. But a more rea-
sonable attitude is that other designs are equally viable. With regard to
the Great Eighteen, is it not the independent structure posed by the ac-
eompanimental figuration—the very feature disdained by Schweitzer—
that so attracts us to the music? Who has not marveled at the com-
poser's ability in these works to present simultaneously the hymn tune
and a second, equally compelling form in the accompaniment?
As a composer of organ chorales, Bach could be quite intimate, as
in the Orgelbiichlein, or he could aim for something a bit more epic in
its outlook. In either realm, his mastery is unparalleled. And so, rather
than alleging that the Great Eighteen are fundamentally defective due
to their complex structure, it seems more sensible to appreciate them
on their own terms. Those terms, in the emphatic words of Harvey Grace,
include a "workmanship as nearly flawless as we have a right to expect
from a mere human."''

FUNCTION AND PURPOSE

Bach composed most o( the Great Eighteen, like the majority of his
organ works, while he was organist at the Weimar court. According to
the nineteenth-century Bach biographer Philipp Spitta, these chorale
settings represent "the very quintessence of all he elaborated in Weimar
in this field of art."1
The ruler of the court. Duke Wilhelm Ernst, was, true to his sur-
name, a serious-minded man. 5 The duke was childless and separated
from his wife, and religion was his passion. He demanded that all his
subjects regularly attend services at the court chapel, as he faithfully
did himself, and he even quizzed them on the sermons preached there.
 Significance 57

Someone who took such an interest in theological mailers must also

have had strong feelings about liturgical music. Luckily for Bach, the
duke looked with favor on his chapel organist. According to Bach's
obituary, "The pleasure His Grace took in his playing fired him with
the desire to try every possible artistry in his treatment of the organ."6
The awesome diversity of the Great Eighteen chorales bears eloquent
witness to this statement.
Despite some Pietist leanings, Wilhelm subscribed to the orthodox
Lutheran faith (as, of course, did his organist). Surely, then, the duke ap-
preciated Bach's predilection for chorales from the Reformation period.
Four of the hymns set among the early versions of the Great Eighteen
are by Luther himself, and five others are from 1522-63. The remain-
ing three are from no later than the middle of the seventeenth century.
To judge from Lutheran practice, Bach regularly played for a vari-
ety of worship services: the Hauplgottesdiensl held on the mornings of
the Sundays and festivals of the church year, the vigil services prior to
the festivals, the Vespergottesdienst that took place on Sunday after-
noon, and daily prayer and preaching services. Lie would also have
played for weddings and funerals. These different services required
different types of chorales. For example, the chorales normally used for
the Hauptgottesdienst were de tempore, designated for a specific time in
the liturgical year. Those used for the Vespergottesdienst were omne
lempore, suitable at any time of the year.
Our best source for Bach's understanding of hymnody during his Wei-
mar period (and in general) is the autograph of the Orgelbiichlein.' Sig-
nificantly, this source lists in liturgical order ten of the twel ve chorales
set among the early versions of the Great Eighteen. Included in the de
tempore section of this manuscript are "Nun komm" (Advent), "0 Lamm
Gottes" (Passiontide), "Kornm, Heiliger Geist" (Pentecost), "Komm,
Golf Schopfer" (Pentecost), "Herr Jesu Christ" (Pentecost), and "Allein
Gott" (Trinity). The omne tempore portion contains "An Wasserflusseri
Babylon" ("Christian Life and Conduct"), "Von Gott will ich nicht
lassen" ("Christian Life and Conduct"), "Wenn wir in hochsten IN o ten
sein" ("Christian Life and Conduct"), and "Jesus Christus, unser Hoi-
land" ("The Lord's Supper"). "Schmiicke dich" appears in an appen-
dix that contains hymns for miscellaneous needs and occasions. It has
traditionally been regarded as an omne tempore chorale, especially ap-
propriate at communion.
Bach may not have, in every instance, strictly adhered to this classi-
fication. For one thing, the Weimar court chapel may have followed the
widespread practice of singing "Herr Jesu Christ" and "Allein Gotl"
during ihe HauptgottesdiensL on most Sundays of (he year.8 Whatever
58 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

the case, it stands to reason that "Herr Jesu Christ" was a particular
favorite in Weimar, as Wilhelm's grandfather, Wilhelrn II of Weimar, is
said to have authored its first three stanzas.
As to how Bach incorporated the Great Eighteen chorales into the
Weimar liturgy, consider again their large size. In performance, they
range from about two and a half minutes ("Komm, Gott Schopfer") all
the way to nine (the ornamental "Komm, Heiliger Geisl"); their aver-
age length is around five minutes. Hence, in contrast to the miniature
settings of the Orgelbilcklein, they would have been much too long for
preludes to or as interludes between the stanzas of regular congrega-
tional hymns. As such, they would have greatly diminished the all-im-
portant role of congregational singing in the Lutheran service.
But as Robin Leaver has recently discussed, the Great Eighteen
would have served ideally as preludes to communion hymns, for these
required an extended introduction to cover the distribution of the ele-
ments, particularly on major festivals.9 Leaver also points out that many
of the hymns set in the collection have strong eucharistic connections.
For instance, "0 Lamm Gottes" is a paraphrase of the Agnus Dei, which
belongs to the communion rite of the Lutheran liturgy. Similarly, "An
Wasserfliissen Babylon" was the standard tune for Paul Gerhardt's
hymn "Ein Lammlein geht und tragt die Schuld." which has close ties
to the Agnus Dei as well. "Schmiicke dich" and "Jesus Chnstus, unser
Heiland" are classic communion hymns. Indeed, Bach's autograph
entry of the pedaliter "Jesus Christus" contains the indication sub Co-
munione. One may assume, then, that Bach utilized the works in pre-
cisely this way.
The chapel's organ was constructed in 1658 by Ludwig Compenius
and rebuilt in 1707-8 by J. Conrad Weishaupt and in 1713 — 14 by
Heinrich Nicolaus Trebs. Although the instrument no longer survives,
we have a good idea about its specifications, at least as of 1737, when
its stop list was first published (see Eigure 3-1).10 Whoever remarked
that Bach never had at his disposal an organ equal to his talent might
well have been thinking of this modest, two-manual instrument. Its de-
sign typifies Thuringian organ building in the early 1700s, especially
with regard to the three string slops (manual Gemsshorn 8' and Viol di
Garnba 8' and pedal Violon-Bass 16') and the predominance of stops
in general at eight-foot pitch or lower.J' The pedal Posaun-Bass 16' and
Glockenspiel are also specifically Thuringian.
Considering the huge influence of the Italian string repertoire on the
Great Eighteen, these string stops seem a perfect complement to the
music. For example, as the organ historian Barbara Owen has observed,
 Significance 59

Ober Clavier. CD-r"' Unter Clavier. CD-c"' Pedal, C-e'

I, Principal 8', tin"* 1. Principal 8". Lin 1. Gross Untersatz 32', wood

2. Quintaderia 16', metal* 2. Viol di Gamba 8', metal 2. Sub-Bass 16', wood

3. Gemsshorn 8', metal* 3. Gedackt 8", metal* 3. Posaun-Bass J6', wood*

4. Grobgedackt 8' metal 4. Trompele 8', metal* 4. Violon-Bass 16". wood

5. Quintadena 4', metal 5. klein Gedackt 4', metal 5. Principal-Bass 8', metal

6. Octava 4', metal 6. Octava 4', metal 6. Trompeta-Bass 8', metal

7. MixLur 6 ranks, metal 7. Waid-Flothe 2', metal* 7. (]ornett-Bass 4', metal

8. Cymbel 3 ranks, metal* 8. Sesquialtera 4 ranks "in

Octava. aus 3 und 2 Fuss"

9. A Glockenspiel "urid
Spiel-Ke^ister dazn"
("with stop knob'')

Accessories

Tremulant for the Hauptwerk

Tn^rnularit for the Untenverk
01>erwerk to Pedal coupler
Manual coupler
Cymbel Stern

*Frorn the Compenius or^an of 1658.

F I G U R E 3-1 Specifications of the Compenius-Weishaupt-Trebs organ in the

Weimar court chapel, as described in 1737

"The walking bass in the first setting of Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland
cries out for a distinct-sounding Violone." 12 Bach might even have
played the two free trios with nothing but these stops, using the
Gernsshorn 8' on the Olier Clavier, the Viol di Gamba 8' on the Unter
Clavier, and the Violon-Bass 16' on the Pedal.
The instrument's tuning probably benefited from the growing trend
in the early eighteenth century toward equal temperament, especially
considering that Andreas Werckmeister, the leading advocate of well-
60 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

tempered tuning at the time, exerted a strong influence on both of Wei-

mar's principal organists: Bach obviously relied on Werckmeister's Or-
gelprobe in testing organs,Li and the organist of the Weimar town church,
J. C. Walther, was one of Werckmeister's pupils. In any event, the Great
Eighteen settings of "Schmiicke dich" and "Von Gotl will ich nicht
lassen," in the keys of E-flat major and F minor, are seriously at odds
with the old mean-tone tunings of the seventeenth century.
A visitor to Weimar today will find no trace of the chapel, for it
burned to the ground about twenty-five years after Bach's death. Known
as the Himrnelsburg or "Castle of heaven," this edifice was the very-
picture of grandeur. Its three stories were splendiferously decorated,
and its focal point was a three-layer structure that consisted of (from
ground level up) an altar, pulpit, and giant obelisk. Most remarkable,
directly above this complex, w i t h i n a cupola-shaped, balustraded gal-
lery, stood the organ. Both gallery and organ are plainly visible in the fa-
mous gouache by Christian Richter, circa 1660, shown in Figure 3-2.H
Such magnificence no doubt enhanced the act of worship for Wilhelm
and his entourage. But given the stratospheric placement of the organ
(about sixty feet off the ground) and the narrow opening in the ceiling
(roughly nine by twelve feet) through which the instrument's sounds fil-
tered down into the room, did the congregation fully comprehend the
aforementioned "artistry" of its organist?
Regardless of the answer, we can say with confidence that the Great
Eighteen originated out of Bach's need for liturgical organ music. De-
cades later, around 1740, when Bach began to assemble the pieces into
a collection, he obviously thought of them differently. In Leipzig, he
was under no obligation to compose or perform organ music. Further-
more, although he continued to write for and play the instrument his
whole life, it had been over twenty years since he had actually held an
organ post.
During this interim, Bach's tendency to collect his works—a pattern
begun by the Orgelbiichlein—prominently asserts itself. From his years
in Cb'then (1717-23) right up to 1740, a steady stream of collections,
mostly for keyboard, flowed from his pen. They include (in roughly
chronological order) the Sonatas and Partitas for Unaccompanied Vio-
lin; the Brandenburg Concertos; Book I of the Well-Tempered Clavier;
the Inventions and Sinfonias; the French and English Suites; the Suites
for Unaccompanied Cello: the Six Harpsichord Partitas; Parts II—III of
the Clavieriibling', the eight concertos for harpsichord and orchestra,
BWV 1052-59: arid possibly Book I I of the Well-Tempered Clavier,
which dates from either the late 1730s or the early 1740s. (One might
also cite the series of "chorale cantatas" from 1724<—25 that form the
F I G U R E 3-2. Interior of the Weimar court chapel, painting by Christian Richter.
<:a. 1660 (Kunstsammlungen zu Weimar)

61
62 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

second annual cycle of Bach's Leip/ig church cantatas.) The list con-
tinues in the 1740s with such collections as the Goldberg Variations;
the/lrt of Fugue; the Musical Offering; the Canonic Variations on "Vorn
Himmel hoch"; the fourteen Goldberg canons. BWV ]087; and the
"Schubler" chorales.
Printed collectively in 1731 as Part 1 of the Clavieriibung (literally,
"keyboard exercise"), the Six Harpsichord Partitas commenced the
most extensive publishing venture of Bach's life. Part II of the series,
containing the Italian Concerto and French Overture, appeared in 1735;
Part 111, a set of twenty-one organ chorales and six free works, followed
in 1739; and Part IV, the Goldberg Variations, followed in 1741. '•"' As
a further keyboard collection begun in the lale 1730s or early 1740s,
the Great Eighteen have much in common with the Clavieriibung, and
scholars have Jong speculated that Bach compiled them as well with an
eye to publication. This theory becomes more plausible still when we
reali/e that chorale settings were virtually the only type of organ music
published by the composer during his lifetime (see the organ chorales
of Part 111 of the Clavieriibung, the Canonic Variations on "Vom Him-
mcl hoch," and the Schubler chorales, published around 1748). Why
would he not have desired to share these fruits of his labors with the
widest possible audience?
Still, in assembling this collection Bach must also have been moti-
vated by other, more internal factors. One of these was retrospection.
As he entered his final decade, he had begun to take stock of his life's
work, much as he had taken stock of his genealogy five years earlier by
writing a brief history of the Bach family.' 6 This trend manifests itself in
a number of collections that pulled together, in revised or transcribed
form, pieces composed decades earlier: the eight harpsichord concer-
tos (ca. 1738), the Great Eighteen and Book II of the Well-Tempered
Clavier (ca. 1739-42), and the Schubler chorales (ca. 1748).17 This
pattern culminates with the B-Minor Mass—not a collection per se but
a collection of movements from various periods of the composer's life—
which was not finalized until a year or so before Bach's death. In col-
lecting and revising these pieces, which he must have counted among
his very best, he was preserving his handiwork for posterity.
The Great Eighteen also epitomize various chorale types—the cho-
rale motet, the chorale partita, the ornamental chorale, and the eantus
h'rmus chorale—that reach back to the early seventeenth century. As
a collection created around 1740, they look back at these old chorale
types from the distance ol more than a century. The collection, then, is
retrospective in a historical as wrell as personal sense.
 Significance 68

Like so many of Bach's collections, the Great Eighteen are also genre-
specific. As such, they constitute a compositional treatise on the organ
chorale. They also amount to a method of "advanced" organ playing—
to paraphrase Harold Gleasori—with chapters on various techniques
and styles. Some pieces are essays in gossamer filigree, where either
the right or left hand gingerly negotiates a minefield of ornaments. Oth-
ers, such as the first setting of "Komrn, Heiliger Geist" and the third
setting of "Nun komm," are manual exercises in perpetual motion.
Hardest of all are the trios, where both the hands and feet arc extraor-
dinarily busy. No composer had ever written such complex chorale set-
tings or demanded so much from an organist.
This combination of performing and compositional virtuosity is a
Bachian trademark, and it is but one way in which the Great Eighteen re-
flect his music in general. For, as a collection devoted to a single genre,
they also reveal the encyclopedic and systematic nature of Bach's ap-
proach to composition. 18 As a group of organ works, they symbolize the
instrument we most associate with this composer (and the instrument
whose repertory he dominates like no other composer dominates any-
other repertory). As a group of chorale settings, they explore a genre—
Luther's vernacular congregational hymn—that Bach knew more inti-
mately than any composer before or after him. 19 Like Bach's music as a
whole, the Great Eighteen also represent a culmination of centuries-old
forms and styles. In short, they are a true microcosm of Bach's unique art.

THE STRICTURE OE THE COLLECTION

Having discussed the purpose and function of the music, let us now
look at the makeup of the Great Eighteen as a collected entity. We will
begin with the question of the precise number of works that properly
comprise the set.
At the crux of this matter, of course, is the autograph manuscript.
Since this source also includes the Canonic Variations on "Vom Him-
mel hoch," it actually contains nineteen pieces. But no one has ever
been tempted to group this work along with the other eighteen. For one
thing, as a set of five independent movements the Ganonic Variations
are a fundamentally different sort of composition: they form a collec-
tion just by themselves. Also in contrast to all the other works in the
manuscript, with the possible exception of "Vor deinen Thron," the Ca-
nonic Variations seem to have been composed toward the end of Bach's
life; there is no evidence of the piece before 1746.20 Bach may have
64 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

added it to the autograph of the Great Eighteen simply because that

source was at hand. His intent might also have been to form a hand-
written anthology of organ chorales.
The work that follows the Canonic Variations in the autograph is
"Vor deinen Thron." Tn his edition for the Neue Bach-Ausgabe, Hans
Klotz also excluded this piece from ihe collection because of its phys-
ical separation (rom the firs I. seventeen works in the manuscript and its
special status as Bach's "deathbed" chorale.21 He thus rechristencd
the set as the Seventeen Chorales (Siebzehn Chorale). Assuming that
Altriikol's entries were made alter Bach's death, the fact that ihe anony-
mous copyist placed "Vor deinen Thron" after the Canonic Variations
rather than after ihe pedaliter "Jesus Christus, unser Heiland" would
seem to support Klolz's decision.
Klotz, however, retained both of Allnikoi's entries, the manualiter
setting of "Jesus Christus, unser Heiland" and "Komrn, Gott Schop-
fer." Indeed, he never once doubted that Bach instructed Allnikol to
copy these two pieces into the manuscript. As we will see later, Klotz
even regarded the latter work as a linchpin in the collection's overall
structure. But the likelihood that Allnikol entered these works on his
own initiative means they belong less to the collection proper than does
"Vor deinen Thron."
Given these circumstances, it is imperative to distinguish and pri-
oritize between the fifteen works in Bach's hand and the ihree that arc
not. This does not mean, however, that the two groups are mutually ex-
clusive. The former might be thought ol as the "real" collection (the
Great Fifteen?) drawn up by the composer and the combined contents
as a somewhat more loosely organized anthology compiled by members
of the Bach circle (neither of these entities, though, displays a truly
unified structure). At the very least, one must concede that all eighteen
works are united in two important ways: they are all relatively large
chorale settings; and all of them, with the possible exception of "Vor
deinen Thron," are revised versions of works composed during Bach's
Weimar period. (Did Altnikol also choose his entries with these two as-
pects in mind?) They belong to no other collection, and they share too
many commonalities for any of them to be excluded.
Besides, it is as the Great Eighteen or some variation thereof that
these pieces have been known for almost two centuries. And it is by
this moniker that they continue to be recognized among the vast ma-
jority of organists, musicologists, and music lovers on both sides of the
Atlantic today. The sense of familiarity imparted by this tradition is
somehow quite significant.
 Significance 65

The first person to refer to "eighteen" chorales was the antiquarian

Georg Poelchau (1773-1836), who owned the autograph in the early
nineteenth century. The title page he drew up for the manuscript con-
tains the designation Achtzehn noch ungedruckte Choralvorspiele (Eigh-
teen still unpublished chorale preludes). 22
Some years later, we find the first reference to these works as
"great." Tt appears in their first collected edition, that by Felix Men-
delssohn published in 1846 under the titles 15 Grand Preludes on
Corales and 15 Grouse Choral- Vorspiele fiir die Orgel. Mendelssohn's
use of this adjective here is clearly in contradistinction to the "small"
sellings of the Orgelbiichlein, which he had edited ihe previous year
under ihe title 44 kleine Choralvorspiele.
A year later, all the pieces were published in piecemeal fashion in
volumes 6 and 7 of the Peters edition ol Bach's complete organ works,
edited by Friedrich Conrad Griepenkerl and Ferdinand Roitzsch.
These tomes also contain all the chorales from Part 111 ol the Clavie.r-
iibung and a number ol miscellaneous large settings as well. The col-
lective title of the two volumes is—once again, expressly in contrast to
the Orgelbiichlein—Grossere and kunstreichere Choralvorspiele (Larger
and more artistic chorale preludes). In his text-critical remarks, Grie-
penkerl also speaks of "eighteen chorale preludes."
In his edition for the Bachgcsellschaft of 1878, Wilheim Rust opted
for the title, in imitation of the Schiibler chorales. Achtzehn Chorale von
verschiedener art, (Eighteen chorales of various kinds). But his preface
also refers to the collection as Achtzehn Chorale, die sogenannteri grossen
(Eighteen chorales, the so-called great). Thus, by the late nineteenth
century, Mendelssohn's designation had gained considerable currency.
It remained only for "great" and "eighteen" to be mentioned in the
same breath. When this became common practice is impossible to de-
termine, but by 1937 E. Power Biggs was citing the collection as the
"Eighteen Great."2'* If the secondary literature is any indication, the ac-
cepted usage by the 1950s in the United States had become the "Great
Eighteen." British and German commentators throughout the twentieth
century, though, have tended to avoid the adjective altogether. The
Eighteen is still the nickname of choice in the United Kingdom, while
German speakers know the works primarily as Die achtzehn Chorale.
Because Klolz's edition contains all the chorale settings in the auto-
graph, including the Canonic Variations, he gave his volume the generic
title Die Orgelchoriiie aus der Leipziger Originalhandschrift (The organ
chorales from the Leipzig manuscript). The many organists who have
since purchased the edition have naturally attached some importance
66 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

to this appellation. Accordingly, it is not so unusual nowadays to en-

counter concert programs and recordings that reler to the Great Eigh-
teen as the "Leipzig Ghoralcs."24 The problem with this nickname, of
course, is that none (or virtually none) of the settings were composed in
Leipzig. Bach's "Leipzig Chorales" are Part III of the Clavier•iibung.
In the final analysis, "Great Eighteen" really says it all—and in
rhyming fashion. For all eighteen of these works are truly "great" with
respect to both their size and the quality of their music.
The best way to appreciate the structure of the collection is through
a comparison. Of all of Bach's collections, printed or otherwise, it is Part
III of the Clavieriitmng that shares the closest affinity with the Great
Eighteen. Not only was it published around the same time that Bach
began to compile the latter, but twrenty-one of its twenty-seven pieces
are organ chorales. Moreover, several of these pieces, like most of the
Great Eighteen, represent large-scale, synthetic designs. Surely this
print served as a major stimulus in the preparation of its counterpart.
According to recent research by Gregory Butler, the composition
and engraving of Part III ol the Clavieriibung reach all the way back to
1735 or 1736, some three or four years before publication. 20 Hence,
there can be no question about which of the two collections is earlier.
By the time Bach began to notate the autograph of the Great Eighteen,
around 1739 at the earliest, Part III of the Clavieriibung was a fait ac-
compli.
As Christoph Wolff has observed. Part III of the Clavieriibung is
Bach's first collection to display a cyclic order.26 It opens with the great
Prelude in E-flat Major and closes with the equally grand Fugue in E-
flat Major (known as the "St. Anne"). Both movements are marked pro
Organo plena. Between these outer frames, the composer orders the
twenty-one organ chorales in a variety of ways. (The remaining move-
merits in the collection, the (our Duelti, BWV 802 — 5, which appear
between the final chorale and the E-flal fugue, need not concern us.)
For one thing, the chorales form a tightly knit liturgical design. The
first nine set either the Kyrie or Gloria of the mass, while the lasl twelve
are based on catechism texts. Within each of these two sections, Bach
devotes two or three different organ settings to each of the ten chorale
texts chosen. For example, within the mass section each of the three
Kyrie texts ("Kyrie, Gott Vater in Ewigkeit," "Christe, aller Welt
Trost," and "Kyrie, Gotl Heiliger Geist") is arranged two different
ways; the one Gloria text ("Allein Gott in der Hb'h sei Ehr") is the sub-
ject of three settings. Whereas the three Gloria settings appear in di-
rect succession, the Kyrie settings are split up into two groups of three
works each. The first such group contains large pedaliler settings of
 Significance 67

each of the three Kyrie texts; the second group includes small manu-
aliter settings of each.
Meanwhile, each of the catechism texts ("Dies sirid die heilgeri
Zehn Gebot," "Wir glauben all an eirien Golt," "Vater unser im Him-
melreich," "Christ, unser Herr. zum Jordan karri," "Aus tieler Not
schrei ich zu dir," and "Jesus Christus, unser Heiland") is set twice,
and ihe two settings always appear back-to-back. The first setting in
each pair is a large pedaliter work; the second, a relatively small man-
ualiter setting.
The three groups lhat contain three works are especially noteworthy,
as each of them is unified by a different compositional technique. Tn
the first (the pedaliter settings of the Kyrie), the position of the hymn
tune descends from one work to the next in the order soprano—tenor-
bass. In the second (the manualiter settings of the Kyrie), the three
works form a metrical progression from simple triple to compound
duple to compound triple. And in the third (ihe three Gloria settings),
the tonality ascends from work to work in the order F major-G major—
A major. All three devices make for a compelling musical sequence.
Clearly, Bach attempted to capture aspects of this structure in the
Great Eighteen. The work that commences the collection—the "fan-
tasy" on "Komm, Heiliger Geist"—is as majestic an organ chorale as
has ever been conceived. Like the E-flat prelude, it is designated "for
full organ" (in Organo plena); it is also one of the longest works in the
set. To quote Robert Marshall, "The first few measures of the opening
composition . . . evoke at once the sense of monumentality and gran-
deur that Bach was striving for in this collection."27
Two correspondences between this work and the seventeenth chorale
("Komm, Gott Schcipfer") led Klotz to conclude thai the Great Eighteen
are every bit as cyclic as Part 111 of the Clavieriibung.23 For both works
are marked Organo plena, like the; E-flat prelude and fugue from the
Clavieriibung, and both are Pentecost chorales whose incipits invoke the
Holy Ghost. In addition, the texts of both hymns were authored by Mar-
tin Luther himself. 29 Of course, assuming thai Bach did not authorize
the inclusion of the seventeenth chorale, these two cases are hardly
analogous. But it is tempting to believe nonetheless that Altnikol chose
"Komm, Gott Schopfer" as his final entry because of its hymnological
correspondences to "Korrirn, Heiliger Geist." He may have added the
in Organo plena inscription himself to enhance the sense of cyclic
structure that obtains between the first and seventeenth chorales.
A more fundamental analogy between these two collections is that
the Great Eighteen also include, in four instances, multiple arrange-
ments of the same chorale. As is usually the case in the Clavieriibung,
68 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

