Bach’s forerunners thus provided a framework for the chorale that was established in the lifeblood of every Lutheran composer by the time of Bach’s appearance on the scene in 1685. Save to your computer. And here the complications begin. 1. The typical four-part setting of a chorale, in which the sopranos (and the congregation) sing the melody along with three lower voices, is known as a chorale harmonization. The vast majority of his sacred and choral compositional output, including his well-known Cantatas and Passions, came during the years he served in Leipzig at the churches of St. Nicholas and St. Thomas (1723-50). Attributed to C.P.E. Bach was a Lutheran—he was “ours,” and we claimed him, though we knew little about him beyond the chorale harmonizations we sang from the Lutheran hymnal. College courses in religion and music history broadened my knowledge of the mass as a liturgical structure and as the basis for extended musical form, but my viewpoint remained pretty parochial. These "improvements" are clearly shown in a comparison of Breitkopf settings against their appearances in Bach’s original manuscripts. One thing is for certain: the answer is not 371 or 389. Okay. (S) Oboe (S) Clarinet in B b 1 (S) Clarinet in B b 2 (A) Clarinet in B b 3 (T) A Lutheran chorale is a musical setting of a Lutheran hymn, intended to be sung by a congregation in a German Protestant Church service. All midi files compressed. This means that 192 chorales in this collection have survived by way of secondary sources and, therefore, should be considered slightly less authentic. settings that do not appear in the Dietel) should be approached with a slightly lowered sense of authenticity. The word “chorale” can apply to the melodic line alone or the combination of both the melody and text. Two slightly varied versions of this setting exist. • Melodies should be something easy to sing with a recognisable tune. Chorale definition, a hymn, especially one with strong harmonization: a Bach chorale. In modern times the chorale is considered to be a musical setting, usually polyphonic, of a traditional religious text. contributions to Western music was Bach’s chorale harmonizations. To take but one example, several instances of consecutives fifths in Bach’s chorales were "corrected" by Emmanuel or other early editors. Christmas, the birth of Christ is always the 25 th of December. So how many extant chorales are there? One thing is for certain: the answer is not 371 or 389. bach–chorales.com by Luke Dahn. Chorales tend to be simple and singable tunes. SING and SIGN Choir and Orchestra. Today, 371 of -congregational-chorales. Recording of Lutheran Chorale followed by Chorale Prelude. Bach Chorales: A Guide. 18th century 4) Two settings (BWVs 27.6 and 43.11) that are taken directly from the 1682 Neu Leipziger Gesangbuch (NLGB), an important hymnal of Bach’s day. What seems to be a straightforward question is, in reality, rather complicated. Bach in three early manuscripts, including the newly rediscovered Fasch manuscript (SA 818). Bach’s great contribution to the Lutheran chorale tradition stems not from his own composing of chorale melodies (less than ten of the 400+ four–part chorales feature melodies that are attributed to Bach himself), but to the great skill and care with which he treated this tradition. On the other hand, if we were to tweak the question just a bit and ask how many entirely unique chorale settings were most certainly composed (mostly) by Bach, thereby eliminating 1) instances of Bach himself reusing a setting, 2) instances of duplicate appearances in the Schmieder catalogue, 3) other instances of variant settings, 4) the two instances of Bach using settings from the NLGB, 5) the four settings that are (at least to a significant degree) attributed to other composers, and 6) the two St. Mark Pasticcio settings of dubious authenticity, then 20 settings can be eliminated, lowering the total from 420 to 400. In certain modern usage, this term may include classical settings of such hymns and works of a similar character. The complications occur when considering which of the following settings, all of which are included in the 420, should be eliminated from that total number. 1) Nine duplicates appear within the Schmieder catalogue, six of which constitute instances of Bach reusing a setting for a separate choral work (BWVs 41.6=171.6, 75.7=100.6, 59.3=175.7, 244.15=244.17, 12.7=69a.6, 120a.8=137.5) and three of which resulted from the erroneous assignment of BWV numbers to settings from elsewhere in the Schmieder catalogue (BWVs 253=414; 197a.7=398; 245.5 1st version=416). First, it’s important to clarify that we’re trying to determine the number of extant chorale settings. Bach used a revision of a setting by Daniel Vetter for his Cantata 8 from September 1724. Chorale Melodies used in Bach's Vocal Works Sorted by Title : This section of the Bach Cantatas Website (BCW) provides a comprehensive list of all the chorale melodies [hereafter referred to simply as ‘CM’s] in Bach’s oeuvre. The primary problem with this document in regards to the question of authenticity lies in the fact that C.P.E. BACH AND THE LUTHERAN UNDERSTANDING OF MUSIC 23 But Luther's statements about music are not confine locus d to the on music in th Tischredene but are found scattered throughout the volume under variou loci,s therefore demonstrating that for Luther the closeness of music to theology was not just a clever thing to say but was essential to his theological methodology. Lutheran musical worship is structured around - hymns known as -, which are specific to a particular service. 