Assigned to the Bach catalog in the nineteenth century
but later thought not to be Bach's work, this little
chorale prelude gained a bit more legitimacy in 1985
when it turned up in the Neumeister Manuscript at Yale
University in the company of other chorales (some
previously unknown) fairly solidly attributed to Bach.
The melody is not one that Bach seems to have set
otherwise. Its first statement sounds distracted,
almost fragmentary, wandering and hesitating and
suggesting the minor mode; if ...(+)
Assigned to the Bach catalog in the nineteenth century
but later thought not to be Bach's work, this little
chorale prelude gained a bit more legitimacy in 1985
when it turned up in the Neumeister Manuscript at Yale
University in the company of other chorales (some
previously unknown) fairly solidly attributed to Bach.
The melody is not one that Bach seems to have set
otherwise. Its first statement sounds distracted,
almost fragmentary, wandering and hesitating and
suggesting the minor mode; if it were louder, thicker,
and more difficult, this would serve nicely as the
basis of a toccata. But then Bach smooths out and
regularizes the theme, although he does at one point
fixate on a repeated little twist in the melody. All
this proceeds over a solemn bass line, creating a
proper atmosphere for meditation.
Although originally composed for Organ , I created this
arrangement of the "Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder"
Chorale Prelude for String Trio (Violin, Viola &
Cello).
PARTITION