Orgelbüchlein
Encyclopedia
The Orgelbüchlein was written by Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...

 during the period of 1708–1714, while he was court organist at the ducal court in Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...

. It was planned as a set of 164 chorale prelude
Chorale prelude
In music, a chorale prelude is a short liturgical composition for organ using a chorale tune as its basis. It was a predominant style of the German Baroque era and reached its culmination in the works of J.S. Bach, who wrote 46 examples of the form in his Orgelbüchlein.-Function:The liturgical...

s (smaller-scale compositions based on chorale
Chorale
A chorale was originally a hymn sung by a Christian congregation. In certain modern usage, this term may also include classical settings of such hymns and works of a similar character....

 melodies) spanning the liturgical year
Liturgical year
The liturgical year, also known as the church year, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches which determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and which portions of Scripture are to be read. Distinct liturgical colours may appear in...

; however, Bach only completed forty-six chorale preludes and left less than two measures of a forty-seventh. The chorale preludes in this collection constitute BWV
BWV
The Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis is the numbering system identifying compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. The prefix BWV, followed by the work's number, is the shorthand identification for Bach's compositions...

 599–644 within Bach's total compositional output. The Orgelbüchlein is at the same time a collection of organ music for church services, a treatise on composition, a religious statement and a pedagogical manual.

History and purpose

The title page of the autograph score reads in English translation:


Compositional style

The chorale preludes of the Orgelbüchlein share several common stylistic features, which are the distinguishing traits of what may be called the "Orgelbüchlein-style chorale:"
  • The chorale melody, embellished to varying degrees or unembellished altogether, is in one voice (excepting BWV 615, In dir ist Freude, in which the melody is broken up into motives
    Motif (music)
    In music, a motif or motive is a short musical idea, a salient recurring figure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special importance in or is characteristic of a composition....

     and bounces between several voices).
  • The melody is in the soprano
    Soprano
    A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...

     voice (except for BWV 611, Christum, wir sollen loben schon, in which it is in the alto
    Alto
    Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...

     voice, and the canonical
    Canon (music)
    In music, a canon is a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration . The initial melody is called the leader , while the imitative melody, which is played in a different voice, is called the follower...

     preludes BWV 600, 608, 618, 619, 620, 624, 629 and 633/634).
  • The pieces are written in four-voice counterpoint
    Counterpoint
    In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...

    , except for BWV 599, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, and BWV 619, Christe du Lamm Gottes, which are written in five voices; and BWV 639, Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, which is written in three.
  • The pieces span exactly the length of the chorale melody; there are no introductions or codas.

Contents

The chorale preludes of the Orgelbüchlein fall into the seasons of the liturgical year:

Advent
Advent
Advent is a season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on Advent Sunday, called Levavi...

:
  • BWV 599 — Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland
  • BWV 600 — Gott, durch deine Güte (or Gottes Sohn ist kommen)
  • BWV 601 — Herr Christ, der einge Gottes-Sohn (or Herr Gott, nun sei gepreiset)
  • BWV 602 — Lob sei dem allmächtigen Gott


Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

:
  • BWV 603 — Puer natus in Bethlehem
  • BWV 604 — Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ
  • BWV 605 — Der Tag, der ist so freudenreich
  • BWV 606 — Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her
  • BWV 607 — Vom Himmel kam der Engel Schar
  • BWV 608 — In dulci jubilo
  • BWV 609 — Lobt Gott, ihr Christen, allzugleich
  • BWV 610 — Jesu, meine Freude
  • BWV 611 — Christum wir sollen loben schon
  • BWV 612 — Wir Christenleut


New Year
New Year
The New Year is the day that marks the time of the beginning of a new calendar year, and is the day on which the year count of the specific calendar used is incremented. For many cultures, the event is celebrated in some manner....

:
  • BWV 613 — Helft mir Gotts Güte preisen
  • BWV 614 — Das alte Jahre vergangen ist
  • BWV 615 — In dir ist Freude


Feast of the Purification
Presentation of Jesus at the Temple
The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, which falls on 2 February, celebrates an early episode in the life of Jesus. In the Eastern Orthodox Church and some Eastern Catholic Churches, it is one of the twelve Great Feasts, and is sometimes called Hypapante...

:
  • BWV 616 — Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin
  • BWV 617 — Herr Gott, nun schleuß den Himmel auf


Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...