whenever a chorale is set more than once ihe two or three different
arrangements appear in consecutive order. Parallels also exist within
these groups. For example, between the three settings oi "Nun komm"
and "Allein Gott" the hymn melody migrates from soprano to bass, just
as in the three pedaliter Kyrie chorales. (Moreover, the three "Allein
Gott" settings, like those in the Clavieriibung, are unified by means of
a modulating key scheme, but here Bach uses the symmetrical dispo-
sition oi A major-G major—A major.) This same progression also exists
between the variations of the two chorale partitas from the Great Eigh-
teen, "0 Lamm Goltes" and "Komm, Gott Schb'pier."
With one exception, these are either groups of three works or works
that consist of three variations. And in the case of the three pedaliler
settings of the Kyrie, one can easily believe that Bach used this de-
scending voice sequence to symbolize the Holy Trinity, just as he em-
ploys theological symbolism throughout his sacred music. As this se-
quence unfolds—in conjunction with three chorale texts devoted to,
respectively, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost—
it may well relate the story of the Triune God. In the first setting
("Kyrie, God and Father in Eternity"), the chorale tune appears in the
highest voice to depict God the heavenly Father; in the second
("Ghriste, Gonsolation of All the World"), the melody moves down to an
inner voice to portray God's earthly incarnation as Jesus; and in the
third ("Kyrie, God, Holy Ghost"), the melody shifts down even further
to the lowest, darkest voice to symboli/e the Holy Spirit, the last (chro-
nologically) and most mysterious member of the triumvirate.
The same argument may be made for two of the chorale trilogies
from the Great Eighteen, especially that on "Allein Golt," whose four
stanzas constitute a paean to the Holy Trinity. Stanza 1 serves as an en-
comium to God in general, while the second, third, arid fourth stanzas
address, respectively, the Father. Son, and Holy Ghost. It is not so far-
fetched to t h i n k of the three settings from the Great Eighteen as repre-
senting Stanzas 2-4. As in the Clavieriibung. "Allein Gott" receives
three settings no doubt because of the hymn's Trinitarian text.'50
In the case of the "Nun komm" trilogy, we are on shakier ground,
since this Advent hymn naturally dwells on Jesus. Still, Stanza 2 fo-
cuses on the Holy Ghost, and Stanzas 5—6 center around God the
Father. Most significant, the final stanza sets the famous text known as
the Lesser Doxology, which begins with the exclamation "Glory be to
the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost."
Quite aside from any Trinitarianism, Bach must have found this
downward progression engaging on purely musical grounds, too, and
especially effective on the organ pedals. No listener can deny the cli-
 Significance 69

mactic effect of saving a final statement of a melody for the bottom reg-
ister. And because pedal stops typically include sixteen-foot registers
or lower, they can. carry the sound right down into the nether regions.
As regards the two groups of dual settings, "Komm, Heiliger Geisl"
and "Jesus Christus, unser Heiiand," the latter recalls the chorale pairs
(rom [he Clavieriibung in terms of both its pedalitKr-manualiter order-
ing and the hint of a large-small succession. Was Altnikol also influ-
enced by these factors? It may or may not be significant that this hymn
appears toward the end of the Great Eighteen, just as it does in the
Clavieriibung.
And so, Part III of the Clavieriibung served the Great Eighteen as a
model with regard to its opening gesture, its preference for multiple set-
tings of a single chorale, its use of certain musical devices to organize
these multiple settings into groups, and its choice of particular hymns.
Just as telling as these parallels, though, are some striking differences
suggestive of a complementary relationship.
Consider, for instance, that the two collections are quite distinct in
the chorale types they employ (although they do both favor synthetic
forms derived from the cantus firmus chorale and chorale trio). While
the Clavieriibung contains no fewer than seven specimens ol the cho-
rale fughetta—a brief fugue on the opening phrase of the chorale—the
Great Eighteen contain none. Also completely absent from the later
collection but represented in the Clavieriibung by two large-scale works
is the chorale canon, a canonic rendering of the entire chorale tune.
Conversely, the ornamental chorale, which is the most common chorale
type in the Great Eighteen, is not to be found in the earlier collection.
The same goes for the chorale motet. These statistics imply that in
compiling the Great Eighteen Bach purposely chose certain chorale
types (the ornamental chorale and the chorale motet) because he had
not used them in the Clavieriibung and that he purposely avoided others
(the chorale fughetta and chorale canon) because he had used them
there.
The most important of these statistics, as they relate to the Great Eigh-
teen, are the complete absence of the chorale fughetta and the presence
ol seven ornamental chorales. Since Bach completely eschewed the
chorale fughetta (and other small forms such as the melody chorale) in
this collection, it has a very different rhythm. The seven fughettas in
the Clavieriibung result in a large—small alternation throughout the
chorale section of the print; in the Great Eighteen, one large setting fol-
lows another.
Concerning the seven ornamental chorales in the collection, the five
non-trio settings are among Bach's most lyrical creations. This songlike
70 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

quality also stands in sharp contrast to the Clavieriibung. For rather than
the lavish decoration of dancelike tunes—just think of the trilogy oi
saraband.es from the Great Eighteen—it is the assimilation of Renais-
sance polyphony that so distinguishes the earlier collection. 3] Since
Bach lends to employ this antiquated style in the Clavieriibung for
hymns that originated as plainchants, the sense of anachronism is all
the greater. Closely tied to this phenomenon are the two canonic set-
tings from the earlier collection, since they partake of a technique most
typical of Renaissance or even Medieval music.
The presence of these obsolete styles, along with the high proportion
of chorale tunes based on the old church modes, has earned for Part TTI
of the Clavieriibung such pejoratives as "austere" and "academic."
Bach himself even called attention to the erudite quality of the collec-
tion by dedicating it to "Music Lovers and especially . . . Connois-
seurs." Without question, the musical style of the Great Eighteen
makes them a more accessible (and popular) group of pieces. Further-
more, most of their chorale tunes are unequivocally tonal and in the
bright, major mode as well (only one major-mode melody is set in the
Clavieriibung). Could it be that Bach intended these settings for a
wider, more dilettante audience?
Because they contain de tempore chorales, the Great Eighteen have
always been of more utility as well. What self-respecting church or-
ganist here or abroad has not played the first setting ol "Komm, Heil-
iger Geist" on Pentecost Sunday, or the first setting of "Nun komm"
during Advent, or the partita on "0 Lamm Goltes" during Passiontide?
Bach did not arrange these de tempore chorales according to the
church year. Nor do the Great Eighteen display any recognizable litur-
gical design. Still, as we have seen vis-a-vis Part TTI of the Clavier-
iibung, the works themselves follow an order that is hardly arbitrary.
Let us continue by discussing further ways in which Bach organized
the collection.
An obvious point ol departure is the unit formed by the second set-
ting ol "Komm, Heiliger Geist" and the chorales on "An Wassernussen
Babylon" and "Schmucke dich" (nos. 2-4). All three are ornamental
chorales, and they all employ triple meter, in the manner of a sara-
bande, even though these chorale luries were normally set in duple.
Observe, too, that the positioning of the chorale tune creates a sym-
metrical soprano—tenor—soprano scheme. Moreover, the chorale tunes
of the first two works are remarkably similar, which, given the other
analogies, leads to remarkably similar figuration. 32 Just as the first two
works in the manuscript form a hymnological pair—they are settings
 Significance 71

of the same hymn—the second, third, and fourth comprise a trio with
respect to musical style.
The next twelve works are easy to summarize. After two seemingly
unrelated settings (rios. 5-6) appear two consecutive works (rios. 7-8)
that are both cantus firmus chorales. Each of the next eight settings
(nos. 9—16) belongs to a group of works devoted to a single chorale.
It is important to remember that the second setting of "Allein Gott"
(no. 13) concludes the first chronological phase of the autograph and
that Bach waited at least four years before notating the third setting.
Therefore, what one might think of as the original version of the col-
lection included thirteen works that began and ended with a pair of set-
tings of a single chorale.
Even at this preliminary stage, we can recognize a strong kinship
between the "Nun komm" and "Allein Goll" groups. The first settings
in each are ornamental chorales that, as discussed in chapter 1, borrow
liberally from Italian violin figuration. Each of these works, in turn, is
followed by an arrangement that conflates the chorale trio and orna-
mental chorale. With the addition of the third "Allein Gott" setting, the
affinity between the two groups is made even stronger. Eor as the col-
lection stands, each group begins with an ornamental chorale that places
the hymn melody in the soprano; continues with a work that combines
the chorale trio and ornamental chorale: and ends with a setting that
shifts the hymn tune down to the bass voice, in the manner of a cantus
firmus chorale. Because the two groups are side by side, they comprise
a unit of six works altogether (nos. 9—14), by far the largest subgroup
in the collection.
The last four settings (nos. 15 — 18) commence with Bach's final
entry, the pedaliter "Jesus Christus, unser ITeiland." If the inscription
in pieno Organo in J. G. Walther's copy of the early version is authen-
tic, Bach may have entered the work here to complement the lull-organ
setting that opens the collection, thus imparting to his fifteen entries
some sense of cyclic structure. It should also be mentioned that the two
"Jesus Christus" settings form a musical as well as hymnological unit,
since they are both chorale motets. Whether this was a factor in Alt-
nikol's choice of the second setting is of course open to speculation.
That numbers 17 and 18 both originated within the Orgelbiichlein is
probably just a coincidence.
Our findings on the structure of the Great Eighteen as a collection
are summarized in Table 3-1. The data enclosed in rectangles demon-
strate that most of the works are related to their neighbors either hym-
nologically or musically. These relationships, however, do not amount
T A B L E 3 - 1 The Collective Structure of the Great Kighleen Chorales

BWV Chorale Position of

No. Title Type Chorale Tune Other

651 "Komm, Heiliger cantus firmus bass (pedal)

Geist, Herre Gott" chorale
652 "Komm, Heiliger chorale motel soprano imitates
Geist, Hern- Gott omame ntal sarabande
chorale
653 "An Wasserrltissen ornamental tenor imitates
Babylon" chorale sarabande
654 "Sehmucke dieh. ornamental soprano imitates
oliebeSeele" chorale sarabande
655 "Herrjesu Christ, chorale trio bass (pedal)
dich zu uns wend" (;amus f l r m u s

chorale
656 "() Lamm Cotles, chorale parlila Var. 1, soprano
unschuldig" Var. 2, alto
Var. 3, bass (pedal)
657 "Nun danket alle cantus firmus soprano
Gott" chorale
658 "Von Gott will ich cantus firmus tenor (pedal)
nicht lassen" chorale
659 "Nun kornm, der ornamental soprano imitates
Heiden Heiland" chorale Italian violin
figuration
660 "Nun komm, der ornamental soprano
Heiden Heiland" chorale
chorale trio
661 "Nun komm. der cantus firmus bass (pedal)
Heiden Heiland" chorale
662 "AJIem Gott in der ornamental soprano imitates
lliili sei Ehr" chorale Italian violin
figuration
663 "Allein Gott in der ornamental Icnor
Hoh sei Ehr" chorale
chorale Irio
664 "Allein Colt in der chorale trio bass (pedal)
Hrih sei Lhr" cantus j; rm|JS
chorale

72
 Significance 78

BWV Chorale Position of

No. Title lyp° Chorale Tune Other

665 "Jesus Christus, chorale motel

unser Heiland"

666 "Jesus Christus, chorale motel

uriser 1 lei land"
667 "Komm, Gott chorale partita Var. 1 , soprano
Schopfer, Heiliger Var. 2. bass (pedal)
Geist"
668 "Vor deinen Thron cantus firmus soprano
tret ich hiermit" chorale

to a structure that unifies the set as a whole. Such a structure simply

does not present itself, no matter what one might read to the contrary.
Considering the composer's well-known penchant for architectonic
form, ihe Great Eighteen chorales suggest a work in progress—a work
that, for whatever reasons, was never properly completed. But the fact
that Bach assembled these gems into any kind of a collection imbues
them with a manifold significance that otherwise would not exist.
This page intentionally left blank
 (35rwiAi&w &

THE MUSIC AND ITS PERFORMANCE

vr^/ Fovv that we have studied the Great Eighteen as a collection, let
us reconsider them as individual works. Our purpose here will be to ex-
amine aspects of the music not touched on in previous chapters, par-
ticularly issues of performance practice. We will cover the pieces in
their order of appearance in the autograph manuscript. Not surpris-
ingly, this is the same sequence found in the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis.
Each commentary is preceded by the work's heading more or less
exactly as it appears in the autograph, with the individual lines sepa-
rated by a solidus ( / ). Incredibly, these headings have yet to be accu-
rately reproduced in any publication.

" K O M M , I I K I L I G E R GEIST, HERRE GOTT"

(COME, HOLY GHOST, LORD GOD), BWV 651
Autograph Heading: J. J. Fantasia sup[er] Korn heiliger Geist. canto
fermo in Pedal, di J S Each. / In Organo plena

Nowhere does the text of this Pentecost hymn reier to that event as
recorded in Acts 2.1 But the exuberance of Bach's "fantasy," with its
whirling manual figuration and full-organ registration, is entirely com-
patible with such imagery as rushing winds and tongues ol fire. The late
Glenn Gould even chose the piece, as recorded by Marie-Claire Alain,
for the concluding fireworks scene of the film Slaughterhouse Five. This
is one of Bach's longest organ chorales, and performances typically run

75
76 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

about six minutes. A relatively slow tempo can easily add two minutes
to the count. 2
The beginning and end o( the work are highly unusual for a cantus
firmus chorale in which the pedals state the hymn melody, for here the
pedals start and finish with free material instead. In no other Bach com-
position of this type do the pedals begin with anything but the first note
of the chorale tune, and in only two others (the trio on "Herr Jesu Christ"
from the Great Eighteen and the Fuga sopra il Magnificat, BWV 733)
do they conclude with anything but the last note of the tune.
The pedals could easily have been delayed until measure 8, where
the hymn melody commences. An opening tonic pedal point, though,
creates an infinitely more powerful effect, and one familiar from many
of the composer's free organ preludes (see BWV 537, 540, 546, 562,
568, and 569). Similarly, Bach could have concluded with a tonic triad
on the downbeat of measure 104. But the ending he ultimately settled
on is much stronger, because both the V and 1 chords are set as whole
notes in root position, and far more dramatic as well. Particularly strik-
ing is the transition between the second and third beats of measure 104,
where contrary motion between the soprano and bass in their outermost
registers leads to a secondary diminished-seventh chord.
As various older editions show, it was once customary to herald the
chorale tune by adding pedal stops in measure 8/ Such an alteration,
however, serves only to disrupt the musical flow. The performer should
feel no need to change registration—or manuals—anywhere in this
piece, not even in the concluding "Hallelujah" section. Adding stops
in measure 89 would be messy business indeed.
Bach's registration instruction, of course, should not be taken liter-
ally. From what is known about Baroque practice, Organo plena merely
implied all principal and mixture stops, plus optional pedal reeds.4
The modern player might consider adding a Sesquiallera, since mix-
ture stops on Thuringian organs of this period typically contained third-
sounding pipes throughout their compass.r> Ideally, this addition will
help clarify the dense fugal texture.

"KOMM, HEfLIGER CE1ST, H E R H E GOTT"

(COME, HOLY GHOST, LORD GOD), BWV 652

Autograph Heading: Komm he'diger Geist. alio rnodo. a 2 Clav. el Ped.

di J. S. Bach.

This second setting of "Komm, Heiliger Geist" is Bach's only organ

chorale to combine the chorale motet arid ornamental chorale. Again, the
 The Music and Its Performance 77

unusually long hymn melody appears complete, with each of the nine
phrases serving as a point of imitation. The result is no fewer than 199
bars of music, which makes this the second longest organ chorale Bach
ever wrote (the longest is "Herr Gott, dich loben wir," BWV 725). Not
only are all the phrases set imilatively; they also follow the same voice
order (tenor—alto—bass—soprano) and key sequence (tome—dominant-
tonic—tonic), and they all end with the same rhythm, a trilled dotted
quarter note followed by two sixteenths. This monotony may be just as
responsible for the work's neglect as its great length. Still, the music is
beautiful beyond words.
Those stalwarts who last the full nine minutes are rewarded, begin-
ning in measure 187, with a lively free coda that suddenly transforms
the mood from supplication to ecstasy (see Example 4-1). While the
coda doubtless depicts the word "Hallelujah," which concludes all
three stan/as of the text, the final phrase of the chorale tune actually
ends (on the downbeat of m. 187) just before the coda begins. One is
reminded of Bach's Weimar organ pupil Johann Gotthilf ZiegJer and his
report that "as concerns the playing of chorales, 1 was instructed by my
teacher, Capellmeister Bach . . . riot to play the songs merely offhand
but according to the sense [Affect] of the words." 6

K X A M PLE 4-1. "Komm, tteiliger Gcist, J lerre Golt," BWV 652

78 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

"AN WASSERFLUSSEN BABYLON"

(BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON), BWV 653

Autograph Heading: Am Wafter / Fliiflen, / Babylon / a 2 Clav. / et /

Pedal di/J. S. Bach.

The text of this hymn is a translation of Psalm 137, a moving lament on

the Babylonian Exile of the Jews. Bach's choice of the sarabande as a
compositional model recalls his appropriation of that dance type for the
final elegiac choruses of the St. John and St. Matthew Passions. The
sorrowful Affekl of the organ chorale is especially palpable from meas-
ure 48 on, owing to an increased use of chromaticism and the minor
mode (see, for instance, the cross-relations in mm. 67 and 76).
As a bar-form chorale. "An Wasserfliissen" poses quite an anomaly
to Bach's normal practice, for in those relatively lew instances where
he actually notated the restatement of the Stollen, he tended to vary the
material from its original presentation. Here, though, the restatement
is fully nolated, in both the early and lale versions (BWV 653a and
653, respectively), with virtually the same material as the initial state-
ment. Besides the missing soprano trill in measure 23 of the late ver-
sion, the only discrepancies occur between measures f2 —14 and 24 —
26, that is, at the very end of the Stollen. Perhaps when Bach composed
the piece he intended to vary the restatement but did not realize until
measure 24 that he had copied the Stollen note for note. Although he
chose not to go back and alter measures 19-23, he might well have
performed this passage wilh improvised variations, in accordance with
the Baroque practice of the varied reprise. Performers today might do
likewise.
This work may also be connected to one of Bach's most famous organ
performances, that given in Hamburg in 1720 on the fifty-eight-stop
organ of St. Catherine's Church. According to his obituary, he played
in front of a select audience lor more than two hours, improvising for
nearly half an hour on the chorale "An Wasserfliissen Babylon."'
Among those in attendance was the church's elderly organist, Johann
Adam Reinken. One o( Reinken's best-known works is a massive organ
fantasy on this same chorale, a fact, according to the obituary, not un-
known to Bach.8 Since the obituary states that the chorale was chosen
by "those present" and not by Bach himself, Reinken may have re-
quested this particular melody to test the improvisational skills of his
junior colleague. Of course, Bach passed the exam with flying colors,
and afterward Reinken said to him, "I thought that this art was dead,
but I see that in you it still lives."9
 The Music arid Its Performance 79

Considering the strong influence of Reinken on the young Bach,10

he very likely knew Reinken's fantasy (and not merely the fact that
Remcken had written such a piece). Thus, while extemporizing on the
tune Bach could have purposely aimed for a rendition just as varie-
gated and grandiose. He may also somehow have incorporated into this
"improvisation" his only extant organ setting of this hymn, which in
1720 would have meant the early version, BWV 653a. About twenty
years later, when Bach revised this work for inclusion in the Great
Eighteen, he tacked on a seven-bar coda that closes with the same
highly unusual gesture as Reinken's fantasy: a descending scale in the
ornamental solo voice (see Examples 4-2 and 4-3). It is hard not to be-
lieve that this correspondence represents an act of homage.
When, in his twilight years, Bach set about revising this organ cho-
rale, he must have thought fondly about this epsiode in his life. Think-
ing of the organ at St. Catherine's alone would have brought back pleas-
ant memories, as he was particularly enamored of its reed stops." Would
he have played the solo line on a soft reed slop, as is the custom nowa-
days? Whatever the answer, performing the work in this manner—de-
spite its use of the Tierce, en Taille as a model—provides a meaningful
link to the Hamburg performance.
To return to the coda, its last four bars are surely the richest passage
in the entire work. Here Bach combines a final statement of the ntor-

EXAMPLE 4-2. Johann Adam Reinken, "An Wasserfliissen Babylon"

80 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

EXAMPLE 4-3. "An Wasserfliissen Babylon," BWV 653

ncllo in the soprano, a second pedal line in ascending motion, arid

a descending scale in the left hand. The major seventh between the
two pedal lines in the penultimate measure creates great tension, arid
its resolution in contrary motion with the descending scale could not
be more satislymg. Precisely at the point of resolution, the ntornello
also ends.

"SCHMUCKE DICH, 0 LIEBE SEELE"

( A D O R N YOURSELF, 0 D E A R SOUL), BWV 654

Autograph Heading: Schmilcke/dich, o liebe/Seele. /a 2 Clav. el,/

Pedal/dij. S.Bach

The text of this chorale has been described as a "rapturous meditation"

on the rile of communion. 12 Bach sets the hyrnn as an ornamental cho-
rale and uses ornamentation within the ritornello as a pun on the word
schmiicke ("adorn").
No one would dispute that "Schmiicke dich" is one of the most be-
loved chorale settings ever written by any composer—or that it pos-
sesses a mystical charm that can move even the most obstinate listener.
 The Music and Its Performance 81

The tune itself is very lyrical, especially the two ascents to the upper-
octave tonic pitch, and Bach's tendency in the middle voices toward
stcpwise eighth notes in parallel thirds and sixths leads to a euphony
few would associate with him. (The accompanimental figuration comes
remarkably close to that of Variation 10 of Bach's organ partita on "Sei
gegriisset, Jesu giitig," a movement also based on the sarabancle.) Let
us not forget, either, the gorgeous coloratura writing for the soprano
voice, particularly the climax tones in measures 15, 29, 88, and 103.
"Schrnucke dich" is also a bar-form chorale. But here, in contrast to
the previous piece, Bach indicates the restatement of the Stollen by re-
peat marks only. The player can vary the restatement merely by chang-
ing registration, but this still means a note-for-nole repeat.Li An infi-
nitely more interesting approach is to add ornamentation on the repeat,
much as singers do on the repeat of the "A" section in da capo arias
and as harpsichordists do in binary dance movements.
This setting is a prime candidate for such treatment primarily be-
cause the soprano occupies its own manual. Since the right hand plays
this part only, without ever taking the alto, it is Iree to embellish at will.
Regardless of how far the soprano might descend in the midst of any
added embellishment, the alto voice will never obstruct it; the hands
will never cross on the same manual. The slow rhythms in the soprano
also greatly facilitate the addition of ornaments, as does the slow tempo
dictated by the use of the sarabande as a compositional model. Be-
sides, a note-for-note repeat of such a lengthy passage—about two min-
utes' worth—would tempt even the most conscientious player to omit
the repeat altogether.14
As an example to be followed, consider George Ritchie's recent
recording (see Example 4-4). L> He tends to decorate only where a half
note or dotted half note sits alone, and twice by means of the same mo-
tive (^J JTJ) Bach himself employs throughout the soprano voice. Thus,
Ritchie's added ornamentation not only relieves points of stasis in the
melody; it also heightens the sense of motivic u n i t y within the line.
Those players who are reticent about adding their own ornamen-
tation have two other options. The first is to simplify Bach's notated
ornamentation for the first statement of the Siollen and restore it all
on the repeat. 16 This, in (act, is precisely what Ritchie does with the
compound trill in measure 15 by omitting the appoggiatura the first
time through. The second is to employ in succession the two different
forms of ornamentation found between the early and late versions of
the work. Marie-Claire Alain has recorded "Schmiicke dich" in just
this way. 17
82 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

EXAMPLE 4-4. "Schmucke dich, o liehe Seele," BWV 654. (George Ritchie's or-
namentation of Bach's soprano line (as transcribed by the author).

" H E R R JESU CHRIST, DTCH ZU U N S WEND"

(EORD JESUS CHRIST, TURN TO US), BWV 655
Autograph Heading: Trio supfer] / Herr Jesu Xst, /dich zu uns wend. /
a 2 Clav. el / Pedal di / J. S. Bach

In this heading, the Greek letter "5C" (= Chi) stands for "Chri[st]."1!i
Because of its shape, the letter also signifies the cross on which Jesus
was crucified. This abbreviation appears frequently in Bach's auto-
graph manuscripts, and it is of course characteristic of Christian tradi-
tion in general.
Here we have a decidedly effervescent work, one whose overall
sonority has been likened to a carillon or glockenspiel.19 As discussed
in chapter J, it begins as a free trio in ritornello form but later (in m. 52)
becomes a cantus firmus chorale. Starting in measure 7J, after pre-
senting the entire chorale tune in the pedals, Bach adds two final ri-
tornello statements.
 The Music and Us Performance 83

The addition of a pedal stop for the hymn melody makes good musi-
cal sense and, due to the pedal rests in measures 51-52. is easy to ac-
complish. As for when the original registration should return, measure
71 offers two possibilities: between the first and second eighth notes
(immediately after the last note of the chorale melody) or between the
fifth and sixth eighth notes (immediately before the final two ritornello
statements).