10) Finally, nine settings from Bach’s output may not qualify as chorales in the truest sense of the word. Luther was not only the founder and guiding spirit of the Protestant Reformation, he was a poet of genius and, as a composer (or at least a melodist), remarkably imaginative, versatile, and effective. Bach Society Houston, Bach Cantata Vespers Choir of Grace Lutheran, The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Emmanuel Music Boston, Bach Cantata Choir Portland 8.00–9.30 pm / Lecture-recital »for the amusement of the mind« Mahan Esfahani (harpsichord) 9.30–10.30 pm / Bach – Listen with your eyes – POSTPONED! [1], In the modern era, many Lutheran hymns are used in Protestant worship, sometimes sung in four-part harmony. "24 Bach Chorales for Saxophone Quartet by J.S. Bach/Arr. Today, many of the Lutheran chorales are familiar as hymns used in Protestant churches, sung in four-voice harmony. (BWV 229.2), which is certainly chorale–like (apart from the rather disjunct melodic contour), but which features a melody that is almost certainly composed by Bach himself and, thus, is not taken from the Lutheran chorale tradition. [8], This article is about a Lutheran music genre. This is particularly true of the four–part second movement from the motet Komm, Jesu, Komm! Musical Context of Bach Cantatas: Table of Motets & Chorales for Events in the Lutheran Church Year The Lutheran Church Year - Explanation: The Lutheran Church Year is based on the two major events in the life of Christ: His birth and His resurrection. • These melodies are broken up into phrases, which are identified by pause marks – this is where you put your cadences. The Buxtehude Chaconne in e-minor concludes the program. Bach’s chorales are strictly choral arrangements of well-known hymn tunes adorned with elaborate harmony; he never composed an original chorale. [2] For other hymns he adapted Gregorian chant melodies used in Catholic worship to fit new German texts, sometimes using the same melody more than once. [citation needed] For example, he fitted the melody of the hymn "Veni redemptor gentium" to three different texts, "Verleih uns Frieden gnädiglich", "Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort", and "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland". [citation needed]. The melody of this setting is attributed to Bach and is not from the Lutheran chorale tradition. That framework would remain the thread running through his entire compositional life, dominating both his sacred vocal works and much of his organ music. If the chorale is in a cantata, it is usually (but not always) at the very end. When he worked as an organist, J. S. Bach ’s duties included accompanying congregational singing, and he was familiar with the Lutheran hymns. A chorale is a melody to which a hymn is sung by a congregation in a German Protestant Church service. Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der den Tod... Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der von uns... Christian dance, electronic, and techno artists, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lutheran_chorale&oldid=996935385, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2017, Articles needing additional references from September 2020, All articles needing additional references, Articles to be expanded from October 2017, Articles needing more viewpoints from October 2017, Articles needing additional references from October 2017, Articles with multiple maintenance issues, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2020, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 29 December 2020, at 07:02. Collections of Chorale-Settings by J. S. Bach; Manuscript collections 149 Chorales (Dittel, 1734-35) 3 Choräle zu Trauungen (1734-38) 135 Chorales (Fasch, 1762) 383 Chorales (1770-89) Published collections 371 Vierstimmige Choralgesänge (1784-87) 319 Mehrstimmige Choralgesänge und geistliche Arien (1850 … So there you have it. 1 1 arr. true. Bewertung, Martin Luther Chorales. Second, Dietel was not a terribly accurate copyist and numerous errors pervade his document. This would also mean that the approximately 141 settings that have survived only from the Breitkopf (i.e. To get started, click on one of the categories below, peruse the indexes above, or search for a hymn title or subject: 6) One setting (BWV 262) is a four–part adaptation of a three–part setting by Pachelbel. Configure your browser to play MIDI fles with a plug-in or external application. Phillip M. Hash Winchester Old Lutheran Chorales 2 3 4 5 Flute/Picc. 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