:
  • BWV 618 — O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig
  • BWV 619 — Christe, du Lamm Gottes
  • BWV 620 — Christus, der uns selig macht
  • BWV 621 — Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund
  • BWV 622 — O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß
  • BWV 623 — Wir danken dir, Herr Jesu Christ
  • BWV 624 — Hilf, Gott, daß mir's gelinge
  • BWV Anhang 200 — O Traurigkeit, o Herzeleid (fragment)


Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...

:
  • BWV 625 — Christ lag in Todesbanden
  • BWV 626 — Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der den Tod überwand
  • BWV 627 — Christ ist erstanden
  • BWV 628 — Erstanden ist der heil'ge Christ
  • BWV 629 — Erschienen ist der herrliche Tag
  • BWV 630 — Heut triumphieret Gottes Sohn


Pentecost
Pentecost
Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...

:
  • BWV 631 — Komm, Gott Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist
  • BWV 632 — Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend
  • BWV 634 — Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier
  • BWV 633 — Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier (distinctius)


Preludes based on catechism
Catechism
A catechism , i.e. to indoctrinate) is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...

 hymns:
  • BWV 635 — Dies sind die heil'gen zehn Gebot
  • BWV 636 — Vater unser im Himmelreich
  • BWV 637 — Durch Adams Fall ist ganz verderbt
  • BWV 638 — Es ist das Heil uns kommen her


Miscellaneous:
  • BWV 639 — Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ
  • BWV 640 — In dich hab ich gehoffet, Herr
  • BWV 641 — Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein
  • BWV 642 — Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten
  • BWV 643 — Alle Menschen müssen sterben
  • BWV 644 — Ach wie nichtig, ach wie flüchtig

Editions

The Orgelbüchlein was originally passed from teacher to student and was not published in its entirety until Felix Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...

 edited an edition. Notable editions have been made by Robert Clark and John David Peterson, Quentin Faulkner, Albert Riemenschneider
Albert Riemenschneider
Albert Riemenschneider was an American musician and Bach musicologist.Riemenschneider was born into a musical family. His father, Karl H. Riemenschneider,There are two conflicting sources about the name of his father: T. Riemenschneider & L...

, and Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer OM was a German theologian, organist, philosopher, physician, and medical missionary. He was born in Kaysersberg in the province of Alsace-Lorraine, at that time part of the German Empire...

.

See also

  • List of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach
  • Neumeister Chorales
    Neumeister Chorales
    Neumeister Chorales is the name commonly used for a recently discovered set of chorale preludes compiled by Johann Gottfried Neumeister . The manuscript was passed onto Christian Heinrich Rinck , whose library was bought by Lowell Mason in 1852...

  • Schübler Chorales
    Schübler Chorales
    Schübler Chorales is a name usually given to the Sechs Chorale von verschiedener Art for organ , a collection of six chorale preludes by Johann Sebastian Bach, issued around 1748. The title 'Schübler Chorales' derives from the engraver and publisher Johann Georg Schübler, who is named on the title...

  • Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes
    Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes
    The Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes, BWV 651–668, are a set of chorale preludes for organ prepared by Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig in his final decade 1740-1750, from earlier works composed in Weimar, where he was court organist...

  • Clavier-Übung III
    Clavier-Übung III
    The Clavier-Übung III, sometimes referred to as the German Organ Mass, is a collection of compositions for organ by Johann Sebastian Bach, started in 1735–6 and published in 1739. It is considered to be Bach's most significant and extensive work for organ, containing some of his musically most...


External links

  • WIMA Free scores of the Orgelbüchlein on the werner Icking Music Archive
    Werner Icking Music Archive
    The Werner Icking Music Archive , is a web archive of liberally-licensed sheet music of public domain music. The scores are electronically typeset by volunteers and distributed in PDF, often accompanied by their typesetting files. WIMA continues the defunct GMD Music Archive and is named after...

  • Free scores on Mutopia of the whole collection of 46 chorale preludes from the Orgelbüchlein.
  • Free scores of the complete Orgelbüchlein on the Arno Rog website.
  • Free downloads of the complete Orgelbüchlein recorded by James Kibbie
    James Kibbie
    James Kibbie is an American concert organist, recording artist and pedagogue. He is Professor of Organ at the University of Michigan.- Biography :James Kibbie was born in 1949 in Vinton, Iowa, USA...

    on historic German baroque organs: either search for individual works or download the whole collection
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