"0 LAMM GOTTES, U N S C H U L D T G "

(0 LAMB OF G O D , INNOCENTLY SLAUGHTERED),
BWV 656

Autograph Heading: 0 Lam Gottes / utisckuldig. /3 Versus. /di /

./. S. Bach/1 Versus, manualiter

In what may be a unique hymnological case, the three stanzas of this

Passiontide chorale contain essentially the same words. But whereas
the first two stanzas conclude with: "Have mercy on us, Jesus," the
third ends with: "Give us your peace, Jesus." Bach mirrors this tripar-
tite structure by writing exactly three variations and by depicting the
lasl two lines of text, in Variation 3, in dramatic fashion. For the penul-
timate line, "Otherwise, we would have had to despair," intensely chro-
matic harmomes appear out of nowhere, whereas for the final line ("Give
us your peace, Jesus") the figuration switches abruptly to rapid scales.
Spitta hailed the piece as a "marvel of profoundly religious art!"20
"0 Lamm Gottes" is unquestionably one of Bach's most popular
organ chorales. Taken as a whole, however, the three variations of this
"continuous" partita make a distinctly uneven impression. Variation 3
seems consistently inspired—and, as we will see, not just with regard
to text painting. But the first two variations are quite conventional and
monochromatic, at least in terms of their figuration.
Both are based on the same accompamrriental motive, three off-the-
beat eighth notes followed by a fourth note of equal or greater value.
Known as the suspirans (because it begins with a "suspiration"), this is
the most common of all Baroque keyboard figures. Since it sounds con-
stantly, the motive produces continuous eighth-note motion throughout
the first two variations. The suspirans is also Bach's favorile accompa-
nimenlal idea in the Orgelbuchlein. Bui there he is working with an
extremely compact design, one without an introduction or interludes
between the phrases of the chorale. In the present work, the chorale
tune proper does not enter until measure 10, and Variation 2 contains
84 J. S. Bach's Creat Eighteen Organ Chorales

a lengthy interlude at its midpoint (rnra. 64—68). This interlude, more-

over, is little more than one gigantic sequence, and one ol the most
repetitive the composer ever wrote. 21 There is also the fact that in nei-
ther of these variations did Bach bother to write a varied reprise of the
Stollen. On several different levels, then, the amount of repetition is
considerable.
Variation 3 begins according lo a very different plan. A pedal line is
added to carry the chorale melody, the meter changes from i> to \. ihe
suspirans is replaced with quarter notes, arid ihe second note of the
hymn tune is raised lo d-sharp.22 What is more, the Stollen receives a
varied restatement in which the accompaniment begins an octave
higher. From this point on, basically each of the remaining phrases is
paired with a different accompanimenlal motive. (Mole in particular-
how the descending chromatic motive used for the penultimate phrase
is ingeniously woven into the pedaiiter chorale line.) Bach also adds a
fourth voice in the middle of the chromatic passage (mm. 136-39) and
a filth in the last three bars. By means ol these added parts, the work
culminates in a mighty crescendo that seems to grow all the way to the
end of the last rising scale.
Despite these discrepancies, "0 Lamm Gottes" is still a work whose
three variations comprise a loosely unified whole. Just consider the de-
scending voice order (soprano-alto—bass) used systematically from
one variation to the next for the presentation ol the chorale melody.
Bach also employs the same sort of style brise figuration between Vari-
ations 1 and 2 as between Variations 2 arid 3 (in the latter instance,
ending with a pungent tonic—dominant clash). A further cohering fac-
tor is the return of the suspirans, in the context of | time, ior the final
phrase of Variation 3 (the scale figures here constitute two successive
statements of this motive). As Werner Breig has observed, this material
functions both as a coda for Variation 3 and as a reprise for the entire
composition. 2 ' 5
Most players sensibly change registration between variations, along
the lines of a gradual crescendo, and such a buildup greatly enhances
the climactic nature of Variation 3. The addition of stops within this
variation, particularly for the last phrase, is also effective. As we will
see in the next chapter, an early advocate of both of these techniques
was Felix Mendelssohn.
As for tempo, the same half-note pulse should be maintained through-
out all three variations. The chromatic passage in Variation 3 is often
taken twice as slow as the material on either side of it, presumably to
underscore the dissonant harmony. But a ritenuto here does little more
than fragment the penultimate phrase of the hymn tune.
 The Music and Its Performance 85

" N U N D A N K E T A L L K COTT"
( L K T E V K R Y O N E NOW T H A N K GOD), BWV 657

Autograph Heading: Nan dancket alle Gott. a 2 Ciav. el Ped.

canio ferrno in Soprano, di J. S. Bach.

In this instance, we find Bach's only organ setting of the famous hymn
better known to English speakers as "Now Thank We All Our God." As
discussed in chapter 1, the, compositional model is a type of cantus fir-
rnus chorale created by Pachelbei. According to Spitta, Bach surpasses
this model through "tuneful counterpoint."24 One might add that the
counterpoint is also extraordinarily busy and quite difficult to perform,
especially in the many passages where the left hand has to take both
inner voices.
It has long been the custom to play the soprano chorale melody on a
strong eight-foot reed, either alone or in combination with a unison or
octave principal. As Thomas Harmon has argued, players would do well
to consider the latter option in light of how Bach treats this same hymn in
the opening chorus of Cantata f 92. Nun dankel alle Coll.20 There, too, the
hymn is the subject of a cantus firmus chorale, with the chorale tune sung
by the sopranos, doubled by oboes. As Harmon {joints out, this is a type
of registration recommended by Bach's pupil Johann Friedrich Agricola.

" V O N GOTT WILL ICH NIGHT LASSEN"

( F R O M GOD I DO NOT WANT TO LEAVE), BWV 658

Autograph Heading: Von Gott will ich [nichtj Iqfien. canto Jermo in
pedal, dij. S. Bach.2h

With language suspiciously similar to Robert Schumann's characteri-

zation of "Schmiicke dich" (see next chapter), Spitta maintained that
the accornpanimental voices of this work "wind around and above [the
chorale tunej like a luxurious garland of amaranth."27 This is, to be sure,
an exquisite composition, and one that feels under the fingers rather
like one of Bach's harpsichord sinfonias (BWV 787-801).
Especially memorable are the two penultimate measures, where both
the alto and the left-hand bass part are assigned new material (see Ex-
ample 4-5). Although notated in faster rhythms, the alto gives the effect
of syncopated eighth notes on b'-flat ( '. f ' C*.' ). whereas the bass moves
according to a falling-octave motive, which, if memory serves, the late
Anton Heiller likened to the beating of the human heart. The tension in
the penultimate bar itself between the leading-tone diminished-seventh
86 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

EXAMPLE 4-5. "Von Gotl will ich nicht lassen," BWV 658

chord arid double tonic, pedal point is almost unbearable. As Peter

Williams observes, the passage is unnecessary from the perspective of
phrase structure.28 Bui the piece would be greatly diminished without it.
Bach notates the pedal line that carries the hymn tune in the tenor
rather than bass range, a unique occurrence among the Great Eighteen
chorales. But at what pitch should the part be played? The practice of
using a four-fool stop goes all the way back to ihe alleged Bach pupil
Johann Christoph Oley, whose inscription Pedal 4 fuss appears in his
manuscript copy of ihis work.29 This registration might well project the
melody in a way that an eight-foot stop cannot, yet it also annihilates
the tenor voice, creating instead two alto parts. Still, as Clark Kelly has
pointed out, an eighl-foot pedal stop, if combined with an eight-foot
manual registration, can lead to such dubious results as parallel fifths
between the pedal and alto parts in measure 30, between the second
and third beats (see Example 4-6).'io Whichever pitch one chooses, the
overall tone and balance of the registration should obviously be taken
into account as well.
As for other performance matters, users of the Peters and Breitkopf
editions should add an a-flat sixteenth note on the repeal of measure 1.
Although written in tiny script (as a direct) and crowded onto the end
of the left-hand staff after the first ending, this note is visible in the au-
tograph manuscript.
The autograph does nol indicate any kind of break in the pedal part
before the last phrase, which begins at the pickup to measure 34, arid
therefore no edition gives this instruction. In order to preserve the
phrase structure of the original chorale, however, the e-flat in measure
34 should be shortened. This is nol a problem elsewhere in ihe piece
because all other adjacent phrases either are separated by rests or end
and begin on the same pitch. In the latter instances, these repeated
notes automatically separate the two phrases.
 The Music and Its Performance 87

E X A M P L E 4-6. "Von Gott will ich nicht lassen," BWV 658

"NUN KOMM, DEK IIETDEN HEILAND"

( C O M E NOW, S A V I O R OF THE H E A T H E N ) ,
BWV 659
Autograph Heading: Nun kom/der Hey /den Hey = /land. /
a 2 Clav. /el Ped. /di/J. S. Hack
Here Bach gives us the first of three arrangements of this famous Ad-
vent chorale. It remains one of his most popular organ works, period,
due both to the arabesquelike figuration in the soprano that embell-
ishes the hymn melody and to the rich accompanimental material that
sounds beneath. Harvey Grace singled out the piece unequivocally as
the composer's "most beautiful" organ chorale of all.31
As we will discuss, the work also projects a deep sense of mysticism
quite in keeping with the theme of Christ's Incarnation. This may be why
it is played (by the late Fernando Germarii) during the "adoption" scene
toward the end of Ermanno Olmi's film L'albero degh zoccoli (The tree of
wooden clogs). In this scene, the day after a young couple have just spent
their first night together as husband and wife they decide to take in an
abandoned boy offered to them by a n u n . Considering the film's em-
phasis on "simple Christian steadfastness,"32 the parallels to Joseph,
Mary, the baby Jesus, and God's gift of the Messiah are undeniable.
As mentioned in chapter 1, each of the four soprano phrases begins
as if it would run about two bars but winds up lasting two or three limes
this long. In each case, the first three or four notes of the phrase appear
more or less as quarter notes, only lo be followed by rising sequences
completely unrelated to the tune. Not until the last note oi each phrase,
evidently, does the original chorale serve again as a point of reference.
Thus, the intervening three or four notes, although they are all touched
upon at some juncture, are effectively lost. This must be what Hermann
Keller had in mind when he wrote that this piece "has a fantastic beauty
that we never perceive fully."33
88 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

One must look hard indeed to find another ornamental chorale by

Bach in which the hymn tune is treated so freely. (The only candidate
is the second setting of "Allein Gott" from the Great Eighteen.) Rather
astonishingly, it is absent from the soprano voice more often than not,
as if to depict the great mystery of the Incarnation. Bach may also have
had in mind the text that concludes the first stanza: "All the world is
amazed that God gave him such a birth."
Example 4-7 illustrates the second phrase. Here Bach begins with
a straightforward quarter-note rendition of the first three notes (g'—b'-
flat—c"), then introduces a motive independent of the chorale melody
(££]" ^-Tr p) and subjects it to exactly two rising sequences—for him,
standard melodic construction. Additional free figuration follows and
finally gives way to a half-note ori b'-flat, the last note of the pbrase.
Precisely where the listener is supposed to hear the phrase's middle
three notes (b'-flat—c"—d") is lar from clear.

EXAMPLE 4-7. "Nun komrri, der Heidcn Ileiland," BWV 659

 The Music arid Its Performance 89

The material allotted to the inner voices throughout the work also
adopts different guises, ranging from imitative (as in the opening pre-
imitation of the first phrase) to homophonic. An example of the latter
texture occurs in the penultimate measure of Example 4-7, where the
left hand is reduced to eighth-note chords and rests. What strange
music! Only the first chord is in root position, and all the tonic b-flat
triads are merely implied by the d's in the pedal. To add to the uneasi-
ness, the bass oscillates between e-fiat and d, rather than moving for
any length of time in one direction. Here, then, both the accompani-
ment and the solo line lend an element of mysticism.

" N U N K O M M , DER I I E I D E N H E I L A N D "

(GOWK NOW, S A V J O H OF THE HEATHEN),
BWV 660
Autograph Heading: Trio, supjerj / Nun kom der /Heyden Heyland/
a due Bassi/e canto ferrno /di /./. S. Bach

This second setting of "Nun komm" is something else entirely. Although

the hymn tune once again appears in the soprano, surrounded by em-
bellishment, it is now accompanied by two bass voices, one played by
the left hand on a separate manual, the other played by the feet. In no
other trio composition for any medium does Bach invert the standard
scoring of two treble parts and bass.
In the context of this unique disposition, certain passages stand out
as most peculiar. Take, for example, the first and last soprano phrases,
which set the same melody. Since the half note functions as the stan-
dard rhythm for the notes of the chorale tune, the listener expects each
phrase to cadence two beats earlier. Also disorienting is how the music
continues. In each instance, an abbreviated ritornello statement (using
the same segment of the iherne) leads to a four-voice eighth-note chord
in the lelt hand. These chords themselves are a big surprise, since oth-
erwise trio texture is strictly maintained. But they are doubly surpris-
ing in the early version, because Bach indicates there by means of a
wavy vertical line that each is to be arpeggialed, a highly unusual tech-
nique in organ music (see Figure 4-1 for a complete: facsimile of the au-
tograph of the early version). These arpeggiated chords have also been
marshaled as evidence that the left-hand part was originally for viola da
gamba and, consequently, that the original version of this work complex
is a lost cantata movement for solo soprano, gamba, and eontinuo/ 4
Each of these chords, in turn, is followed by more unusual material.
After the first chord, which cadences in D minor, the music immedi-
90 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

aleiy shifts back to G minor, resulting in a most abrupt "modulation."

Stranger still, after the second chord breaks off, in the last bar, a G
pedal sounds by itself for an extra beat and a hall until the very end of
the piece.'1'1 One is not likely to find another work by Bach or anyone
else that ends this way.
Little wonder, then, that Spitta denounced this setting as "startingly
reckless" and "almost unapproachable in the abruptness of its charac-
ter."'36 In a similar vein, Harvey Grace found the work "so dark in mood
as to be repellent on first acquaintance."37 He objected specifically to
the dissonant intervals in the ritornello theme, the consistently low
range, and what he perceived as a liberal use of harmonic dissonance.
The lugubrious nature of the piece even suggested to Hermann Keller
a depiction of Christ's descent into hell, as cited in the fifth stan/a of
the chorale text.38
For all these reasons, this work remains the least popular of the three
"Nun komm" arrangements in the Great Eighteen. In addition, organ-
ists have shied away from the piece because it is by far the hardest of
the three to perform. The fast, disjunct ritornello theme poses problems
lor the left hand as well as the feet, and playing just these two parts
makes for an exacting technical exercise. Considering that a florid right-
hand voice is superimposed, the work approaches outright virtuosity. 39
Here we also have the only Great Eighteen chorale whose early ver-
sion survives in an autograph manuscript (reproduced in Figure 4-1).
As explained in chapter 2, although this source is subsumed under the
same shelf number as Bach's autograph of the revised versions of the
Great Eighteen chorales (SBB Mus. ms. Bach P 271), it originated de-
cades earlier as a separate manuscript. The title page reads: "Nun
komm der Heyden Heyl: / a 2 Clav: el Fed: / di / Joh: Seb: Bach," the
heading above the first page of music, "Nun komm der Heyden Hey-
land, a 2 Clav. & Pedal."40
To judge from several corrections and erasures, this manuscript is
riot a composing score or fair copy but a revision copy, just like most of
the autograph entries of the revised versions of the Great Eighteen cho-
rales.4J Bach's script here seems much too neat for a first draft, and no
revisions of a formative nature are to be found (the first statement of the
complex canonic ritornello is entirely free of corrections). Elsewhere in
the source, though, one encounters several revisions that can only be
construed as compositional.
Two obvious instances occur in the top line at measures 17 (last sys-
tem of the first page, first bar) and 35 (penultimate system of the sec-
ond page, penultimate bar). As the large note heads show, the original
reading in each case was merely a half note on b'-flat, representing a
FIGURE 4-1 A. Autograph score of'iNun koinm, der Heiden Heiland," BWV
660a, title page (Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin—Preussisoher Kulturbcsitz. Musik-
abteilung mil Mendelssohn-Archiv, Mus. ms. Bach P 271, p. 107)

91
F I G U R E 4-IB. Autograph score of "Nun komra. dcrHeideri Heiland," 13WV
660a, mm. 1-20 (Slaatslnbliothek /u Berlin—Preussischer Kulturbcsitz, Musik-
abteilurig mil Mendelssohn-Arehiv, Mua. ms. Bach P 271, p. 108)

92
F I G U R E 4-1 C. Autograph score of "Nun komrn, dcr Heiden Heiland," BWV
660a, mm. 2]-40 (Slaatshibliothek /u Berlin—Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Musik-
abteilung mil Mendelssohn-Archiv, Mus. ms. Bach P 271. p. 109)

93
F I G U R E 4-1D. Autograph score of "Nun komm, der Heiden Ileilarid," BWV
660a, mm. 41-42 (Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin—Prcussiseher Kullurbesilx, Musik-
ablcilung mil Mendelssohn-Archiv, Mus. ms. Bach P 271, p. 110)

94
 The Music and Us Performance 95

single note of the hymn tune. The revised readings are also virtually the
same, wilh a quarter note on b'-flat tied to a sixteenth, followed by three
more sixteenths. Bach's original conception, then, involved a somewhat
less ornate rendition of the chorale melody. We can also assume that his
lost composing score contained only half notes here.
Interestingly, when the composer set out to revise this piece for in-
clusion in the Great Eighteen, he reworked the passage at measure 35,
changing the pitches of the sixteenths—and reversing their direc-
tion—from d"—c"—b'-flat to a'—b'-flat—c". He must have done this due
to how poorly the last two sixteenths oi the former reading ]ibe with the
left-hand part (minor seventh moving to a perfect fifth). In the final ver-
sion, parallel sixths prevail.
A different type of revision takes place in the series of pedal eighth
notes at measures 23—24 (top system of the second page, third and
fourth bars). There the pitches of at least four of the notes were changed.
The large note head and thick stem of the second note indicate that it
was originally at a lower pitch; the fourth note was originally d, judg-
ing from its extra note head; the note head of the sixth note extends
through the staff line immediately above, suggesting that the original
pitch was 1; and the erased and rewritten staff lines above the seventh
note show that it was originally higher. Bach apparently altered the
fourth and sixth notes, once again, because of dissonances with the
left-hand voice.
Noteworthy, too, is how the last four pedal eighth notes in measure
24 were revised in the final version of the work. The second and fourth
notes were both transposed down a third, while the first was replaced
with an eighth rest. The former changes create stronger, root-position
chord progressions; the latter avoids repeated notes on c.

" N U N K O M M , DER HEIDEN H E I L A N D "

(COME NOW, SAVIOR OF THE H E A T H E N ) ,
BWV 661
Autograph Heading: Nun kom der / Hey den, Hey land, /in Organo /
plena, canlo/ fe.rmo in/Pedal/di/J. S. Bach.
After all the idiosyncrasies posed by its predecessor, the third "Nun
komm" arrangement seems positively normal. The hymn tune now ap-
pears in the pedals without any embellishment other than neighboring
and passing tones. Still, Bach handles the melody differently than one
might expect.
96 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

The fact is that all four lines of the chorale text have seven syllables,
implying a uniform, metric rhythm such as ^,..UJJ- This is the basic
rhythm to which "Nun komm" was set in early eighteenth-century hym-
nals and in cantatas by Bach, Buxtehude, and others. But here only the
interior phrases adopt this pattern. The exterior ones, which are inelod-
ically identical, follow the very unmetricaf rhythm of O 'jj , ! jj \^. Inter-
estingly, Bach's Orgeibilchlein setting of this chorale displays the same
inconsistency.
As discussed in chapter 1, the present work closely resembles that
which opens the Great Eighteen, the Eantasia on "Komm, Heiliger
Geist." Although Spitla (bund the latter piece "even more powerful,"
the former may actually be the superior composition. 42 To quote Har-
vey Grace, "It is shorter and more compact, arid the chorale melody
makes a belter bass."13

"ALLE1N GOTT IN DER H O H SEI E H R "

( A L O N E TO GOD ON H I G H BE H O N O R ) , BWV 662
Autograph Heading: Allein Gott in der Hoh sey Khr. a 2 Ciav. el Ped.
canto fermo in Sopr. di./ S. Bach /Adagio.

Bach follows the "Nun komm" trilogy with three renditions of the Ger-
man Gloria. This tune must have been a favorite, since it appears in
more of his extant organ chorales than any other hymn melody. Six set-
tings are found in the Great Eighteen and Part III of the Clavieriibung,
and four miscellaneous arrangements survive as well (BWV 711, 71 5,
716, and 717).
Of these ten arrangements, the present work is especially beloved.
For one thing, its melodies and harmonies are particularly pleasing:
the subject of the fugal ritornello emphasi/es the sweet sixth degree of
the major scale: and as in "Schmiicke dich," the middle voices olten
proceed in parallel thirds and sixths. Bach enhances this euphony with
some of the most exquisite—and profuse—ornamentation he ever wrote.
Indeed, this ranks as his most ornate chorale setting altogether. Not
only is the solo line more florid than in any other Bach organ chorale,
but so is the accompaniment. Twelve separate ornamental symbols ap-
pear in the first three measures alone, including appoggiatura "hooks,"
a turn, trills, and a slide (Example 1-3 gives this passage according to
the somewhat Jess ornate early version). As Andre Pirro declared over
a century ago, "No piece could be more elaborated than this one."44
Nonetheless, owing to the relative paucity of free material, the chorale
tune is still easier to recognize than in the first setting of "Nun kornm."4:>
 The Music and Us Performance 97

In ihe realm of performance practice, the autograph heading indi-

cates a tempo of adagio, which is the first tempo marking encountered
in our survey (this indication appears only in the revised version). As
Robert Marshall has demonstrated, adagio was for Bach the slowest of
the main tempo designations, slower even than largo.46 A reasonable
metronome setting—and one consistent with Marshall's findings—
would be Ji = 60.
On the subject of ornamentation, the custom in former times was to
play the "hooked" appoggiaturas in the rilornello as thirty-seconds im-
mediately before the next beat or half-beat ([ ^* *'f-|*T p). 4 ' But based on
what we now know about Baroque practice, these notes should no
doubt be played in "Lombard" style, that is. ***f' **' *-^•
Finally, for most of the reasons cited previously in connection with
"Schmiicke dich," any performance of this sublime piece should fea-
ture a varied reprise of its Slollen, with alterations to the soprano line.
Both George Rilchie and Joan Lippincolt have recorded the work in
this manner, on the Raven (OAK-300) and Gothic (G 49099) labels, re-
spectively.

"ALLEIN GOTT IN D K R H O I ! SEI EHR"

( A L O N E TO GOD ON H I G H BK HONOR), BWV 663
Autograph Heading: A lie in Colt in / der Hoh sey / Khr. /
a 2 Clav. et Ped. /canlo je.rmo in Tenors /
di./. S. Bach. / Canlabile

Bach now sets the chorale as a trio, but one whose free voice leading
often encompasses four and five voices. The combination of these thick
textures with nonstop eighth notes in the rilornello and in the embel-
lished chorale tune makes for an extraordinarily busy composition. In no
other ornamental chorale by Bach is the ornamentation accomplished
by means of such motorie figuration. More important, this figuration
renders the hymn melody virtually unrecognizable to the ear. All this
activity suggested to Spilla "a tropical luxuriance of foliage with many-
colored blossoms." while Hermann Keller dismissed the work as "a
jungle in which a listener can hardly find his way."48 Thicket or not, the
piece does not enjoy great popularity.
Despite this neglect—which is totally undeserved—this work of-
fers some highly interesting issues for the performer. For example, in
measure 1 5 of the revised version, beat 2, Bach draws in the autograph
what looks like a wavy arpeggiation line between g' and e".49 Because
of the rarity of such symbols in organ music, editors have either ignored
EXAMPLE 4-8. "Allein Gott in der Hoh sei Ehr," BWV 663a, as printed in the Neue Bach-Ausgabe.
Barenreiter-Verlag, Kassel. Reprinted by permission.
 The Music arid Its Performance 99

this symbol or prinled it as a brace that indicates both notes are to be

played by the right hand. But arpeggiation here, and on the next beat
as well, makes for a nice violinistic effect (which could also be used for
the three-voice manual chords in m. 105).
The score of this work also happens to contain between its two ver-
sions more verbal instructions than any other setting in the Great Eigh-
teen. Both versions are headed "Cantabile," a word that literally means
"songlike" and that implies a legato touch. The next verbal instruction
in either version is "adagio," which occurs at the end of the left-hand
cadenza found toward the end of the piece (see Example 4-8). During
this cadenza, for the only time in the work, the steady eighth-note sur-
face motion begun in the first bar gives way to a barrage of sixteenths
and thirty-seconds. Three beats later, as the eighth notes return, the
word "andante" appears in both manuscript sources for the early ver-
sion. No further verbal instructions of any kind are present in either
version.
The obvious conclusions to be drawn are (1) that andante is the tempo
for the entire piece, save the cadenza; (2) that Bach is associating can-
labile with a moderate tempo; and (3) that he merely forgot to write "an-
dante" after the cadenza in the revised version. To judge from Mar-
shall's research, an appropriate metronome setting would be J = 60.
Concerning Bach's use of the term "cantabile," there is reason to be-
lieve he is using the locution here for the first time and that he learned
it through his study of Vivaldi's concertos. As Marshall points out, the
word's earliest appearance in a Bach autograph is from 172f (in the
fifth Brandenburg Concerto), and we have no evidence that he knew of
it until f 7 f 2 — 1 4 , when he appears to have composed this organ cho-
rale. One of Vivaldi's concertos transcribed for organ by Bach (BWV
593) also employs this word three times.50 As discussed in chapter 1,
he evidently got to know Vivaldi's music—and this concerto in partic-
ular—in 1713.
To return to the matter of tempo, these tempo markings should not
be taken at face value. For one thing, a ritard is definitely in order
slightly before the "adagio" marking. Likewise, once the "adagio"
marking has been reached, the music should continue to slow gradu-
ally until the return of the eighth notes on the downbeat of the next bar.
Obviously, the "andante" inscription in the early version appears a beat
too late in both of its sources (and, consequently, in the Neue Bach-
Ausgabe as well).
Of course, anyone with musical sense will arrive at these same con-
clusions on his or her own. Editors have been making these recom-
mendations ever since Mendelssohn did so in 1846, and this is basi-
100 J. S. Bach's Great Eighleeri Organ Chorales

caily how most performers approach the work today. To judge from how
he annotated his copy of the Peters edition, this is also how Arnold
Schoenberg felt the piece should be played.'1'

"ALLEIN COTT IN D K R HOH SET EHR"

( A E O M K TO GOD ON HIGH BE HONOR), B W V 664
Autograph Heading: Trio supfer] / Allein Coll /in der Iliih/ sey Khr. /
a 2 Clm; et / Ped. di J. S. Bach

The "Allein Gott" trilogy concludes with possibly the most popular
chorale trio ever written, one likewise characterized by fast perpetual
motion in the rhythm (sixteenth notes) one-fourth the value of the main
pulse. Indeed, in terms of its "brilliance and ease of writing" this scin-
tillating work has been compared favorably to Bach's trio sonatas for
organ.02 Written in the sharp-laden key of A major, here is a test of
coordination and dexterity (and stamina) for any player. The piece was
required for the first round of the 1998-2000 AGO National Young
Artists Competition in Organ Performance.
As discussed in chapter 1, Bach follows the same unorthodox plan
as in the trio on "Herr Jesu Christ": a free trio in rilornello form joined
to a cantus firinus chorale. But as Werner Breig has discussed, these two
works also differ on some rather fundamental points.' )0 Eor one thing,
the two episodes w i t h i n the "Allein Gott" trio, each of which is stated
twice, are significantly longer and more thernaticaily independent of
the rilornello; they also incline toward homorhythmic texture in the
upper parts. Remarkably, the first episode features violinistic broken
chords and a stepwise series of long trills (which are u s u a l l y performed
without any break whatever). Similar episodic material appears in the
first movement of Bach's C-major trio sonata for organ.
The "Allein Gott" trio is also over twenty bars longer than "Herr
Jesu Christ," even though only the first two phrases of the chorale tune
appear in its cantus firmus section. Thus, the free trio comprises a far
greater percentage of the overall work, seven-eighths, to be exact (as
compared to about one-third in "Herr Jesu Christ"). But despite this
statistic, the chorale tune is still integrated into the overall work to a
far greater extent, since the ritornello paraphrases all the notes of the
first phrase, rather than just half.
A final discrepancy is the basic form used, for while "Herr Jesu
Christ" amounts to a loose binary structure (as the preceding descrip-
tion would imply), the "Allein Gott" trio contains throe independent
sections, each of which has a particular lunelion. The piece opens with
 The Music and Its Performance 101

six fugal statements of the ritornello, all in the major mode, arid with
the first episode postponed all the way to measure 35. But once this
episode begins, virtually nothing but episodes occur for the next forty-
five bars; only two ritornello statements are to be found, and lor the first
and only times in the piece they are in the minor mode (mm. 44 — 46
and 65-67). These two contrasting sections (mm. 1—34 and 35—79)
comprise the first two parts of the form.
To conclude, Bach writes a third, smaller section in which the first
two chorale phrases proper are stated pedaliier. This section begins,
however, with two fugal statements of the ritornelio in measures 80-85
that are in essence a note-for-note restatement of the work's first five
bars. Combined w i t h the pedal statement of the first phrase of the hymn
tune in measures 85-87, these two fugal statements serve as a reprise
of the three; in measures 1 — 12. Both passages commence with a right-
hand statement in the tonic (with the countersubject in the left hand),
followed by a left-hand statement in the dominant (with the counter-
subject in the right hand), followed by a pedal statement back in the
tome. The sense of return is strong enough to suggest an ABA scheme,
along the lines of an abbreviated da capo aria.

" J K S U S CHKISTUS, UNSER HE1I.AND"

( J K S U S CHRIST, OUR SAVIOR), R W V 665
Autograph heading: ,/e.su.s Christus unser Heyiand. sub Comurdone.
pedaliier di J. S. Each.

This hymn, whose first two lines read: "Jesus Christus, unser Heiland,
der von uns den Goltes/orn wandt" ("Jesus Christ, our Savior, who
turned God's wrath away from us"), should not be confused with the
Easier chorale "Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der den Tod iiberwand"
set by Bach in the Orgelbiichlein. Like "Schrniicke dich," its text rep-
resents an impassioned commentary on the Lord's Supper. That Bach
thought of the chorale in a eucharislic context is attested to by the label
sub Comumone found in the work heading.
No doubt one of the most appealing aspects of the work is word
painting, for here d i f f e r e n t countermelodies depict successive lines of
the text's first stanza. As Spitla first observed, at the onset of the third
line ("Through his bitter suffering") the chorale tune is paired with a
descending chromatic scale/'4 For the fourth and final line ("Saved us
from the pain of hell"), rising thirty-second notes suddenly appear, as
the mood shifts dramatically from gloom to joy. Bach accentuates this
dichotomy by saving for last the most emphatic statement ol the chro-
102 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

malic figure, that in parallel thirds and sixths. Also noteworthy is his
tendency toward consecutive statements of the thirly-second-note mo-
tive, especially the three statements in measure 44, where the hands
twice trade off on repeated notes.
In the realm of purely musical matters, one realizes soon enough
that/our different countermelodies are at work in this composition, one
for each of the four chorale phrases. While this procedure leads to frag-
mentation, all the phrases are nonetheless presented in the same voice
order (tenor—alto—bass—soprano) and key sequence (ionic—dominant-
tonic—tonic). 00 The only difference is that the pedals drop out immedi-
ately after stating each of the firsl two phrases. The bass voice contin-
ues, but in the left hand and of course with the same registration as all
the other voices. Thus, the soprano statements lack the bold, distinc-
tive underscoring that pedal stops could provide.
Bach rectifies this problem later in the work by mainlaining the
pedal line lo the very end of each seclion, even if this means nothing
more than adding a pedal point (as in mm. 35—38). In ihis regard, his
handling of ihe final phrase is especially impressive, as the pedal line
ihere lasts nine full bars, commencing with the chorale phrase (mm.
44 — 46), continuing wilh freely composed scalar figuralion (mm. 46—
49), and ending wilh a mighly double pedal point. Simultaneously, the
texture thickens from three all the way lo eighl voices.
The inscription in plena Organo found in Walther's copy of the; early
version may or may not be aulhenlic, bul there is no belter registration.
Wilhiri ihese confines, the player should feel free to add slops between
sections. This poses difficulties only on the downbeat of measure 38,
where the final stalemenl of ihe chromatic scale merges in the same
chord with the firsl riole (d') of the lasl phrase. If the registration is in-
creased after ihis chord, any break before the e' quarter note should be
minimal, so as riot to suggest that the phrase begins there.

"JESUS CHRTSTUS, U N S E R HEILAND"

(JESUS CHRIST, OUR SAVIOR), B W V 666
Heading inscribed by J. C. Altnikol: JKSUS Christus wiser p. /
aho rnodo / di / J. S. Bach

This second setting of "Jesus Chnslus" may be regarded as ihe only

manualiter work in ihe Creal Eighleen, bul il does conclude wilh a
tonic pedal point. In this respect, ihe piece recalls certain youthful
keyboard fugues by Bach such as the Fugues in C Major and A Major,
BWV 946 and 949, and the Fugue in A Major on a Theme by Afbinoni,
 The Music and Its Performance 103

E X A M PEE 4-9. "Jesus Chrislus, imser Heilarid," BWV 666a, as edited by Heinz
l.ohrnann, Edition Breitkopf 6587. Breilkopf' & Hartel. Wiesbaden—Leipzig. Lsed
by permission.

BWV 950. Another indicator of an early date is the cadenza-like in-

terlude used between the first three phrases, for such solo iiguration is
a trademark of Bach's "Amstadt Congregational Chorales." Here, how-
ever, the material becomes woven into the contrapuntal fabric for the
remainder of the composition.
As Peter Williams has discussed, the early version gives two extra
instructions to ihe player: to phrase the opening motive as J J » and
to alternate hands during the arpeggiated figuration at measures 35 —
36 (see Example 4-9).°' The six-note motive at the heart of this passage
appears four times earlier in the piece (m. 26. beats 4—6; m. 28, beats
10-12; m. 31, beals 4-6; and in. 33, beats 10-12), but in the early
version with a descending triad from the third to the fifth notes, fol-
lowed by an ascending third. In the revised version, all four statements
conform to the contour used in measures 35-36. Thus, the revised ver-
sion enjoys a greater degree of molivic unity.

"KOiVIM, GOTT SCHOPFER, HEILIGER GEIST"

(COME, GOD CREATOR, HOLY GHOST), BWV 667
Heading inscribed by J. C. Altnikol: Kom Gotl Schopfer Heiliger Geist.
in Organo plena con Pedals /
obigalo [sic | dfij J. S. Bach

The two variations of this work may well symbol i/e two different Pen-
tecost themes. In the first, pedal notes normally sound on the third
eighth note of the beat, as if to depict the third member of the Holy
Trinity. In the second, fast sixteenth notes in scalar motion run through
every bar, like a giant gust of wind.
As mentioned in chapter 1, Bach crafted this piece by taking the
early version of the Orgelbiichlein setting of this hymn (mm. ] — 8) and
104 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

EXAMPLE 4-10. "Komm, Colt Scbopfer, FFciliger Geist," H W V 667

coupling it to one newly composed (mm. 13-26). Many writers have

frowned on this structure as "arbitrary,""'8 because the two variations
are based largely on different accompammental figuration. But is this
not how any chorale partita operates? Besides, the figuration oi the sec-
ond variation is clearly anticipated in the first, beginning in measures
4 and 6. Measures 7—8 then adopl steady motion in scalar sixteenths,
as does the bridge between variations (mm. 9-12). This common ma-
terial creates a smooth transition between variations and imparts a
sense of organic unity to the overall work. The effect is also that of a
gradual acceleration.
The sheer energy of this piece—which is only heightened by Alt-
nikol's instruction of Organo plena—manifests itself in other ways as
well. If played fast enough, its compound meter easily suggests a gigue,
especially in Variation 1, which features regular two-bar phrases. Fur-
thermore, the syncopated pedal line of this variation is almost primitively
dancelike in nature. Most impressive are the last two measures, where
the music suddenly veers to the minor subdominant and—in an outburst
of chromaticism—spells the composer's name (see Example 4-10).
The sources preserve three different versions. The earliest, known
as BW\' 6671), differs from the final version primarily in its paucity of
sixteenth notes in Variation 1 (eighth notes are used instead) and its in-
clusion of parallel octaves and clumsy dissonances in Variation 2.M Tn
the intermediary version, BWV 667a, these infelicities are purged.

"YOU D E F N E N TIIRON TKET ICH H1ERMIT"

(BEFORE YOUR THRONE 1 NOW APPEAR),
BWV 668
Heading inscribed by anonymous copyist: Vor deine.n Thron trel
ichpp60
As discussed in chapter 2, this work—Bach's "deathbed" chorale—is
a revised version of "Wenn wir in hochsten Noten sein," BWV 668a, a
 The Music and Its Performance 105

complete composition of forty-five bars. "Vor deinen Thron," conversely,

is a mere fragment that breaks off in the middle of measure 26. In com-
paring the first twenty-six measures of these two works, one sees that
two of Bach's revisions again have lo do with rhythmic sharpening. In
both instances (m. 9, bass; m. 26. soprano), pairs of eighth notes were
altered to dotted eighths followed by sixteenths, resulting in greater
rhythmic variety and a more polyphonic texture. The change to the bass
voice in measure 9 also allows for molivic interplay with the soprano.
Only two other changes were made. First, in the tenor voice of meas-
ure 7 p^pfigures replace quarter notes, more or less in accordance wilh
the alto. But the most substantial revision occurs in the bass voice of
measure 10, where, on the third beat, K replaces G. This means the dif-
ference between a G-major and E-minor chord and, more important,
between an authentic and deceptive cadence.
We can only guess about Bach's revisions—if he made any at all—
from measure 27 on. Unfortunately, this section of "Werin wir" contains
no passages directly analogous to those revised in the first twenty-six
bars, so any attempt lo revise it "as Bach might have" is doomed to fu-
tility. The performer must simply be content with playing the first
twenty-six bars as they appear in "Vor deinen Thron" and the remain-
ing measures as found in "Wcnn wir." Most editions also print the work
in this composite form.
The original sources indicate neither two manuals nor pedal, but
this is how the work is traditionally played (with, of course, the soprano
voice on its own manual). Performing on one manual is no problem, be-
cause the soprano and alto never cross. But playing manuahter is dif-
ficult at best, due lo several awkward reaches, the hardest of which in-
volve ninths and tenths between the bass and tenor in measures 9—10.
Last but nol least, questions have been raised about the suitability
of the chorale "Vor deinen Thron" as a deathbed text. For although it
was sometimes sung lo ihe tune of "Wenn wir," ihe texl was customar-
ily designated not as a "Death and Dying" hymn but as one appropri-
ate merely for "Morning, Midday, or Evening." In essence, the chorale
summarizes the Christian faith. More than one commentator has ar-
gued thai only the last of its fifteen stanzas refers explicitly lo dying and
judgment. 6 1
Slill, ihe opening l i n e of this hymn unmistakably alludes to the sub-
ject of death, and perhaps Bach placed no significance whatever on
how the text continues. The original title, of course, bears similar im-
plications, but it makes ils plea from ihe perspective of a corporate
body: "Wenn wir in hochsten Nb'len sein." "Vor deinen Thron Irel ich
hiermit" is the testimony of an individual.
This page intentionally left blank
 (^/uxAfew 5

RECEPTION HISTORY

Gy'"
vr^-^o conclude, we will study the "reception" of the Great Eighteen
chorales. In a musicological context, the term "reception history" im-
plies the study of compositions as mirrored in the reactions of critics,
artists, and audiences. But a work's historical reception may also be
chronicled in sources devoid of aesthetic content. Take, for instance,
the over forty extant manuscript copies of the Great Eighteen from the
eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. 1 In no case do these sources
tell us anything in particular about the scribe's attitude toward the
music. Yet their number alone indicates that the works have been rel-
atively popular since their inception.
For most of these sources, furthermore, something is known about
the scribe's identity or the manuscript's provenance. This information
signifies when and where the collection began to achieve its popularity
and how it figured in musical life of the day. Not surprisingly, most
of the scribes who can be identified were church organists who also
composed organ music and had private organ pupils. Thus, the Great
Eighteen served these individuals as music they could play at worship
services, as compositional models for their own organ chorales, and as
pedagogical material.
In this chapter, then, "reception history" will be interpreted in the
broadest sense of the term, encompassing any evidence that bears on
how the Great Eighteen have been received over the years. Accord-
ingly, we will examine, in addition to aesthetic responses, such themes
as the collection's dissemination in manuscript and printed form, its
use as a model for transcriptions, its performance history, and its in-
fluence on composers.

107
108 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

THE EIGHTEENTH C E N T U R Y

The reception of (.he Great Eighteen is remarkably similar to that of

Bach's other large manuscript collection of organ chorales, the Orgel-
biichlein.2 Tl starts with Bach himself, simply because his private stu-
dents and colleagues prepared copies of the chorales. These students
arid colleagues, in turn, transmitted the music to their students arid col-
leagues, and so forth. To cite just, one example, a copy of "Sehmucke
dich" in the hand of Bach's pupil Johann Christian Kittel was clearly
the source from which Kittel's pupils J. A. Drb'bs and J. N. Gebhardi
made their copies.
To what degree did Bach teach the Great Eighteen? The relative pau-
city of extant student copies implies that he did not teach them as reg-
ularly as such collections as the Inventions and Sinfonias or the Well-
Tempered Clavier, both of which are explicitly didactic.'5 Yet he obviously
taught the pieces over many years' time, if only intermittently, for most
oi the student copies that have survived are by students from various
periods ol the composer's life, made during the period of instruction.
These students include J. T. Krebs, who studied under Bach in
Weimar from 1714 to 1717 and left behind copies of fourteen of the
chorales; H. N. Gerber, who was a Bach pupil in Leipzig around 1725
and whose copy of the first "Allein Gott" setting is extant; and J. E.
Agricola, who studied with Bach in Leipzig Irom 1 738 to 1741, during
which time he copied out the two arrangements ol "Jesus Christus,
unser Heiland."4 (The aforementioned copy of "Schmucke dich" by
Bach's pupil Kittel, which is lost, dates presumably from very late in
Bach's life, as Kittel studied with Bach between 1748 and 1750.)
Another student copy to survive is that by Johann Caspar Vogler of
the third setting of "Allein Gott."5 Bach taught Vogler in Weimar from
1710 to 1715 (and in Arnstadl around 1706), but this manuscript ap-
pears to have originated sometime after 1730. Nevertheless, it shows
that the Great Eighteen continued to circulate in Weimar—where Vog-
ler was court organist from 1721 until his death in 1763—years after-
Bach's departure in 1717. It also suggests that Vogler had studied this
work with Bach in Weimar and prepared this copy to replace one he
had made during the period of study.
We must also consider Johann Ludwig Krebs, who studied with Bach
in the late 1720s and early 1730s. Of Bach's pupils, Krebs was the most
prolific as a composer of organ music, and he often relied on his
teacher's works as models. Two of Krcbs's organ chorales are obviously
based on pieces from the Great Eighteen. 6 He probably studied these
works with Bach (and prepared copies of them at Bach's request) or
 Reception History 109

gained access to them through his father J. T. Krebs, whose manuscript

copies of both pieces survive.
As Examples 5-1 and 5-2 show, Krebs's setting of "Jesu, rneines
Lebens Leben" begins exactly like the first arrangement of "Nun komm"
from the Great Eighteen, with a walking-bass pedal line in eighth notes
that moves stepwise from G to the sixth degree of the scale; with pre-
imitation in quarter notes of the opening chorale phrase, first in the
tenor on g and then in the alto on d'; and with the same three-note mo-
tive ([' pj*) in the inner voices. The model for Krcbs's trio on "Herr Jesu
Christ, dich zu uns wend" is the Great Eighteen setting of the same
chorale (see Examples 5-3 and 5-4). Indeed, two of the sources for
Krebs's work name Bach as ihe composer. Both pieces begin as "free"
chorale trios in ritornello form, with the same triadic eighth-note mo-
tive, but end with the entire hymn tune played in the pedals, mostly in
quarter notes, in the manner of a cantus firmus chorale.
Except for Agncola, who settled in Berlin, all these pupils remained
in central Germany. Other figures who contributed to the dissemination
of the Great Eighteen in this region were J. G. Wallher, organist of the
Weimar town church, and the Weimar-area organists J. N. Mempell
(1713-47) and J. G. Preller (1717-85). Walther's copies of nine works
from the collection survive, and a dozen different, pieces are preserved
in a manuscript assembled in the 1730s and 1740s by Mempell and
Preller.' In addition to being colleagues in Weimar for nine years, Bach

E X A M P L E 5-1. "Nun komm, der Heidcn Ileiland," BWV 659

E X A M P L E 5-2. Johann Ludwig Krebs, "Jesu, meines Lebens Leben"

110 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

E X A M P L E 5-3. "Herr Jesu Christ, dich /,u uns wend," BWV 655

and Walther were second cousins. Although there is no proof that

Mempell or Preller knew Bach personally, they obviously had close ties
to the Bach circle. Mempell may have been a pupil of the Grafenroda
organist J. P. Kellner, a personal acquaintance of Bach's and perhaps
one of his pupils as well; Preller may have studied under J. T. Krebs.
After Bach's death, the Great Eighteen continued to circulate in and
around the city of Leipzig. Thirteen of them were among the 114 Bach
 Reception History 111

EXAMPLE 5-4. Johann l.udwig Krebs, "Ilerr Jesu Christ, dich /u uns wend"

organ chorales owned in manuscript form by the Leipzig publishing

house of Breitkopf. This firm possessed literally thousands of eighteenth-
century music manuscripts for the purpose of selling handwritten
copies of music, and it regularly advertised its stock through cataloges.
Once a work had been ordered, it was copied anew by a Breitkopf scribe
from one of the firm's "house" manuscripts. The newly created manu-
script or "sale" copy was then sold to the customer.
112 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

The Breitkopf house manuscripts of these 114 organ chorales have

not survived. But these lost sources, which were completed by 1764,
appear to have been used by the Bach devotee C. F. Penzel (1737—
1801) in prepariug a manuscript that contains eleven of the Great
Eighteen chorales.8 According to the iascription "Leipzig, 22 January
1766," this manuscript originated about ten months before Penzel be-
came cantor in nearby Merseburg (a post he retained u n t i l his death).
Three sale copies of Breitkopf's collection of Bach organ chorales are
extant. One of these was purchased by the alleged Bach pupil J. C.
Oley, organist in Aschersleben from 1762 until his death in 1789.
Oley's copy preserves seven of the Greal Eighteen.
Looking northward, one finds that the theorist J. P. Kirnberger (1721 -
83) was largely responsible for the transmission of the music in and
around Berlin during the second half of the eighteenth century. Upon
his appointment in 1758 to the court of Princess Anna Amalia of Prus-
sia, he oversaw the preparation of a voluminous collection of Bach
manuscripts. 9 All but two of the Great Eighteen chorales (the two set-
tings of "Jesus Christus, unser Heiland") are contained in these sources.
Kirnberger could have gained access to the works through his Berlin
colleague G. P. E. Bach, who came into possession of the autograph
manuscript sometime after his father's death in 1750. By the same
token, though, Kirnberger had been one of Sebastian Bach's pupils
around 1 740 and might have prepared copies of the pieces at that time,
from which the scribes under his supervision could have made their
copies.
Meanwhile, many of Bach's organ works were also being dissemi-
nated in southern Germany by the Nuremberg organist Leonard Scholz
(1720—98). Scholz, though, often copied the music in abbreviated and
simplified form, presumably to compensate for his relatively weak per-
forming technique. No fewer than five such versions of the Great Eigh-
teen setting of "Herr Jesu Ghrist" are found among Scholz's Bach
copies, only one of which is listed (as BWV 655b) in the Bach-Werke-
Verzeichnis.](>
As Table 5-1 illustrates, Scholz retains in all five versions the con-
cluding pedal statement of the hymn tune. But he drastically abridges
the preceding material, which features a far more active pedal part.11
Indeed, the three Scholz versions in F major avoid the pedals alto-
gether until the statement of the chorale melody. (His reasons for trans-
posing the work are unclear.)
As Example 5-5 shows, these three versions also involve a variant
form of Bach's ritornelio theme (which appears unchanged in Scholz
version #2). Although Scholz preserves the general contour of the mel-
 Reception History 113

TA R LK 5-1 Versions of "Heir Jesu Christ, dich /u uns wend," BWV 655

Key. Number Chorale Tune

Version of Measures Stated in Pedals

BWV 655 (autograph version) G major, 73 mm. from m. 52

RWV 655a (Bach's early version) G major, 73 mm. from m. 52
BWV 655b (Schol/ version #1) G major. 29 mm. from in. 8
BWV 655c G major. 29 mm. (no statement)
Schol/ version #2 G major, 3 J mm. from m. 10
Schol/ version #3 F major. 39 mm. from m. 1 1
Schol/ version #4 F major, 39 mm. from m. 1 1
Schol/ version #5 F major, 22 mm. from m. 4

ody, he concludes with a syncopated octave leap. Such a discrepancy

suggests that he made certain alterations for purely artistic reasons,
however misguided. (Observe his completely dilierent rewrite of the ri-
tornello in BWV 655b.) This syncopated idea seems too close to that
used in BWV 655c for there not to be a connection, but the nature of
that connection remains obscure. Ironically. BWV 655c is ihe only ver-
sion in which the hymn tune is not presented in the pedals.

T I I K NINETEENTH C E N T U R Y

By the turn of the nineteenth century, the Great: Eighteen were known
throughout Germany, though almost entirely in manuscript form. The
only chorale available in print was the early version of "Vor deinen
Thron," first published in 1751 under the title "Wenn wir in hb'chsten
Nb'ten sein" as a supplement to Bach's Art of Fugue. Because of its as-
sociation with this opus and, of course, its legendary status as the com-
poser's deathbed chorale, this work has always been popular. By 1845,
two years before the Great Eighteen were first published complete, six
different prints of this chorale had been issued (see Table 5-2).12 We
should not be surprised, either, thai the earliest known aesthetic re-
sponse Lo any of the Great Eighteen chorales was directed at this piece.
ft comes from the theologian Johann Michael Schmidt, who in 1.754
hailed "Wenn wir" as nothing less than an antidote to materialism. 1 ' 3
Only three other works from the collection were published prior to
Felix Mendelssohn's edition of fourteen of them in 1846, although the
Swiss publisher Hans Georg Niigeli (1773—1836) had evidently con-
ceived of a complete edition well before this date. 14 The first to appear
BWV 655 (aulograph version)

BWV 655a (Bach's early version)

H V V V 655h CSr-Jinl? version #11

BWV 655c

Scholz version #2

E X A M P L E 5-5. Versions of "Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend," BWV 655

1.14
 Reception History 115
Scholz version #3

Sehol/ version #4

Scholz version #5

E X A M P L E 5-5. Continued

was the third setting of "Allein Gott." which was included in J. G.

Schichl's (bur-volume; anthology, J. S. Bach's Choral-Vorspiele fiir die
Orgel (1.803—6). This publication, which contains a total of thirly-eighl
works, represents the first collected edition ol Bach's organ chorales,
and it introduced many a musician to this incomparable repertory.
One of these was Robert Schumann, who throughout his life was a
passionate advocate for Bach's music. As Schumann's diaries make
clear, during 1837 and 1838 he diligently studied Schichl's print. 1 -' We
know nothing of Schumann's reception of the "Allein Gott" setting in
particular, and this is only one of many trios found in this anthology.
But Schumann allegedly played Bach organ trios at the piano (perhaps
a pedal piano?), thereby developing a left hand that could negotiate
fast, disjunct passages w i t h great accuracy. 16 Hence, this arrangement
of "Allein Gott" may have played a role in Schumann's development as
a pianist. One wonders if there is any connection between these left-
hand organ-trio exercises and Schumann's notorious injury to his right
hand in 1832. Did he hope to strengthen his left hand to the point of
compensating for its crippled partner? Whatever the case, according to
one of Schumann's diary entries from 1837, he "played through"
Sehicht's anthology in addition to studying it in the academic sense. 1 '
TABLE 5-2 The Publication History of the Great Eighteen Chorales to 1847

Editor Title and BWV No.

Title of (or Aulhor Dale and Place of Chorale(s)
Publication of Treatise) of Publication Published

Die Kiinsl der Fuge probably 1751, Leipzig "Wenn wir in

C. P. E. Bach hochsten Niiten
sein,"BWV668a
J. S. Hack's J. G. Sehieht 1803. Leipzig "Allein Gott in der
Choral-Vorspiele. lliih sci Ehr."
fur die Orgel, vol. 2 BWV 664b

Praclische. V. W. Schiil/e 1.838, Dresden "Wenn wir in

Orgelsckule hochsten Noten
sein," BWV 668a

Sammlung tier Franz Commer 1839, Berlin "Wenn wir in

beaten Meisterwerke hochslen Nolen
des 17. und 18. sein," BWV 668a
Jahrhunderls Jiir
die Orgel

Der Orgelfreund, G. W. Kiirner and 1842. Erfurt "Wenn wir in

vol. 4, no. 5 A. G. Hitter hochsten Niiten
sein," BWV 668a

Joh. Seh. Hack's K.E.Becker 1843. Leipzig "Wenn wir in

vierstimmige hochsten Niiteri
Kirchenge.sange sein," BWV 668a
Caecilia, cine S. W. Dehn 1844', Mainz "Schrnucke dich,
ZeiLichriflfiir die o Hebe Seele,"
mu-nkalische Well, BWrV 654; "Nun
vol. 23. no. 89 komm, der Heiden
Heiland," BWV 659
DieKunstdes A. G. Kilter 1844, Erfurt "Schmiicke dieh,
Orgelspiels o liebe Seele,"
BWV 654
Caecilia: Tonsliicke K.E.Becker 1845, Leipzig "Wenn wir in
fiir die Orgel, hochslen Niiten
vol. 1, no. 2 sein," BWV 668a
John Sebastian Felix Mendelssohn 1846, London all the chorales
Hack's Organ except BWV 664,
Compositions on 665, 666, and 668
Corales (Psalm
Tunes), books 3
and 4

116
 Reception History 117

Editor Title and BWV No.

Title of (or Author Date and Place ofChorale(s)
Publication of Treatise) of Publication Published

15 Grosse Choral- Felix Mendelssohn 1846. Leipzig all the chorales

Vorspiele fiir die except BWV 664,
Orgel von Johruin 665. 666, and 668
Sebastian Bach

Johann, Sebastian F. C. Griepenkerl 1847. Leipzig complete collection

Bach's Komposi- and Ferdinand
lionenfiir die Orgel, Roitzsch
vols. 6 and 7

The other two works published prior to Mendelssohn's edition.

"Schmucke dich" and the first setting of "Nun komm," have long been
favorites. Perhaps they were not universally held in such high esteem
as early as 1844, the date of their first editions. Nonetheless, one of
these editors (A. G. Ritter) acclaimed "Schmucke dich" one of Bach's
"most intimate and lovely" compositions and praised its solo soprano
line as "beautifully decorated yet free of any gaudiness."18
Another nineteenth-century musician with a special fondness for
this chorale was Felix Mendelssohn, the most ardent Bach champion
of his era. In fact, "Schmucke dich" was reportedly Mendelssohn's fa-
vorite piece of music, probably because of the same attributes dis-
cussed in chapter 4: an unusually lyrical chorale tune, sweet accom-
panimental writing in parallel thirds and sixths, beautiful ornamental
figuration, and an overall mystical quality consistent with the ritual of
communion.
We learn initially of Mendelssohn's enthusiasm for the work from
two letters written at the age of twenty-two to his parents and siblings.
The first, written in Lindau on September 5, 1831, merely includes the
sentence: "I found [here yesterday] evening a wonderful organ, where
T could play Schmucke dich, o hebe Seele to my heart's content."1<J But
in the second letter, written about a month later in Munich, Mendels-
sohn explained not only his emotional reaction to the piece but also
how be performed it. He offered these comments in particular to his
sister and fellow Bach enthusiast Fanny:
1 also play the organ every day for an hour. But unfortunately 1 can-
not practice as I wish because the pedal lacks the five uppermost
notes. Thus, I cannot play any of Sebastian Bach's music on it. But
118 J. S. Bach's Greal Eighteen Organ Chorales

the stops are wonderfully beautiful, especially (or chorale settings.

The heavenly, l i q u i d Lone of the instrument is edifying. In particu-
lar. Fanny, I have here discovered the stops that ought to be used in
playing Sebastian Bach's Schmiicke dich, o Hebe Seele. They seem
actually made for this piece and sound so touching that I am invari-
ably awestruck when I begin to play it. For the moving parts I have an
eight-foot flute, and also a very soft four-foot flute, which continuously
floats above the chorale tune. You know this effect from Berlin. But
here there is a keyboard with reed stops on which I can play the cho-
rale tune, so I use a mellow oboe, a very soft four-foot, clarion, and a
viola. This renders the chorale tune, so subdued and glowing, it is as
i( distant human voices are singing from the depths of the heart. 20

To fully appreciate these two excerpts, consider Mendelssohn's ac-

t i v i t i e s around 1830 arid his prior knowledge of Bach's organ music.
Both letters dale from Mendelssohn's Bddungsreise of 1830—32, a se-
ries of trips throughout Europe undertaken (at the urging ol his parents)
for the sake of bis general education. During these sojourns, the young
artist played all manner of concerts, kept busy as a composer, and made
the acquaintance ol numerous important musicians. He also made it a
priority to continue practicing the organ, with special emphasis on
Bach. As Mendelssohn put it himself, in a letter to his family of Sep-
tember 30, 1831: "Today, f played [the organ] the entire morning. 1 have
also begun to study the instrument seriously, because it is actually a
shame that 1 cannot play Sebastian Bach's major works."21 His fascina-
tion with "Schmiicke dich." then, represents just one example of his in-
tensive study of Bach's organ music at this time.
How did Mendelssohn first conic to know the work? Quite possibly
at the hands of the Berlin organist August Wilhelm Bach, who had been
Mendelssohn's organ teacher in 1820—21. August Wilhelm special-
ized in the organ music of J. S. Bach—although these two Bachs were
not related—and taught this repertory to the young Mendelssohn. 22
That Felix played "Schmiicke dich" w h i l e growing up in Berlin is
strongly suggested by his remark to Fanny that she had heard "this ef-
fect" in Berlin, which seems to refer less to flute stops in general than
to this organ chorale in particular. Fanny, who is known to have ac-
companied Felix to his organ lessons,2'' may even have been present
when her brother played "Schmucke dich" for his teacher.
In conjunction with his appointment as conductor of the Gewand-
haus Orchestra, Mendelssohn moved to Leipzig in the summer of 1835.
and he found there a new friend in Robert Schumann. Such was Schu-
mann's admiration for his new colleague that he immediately inducted
Mendelssohn into his imaginary Davirlsbund (League of David) under
 Reception History 119

the sobriquet "Felix Mentis.'' Early on in their friendship, Mendels-

sohn must have played "Schmucke dich" in Schumann's presence, for
in 1836. after searching unsuccessfully for Bach's grave, Schumann
wrote in his periodical, the Neue Zeitschnftjiir Musi.k:

1 prefer to picture [Bach] seated upright at his organ in the prime of

his lite, the music swelling out from under his feet and fingers, the
congregation looking up at him raptly, and possibly a few angels among
them.
You, Felix Mentis, a man of equally superior intellect and char-
acter, played one of his chorale preludes on that organ; the text was
"'Schmucke dich, o liebe Seele." The canlus firrnus was hung with
wreaths of gilded leaves, arid flooded with a beatitude that prompted
you to confess: "If life were to deprive rue of hope and faith, this
single chorale would replenish me with both."24

This famous excerpt reveals the full (and truly remarkable) extent of
Mendelssohn's affection for t h i s chorale. It also tells us what particu-
larly impressed Schumann about the work: the exquisite ornamentation
of the chorale tune—perhaps in the rilornello as well as throughout the
solo soprano line—and its "spiritual" quality. Schumann's reference to
"that organ" strongly suggests that the performance took place at Si.
Thomas, where Bach had been cantor.
This church also provides the locale of the next chapter in our story.
in which Schumann makes another appearance. For on August 6, 1840.
Mendelssohn played an all-Bach organ recital at St. Thomas (to raise
funds for a monument to the composer), and the second piece on the pro-
gram was "Schmucke dich." In his glowing review of the concert, Schu-
mann ventured that the work was "as priceless, deep, and full of soul as
any piece of music that ever sprang from a true artist's imagination." 2 ''
In the same review, Schumann also noted correctly that "Schmucke
dich" was at that time s t i l l unpublished. Four years later, though, two
different editions had appeared, and Mendelssohn followed in 1846
with one of his own, a copy of which he gave to Schumann in October
of that year.26 Mendelssohn's edition contains thirteen other works from
the Great Eighteen.
A final bit of documentation that bears on Mendelssohn and his la-
vorite organ chorale involves the historian Johann Gustav Droysen, an-
other close acquaintance of the composer. 2 ' In March of 1847. Droy-
sen's wile passed away, leaving him in utter despair. Writing to him a
month later, Mendelssohn offered various remedies for his friend's
melancholy, one of which was a performance of "Schmucke dich": "If
music brings you joy, you could have your local organist play you
] 20 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

'Schmiicke dich, o liebe Seele' by Sebastian Bach!"28 Obviously, Men-

delssohn was hoping the piece would have the same cathartic effect on
Droysen that he had discussed wilh Schumann.
We do not know if Droysen heeded his friend's advice. His response
the following month, though, implies that he would have been more
than receptive to the work:

You say you would like "Schmiicke dich, o liebe Seele" played for
me. When I was in Berlin last year, Fanny invited me to a musicale.
"The Lord's Time Is the Best Time" was sung—and I knew immedi-
ately what I was in store for! Now that was a sermon!29
Droysen is alluding here Lo the tradition of Sunday musicales at the
home of Felix and Fanny's parents. Bach was regular fare at these
events, and there is good reason to believe that Droysen is referring to
one of that composer's most beloved church cantatas. First of all, the
fact that "Schmiicke dich" is a Bach work suggests that "The Lord's
Time" is also; otherwise, Droysen's mention of the Berlin concert is a
non sequitur. Perhaps he was anticipating that "Schmiicke dich" might
be just as edifying as that vocal composition, which he identifies as
"Des FJerren Zeit ist die beste Zeit." The title of Bach's Cantata 106
is virtually the same: Gotten Zeit ist die allerbesie Zeit. Most important,
we know that Fanny led a performance of this profoundly theological
work—hence the sermon metaphor—at one of the musicales in 1835.M
Furthermore, Felix had conducted the piece in public on more than
one occasion, and he intended one of these performances as a re-
quiem—the work was undoubtedly written for a funeral service—for
his father, who had responded most enthusiastically to Fanny's per-
formance.31 The cantata was obviously a family favorite.
As for Mendelssohn's edition ol the Great Eighteen, it belongs to his
four-volume set, John Sebastian Bach's Organ Compositions on Corales
(Psalm Junes).32 The series was first published in London by Coventry
& Hollier, but each volume was almost immediately reprinted in Leip-
zig by Breitkopf & Ha'rtel. Volumes 1 and 2, which contain most of the
Orgelbilchiein, appeared in 1845 under the title 44 Short Organ Pre-
ludes on Corales. Volumes 3 and 4, which contain most of the Great
Eighteen chorales, appeared the following year under the title 15 Grand
Preludes on Corales. The two pairs of volumes were clearly meant to
complement each other.
Mendelssohn attached a preface to each pair of volumes, but that of
the 15 Grand Preludes is especially interesting in the realm of perform-
ance practice. As translated by his friend Karl Klingemarin, it reads:
 Reception History 121

The present 15 Grand Preludes on Corales (as I already observed

in my Preface introducing the 44 short Organ Preludes on Corales)
are published from several old written copies, nearly concordant
amongst themselves, and without any modern addition as to Time,
Selection of Stops, or similar matter.
With regard to the Selection of Stops, it might not be superfluous
to remark in general that, for the present compositions, the super-
scription "Full Organ" does not always mean all the real Stops of an
Organ; furthermore, that whenever the superscription says "for two
rows of Keys and Pedal," only soft Stops ought to be used.
In the Prelude No. 6, on the Corale "Oh Lamb of God," it appears
necessary to change the Stops at the beginning of each new Verse, so
that the third Verse is played with the greatest number of Stops (per-
haps towards the end with the full Organ). In No. 2 also, "Come holy
Ghost," I would recommend here and there to change the Stops after
the termination of the different periods of the Cantus firmus, or grad-
ually to increase the power of the Organ to the end. In No. 3, "On the
rivers of Babylon," most probably only an 8 feet Pedal is meant,
without any 16 feet Stops.
It need hardly be mentioned that for the Prelude No. 8, as well as
for the one No. 14, no 16 feet Stop whatever must be used in the Pedal.
These remarks progress from the general to the specific. Having ex-
plained his Urtext editorial style, Mendelssohn warns against a loo lit-
eral interpretation of Organo Plena and advocates "soft" stops for any
piece marked for two manuals. Considering that this was the first col-
lected edition of the Great Eighteen, these instructions were probably
not the least bit "superfluous," especially outside Germany. Of course,
"soft" needs to be understood not as an absolute concept but as rela-
tive to "Full Organ."
Mendelssohn next comments on individual pieces, starting with
"0 Lamm Gottes." Most players today still follow his suggestion of a
variatiori-by-variation increase in registration. He recommends the
same approach for the ornamental selling of "Komm, Heiliger Geist,"
probably lo achieve variety in what is a very long and monotonous work.
Still, whereas this sort of buildup works well for a set of three varia-
tions, adding stops between all nine phrases of this chorale motet
seems most excessive, and it thoroughly fragments the work's structure.
Mendelssohn also cautions against sixteen-foot pedal registers in "An
Wasserfriissen Babylon" and "Von Gott will ieh nicht lassen" (Prelude
No. 8). His rationale in the former instance is by no means clear; in the
latter, however, it surely has all to do with the unusual tenor range of
the pedal line.'"
122 J. S. Bach's (Treat Eighteen Organ Chorales

Although it does not contain all eighteen chorales. Mendelssohn's

edition follows the order of the autograph. Its musical text, though, is
rile with errors, in part because Mendelssohn had no access to the au-
tograph manuscript.' 54 All eighteen works appeared the next year in
volumes 6 and 7 of the Peters edition of Bach's complete organ works,
edited by F. C. Gnepenkerl and Ferdinand Roit/sch. In terms of musi-
cal content, this is a very reliable edition—and one still widely used
today, despite its use of C clef—since the editors worked directly from
Bach's autograph; it also represents the first publication ol many of the
early versions. Unfortunately, though, this edition gives no sense of the
Great Eighteen as a collection, for the works are printed in alphabeti-
cal order, interspersed among almost fifty other chorale settings. Not
until the publication of Wilhelm Rust's Bachgesellschaft edition in
1878 was there a complete edition that adopted bolh the order and mu-
sical text of the autograph.
One of. the owners of this publication was Johannes Brahms, who,
like Schumann and Mendelssohn, was deeply involved w i t h Bach's
music his entire life.35 His initial response to the Great Eighteen is un-
known. But about twenty years alter the publication of Rust's edition,
these chorales apparently inspired Brahms in a most profound way.
We are alluding here to the composer's last work, the Eleven Cho-
rale Preludes, composed in May and June of 1896 and published post-
humously as Opus 122.36 To understand this collection, Brahms's dire
personal situation in the spring and summer of 1896 must be taken into
account. Since 1890 he had been obsessed with his own mortality, and
he drew up Ins will the following year.37 Three of his best friends—the
surgeon Theodor Ihllroth, the pianist and conductor Hans von Billow,
and the Bach biographer Philipp Spitla—died in 1894, and his clos-
est friend of all, Clara Schumann (Robert's widow), passed away on
May 20, 1896. Later that summer, Brahms was diagnosed with liver
cancer, the same disease that had claimed his father. He died less than
a year later, at the age of sixty-three.
The pall cast by these events clearly manifests itself in the com-
poser's final two works: the organ chorales and the Four Serious Songs,
composed in the spring of 1896. Both are set exclusively to sacred
lexis, several of w h i c h deal with death and dying. Brahms knew his
days were numbered, and he was making his final peace w i t h God.
No one has ever questioned that these organ chorales also amount to
a final tribute to Bach, the greatest master of the genre. But what Bach
works in particular did Brahms take as his models? The traditional an-
swer has been, with regard to form and technique, the Orgelbuchlein.
Still, the underlying idea for the project seems to come from the Great
 Reception History 123

Eighteen chorales, or at least the circumstances of their composition as

postulated by musicologists oi the late nineteenth century.38
An amateur Bach scholar himself. Brahms would have read in the
preface of Rust's Bachgesellschaft edition that Bach compiled the
Great Eighteen in the last year or two of his l i f e . Thus, Brahms's deci-
sion to author a collection of organ chorales as he felt his own life slip-
ping away may be seen as an attempt to emulate Bach biographically
as well as musically. Both Rust and Brahms's friend Spitta, in his Bach
biography of 1873—80, also maintained that the Great Eighteen setting
of "Vor deinen Thron" was Bach's "swan song" (as Rust called it), which
the blind composer dictated on his deathbed. As discussed in chapter
4, the opening line of this h y m n doubtless implies death as its subject
matter. The final work in Brahms's collection—the ast bit of music he
ever wrote—dwells on the; same topic. Set to the chorale "0 Welt, ich
muss dich lasseri" (0 world, 1 must leave you), its text depicts death as
a prelude to eternal heavenly rest.
Appropriately enough, Brahms also figures in the first published
transcription of a chorale from the Great Eighteen, that of "0 Lamm
Gottes" by his friend the piano virtuoso Garl Tausig, (or he is the ded-
icatee of Tausig's collection of piano transcriptions in which this
arrangement appears (see Table 5-3). For the first two variations,
Tausig sticks strictly to his model. But in Variation 3. marked Grandi-
oso epocopiu largo, he turns this Passiontide hymn into an outright py-
rolechnieal display. Doublings ol every sort occur throughout in both
hands (along with a steady increase: in volume), even in the last thir-
teen bars, where the surface motion accelerates from quarter notes lo
eighths.
Two slightly later Bach transcribers—and the most prolific in music
history—were Eerruccio Busoni and Max Reger. Within a two-year-
span (1898-1900), each issued a collection of Bach organ chorales
arranged lor piano whose stated purpose was to introduce this reper-
tory to the musical public. Most of these chorales come from the Great
Eighteen and the Orgelbiichlein.
Busoni labels his manner of arranging "chamber style." in distinc-
tion to the more virtuosic and free "concert style" of his piano tran-
scriptions of Bach's free instrumental works. (Still, Busom's rendition
of "Kornm. Cott Sehopfer" borders on the bombastic.) As a representa-
tive example, take his arrangement of the first setting ol '"Nun komrn,"
which has been recorded by the likes of Dinu Lipatli and Alfred Bren-
del.'iy Above all, what makes this piece so effective on the piano is the
walking-bass pedal line, which, as Busoni realized, is tailor-made lor
low left-hand octaves. With the left hand so engaged, the right, hand is
TABLE 5-3 Transcriptions of the Great Eighteen Chorales, in Chronological Order,
according to Publication Date

Title and BWV No.

Transcriber and of Chorale(s)
Instrumentation Bibliographical Citation Transcribed

Carl Tausig (1841—71) Choralvorspiele fur die Orgcl von "0 Lamm Gottes,
(piano) Johann Sebastian Bach: Fiir das unschuldig," BWV 656
Clavier ubertragen von Carl Tausig.
Berlin, n.d. (dedicated to Brahms)

Ferruceio Busoni Orgelchoralvorspiele von Johann "Nun komm, der Heiden

(piano) Sebastian Bach: Auf das Pianoforte Heiland," BWV 659:
im Kammerslyl Ubertragen von "Jesus Christus, unsor
Ferruceio rlerwenuto Busoni. 2 vols. Ileilarid," BWV 665;
Leipzig, 1898. "Kornm, Gotl Schopfer,
HciligerGeist," BWV 66'

Max Heger (piano) Ausgewiihlte Choralvorspiele von "Komm, Heiliger

Joh. Seb. Hack: fr'iir Klavier zu 2 Geist, Herre Gotl,"
lliinden ubertragen von Max Roger. BWV 651 ; "An
Vienna, 1900. Wasserfliissen
Babylon," BWV
653b; "Schmiicke
dich, o Hebe
Seele," BWV 654;
".Nun danket allc
Gott," BWV 657;
"Vor deincn Thron tret
ich hiermit," BWV 668
Arnold Schoenberg Choralvorspiele von Joh. Seb. liach, "Schmiicke dich, o
(orchestra) instrumentiert von Arnold Schb'riberg. liebe Seele," BWV
Vienna, 1925. 654; "Komm, Gotl
Schopfer, Heiliger
Geist," BWV 667

Harry Hodge (strings) J. S. Bach: Organ Choral Preludes "Sehmucke dich. o

Arranged for Strings by Harry liebe Seele," BWV
Hodge. 2 vols. Glasgow, 1926. 6b4; "Nun kornrn,
der Heiden Heiland,"
BWV 659
Mabel Wood-Hill An Wasserfliissen Babylon: Chorale "An Wasserfliissen
(orchestra) Prelude by J. S. Bach. London, 1926. Babylon," BWV 653
W r illiam Murdoch ,/. S. Bach: Organ Choral Preludes "Herrjesu Christ,
(piano) Arranged for Pianoforte by William dich ?.u uns wend,"
Murdoch. 4 vols. London, 1928. BWV 655; "Jesus
Chrislus, unser
Heiland," BWV 666

124
 Title and BWV Mo.
Transcriber and of Chorale(s)
Instrumentation Bibliographical Citation Transcribed

W. Gillies Whittaker /. S. Bach: Thirty-five Chorale "0 Lamm Goltes,

(piano) Preludes Arranged and Edited for unschuldig," BWV
Pianoforte by W. Gillies Whittaker. 656 (first two
4 vols. London. 1931. verses); "Jesus
Christus, unser
lleilarid," BWV 666

Wilholm Kempfl Musik des Karock und Rokoko, fur "Nun komrn, dcr
(piano) Klavier ilberlragen von, Wilhelm Heiden Lleiland,"
Kempff. Berlin, 1932. BWV 659

Leopold Stokowski (unpublished; recorded on Aprd 7, "Nun komm, dor

(orchestra) 1934) Heiden Heiland,"
BWV 659

Mabel Wood-Hill ./. S. Kach: Chorale Preludes. "An Wasserfliissen

(string quartet or Boston, 1935. Babylon," BWV 653
string orchestra)

Felix Guenther (piano) Johann Sebastian Bach: Twenty- "Komm, Heiliger

Jour Choral Preludes Compiled and Geist, Herre Gott,"
Arranged for Piano Solo by Felix BWV 651; "An
Guenther. New York, 1942. Wasserfliissen
Babylon," BWV
653b; "Nun dankel
alle Gott," BWV
657; "Vor deinen
Thron tret ich
hiermit," BWV 668

Felix Oberborbeck Choral: Vor deinen Thron tret ich "Vor deinen Thron
(piano, choir, and hiermit (Wenn wir in hb'chsten trel ich hiermit"
various instrumental Nolen sein), fur den praktischen BWV 668
ensembles) Gebrauch eingerichtet von Felix
Oberborbeck. Wolfenbiittel,
1950.

llalph Vaughan (unpublished; performed in London "Schmiicke dich,

Williams ((;ello and on December 28, 1956) o liebe Seele,"
strings) BWV 654
Philip llii (guitar) Nun Komm' tier Heiden Heiland, "Nun komm, der
BWV 659. Sari Francisco, 1996. Heiden Heiland,"
BWV 659

125
126 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

normally assigned all three upper parts. And since the distance be-
tween the soprano and tenor rarely exceeds a tenth, the right hand usu-
ally plays these three voices without any alteration. The challenge, as
duly observed by Husoni in a footnote, is to accentuate the soprano cho-
rale melody while keeping everything else "well in the background." 40
Example 5-6 illustrates the first phrase only. Other than the octave
doublings in the left hand, the only noteworthy change to the music per
se is the addition of a left-hand bass voice that starts on the last beat of
measure 4 (on d) and ends a beat and a hall later. Hut Husoni leaves his
own indelible print through copious performance instructions (affecting

K X A M P L K 5-6. "Xun komrri, der Held™ Holland," BWV 659, as transcribed for
piano by Ferrueoio Busorii. © 1898. 1925 Breitkopf & Ilarlel, Wiesbaden—Leipzig.
Lsed by permission.
 Reception Ilislory 127

tempo, dynamics, articulation, fingering, and pedaling) not found in

Bach's score. The result is great expressivity—and gorgeous piano
writing.
These two qualities also characterize Max Reger's transcriptions,
published two years later. Whereas Busom admired Bach's organ cho-
rales for their wealth of "art. feeling, and fantasy," his friend Reger de-
tected in them parallels to Richard Wagner, the benchmark for all com-
posers of the era. To quote from the preface of Reger's collection, "'Here
Bach betrays a depth, a genius in his conception and interpretation of
the text which forcibly resembles R. Wagner's grand style." For Reger,
then, who likened Bach's organ chorales to "symphonic poems in mini-
ature," the programmatic element in the music was paramount.
Interestingly, Reger undertook these transcriptions at a time (the
first half of 1898) of creative paralysis in his budding compositional ca-
reer, having failed financially and suffering from alcoholism and de-
pression.'1'1 But something in these organ chorales had a rejuvenative
effect on the twenty-five-year-old, since upon their completion he be-
gan to compose at a feverish pace, producing over the next two years
almost a do/en major organ works, including the Fantasy and Fugue on
B-A-C-H. These; compositions had far-reaching significance for Reger,
for they allowed him to develop his own musical language (an inim-
itable blend of post-Wagnerian chromaticism and Bachian counterpoint)
and to establish his reputation as an important composer. His dramatic
recovery, of course, brings to mind Mendelssohn's famous remark
about "Schmiicke dich," a work, incidentally, transcribed by Reger.
Fittingly, Reger's lifelong credo was "B-A-C-TT is the beginning and
end of all music."

THE T W E N T I E T H CEiNTUHY

fn considering the reception of the Great Eighteen in the present cen-

tury, let us begin with France. From the mid-f 80()s on. French organ-
ists had regularly played Bach's free organ works, but it was not until
the turn of the twentieth century that they performed his chorale set-
tings with any frequency. Various factors account (or this neglect, be-
ginning w i t h anti-ProtestanI sentiment in general and the d i f f i c u l t y of
incorporating Lutheran hymns into the Catholic liturgy. Perhaps a
more daunting obstacle, however, was simply that most of these musi-
cians did not understand the German language well enough to fully ap-
preciate the chorale texts being set or the mariner in which Bach's
music enhances these texts.
128 J. S. Bach's Greal Eighteen Organ Chorales

In this regard, Cesar Franck and Alexandre Guilmant qualify as trail-

blazers. Upon his appointment in 1872 as organ professor at the Paris
Conservatory, Franck broadened the examination and competition
repertory to include not only fugues by Bach but preludes, toccatas,
and chorale arrangements as well.42 More pertinent to this discussion,
Franck's pupils were required to play the Great Eighteen setting of "0
Lamm Gottes."
Franck also edited this piece, along with the Great Eighteen setting
of "An Wasserflussen Babylon," for a Braille publication of Bach organ
works issued in 1887 for the National Institute for Blind Youths. 43 This
anthology includes Franck's fingerings and pedalings for both compo-
sitions, as well as his registration for "An Wasserfliissen." In accor-
dance with French practice, the former achieve a decidedly legato
touch. As for "An Wasserflussen," Franck recommended a reed stop
for the solo line and a "flute" for the accompaniment—essentially how
the work tends to be played today.
Guilrnant's knowledge of Bach's organ chorales was unusually com-
prehensive for a French organist of the period. As organist at the Church
of La Trinite in Paris from 1871 to 1901, Guilmant regularly based his
plainsong improvisations on chorale settings by Bach, just as he took
these works as models for his published compositions. One of these bor-
rows note-for-note from the first Great Eighteen setting of "Allein Gott."44
After his death in 1890, Franck was succeeded at the conservatory
by Charles Marie Widor, probably the staunchesl Bachian France has
ever produced. The influence of Bach's organ music is apparent through-
out Wiclor's ten organ symphonies, and certain movements may reflect
the Great Eighteen chorales in particular.4"1 Yet even Widor confessed
in 1899 to his pupil Albert Schweitzer that the more he studied Bach's
organ chorales, the less he understood them. 46 Schweitzer's solution
was simply to explain to his teacher the meaning ol the chorale texts,
which proved to be for Widor an epiphany. Because of Widor's preem-
inence, this episode serves as a turning point in the reception history
of Bach's organ chorales in France.
To judge from Schweitzer's monograph on Bach, first published in
1905, it was not the Great Eighteen or Part III of the Clavierilbung but
rather the Orgelbuchlein that represented to him the very epitome of that
composer's chorale settings for organ. And we read in chapter 3 about
Schweitzer's disdain for "long" chorale arrangements. Still, as Stefan
Hanheide has revealed, as a recitahst Schweitzer actually preferred
the Great Eighteen chorales, particularly "An Wasserfliissen Babylon,"
"Schmucke dich," "0 Lamm Gottes," the first setting of "Nun komm,"
and "Vor deinen Thron." 4 ' Clearly, what Schweitzer found appealing
 Reception History 129

about these works was their meditative, mystical ambience and, in the
case of "0 Lamm Gottes," their remarkably precise text painting.
Another Widor pupil was Marcel Dupre. who effectively inaugu-
rated his career as a concert organist in 1920 by playing the complete
organ works of Bach (from memory, of course) in a series of ten recitals
at the conservatory.48 Like Schweitzer, Dupre would go on to publish
his own edition of the complete Bach works. Whether Dupre also had
favorite pieces from the Great Eighteen is unclear, but "Vor deinen
Thron" was played at his funeral.
As evidence that the Great Eighteen enjoyed popularity outside
organ circles in the early 1900s, we may look to Arnold Schoeriberg. A
serious student of Bach's music his entire life. Sehoenberg published
his orchestral transcriptions of the Great Eighteen settings of "Schmucke
dich" arid "Komm, Gott Schopfer" in 1925. He actually prepared these
arrangements, however, in the spring of 1922, at the very lime he was
developing the twelve-tone technique that would so dramatically alter
composition in the twentieth century. As the Schoeriberg expert Waller
Eriseh has written:

The simultaneity of these very different activities may seem odd.

But throughout his career Sehoenberg was concerned—indeed, ob-
sessed—with the German musical tradilion, in which he saw him-
self having a place. Willi Reich, one of his biographers, was right to
dub him a "conservative revolutionary."49

Schoenberg's initial encounter with this music goes back at least to

June 1918, at which time he was planning on orchestrations not only of
these two works but also of three other Great Eighteen chorales ("An
Wasserflussen Babylon,'' "0 Lamm Gottes," and the second selling of
"Allein Gott") and the Sehiibler chorale "Meine Seele erhebt den Her-
ren."''° To judge from ihe many inscriptions found in his copy of the Pe-
ters edition, Schoenberg's study of these pieces was hardly casual. In
the score of "Schmucke dich," for instance, he inserted the first stanza
of the chorale lexl above the right-hand voice and realized various or-
namental symbols in ihe part. He also questioned (for whatever rea-
sons) whether the pedal eighth notes in measure 77 should not read d—
f—e-flat—g, even though his published transcriplion follows Bach's
reading here.
The goal of these two arrangements was to elucidate Bach's complex
counterpoint. As Sehoenberg put it himself, his aim was "to make the
individual lines clearer" by the "clarification of the motivic procedures
in both horizontal and vertical dimensions." 51 Toward this end, the var-
ious motives present in Bach's accompanimental voices are played by
180 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

different instruments, ranging from double bass to piccolo (presumably

what Schoenberg meant by "vertical dimensions"). These motives are
also distinguished from one another through detailed phrasing, articu-
lation, and dynamics ("horizontal dimensions"). Such specificity, which
is clearly along the lines of the Klangfarbenmelodie of Schoenberg's
Five Orchestra] Pieces, op. 16, is of course impossible on a single in-
strument played by a single performer. But it is especially so on the or-
gan, because of the instrument's limitations with respect to dynamics.
To cite just one example, consider Schoenberg's treatment of the
main ritornello theme of "Schmiieke dieh," as played by the right hand
in measures 1-4 (see Example 5-7).'l2 Here each of the three motives
contained in this melody is assigned to a different group of instru-
ments. The first one. which ends on the downbeat of measure 2, is
played by English horns and K-flat clarinets: the second, which com-
prises all the notes of measure 2, is played by flutes, B-flat clarinets,
and celesta; and the third, which begins on the last note of measure 2
and extends to the downbeat of measure 4, is played by oboes. Schoen-
berg's "analysis," therefore, reveals not only three different motives per
se but also dovetailing between the first and second and between the
second and third. Only with multiple instruments are these overlaps
actually audible.
Both orchestrations also contain much music not found in the organ
versions, including entire lines and counterpoints of Schoenberg's own
composition. But even this material is intended to "clarify" Bach's

E X A M P L E 5-7. "Sehmueke dich, o liebe Seek:," BWV 654

 Reception History 131

polyphony. In "Schmiicke dich." for example, Schoenberg obviously

interprets the last pedal note of measure 3 and the first of measure 4 as
forming their own descending-filth rnolive: those two notes are the only
played by the double bass in the first four bars and are slurred together
in the score. He next adds in measures 7—8 two statements of this fig-
ure (played both times by piccolo, (lute. B-ffat clarinet, and viola) not
found in the organ version by inverting the two ascending-fourth mo-
tives in the left hand. Here, then, "clarification" is achieved though the
motivic implications of the model.
As if to complement the "pointillistic" style of the accompaniment,
the ornamented chorale melody is performed throughout by a single in-
strument, a solo cello, which plays this part exactly as notated by Bach.
Tt may or may not be coincidental lhat over thirty years later Ralph
Vaughan Williams transcribed the same chorale for solo cello and
strings in honor of the eightieth birthday of the cellist Pablo Casals.5'!
By choosing Bach, Vaughan Williams was paying homage to Casals's
favorite composer and perhaps his own as well. 04 Regrettably, this tran-
scription has been neither published nor recorded.
A rather famous but still unpublished orchestration of a Great Eigh-
teen chorale is that by Leopold Stokowski of the first setting of "Nun
kornm." The great conductor was himself a professional organist, and
during his long tenure with the Philadelphia Orchestra he transcribed
for that ensemble many of Bach's organ compositions, including cho-
rale settings as well as free works. Whereas Stokowski compared the
latter to "daring (lights of imagination," he valued Bach's organ cho-
rales—and this one in particular—for their "mystical beauly" and
"concentrated essence of deep musical emotion."00
In stark contrast to Schoenberg's motivic-fragmenlaliori technique.
Stokowski was content to preserve all (our voices of his model more or
less exactly as Bach wrote them. Nor did Stokowski add any r material
whatsoever of his own invention. Thus, while Schoenberg's arrange-
ments quality as true1 reeomposilions, Stokowski's is a transcription in
the strictest sense of the word.
Surely one reason he chose this chorale was its unusual walking-
bass pedal line, which seems idiomatically conceived (or strings rather
than organ. Accordingly, this part is played throughout by double bass
and second cello, pizzicato. Muted violas arid first cellos take ihe alto
and tenor voices, respectively. And the embellished chorale melody
found in the soprano is sounded in succession by various woodwind in-
struments (phrases 1—3) and muted violins (phrase 4). No doubt the
subdued nature of this scoring heightens the work's "mystical beauty,"
just as this Advent chorale evokes the mystery of the Incarnation. 06
132 J. S. Bach's Great Eighteen Organ Chorales

Stokowski's score, not surprisingly, contains all manner of instruc-

tions vis-a-vis articulation and dynamics that create a quintessenlially
Romantic expressivity.''7 His uitra-rubato approach to tempo also con-
tributes to this effect, as do the constant string glissandos heard in his
] 934 recording. 08 The purist may frown, but the sheer musicality of the
performance, not to mention the beauty of the orchestral sound, is be-
yond dispute.
As for other twentieth-century transcriptions of this chorale, that by
Wilhelm Kempff adopts a piano texture very similar to Busoni's. Tn per-
forming his transcription, though, Kempf( greatly accentuated the tenor
line of measure 21 in what appears to be an allusion to "0 Sacred
Head. Now Wounded."'19 The idea behind Philip Hii's recent guitar
transcription, conversely, seems to be to transfer as much material as
the limited polyphonic capabilities of this instrument allow—quite a
challenge considering the wide range and four-voice texture of the
model. This normally means conflating two voices to iorm one. But so
skillful is the adaptation that the listener rarely senses that anything is
missing.fiO
The twentieth century has witnessed far more transcriptions of the
Great Eighteen chorales than any previous era. As the music has grown
in popularity over the last 100 years, so has the demand lor it in a wide
variety of instrumentations. These works owe their unprecedented
renown today of course to the transcendent, enduring power of the
music itself. But certain external agents have aided in this process as
well, especially the increasing availability of performing editions of
and scholarly writings on the collection and advances in recording
technology thai have allowed for the music's mass dissemination. Who
knows what the new m i l l e n n i u m w i l l bring?
 NOTES

CHAPTER 1

1. Peter Williams, The Organ Music of J. S. Hack, 3 vols. (Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press, 1980-84), 2:127.
2. See Robert L Marshall, "Chorale Settings," in The New Grove Dictio-
nary of Music and Musicians, edited by Stanley Sadie (London: Macmillan,
1980), 4:329-30.
3. On these rnanuseripts, see Hermann Zietz. QueUenkritische IJruer-
suchungen an den Bach-IIandschriften P 801, P 802 und P 803 aus don
"Krebs'schen Nac.hlass" unter besonderar Beriicksichligung der Choralbearbeit-
ungen desjungen J. S. Bach (Hamburg: Karl Dieter Wagner, 1969); Stephen
Daw. "Copies of J. S. Bach by Walther and Krebs: A Study of the Manuscripts
P 801, P 802, and P 803," Organ Yearbook 1 (1976): 31-58; and Kirsten Beis-
swenger, "Zur Chronologic der Notenhandschriften Johann Gottfried Walthers."
in Acht kleine Praludien und Sludien fiber BAG1J: Ge.org von Dadelsen zum
70. Ceburtstag am 77. November 1988, edited by the Johanri-Sebaslian-Baeh-
Institut, Gotlingen (Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Hartel, 1992), 1 1-39.
4. Jean-Claude Zehnder, "Goorg Bb'hni und Johann Sebastian Baeh: Zur
Chronologie der Bachschen Slilentwickhmg," Bach-Jahrbuch 74 (1988): 73-
1 10, and "Zu Baehs Stilentwioklung in der Muhlhauser und Weimarer Zeil."
in Das Frukwerk Johann Sebastian Bachs, edited by Karl Heller and Hans-
Joachim Schulze (Cologne: Studio, 1995), 31 1-38.
5. In addition to the articles listed in n. 4, see Jean-Claude Zehnder, "Die
Weimarer Orgelmusik Johann Sebastian Bachs hn Spiegel seiner Kantaten,"
Musik und Gottesdienst 41 (1987): 149-62, "Giuseppe Torclli und Johann Se-
bastian Bach: Zu Baehs Weimarer Konzertform," Bach-Jahrbuch 77 (1991):
33-95, and "Zum spiilen Weimarer Stil Johann Sebastian Bachs," in Bachs

133
134 Notes to Pages 5-15

Orchesterwerke.: Herichl fiber das 1. Dorlmunder Bach-Syrnposion 7996, edited

by Martin Geek (Wilten: Klangfarben-Musikverlag, 1997), 89-124.
6. See Christoph Wolff et al., The New Grove Bach Family (New York: Nor-
ton, 1983), 124.
7. Because oi its "migratory" bass line, t h i s work is printed in the NKIJLK
Bach-Ausgabe on only two staves, with pedal cues; see NBA 1V/2 (Die Orgel-
chorale aim der I^ipziger Originalhandschrift), edited by Hans Klotz. See also
NBA IV72, KB, 83; and Williams, The Organ Music, 2:165.
8. See Zohnder, "Georg Rohm," 100—101; and Henning Muller-Buscher,
Georg Biihrns Choralbearbcilungen fur Tasteninslrumenle (Laaber: Laaber-
Verlag. 1979), 95-105. Henceforth, any mention oi Bach's relationship to
Bb'hrn is based on Zchnder's article.
9. See Johann Michael Bach, Sdrntliche Orgelchordle / The Complete
Organ Chorales, edited by Christoph Wolff (Neuhausen-Stuttgart: Hanssier,
1988); and Dietrich Buxtehude, Sdrntliche Orge.lwe.rke, edited by Joset Hedar,
4 vols. (Copenhagen: Wilhelm Hansen, 1952), 4:14-19. Buxtehude supplies
an interlude only between Variations 1 and 2.
10. See Christoph Wolff, ed., The Neumeister Collection of Chorale Pre-
ludes from the, liach Circle, facsimile edition (New Haven: Yale University
Press, 1986), 8-9.
11. See Russell Slinson, "The Compositional History of Bach's Orgel-
biichlein Reconsidered," Bach Perspectives 1 (1995): 43—78.
12. See Laurence Dreyfus, liach and the Patterns oj Invention (Cam-
bridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1996), 118.
13. See Hans T. David and Arthur Mendel, The New Bach Reader: A Life
of Johann Sebastian Bach in Letters and Documents, revised and enlarged by
Christoph Wolff (New York: Norton, 1998), 300.
14. See Stinson. "The Compositional History."
15. See Lawrence Arehbold, "Towards a Critical Understanding of Buxle-
hude's Expressive Chorale Preludes," in Church. Stage, and Slndio: Music
and Its Contexts in Seventeenth-Century Germany, edited by Paul Walker ( A n n
Arbor: U M I Research Press, 1990), 103-4.
16. See Russell Slinson, Bach: The Orgelbiichlein (Now York: Sehirmer,
1996; reprint, New York: Oxford University Press, 1999) 19-21.
17. Throughout this hook, we will follow the measure numbering of the
Neue Bach-Ausgabe, the standard edition of Bach's music, despite its quirky
practice of two different sets of measure numbers for repeated passages.
18. See Yoshitake Kobayashi, "Quellerikundliche Uberlegungen zur
Chronologic der Weimarer Vokalwerke Baehs," in Heller and Schulze, Das
Friihwerh Johann Sebastian Bachs, 296—97.
19. As we will discuss in the next chapter, the version of this work with the
chorale melody in the soprano, cataloged as BWV 653b (double-pedal
arrangement), is of doubtful authenticity.
20. See NBA IV/1 (Orgelbiichlein; Sechs (Chorale von verschiedener Art
/Schiibler-Chordle/; Orgelparlilen), edited by Heinz-Harald Lohlein, KB, 87;
 Notes to Pages 1 5-30 135

and Yoshilake Kobayashi, Die. Nolenschrifl Johann Sebastian Backs: Doku-

me.nlalion ihrer Etilwic.klu.ng (NBA IX/2), 38.
21. See Willi A pel. The History of Keyboard Music to 1700, translated and
revised by Hans Tischler (Bloornirigton: Indiana University Press, 1972),
656-57.
22. See Hans-Joachim Schulze, "J. S. Bach's Concerto-Arrangements for
Organ-Studies or Commissioned Works?" Organ Yearbook 3 (1972): 4 — 13,
and Sludien zur Bach-Uberlie/erung irn 18. Jahrhunderl (Leipzig: Edition
Peters, 1984), 155-63.
23. See George B. Staufler. The Organ Preludes of Johann Sebastian Bach
(Ann Arbor: UM1 Research Press, 1980), 46-58.
24. See Werner Breig, "'The 'Great Eighteen' Chorales: Bach's Revisional
Process arid the Genesis of the Work," in J. S. Bach as Organist: His Instru-
ments, Music, and Performance Practices, edited by George Stauffer and
Ernest May (Bloomirigtori: Indiana Lniversity Press, 1986), 104-10.
25. Werner Breig, "Baehs Orgelchoral und die italienisehe Instrumontal-
musik," in Bach und die ilalienische Musik, edited by Wolfgang Osthoff and
Reinhard Wiesend (Venice: Centro Tedesco di Studi Veneziani. 1987), 99.
26. This is especially true with regard to the abbreviated (and obviously
corrupt) versions of these two pieces found in the manuscript SBB Mus. rns.
30377. Penned by an anonymous scribe during the second half of the eigh-
teenth century, this source completely omits from each work the concluding
cantus firmus—chorale section. The copyist may not have even realized he was
notaling chorale settings, since in neither instance did he inscribe a chorale
title, merely the generic heading "Trio." This version ol "Herrjesu Christ" is
cataloged as BWV 655c. On the scribe and date of this manuscript, see NBA
V/6.2 (Das Wbhltcrnpenerte Klavier II; Funf Praeludien und Fughettcri), ed-
ited by Alfred Dim, KB, 121.
27. See Williams, The Organ Music, 2:154.
28. See Kobayashi. Die Notemchriji Johann Sebastian Bachs, 207.
29. See Wolff et al., The New Grove Bach Family, 122.

CHAPTER 2

1. See Alfred Dim, "Heinrich Nicolaus Gerber als Schtiler Bachs," Bach-
/a/!r/juc/i64(1978):7-18.
2. Eor a physical description, see NBA 1V/7 (Sechs Sonalen und ver-
schiedene, Kinzelwerke). edited by Dietrich Kilian, KB, 17-22.
3. On the dating of these sources, see Yoshilake Kobayashi, Die Nolen-
schrift Johann Sebastian Bachs: Dokumentalion ihrer Kntwicklung (NBA IX/2),
206—7, and "Zur Chronologic der Spatwerke Johann Sebastian Bachs: Kotn-
positions- und Auffuhrungstatigkeit von 1736 bis 1750," Bach-Jahrbuch 74
(1988): 45, 56-57.
4. Georg von Dadelsen, Beilrdge zur Chronologic der Werke Johann Se-
bastian Bachs (Trossingen: llohner, 1958), 109-10.
136 Notes to Pages 30-39

5. Kobayashi, "Zur Chronologic der Spiitwerke," 45. 56-57, and Die

Notenschrift Johann Sebastian Racks, 207.
6. See Kobayashi, "Zur Chronologie der Spiitwerke," 60.
7. See Yoshitake Kobayashi, "Zur Teilung des Bachsehen Erbes," in Achl
kleine I'rdludien und Sludien ilber BACH: Georgvon Dadelsenzum 70. Geburt-
stag am 17. November 1988, edited by the Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Institut.
Gotlingen (Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Hartel, 1992), 69.
8. See Peter Wollny, "Zur Uberlieferung der Instrumenlalwerke Johann
Sebastian Baehs: Der Quellenbesitz Carl Philipp Emanuel Baehs," Bach-
Jakrbuch 82 (1996): 12-13.
9. See the preface to Johann Sebastian Bach, Die achtzehn grossen Orgel-
choriile BWV 651-668 and Canonische Verdnderungen fiber "Vom Himmel
hock" BWV 769, facsimile edition of the autograph manuseript, with a prefaee
by Peter Wollny (Laaber: Laaber-Verlag, 1999).
10. The barely visible inseription Von Altnikols Hand at the top of Figure
2—2 was penned by Georg Poelehau, the owner of this manuscript in the early
nineteenth century; see Clark Kelly, "Johann Sebastian Baeh's 'Eighteen'
Chorales, BWV 651-668: Perspectives on Editions and Hyrnnology" (D.M.A.
dissertation, Eastman School of Music, 1988), 87.
11. Georg von Dadelsen, Bemcrkungen zur Handschrifl Johann Sebastian
Backs, seiner Familie und seines Kreises (Trossingen: Hohner, 1957), 16.
12. See Russell Stinson, "The Compositional History of Bach's Orgel-
buchlein Reconsidered." Bach Perspectives 1 (1995): 67-69.
13. Christoph Wolff, "The Deathbed Chorale: Exposing a Myth." in Wolff,
Bach: Essays on His Life and Music (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University
Press, 1991), 272-94.
J4. See Detlev Krancmann, "Johann Sebastian Baehs Krankheit und
Todesursaehe—Versuch einer Deutung," Bach-Jahrbuch 76 (1990): 59-60.
15. Regarding the inscriptions beneath the last system, the series of num-
bers to the left, whose meaning is uncertain, is in an unknown hand, obviously
not that of the copyist. To the right is an addition by Siegfried Wilhelm Dehn,
who was the music librarian of the Konigliche Bibliothek in Berlin shortly
after the library came into possession oi this manuscript in 1841: Fragment
des Chorals, der in der "Kunst der Fuge" mil, dern Text "Wenn wir in, hochslen
Niiten" vorkommt (Fragment of the chorale that occurs in the "Art oi Fugue"
with the text "Wenn wir in hochslen Noten"). See Alfred Dilrr, Johann Sebas-
tian Bach: Seine Handschnft—Abbdd seines Schaffens (Wiesbaden: Breitkopf
& Hartel, 1984), commentary to Blatt 79.
16. Robert L Marshall, The Compositional Process of j. S. Bach: A Study
of the Autograph Scores of the Vocal Works, 2 vols. (Princeton: Princeton Uni-
versity Press, 1972), 1:4-5.
17. See NBA IV/2, KB, 14. In addition to being rather superficial, Klotz's
commentary is riddled with major factual mistakes, such as the statement (on
p. 59) that the manuscript SK!B P 801 contains an autograph "sketch" of
"Komin, Got! Schb'pfer." Moreover, Klotz's edition abounds in questionable
 Notes to Pages 39-50 137

readings; on this point, see Kelly, "Johann Sebastian Bach's 'Eighteen' Cho-
rales," 31-104.
18. Bach's general—and parsimonious—practice in scoring organ music
was to employ a separate pedal staff only for trio compositions (see Figure 2-
1). In the autograph of the Great Eighteen, he was also forced to adopt this pro-
cedure for certain works whose leit-hand staff he nolaled in alto or tenor clef
(see Figure 2-7). He did the same for "Von Coll will ich nieht lassen." whose
left-hand staff is in bass clef, obviously because this work's pedal line—a
tenor part—would have been greatly obscured by the: busy and wide-ranging
bass and alto voices. But one is puzzled by Bach's use of a separate pedal stall
for the third setting of "Nun komm," whose left-hand stall is likewise in bass
clef. In that work, much like the first setting of "Komm, Hciliger Ceist," the
pedal part never crosses any voice played by the left hand, and its slow
rhythms make it visually distinct as well. Adding it to the bottom ol the left-
hand staff would have created no confusion whatever.
19. See Johann Sebastian Bach, Fantasia super Komm Heiliger Ceist, lac-
simile edition of the autograph, w i t h a preface by Peter Wackernagel (Leipzig:
Edition Merseburger, 1950).
20. See Johann Sebastian Bach, Orgelbiichlein, 18 grouse Choralbear-
beitungen, Anhang: Varianlen. edited by Heinz Lohmann (Wiesbaden: Breit-
kopf & I larlel, 1968). Lohmann furnishes such alternate readings lor many of
the chorales, which makes his edition a handy tool for studying Bach's revi-
sions in these pieces. Still, his edition by no means prints all the discrepant
readings, and it provides the complete scores only of those early versions (six
to be exact) that differ most substantially from the revised ones. The Neue
Bach-Ausgabe remains the only complete edition of the early versions.
21. See NBA 1V/2, KB, 40; and verse 3 of Walther's setting of "Sohmiieke
dich, o liebe Seele," in Johann Gottfried Wa\\hur, Ausgewahlte Orgelwerke, ed-
ited by Heinz Lohmann, 3 vols. (Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Hartel, 1966),
2:163-65.
22. The revision in measure 11, beat 2, where the two versions lully agree,
is obviously not compositional but the result of a copying error.
23. See, for example, Werner Breig, "The 'Great Eighteen' Chorales:
Bach's Revisional Process and the Genesis of the Work," in /. S. Bach as Or-
ganist: His Instruments, Music, and Performance, Practices, edited by George
Stauffer and Ernest May (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986),
110-18.
24. See Robert L. Marshall, brier notes to The Uncommon, Bach: Johann
Sebastian Bach Organ Works— Variants, Rarities, and Transcriptions (Pro Glo-
ria Musicae Recordings, PGM 115, 1997).
25. Performers of this version, incidentally, should beware of older edi-
tions, such as the Peters, that print the text of Walther's copy as altered by an
unknown nineteenth-century hand; see NBA 1V/2, KB, 68. Two editions that
offer the unaltered text are Lohmann's and the Neue Bat:h-Ausgabe.
26. For a comparison, see Example 5 — 5.
 138 Notes to Pages 51-58

27. Bach also used the "'incorrect" notation of half notes divided into
eighth-note triplets in the famous Orgelbiichlcin, setting of "Tn dulci jubilo."
28. Two early versions of this work complex exist: one known as BWV
664a, which appears in the Peters and Bachgesellschaft editions; and another
known as BWV 664b, which was published for the first lime in the Neue Bach-
Ausgabe. The differences between the two are trifling, and many of them may
be due merely to scribal mistakes. But it does seem clear enough that BWV
664b represents the original version, from which BWV 664a was adapted. See
NBA IV/2, KB, 82-83; and Peter Williams, The Organ Music, of]. S. Bach, 3
vols. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980-84), 2:163-64.
29. See Chrisloph Wolff et al.. The New Grove, Bach Family (New York:
Norton, 1983), 167.

CHAPTER 3

1. Manfred F. Bukofzer, Music in the Baroque Era: From Monteverdi to

Bach (New York: Norton, 1947), 299.
2. Albert Schweitzer, ,/. 5. Hack, translated by Ernest Newman, 2 vols.
(New York: Macmillan, 1925; reprint, New York: Dover, 1966), 1:291, 2:61-62.
3. Harvey Grace, The Organ Works of Bach (London: Novello, 1922), 263.
4. Philipp Spitta, Johann Sebastian Bach: His Work and Influence on the
Music of Germany; 1685-1750, translated by Clara Bell and J. A. Fuller-Mait-
land, 3 vols. (London: Novello, 1889: reprint, New York: Dover, f 952), 1:611.
5. See Malcolm Boyd. Bach, rev. ed. (New York: Schirrner, 1997), 36.
6. See I lans T. David and Arthur Mendel, The Mew Bach Reader: A Life of
Johann Sebastian Bach in hellers and Documents, revised and enlarged by
Christoph Wolff (New York: Norton, f 998), 300.
7. See Robin A. Leaver, "Bach and Hymnody: The Evidence of the Orgel-
buchlein" Early Music 13 (J985): 227-36.
8. See Peter Williams, The Organ Music of J. S. Bach, 3 vols. (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1980-84), 2:78, 157-58: and Clark Kelly,
"Johann Sebastian Bach's 'Eighteen' Chorales, BWV 651-668: Perspectives
on Editions and llymnology" (D.M.A. dissertation, Eastman School of Music,
1988), 176.
9. See Robin A. Leaver, liner notes to The Isipzig Chorales of J. S. Bach:
Joan Lippincolt, Organist, (Golhie Records, G 49099, 1998). Leaver's state-
ment that Bach inscribed the letters "SDC" (for his motto, "Soli Deo Gloria")
at the end of his autograph entry of the third " A l l e i n Gott" setting is elearly
wrong. The same mistake appears In Williams. The Organ Music, 2:162.
JO. J'lgure 3-1 is based on Williams, The Organ Music, 3:124-25; and
Winfried Sehramniek, "Orgef, Positiv, Clavicyrnbel und Glocken der Schloss-
kirche zu Weimar 1658 bis 1774," in Bericht liber die Wisscnschaftlichc Kon-
ferenz zum V. Internationalen Bachfest der DDR in Verbindung mil dem 60.
Bachfest der Neuen Bachgesellschaft, edited by Winfried Hoffmann and Arrnin
Schneiderheinze (Leipzig: V K B Deutseher Verlag fur Musik, 1988), 99-1 1 1.
According to Schramrnek's investigation of Weimar court records, when the
 Notes to Pages 58-68 139

organ was first rebuilt (in 1707-8) it acquired the manual and pedal com-
passes given in Figure 3-1. These compasses remained unchanged until
1774. when the organ, along with the entire court chapel, was destroyed by fire.
11. See Williams, The Organ Music. 3:1 18-19; and Lynn Edwards. "The
Thuringian Organ 1702-1720: ' . . . ein wohlgeralhenes gravilatisches
Werk,'" Organ Yearbook 22 (1991): I 19-50.
12. Barbara Owen, The Registration of Baroque Organ Music (Blooming-
Ion: Indiana University Press, 1997), 162.
13. See Williams, The Organ Music, 3:140-41.
14. Dale according to Schrarnmek, "Orgel, Positiv," 99. For a detailed dis-
cussion of the chapel's construction, see Remhold Jauermg, "Johann Sebast-
ian Bach in Weimar: Neue lorschungsergebmsse aus Weimarer Quellen,'' in
Johann Sebastian Bach in Thuringen: Eestgabe ziun Gedenkjahr 1950, edited
by Heinrich Besseler and Ciinlher Kralt (Weimar: Thuringer Volksverlag,
1950), 58-71.
15. On the dale of this print, see Gregory C. Butler, "Neues / u r Datierurig
der Goldberg-Variationen," Bach-Jahrbuch 74 (1988): 219-23.
16. See David and Mendel, The New Bach Pleader, 281-94.
17. Dales according to Yoshilake Kobayashi, "Xur Chronologic der Spiil-
werke Johann Sebastian Bachs: Komposilions- und Auffuhrungslatigkeit von
1 736 bis 1750," Bach-Jahrbuch 74 (1988): 41-61.
18. See Chrisloph Wolff et al., The New Grove Bach Family (New York:
Norton, 1983), 165.
19. See Alfred Diirr, "Bach's Chorale Cantatas." in Cantors al the Cross-
roads: Essays on Church Music in Honor oj Waller E. Buszin, edited by
Johannes Riedel (St. Uouis: Goncordia, 1967), 1 1 1 .
20. See (Gregory G. Butler, Bach's Clavier-[/bung III: The Making of a
Print. With a Companion Study of the Canonic Variations on "Vom Himmel
Hock," BWV 769 (Durham, N. C.: Duke University I'ress, 1990), 103.
21. NBA1V/2, KB, 13.
22. See NBA IV72, KB, 15; and NBA IV/7, KB, 17.
23. See Barbara Owen, E. Power Biggs: Concert Organist (Bloomington:
Indiana University Press, 1987), 42.
24. See, for instance, the recording by Joan Uippirieott cited in n. 9.
25. Butler, Bach's Clavier-U bung III, 83-85.
26. Christoph Wold, "Principles of Design and Order in Bach's Original
Editions," in Wolli, Bach: Essays on His Life and Music (Cambridge, Mass.:
Harvard University Press, 1991), 345.
27. Robert L Marshall, Luther, Bach, and the Early Reformation Chorale
(Kessler Reformation Lecture, Emory University, 1995), 2.
28. Sec NBA IV/2, KB, 59.
29. See Marshall, Luther, Bach, and the Early Reformation Chorale, 2.
30. In the case of the Clavier lib ung, the presence of three "Alleiri Cott"
settings must also be understood in connection with the two triple groupings
of Kyrie texts that precede it; see Wolfl, "Principles of Design and Order,"
345-46.
140 Notes to Pages 70-81

31. See Christoph Wolff, "Bach and the Tradition of the Palestrina Style,"
in Wolff, Bach: Essays on His Life arid Music, 92-104.
32. See Williams, The Organ Music, 2:135.

CHAPTER 4
1. For complete translations of all ihe hymns set in the Great Eighteen,
see Mark S. Bighley, The Lutheran Chorales in the Organ Works ofj. S. Bach
(St. Louis: Concordia, 1986). Translations of first stanzas are found in Peter
Williams, The Organ Music of ]. S. Bach, 3 vols. (Cambridge: Cambridge Uni-
versity Press, J980-84); and Hermann Keller, The Organ Works of Bach: A
Contribution to their History; Form, Interpretation and Performance, trans-
lated by Helen Hewitt (New York: C. F. Peters, 1967). In following the piece-
by-piece commentaries in the present chapter, the reader may find it helpful
to refer to such translations.
2. For example, Wolfgang Riibsam's recent recording lasts a whopping
eight minutes and twenty-six seconds; see /. 5. Bach: Organ Chorales from the
Leipzig Manuscript, vol. 1 (Naxos, 8.550901, 1994).
3. See, lor instance, ihe registration instructions given in the once very
popular C. Sehirmcr edition Twelve Chorale Preludes Jor Organ by Johann Se-
bastian Bach, edited by Franklin Clynn (New York: G. Schirmer, 1931).
4. See George B. Stauifer, The Organ Preludes of Johann Sebastian Bach
(Ann Arbor: UM1 Research Press, 1980), 159-61.
5. See the series of reports in the July 1991 issue of ihe Early Keyboard
Studies Newsletter, published by the Westfield Center.
6. See Hans T. David and Arthur Mendel, The New Bach Reader: A Life of
Johann Sebastian Bach in Letters and Documents, revised and enlarged by
Christoph Wolff (New York: Norton, 1998), 336.
7. See David and Mendel, The New Bach Reader, 302.
8. See the edition in Johann Adam Reinken, Sdmtliche Orgelwerke, edited
by Klaus Beckmann (Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Ha'rtel, 1974).
9. See David and Mendel, The New Bach Reader, 302.
10. See Chrisloph Wolff, "Bach and Johann Adam Reinken: A Context for
the Early Works," in Wolif, Bach: Essays on His Life and Music (Cambridge,
Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1991), 56-71.
11. See David and Mendel, The New Bach Reader, 364.
12. See Flarvey Grace, The Organ Works of Bach (London: Novello, 1922),
274.
13. For a performance of this type, see E. Power Biggs's recording of the
ornamental chorale "Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier," BW V 731, on Bach Organ
Favorites, vol. 4 (Columbia Masterworks, MS 7424).
14. As does, for instance, Lionel Rogg in his recording of the Great Eigh-
teen on the Harmonia Mundi label (HMX 290772.83, 1992).
15. See J. S. Bach Organ Works, vol. 2: Leipzig Mastery (Raven, OAR-300,
1995).
 Notes to Pages 81 -89 141

16. The harpsichordist Wanda 1 .aridowska reportedly played binary dance

movements by Bach in this way; see Imogene Korsley et al., "Improvisation,"
in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, edited by Stanley Sadie
(London: Macmillan, 1980), 9:42.
17. See Johann Sebastian Bach Organ Works, vol. 4 (Musical Heritage So-
ciety, MHS Stereo 844775T).
18. See Clark Kelly, "Johann Sebastian Bach's 'Eighteen' Chorales, BWV
651-668: Perspectives on Editions and Hymnology" (D.M.A. dissertation,
Eastman School of Music, 1988), 4-3; and Alfred Diirr, Johann Sebastian Bach:
Seine Handschrifl—Abbild seines Schaffens (Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Ha'rlei,
1984), commentary to Blatt 9.
19. See Grace, The Organ Works, 268; and Keller, The Organ Works, 250.
20. Philipp Spitta, Johann Sebastian Bach: His Work and Influence on the
Music of Germany; 1685-1750, translated by Clara Bell and J. A. Fuller-Mait-
land, 3 vols. (London: Novello, 1889; reprint, New York: Dover, 1952), 1:612.
21. This passage is especially repetitive in the early version, which con-
tains nothing but sequential quarter notes lor the right hand. For other un-
usually long sequences in Bach's organ music, see measures 9—1.2 of "Ach
Herr. mich armen Sunder," BWV 742; and measures 9-14 of the Adagio
movement from the Toccata, Adagio, and Fugue in C Major.
22. For a similar instance of chromatic alteration in one of Bach's chorale
partitas, see the first measure ol the seventh variation of "Sei gegrusset, Jesu
giitig."
23. Werner Breig, "Der norddeutsche Orgelchoral und Johann Sebastian
Bach: Gattung, Typus, Werk," in Gattung und Werk in der Musikgeschichte
Norddeutschlands und Skandinaviens, edited by Friedhelm Krummacher and
Heinrich W. Schwab (Kassel: Barenreiter, 1982), 92.
24. Spitta, Johann Sebastian Bach, 1:612.
25. Thomas Fredric Harmon, The Registration of J, S. Bach's Organ Works
(Buren: Frits Knuf, 1978), 243.
26. Instead of writing nicht here, Bach draws an unusual symbol that was
for him a standard abbreviation for this word. For transcriptions, see Kelly,
"Johann Sebastian Bach's 'Eighteen' Chorales," 55; and Robert L. Marshall,
The Compositional Process of]. S. Bach: A Study of the Autograph Scores of the
Vocal Works, 2 vols. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1972), 2:6.
27. Spitta, Johann Sebastian Bach, 1:614.
28. Williams, The Organ Music, 2:149.
29. For a facsimile, see NBA IV/2, x.
30. Kelly, "Johann Sebastian Bach's 'Eighteen' Chorales," 56.
31. Grace, The Organ Works, 277.
32. See Peter Bondanella, Italian Cinema: From Neorealism, to the Present
(New York: Continuum, 1983), 346.
33. Keller, The Organ Works, 254,
34. See Roswitha Bruggaier, "Das Urbild von Johann Sebastian Bachs
Choralbearbeitung 'Nun komrn, der Heiden Heiland' (BWV 660)—eine
142 IN otes to Pages 89-100

Komposition mil Viola da gamba?" Bach-Jahrbuch 73 (1987): 165-68. Ever

since this work was published by the Bachgesellschafl, scholars have conjec-
tured that it is some sort oi transcription (but, of course, without any docu-
mentary evidence).
85. So unusual Is this ending that some organists refuse to play it as written,
preferring instead to hold the chord and pedal note for the same length; see, for
example, Lionel Hogg's recording cited in n. 14. Yet in the autographs of both
the early and revised versions, Bach meticulously notates this weird effect.
86. Spitla, Johann Sebastian Hack, 1:618.
87. Grace, The Organ Works, 271.
88. Keller, The Organ Works, 255.
39. Not so. though, in the undoubtedly corrupt version listed as BWV
660b. Whoever prepared this arrangement (J. T. Krebs?) transferred the bot-
tom line to the left hand and the middle line to the 7-ight and assigned the feet
a greatly simplified rendition (half notes and whole notes) of the lop part. This
arrangement was obviously fashioned from the early version, B W V 660a. See
NBA IV/2, KB, 76-77: and Williams, The Organ Music, 2:155.
40. All the other inscriptions on these two pages were made during the
nineteenth century by staff members of the Konigliehe Bibliotlick. Berlin; see
NBA IV/2, KB, 15.
41. On this point, see Du'rr, Johann Sebastian Bach, commentary to Blall 6.
42. Spitta, Johann Sebastian Bach, 1:61.9.
43. (.race, The Organ Works, 265.
44. Andre Pirro, Johann Sebastian Bach: The Organist and His Works for
the. Organ, translated by Wallace Goodrich (New York: G. Schirmer, 1902), 90.
45. See Williams, The Organ Music, 2:159.
46. Robert L. Marshall, "Tempo arid Dynamics: The Original Terminol-
ogy," in Marshall, The Music of Johann Sebastian Bach: The Sources, the Style,
the Significance (New York: Schirmer, 1989), 266, and "Bach's tempo ordi-
nario: A Plaine and Kasie Introduction to the System," in Critica Mnsica: Es-
says in Honor of Paul Brainard, edited by John Kriowles (New York: Gordon
& Beach, 1996), 266.
47. See, for example, Pirro, Johann Sebastian Bach, 90—91; and Grace,
The Organ Music, 274.
48. Spitta, Johann Sebastian Bach, 1:615-16; and Keller, The Organ
Works, 257.
49. See Kelly. "Johann Sebastian Bach's 'Eighteen' Chorales," 75.
50. See Laurence Dreyfus, Bach and the Patterns of Invention (Cambridge.
Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1996), 128.
51. Sec Arnold Sehoenberg, Bcarbcitungen I/If: Krilischer Bericht. Frag-
mente, edited by Rudolf Stephan and Tadeusz Okuljar (Main/: B. Scholt's
Sohne; Vienna: Universal Edition AC, 1986 — 88), x x v l .
52. See Keller, The Organ Works, 258.
53. Werner Breig, "Baehs Orgelchoral und die ilalienisehe Instmmenlal-
rnusik, ' in Bach und die Ualierusche Musik, edited by Wolfgang Osthoft and
Keinhard Wiesend (Venice: Centre Tedesco di Studi Veneziani, 1987). 99—104'.
 Notes to Pages 101-112 143

54. Spitta, Johann Sebastian Rack, 1:613-14. It is hard to accept Albert

Schweitzer's theory that the opening two lines ol the first stanza are also sym-
bolized in this way; see Schweitzer,,/. S. Hack, translated by Ernest Newman,
2 vols. (New York: Macrnillan, 1925; reprint, New York: Dover, 1966), 2:73-74.
55. Interestingly, the second setting of "Komm, Heiliger Geist" from the
Great Eighteen adopts both of these procedures as well. It, too, is a chorale
motel.
56. Rather than giving the full title of the chorale, Altnikol writes an ab-
breviation (p.) for the Latin word perge, meaning "and so forth." Bach himself
also used this abbreviation. See Kelly, "Johann Sebastian Bach's 'Eighteen'
Chorales," 87; and Diirr, Johann Sebastian Bach, commentary to Blatt 33.
57. Williams, The Organ Music, 2:168.
58. See Claudio Spies, "The Organ Supplanted: A Case for Differentia-
lions." Perspectives of New Music \ 1 (Spring-Summer 1973): 32.
59. See Williams, The Organ Music, 2:170.
60. Much like Altnikol did for the manualiter setting of "Jesus Christus,
miser Holland," this anonymous scribe uses an abbreviation (pp) for the Latin
word perge: see Kelly, "Johann Sebastian Bach's 'Kighteen' Chorales," 97.
61. See Kelly. "Johann Sebastian Bach's 'Eighteen' Chorales," 2L5; and
Bighley, The Lutheran Chorales, 232. As Bighlcy points out. the hymn's place-
ment in ihe "Death and Eternity" section of the Kvangelisches Kirchenge-
sangbuch (the modern German Protestant hymnal) is due less to ihe tcxl ilsell
than ils association with Bach's death.

CHAPTER 5
1. For a list of these sources, see NBA IV/2, KB, 16-51.
2. See Russell Stinson, Hack: The Orgelbiichlein (New York: Schirmer,
1996; reprint, New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), 145-66.
3. See George B. Stauffer. "J. S. Bach as Organ Pedagogue," in The Or-
ganist as Scholar: Essays in Memory of Russell Sounders, edited by Kerala J.
Snyder (Stuyvesant: Pendragon Press, 1994), 33.
4. See Alfred Diirr, "1 leinrich Nicolaus Gerber als Schiller Bachs," Bach-
Jahrbuch 64 (1978): 7-18, and "Zur Chronologic der Handschrifl Johann
Chrisloph Altnickols und Johann Eriedrich Agricolas," Bach-Jahrbuch 56
(1970): 44-63.
5. See Hans-Joachim Schulze, StudienzurBach-Ubertieferungim 18. Jahr-
hundert (Leipzig: Edition Peters, 1984), 61-68.
6. See Johann Ludwig Krebs. Clioralbearbeitungen, edited by Gerhard
Weinberger (Wiesbaden: Brei(kopf& Hartel, 1986).
7. On the .Vlcmpell-Preiler Collection, see Peter Krause, Handschriften
der Werke Johann Sebastian Bachs in der Musikbibiiolhek der Stadt Leipzig
(Leipzig: Musikbibliothek der Stadt Leipzig. 1964), 29-42; and Schulze, Stu-
dienzur Bach-lJherlieferung. 69-88.
8. See Ernest May, "Connections between Breitkopf and J. S. Bach," Bach
Perspectives 2 (J. S. Bach, the Breitkopfs, and Eighteenth-Century Music Trade)
144 Notes to Pages 112-117

(1996): 1 1-26, and "Breitkopfs Role in the Transmission of J. S. Bach's

Organ Chorales" (Ph.D. dissertation. Princeton University, 1974), 79-93;
and Clark Kelly, "Johann Sebastian Bach's 'Eighteen' Chorales, BWV 651-
668: Perspectives on Editions and Hymnology" (D.M.A. dissertation, Eastman
School of Music, 1988), 19-22. How Penzel gained access to these Breitkopf
house manuscripts is unclear.
9. See NBA IV/5—6 (Prdludien, Toccaten, Fanlasien und Fugen fur
Orgel), edited by Dietrich Kilian, KB, 217-20.
10. The other four are listed in Reinmar Emans and Michael Meyer-
Frerichs, Johann Sebastian Rack. Orgelchoriile zweifelhafte Echlheil: Thema-
tischer Katalog (Gb'ttingen: Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Instilut, 1997), 45-47.
11. For a detailed discussion, see Reinmar Emans, "Choralvorspiele J. S.
Bachs? Probleme der Zuschreibung und Echtheitskritik, dargestelll an eini-
gen Beispielen aus der Sammlung C 55, Oxford, Bodleian Library" (unpub-
lished paper); and Kirsten Beisswenger, "An Early Version of the First Move-
ment ol the Italian Concerto BWV 971 from the Scholz Collection?" in Bach
Studies 2, edited by Daniel R. Melamed (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1995), 5—8. Table 5-1 is based on a similar table in Emans.
12. Table 5—2 is based on a similar table in Kelly, "Johann Sebastian
Bach's 'Eighteen' Chorales," 2. According to Nicholas Thistlethwaitc, The
Making of the Victorian Organ (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1990), 169—72, the Great Eighteen setting of "Schmuckc dich" is contained
in a British publication from 1838. Thistlethwaite, though, is confusing this
work with another organ arrangement of this chorale listed as BWV 759, now
known to be by G. A. Homilius.
13. See Hans T. David and Arthur Mendel, The New Bach Reader: A Life
of Johann Sebastian Bach in letters and Documents, revised and enlarged by
Christoph Wolff (New York: Norton, 1998), 361. Quite ironically, Pierre
Boulez's encounter with this work about two hundred years later resulted in
his demand for "an alliance between material and invention"; see Jean-
Jacques Nattiez, ed., Orientations: Collected Writings by Pierre Boulez (Cam-
bridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1986), 25.
14. See NBA IV/2, KB, 17. Mendelssohn's edition also includes the
double-pedal arrangement of "Wir glauben all an eineri Gott, Vater," BWV
740, a work presumably by J. L. Krebs.
15. See Robert Schumann, Tagebiicher, edited by Georg Eismann and
Gerd Nauhaus, 3 vols. (Eeipzig: VEB Deutscher Verlag fur Musik, 1971 -87),
2:34,40-41,53,55.
16. See Arnfried Edler. Robert Schumann und seine Zeit (Eaaber: Eaaber-
Verlag, 1982), 292. On the same page of this study, Edler notes that Schumann
also instructed his piano pupils to transcribe organ chorales by Bach.
17. "Bach's Choralbuch nach u. nach durchgespielt" (diary entry of mid-
March 1837); see Schumann, Tagebiicher, 2:34.
18. "Das nachstehende Vorspiel von J. S. Bach 'Schmucke dich, o liebe
SeeJe' geho'rt zu den innigsten urid lieblichsten Dichtungen dieses unerreich-
 Notes to Pages 117-120 145

baren Meisters. Wie schon geschmiickt, und doch wie rein von allem Tand
geht die Hauptstinirne eiriher!"
19. "Ich fand abends einer Wundervolle Orgel, wo ich Schmilcke dich o
liebe Seele spielen konnte naeh Herzenslust." The entire letter is printed in
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Briefe aus den Jahren 1830 bis 1847, edited by
Paul Mendelssohn-Bartholdy and Carl Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, 4th ed., 2
vols. (Leipzig: Hermann Mendelssohn, 1862-63), 1:268-71.
20. Letter of October 6,1831. Translation adapted from Felix Mendelssohn-
Bartholdy, Letters from Italy and Switzerland, translated by Grace (Lady) Wal-
lace, 7th ed. (London: Longmans, Green. Reader. & Dyer, 1876), 289-90. For
the original German, see Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. Briefe, \ :277-78. Mendels-
sohn is referring here to the organ at St. Peter's Church in Munich, built by
Joachim Wagner.
21. "Heut hab ich den ganzen Morgen gespielt, und angefangen zu studi-
eren. wail es eigentlich eine Schande ist, dass ich die Hauptsachen von Seb.
Bach nicht spielen kann." Cited in Susanna Grossniann-Vendrey, Felix Men-
delssohn Bartholdy and die Musik der Vergangenheit (Regensburg: Gustav
Bosse Verlag, 1969), 182.
22. See Andreas Sieling, "'Selbsl den alien Sebastian suchte man nicht
mohr so langstieiig abzuhaspeln': Zur Rezeptionsgeschichte der Orgelwerke
Bachs," in Bach and die Nachwelt, vol. 2: 1850-1900, edited by Michael
Heinemann and Hans-Joachim Hiririchsen (Laaber: Laaber-Verlag, 1999),
300-313.
23. See Sieling, "Zur Rezeptionsgeschichte," 307.
24. Translation based on Henry Pleasants, ed., The Musical World of
Robert Schumann: A Selection from His Own Writings (London: Gollancz,
1965), 93. For the original German, see Robert Schumann, Gesammelte
Schriften iiber Musik und Musiker, 4 vols. (Leipzig: Georg Wigand, 1854),
.1:2.19.
25. Translation from David and Mendel, The New Bach Reader, 502.
26. See Bodo Bischoff, "Das Bach-Bild Robert Schumanns," in Bach und
die Nachwelt, vol. 1: 1750-1850, edited by Michael Heinemann and Hans-
Joachim Hinrichsen (Laaber: Laaber-Verlag, 1997). 499, n. 327.
27. See Carl Wehmer, ed., Ein lief gegriindet Herz: Der Briefwechsel Felix
Mendehsohn-Bartholdys mil Johann Gustav Droysen (Heidelberg: Lambert
Schneider, 1959), 103-7.
28. "Musik gabe Dir eine Freude, und Du kcinntest Dir von Deinern dorti-
gen Musiker 'Schmucke Dich, liebe Seele' von Sebastian Bach vorspielen
lassen!"
29. "Du sags! rnir, Bachs 'Schmticke dich, o liebe Seele' mochtest Du rnir
vorspielen. Als ich im vorigen Jahre in Berlin war, hatte Fanny mich zur
Musik eingeladeri. 'Des Herren Zeit ist die beste Zeif wurde gesungen—und
ich wusste schon, was mir bevorstand! War das eine Predigt!"
30. See Marcia J. Citron, The Letters of Fanny Hensel to Felix Mendelssohn
(Stuyvesant: Pendragon Press, 1987), 161, 164, n. 4, 176, 177, n. 16.
146 Notes to Pages 120-128

31. See Crossrnann-Vendrey, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy und die Musik

der Ve.Tgange.nhe.it, 63; and Eric Werner. Mendelssohn: A New Image of the
Composer and His Age, translated by Dika Newlin (London: Free Press of
Glencoe, 1963), 285, 296.
32. See Rudolf Elvers, "Verzeiehnis der von Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
herausgegebenen Werke Johann Sebastian Bachs," in Ge.stalt und Glaube:
Festschrift fur Vizeprasidcnt Professor I). Dr. Oskar Siihngen (Witten: Luther-
Verlag; Berlin: Vcrlag Morseburger, 1960), 145-49.
33. Prelude No. 14 in Mendelssohn's edition, also cited by him as being
incompatible with sixteen-foot pedal stops, is "Wir glauben all an einen Gott,
Vater," B W V 740. In this double-pedal setting (presumably by J. L Krebs),
low pedal registers could easily obscure the thick bass texture.
34. See NBA TV/2, KB, 53.
35. See Siegmund Helms, "Johannes Brahms und Johann Sebastian Bach,"
Bach-Jahrbuch57(\97\): 16.
36. See Johannes Brahms, Werke fiir Orgcl, edited by George S. Bo/arth
(Munich: G. Henle, 1988).
37. See Michael Musgrave, The Music of Brahms (London: Routledge &
Kegan Paul, 1985), 241.
38. See Reinhard Sehaferlons, "Johannes Brahms und die JVIusik von Jo-
hann Sebastian Bach," in Bach und die Nachwe.lt, vol. 2: 1850-1900, edited
by Michael Heinemann and Hans-Joachim Hinrichsen (Laaber: Laaber-Ver-
lag, 1999), 220-21.
39. See, respectively, Columbia Master-works, M L 4633; and Philips, 442
400-2.
40. "The prelude, the interludes, and the accompaniment-parts are to be
kept well in the background and maintain throughout a quiet, reticent char-
acter as a contrast to the melodic part, which must be strongly accented"; see
Ferruecio Busorii, Toccata and Fugue in D Minor and the Other Bach Tran-
scriptions for Solo Piano (New York: Dover, 1996), 93.
41. See the preface to Johann Sebastian Bach, Ausgewahlte Choralvor-
spiele fur Klavier iiberlragen von, Max Reger (Reprint der Er.stausgabe in der
TUelauflage 1904), edited by Susanne Shigihara (Stuttgart: Carus-Verlag.
1989).
42. See Orpha Ochse, Organists and Organ Playing in Nineteenth-Cen-
tury France and Belgium (Bloornirigton: Indiana University Press, 1 994), 155,
189.
43. At the time, Franck served as "Superintendent of Studies" at the In-
stitute; see Karen Hastings, "New Franck Fingerings Brought, to Light," Amer-
ican Organist 24, no. 12 (December 1990): 92-101.
44. See Edward Zimmerman and Lawrence Archbold, '"Why Should We
Not Do the Same with Our Catholic Melodies?': Guilmant's L'Organiste litur-
gisle, Op. 65," in Frencli Organ Music from the Revolution to Franck and
Widor, edited by Lawrence Archbold and William J. Peterson (Rochester:
University of Rochester Press, 1995), 207-9, 222-24.
 Notes lo Pages 128-132 147

45. See Svon Hiernke, Die Bach-Rezeption Charles-Marie Widors (Frank-

furt: Peter Lang, 1994), 284, 362.
46. See Albert Schweit/er, ./. S. Rack, translated by Ernest Newman, 2
vols. (New York: Maemillan, 1925; reprint, New York: Dover. 1966). l:vi.
47. Stefan Hanheide. Jotiann Sebastian Bach im Verstdndnis Albert
Schweitzer* (Munich: Ernil Katzbichler, 1990), 217.
48. See Michael Murray, Marcel Dupre: The Work of a Master Organist
(Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1985), 4, 223.
49. Walter Frisch, liner notes to Kach, Brahms: Schoenberg Orchestrations
(RCA Victor Red Seal, 09026-68658-2, 1997).
50. See Arnold Schoenberg, Hearbeitungen I/I I: Krilischer Rerichl. Frag-
ments, edited by Hudoll Slephan arid Tadeus/ Okuljar (Mainz: B. Sehott's
Sohne; Vienna: Universal Edition AG, 1986-88), xxv-xxviii.
51. Letter to the conductor Fritz Stiedry, J u l y 31, 1930. printed in Josel
Hufer, The, Works of Arnold Schoenberg: A Catalogue, of His Compositions, Writ-
ings and Paintings, translated by Dika Newlin (New York: Free; Press of Glen-
coo, 1963), 94,
52. See also the discussion in Joseph N. Strauss, Remaking the Past: Mu-
sical Modernism and the Influence of the Tonal Tradition (Cambridge, Mass.:
Harvard University Press, 1990), 45-48.
53. See James Day, Vaughan Williams (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1998), 234, 312.
54. See H. L Kirk, Pablo Casals (New York: Holt, Rinohart & Winston,
1974), 215-16.
55. Leopold Stokowski, Music Jor All of Us (New York: Simon & Schuster,
1943), 146.
56. A very similar orchestration of this "Nun komm" setting is that by Ot-
Lorino iiespighi, which was first performed in 1930 by the Now York Philhar-
monic. For a recording, see Symphonic Bach: Orchestral Transcriptions by
liespighi and Klgar (Delos, DF. 3098, 1991).
57. This score today forms part of the, Stokowski Collection, housed at the
University of Pennsylvania Libraries.
58. Recently reissued on the Pearl label; see Stokowski: Bach Transcrip-
tions (GEMM CDS 9098, 1994).
59. See Wilhelm Kempff Plays Bach (Deutsche Graminophon. 439 672-2,
1993).
60. Hii's recording of this arrangement is included on ./. S. Bach: New
Transcriptions for Guitar (Guitar Solo Publications. GSP 1012CD, 1995).
This page intentionally left blank
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 INDEX

Agricola, Johanri Friedrich, 85, 108-9 60, 62, 65-66, 96, ]28: collective
Alain, Marie-Claire, 75, 81 structure o(, 66—69: hyrnnody, is-
alio rnodo, explanalion of, 46 sues oi, 68; musical style of. 69—70
Altnikol, Johann Christoph, 30-34, 46, death of, 36-38
64, 67, 69, 71, 104, 136 n.K) estate of, 33-34
handwriling of, 34. 143 n.56. handwriting of. 30-33, 141 n.26,
143 n.60 143 n.56
Anna Amalia, Princess, 112 as Kapellmeister in Colhen, 29, 60
Armsdorff, Andreas. 16. 21 obituaiy of, 57, 78
Aschersleben. 112 organ concerto transcriptions of, 18
as an orthodox Lutheran. 57
Bach, August Wilhelm. 118 as a reviser of his own works, 38—39,
Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel, 33-34, 46
36, 112 as a teacher, 29, 77, 108-9
Bach, Elisabeth Juliana Friederica, use of cantabile. 99
33—34 use of tempo markings, 97, 99
Bach. Johann Christoph (brother of Bachgesellschaft edition (of the Great
Johann Sebastian), 16 Eighteen), 65, 122-23, 138 n.28,
Bach, Johann Michael, 16 141-42 n. 34
"Meine Scele erhebl. den Herren." 7 Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, 52, 75, 1 12
Bach, Johanri Sebastian. Sec also listing Berlin, 109, 112. 1 18-19
of works under HWV numbers Koriigliche Bibliothek, 136 n.l 5.
"Amstadt Congregational Chorales" 142 n.40
(BWV 715, 722, 726, 729, 732, Staatsbibliothek, 30
and 738),103 Biggs, Edward Power-, 65, 140 n. 13
as cantor in Leipzig, 29, 60 Bighley, Mark S., 143 n.6l
"chorale cantatas" of, 60-62 Billroth, Theodor. 122
Clavieriibung, 60, 62 Bolim, Georg, 5—7, 9, 11, 13
Clavierubung, Part 111 (BWV 552, Boulez, Pierre, 144 n. 13
669-89, and 802-5), 17, 30, 46, Brahms, Johannes, 122-23

165
166 I ndex

Brahms, Johannes (continued), BWV 538/1: Toccata in D Minor (l)o-

Elcvcn Chorale Preludes, op. 122, rian), 18-19
122-23 BWV 540/1: Toccata in K Major, 18-19,
Four Serious Songs, op. .12.1, 122 76
Breig, Werner, 21, 84, 100 13W V 552: Prelude and Fugue in F-dat
Breitkopf (publishing house), J 10-12 Major (Clavicrilbung I I I ) , 66-67
Breitkopf'& Jlartel (publishing house), BWV 564: Toccata, Adagio, and Fugue
120 in C'Major, 141 n.2l
Brendel, Alfred, 123 BWV 574: Fugue on a Theme by
BukoC/er, Manfred K, 55 Fegren/i, 23-24
Billow, Hans von, 122 BWV 593: Concerto in A Minor after
Busoni, Ferruccio, 123-27 Vivaldi, 18, 22, 99
piano transcription of " N u n komrn, BWV 594-: Concerto in C Major after
der I leiden Heiland," BWV 659, Vivaldi, 18, 24
123-26, 132 BWV 596: Concerto in I) Minor after
Butler, Gregory G., 66 Vivaldi, 18, 24
Butlsledt, Johanri Meinrich, 16 BWV 599-644: Orgdbiichlein, 9, 46,
Buxtelmde, Dietrich, 10, 96 56, 60, 71, 108, 120, 122-23, 128
"Nun komm, der I leiden Ileiland," BWV 599: " N u n komm. der Ileiden
BuxW V 211, 11 -12 Heiland," 96
"Nun lob, mein Seel, den I lerren," BWV 608: "In dulci jubilo,"
BuxWV213, 7 138n.27
ornamenlal chorales of, 8, 10—1 1 BWV 614: "Das alte Jahr vergangen
trio sonatas of, 23 1st," 10
BWV 21: Irk liatte vial Hekilmmernis BWV 626: "Jesus Christus, unser
(church cantata), 9 Ileiland," 101
BWV 71: Colt ist mein Kiinig (church BWV 63 la: "Komm, Cot I Schoplor,
cantata), 7 lleiliger Ceist," 8
BWV 106: Cotles Zeit ist die allerbeste BWV 639: "Ich ruf zu dir, Ilerr Jesu
Xeil (church canlala), 5, 119 Christ," 12
BWV 172: Erschallel, i,hr Lieder, BWV 641: "Wenn w i r in hcichslen
erklinge.t, ihr Saile.n. (church can- Noten sein," 10, 36
tala), 19 BWV 645-50: "Schiibler" chorales, 62,
BWV 182: Ilimmelskiinig, sei willkom- 65
men (ehurch cantata), I 7, 22 BWV 648: "Meine Seele erhebt den
BWV 192: Nan dankel idle Gott (church Herren," 129
cantala), 85 BWV 651-68: Great Eighteen Chorales
BWV 199: Mein Herze sc.hwimmt im Hint BWV 651: "Komm, Heiliger Geist,
(church cantata), 14 Ilerre Cott," 17-19, 39-47. 58,
BWV 208: Was mir behagl, i,sL nar die 63, 67, 70, 75-76, 96, 137 n. 18
miuUre Jagd ( h u n t i n g canlala), 22 BWV 652: "Kornrn, Heiliger Geist,
BWV 232: Mass in B Minor, 62 Ilerre Gott," 4-5, 8-9, 46, 70,
BWV 244: St. Matthew Passion, 78 76-77, 121, 143 n.55
BWV 245: St. John Passion, 78 BWV 653: "An Wasserflussen Baby-
BWV 525-30: trio sonatas for organ, Ion," 14-15, 18, 46-50, 70,
22, 30 78-80, 121, 128-29, 133 n.19
BWV 530: Trio Sonata No. 5 in G BWV 654: "Schmiicke dich, o liebe
Major, 100 Seele," 13-14, 18, 50, 60, 70,
 Index 167

80-82, 85, 96-97, 108, 117-20, BWV 684: "Christ, unser Herr, /urn
127-31.144 n. 12 Jordan kam" (Clavieriibung I II), ! 9
B\VV 655: "Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu BWV 688: "Jesus Christus, unser
uns wend." 21—22, 50—51, 76. Heiland" (ClamerubungNl), 19,
82-83, 100, 109, 1 12-13, 21, 55-56
134 n.26 BWV 694: "Wo soil ich fliehen hin," 21
BWV 656: "0 Lamm Gottes, BWV 709: "Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu
unsehuldig," 7, 51, 68, 70, 83-84. uns wend," 10
1 2 1 , 1 2 3 , 128-29 BWV 710: "Wir Christenleut," 21
BWV 657: "Nun danket alle Gotl," BWV 725: "Herr (kilt, dich loben wir,"
17,51-52.85 77
BWV 658: "Von Gott will ich nielit BWV 731: "Liebster Jesu, wir sind
lasseri," 17, 19, 52, 60. 85-87, hier," 140 n. 13
121, 137 ri.18 B W V 733: Fiiga sopra il Magnifical, 76
BWV 659: ".Nun konirn. der lleiden BWV 734: "Nun frcut euch. lieben
Heiland," 11-13, 52, 59, 70, Christen g'mein," 21
87-89, 96, 109, 128, 131-32 BWV 735a: "Valet w i l l ich dir geben," 5
BWV 660: "Nun kornrn. der lleiden BWV 742: "Aeh Herr, rnieh arrnen
Heiland," 23-25, 30, 39, 52, Sunder," 10, 141 n.2l
89-95, 142 n.39 BWV 769: Canonic Variations on "Vom
B W V 661: "Nun kontni, dor Heiden Ilirnrnel hoch, da korrnn ich her,''
Heiland," 17-19, 52, 63, 95-96, 7, 30-34, 62-65
137 ri.L8 BWV 767: Partita on "0 Golt, du
BWV 662: "Allein Golt in der lloh fromrrier Gott," 7
sei Ehr," 9-] J , 17-18, 29, 52, BWV 768: Partita on "Sei gegrijssel,
96-97, 108. 128 Jesu giilig,"81, 141 n.22
BWV 663: "Allein Gott in der Hoh BWV 772-801: Inventions and Sinfo-
sei Ehr," 22-23, 30-33, 52-53, nias, 60, 85, 108
71, 97-100, 129 BWV 802-5: Duelti (Clavierillnmg I I I ) ,
BWV 664: "Mlein Goll in der Iliih 66
sei Fhr," 21 -23, 30-33, 53, BWV 806-11: English Suites, 60
100-1, 108, I 15, 138 n.28, BWV 812-17: French Suites, 60
138 n.9 BWV 825-30: harpsichord partitas, 60,
BWV 665: "Jesus Christus, unser 62
Heiland" (pedaliter), 4-7, 53, 58, BW r V 831: French Overture, 62
64, 71, 101-2, 108 BWV 846-93: Well-Tempered Clavier, 3,
BWV 666: "Jesus Christus, unser 60, 62, 108
Heiland" (manaaliler), 4 — 5, 34, B W V 946: Fugue in C Major on a
64, 102-3, 108, 143 n.60 Thome by Albinorn, 102
BWV 667: "Komrn, Golt Schopfer, BWV 949: Fugue in A Major, 102
Heiliger Geist," 7-8, 58, 64, BWV 950: Fugue in A Major on a
67-68, 103-4, 123, 129, Theme by Albinorn, 102-3
136-37 n. I 7 B W V 971: Italian Concerto, 62
BWV 668: "Vor dcinen Thron Iret ich BWV 979: Concerto in B Minor alter
hiermit," 4, 17, 34-38, 63-64, Torelli, 22
104-5, 113, 123, 128-29 BWV 988: Goldberg Variations, 62
BWV 668a: "Wenn wir in hb'chsten BWV 1001-6: Sonatas and Partitas for
Nb'ten soin," 36-38. 104-5, 1 13 Unaccompanied Violin, 60
168 Index

BWV 1007—12: Suites for Lnaecompa- French ornamental practice, 9, 13

riled Cello, 60 Frisch, Walter, 129
BWV 1046—5.1: Brandenburg Concer-
tos, 60 Cebhardi, Johanri Nicolaus, 108
BWV 1050: Brandenburg Concerto Gerber, Heinrieh Nicolaus, 29. 108
No. 5 in D Major, 99 Gerhard I, Paul, 58
BWV 1052 — 59: harpsichord concertos, Germani, Fernando, 87
60, 62 Gleason, Harold, 63
BWV 1079: Musical Offering, 62 Gould, Glenn, 75
BW V 1080: Art of Fugue, 36, 62, 113 Grace, Harvey, 56, 90, 96
BWV 1087: Goldberg canons, 62 Crafenroda, 110
BWV 1090-120: Neumeister Chorales Great Eighteen Chorales. See also BWV
BWV 1097: "Ehre sei dir Christe, der 651-68
du leidest Not," 4 hymnody, issues of, 58, 68
BWV 1 1 1 1 : "Nun lasst uns den Leib influence on composers, 108—31
begraben," 4> manuscript dissemination of, 108—13
BWV 11 19: "Wie nach eincr as a model for transcriptions,
Wasserquelle," 16 123-27, 129-32
BWV 1120: "Christe, der du hist Tag publication history of, 113-17,
und Licht," 16 120-22
as a retrospective collection, 62
Casals, Pablo, 131 Gnepenkerl, Friedrich Conrad. 65, 122
Cellc, 9 Grigny, Nicholas de: Premier livre
chorale, definition ol, 3 d'orgue, 15
chorale canon, 69 Guilmant, Alexandra, 128
chorale fughetta, 69
Compenius, Ludwig. 58 Hamburg, Church of St. Catherine,
Corelli, Arcangelo, 13 78—79
violin sonatas, op. 5, 13 Handel, George Frideric, 16
Coventry & Hollier (publishing house), Hanheide, Stefan, 128
120 Harmon, Thomas Fredric, 85
llauplgollesdiensl, 57
Dadelsen, Georg von, 30, 34 Heiller, Anton, 85
de lempore, explanation of, 57 Hensel, Fanny Cacilia, 117-18, 120
Dchn, Siegfried Wilhelm, 136 n. 15 H i i , Philip, 132, 147 n.60
Drobs, Johann Andreas, 108 Homilius, Gottfried August: "Schmucke
Droysen, Johann G us Lav, 119-20 dich, o licbe Seele" (BWV 759),
Dupre, Marcel, 129 144 n.12

Fdler, Arrifried. 144 n.16 lLalian violin music, as a model for the
Evangelisches Gesangbuch, 143 n.61 Great Eighteen, 9, 11-13, 2 1-22,
58, 71
Forkel, Johann [Nicolaus, 34—36
France, receplion of Bach's organ Johann Fjrnst, Prince, 18
chorales there, 127
Kranck, Cesar, 128, 146 n.43 Keller, Hermann, 87, 90, 97
braille edition of Bach's organ works. Kellner, Johann Peter, 110
128 Kelly, Clark, 86
 index 169

Kempff, Wilhelm, 132 Mizler, Lorenz: Society of the Musical

Kirnberger, Johann Philipp, 112 Sciences, 33
Kittel, Johann Christian, 108 Miihlhausen
Klingemann, Karl, 120 church cantatas composed by Bach
Klotz, Hans (Neue tiach-Ausgabe editor), there, 5, 7. 9
39, 64-65, 67, 136-37 n.17 Church of St. Blasius, 4
Kobayashi, Yoshitake, 30, 34 as a creative period in Bach's life, 25
Krehs, Johann Ludwig, 108-9 Munich, 117
"Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend," Church of St. Peter. 145 n.20
109 Miithel, Johann Gottfried, 34
"Jesu, meines Lebens Lebcn," 109
"Wir glauben all an einen Gott, Nageli, Hans Georg, 113
Vatcr" (BWV 740), 144 n.14, Naumburg, 34
146 n.33 Ne.ue Bach-Ausgabe, 133 n. 17
Krebs, Johann Tobias, 4, 46, 108-9, volume containing the Great Eigh-
142 n.39 teen, 39, 51, 64-66, 99, 133 n.7,
136-37 n.17, 137 n.20, 138 n.28
l.andowska, Wanda, 141 n.16 Neue Xeilschrift fur Musik, 119
Leaver, Robin A., 58, 138 n.9 Neuraeistcr Collection (of organ chorales
Legrenzi, Giovanni, 23—24 from the Bach circle), 7, 16
Leipzig Nuremberg, 1 12
Church of St. Thomas. 119 New York Philharmonic, 147 n.56
Gewandhaus, 118
Lindau, 117 Ohrdruf, 16
Lipalti, Dinu, 123 Oley, Johann Christoph, 86, I 1.2
Lippincolt, Joan, 97, 139 n.24 Olrrii, Ermanno: L'albero degli zoccoli,
Lohrnann. Hein/: edition of the Great 87
Eighteen, 4-6, 137 n.20 omne tempore, 57
Liibeck, 10 organ chorale, definition of, 3
Liineburg, 6, 9 Orge.lbuchlein. Se.e also BWV 599-644
Church of St. John, 6 as championed by Albert Schweitzer,
Luther, M a n i n , 3, 5, 57, 63, 67 56
hymnody, issues of, 57
Marshall, Robert L., 38, 49, 67, 97, 99 musical style of, 9, 12, 56, 58, 65, 83
melody chorale, 69 ornamentation, as added by the per-
MempelL Johann Nicolaus, 109-10 former, 81-82, 97
Mendelssohn, Abraham (father of Eelix Owen, Barbara, 58—59
and Fanny), 120
Mendelssohn, Fanny. See Herisel, Fanny Pachelbel, Johann, 7, 16. 36
Cacilia cantus firmus chorales of, 16—17,21,
Mendelssohn, Eelix 85
Bildungsreise of, 118 Paris
edition of tfie Great Eighteen, 65, 84, Church of La Tnmte, 128
99, 113, 1 1 7, 120-22, 144 n.14, conservatory of, 128-29
146 ri.33 National Institute for Blind Youths,
and "Schmucke dich, o liebe Seele," 128
BWV 654, 117-20 Penzel, Christian Friedrich, 1 12,
Merseburg, 112 143-44 n.8
170 index

Peters edilion (of the Great Eighteen), Schumann, Robert, 85. 115, 1 18-19.
65, 100, 122, 129, 137 n.25, 122, 144 n.16
138 n.28 Schweitzer, Albert, 55-56, 128-29,
Philadelphia Orchestra, 13 I 143 ri.54
Pirro, Andre, 96 Schwerin, 34
Pisendel, Johann Georg, 22 Slaughterhouse-Five (film), 75
Poelchau, Georg, 65, 136 n. 10 Spilta, Philipp, 56, 85, 90, 96-97, 101,
pro-imitation, explanation of, 16 122—23
Preller, Johann Gottlieb, 109-10 Stiedry, Frit/, 147 n.51
Stokowski, Leopold. 131—32
Reformation (Protestant). 3, 57 orchestration ol " N u n komm, dor Iloi-
Reger, Max, 123, 127 den Hoiland," BWV 659, 13 1-32
Fantasy and Fugue on B-A-C-H, Stokowski Collection, 147 n.57
op. 46. 127 style brise. explanation of. 51
Hoich, Willi, 129 susjnrans, explanation of. 83
Meinken, Johann Adam. 78—79 Sweelinek, Jan Pieters/oon, 6, 16
"An Wasserfliissen Babylon."
78—79 Tausig. Carl: piano transcription of
Relnschrifl, 39 "0 Lamm Cottes. unsohuldig,"
Kespighi, Ottorino, 147 n.56 BWV 656, 123
"revision copy," d e f i n i t i o n o(, 38 temperament, issues ol. 59—60
Richter, Christian. 60 Thistlethwaile, Nicholas, 144 n.12
Ritchie, George, 81-82. 97 Thuringian organ design, 58
ntornello form, explanation ol. 13 Tierce en Taille, explanation of, 14
Rogg, Lionel, 140 n.14, 142 n.35 Torelli, Giuseppe, 13, 22
Roitzsch, Ferdinand, 65, 122 concertos, op. 8. 22
Riibsam, Wolfgang, 140 n.2 Trobs, Heinrich Nicolaus, 58
M u s t . Wilhelm, 65, 122—23 Twelve Chorale Preludes for Organ,
by Johann Sebastian Bach
sarabande, as a compositional model (G. Schirmor edition). 140 n.3
for the Groat Eighteen, 9, 14-15,
70 University of Pennsylvania Libraries,
Seheideniann. H e i n r i c h , 7. 16 147 n.57
Scheidt, Samuel. 6, 16 Vaughari Williams, Ralph. 131
Schieht. Johann Gottfried: anthology, Vespersgollesdiensl, 57
,/. S. Kac.h's Choral- Vorspieleflir Vottor, Andreas Nicolaus, 16
die Orgel, 115 Vivaldi, Antonio, 18-19, 22, 24, 99
Schmidt, Johann Michael, 1 13 concertos of. 18. 22. 24
Schoenberg, Arnold, 100, 129-31 L'Eslro Armoruco, op. 3, 18, 22, 24, 99
Five Orchestral Pieces, op. 16, 130 ritornello design of, 24—25
Klangfarbenmelodie, technique of, Vogler, Johann Caspar, 108
130
orchestration of "Sehrniieke dich, Wagner. Joachirn, 145 n.20
o liebe Seele," BWV 654, Wagner, Richard, 127
129—31 "walking bass," explanation of. 11—12
Scholz, Leonard, 112-13 Walther, Johann Gottfried, 4, 16, 21, 46,
Schrammek, Winfried, 138-39 n.l0 49, 60, 71, 102, 109, 137 n.25
Schumann, Clara, 122 organ concerto transcriptions of. 22
 Index 171

Weimar Widor, Charles Mane, 128-29

church cantatas composed by Bach Wilhelm Ernst. Duke, 56—58, 60
there, 9, 14 Wilhelm 11,58
courl chapel: architecture of, 60; W i l l i a m s . Peter. 8, 86, 103
lilurgical custom of, 57—58: organ Witte, Christian Kriedrich, 16
of, 58-60 Wolff, Criristoph, 36, 66
as a crealive period in Bach's hie, 4, VX'ollny, Peter, 34
25, 27, 49
Weishanpl, .1. Conrad, 58 Zachow, Friedrich Wilhelm, 16. 21
Werckmeister, Andreas, 59-60 Zehnder, Jean-Claude, 4-5, 7-9, 11,
Orgelprobe, 60 18-14, 17, 22-25
Wcstfield Center, 140 n.5 /iogler, Johann Cotthilf, 77