The Neumeister Collection is a compilation of 82
chorale preludes found in a manuscript copy produced by
Johann Gottfried Neumeister (1757–1840). When the
manuscript was rediscovered at the Yale University in
the 1980s it appeared to contain 31 previously unknown
early chorale settings by Johann Sebastian Bach, which
were added to the BWV catalogue as Nos. 1090–1120 and
published in 1985.
This is another of the Bach chorale preludes unearthed
in 1985 by Christoph Wolff, who discover...(+)
The Neumeister Collection is a compilation of 82
chorale preludes found in a manuscript copy produced by
Johann Gottfried Neumeister (1757–1840). When the
manuscript was rediscovered at the Yale University in
the 1980s it appeared to contain 31 previously unknown
early chorale settings by Johann Sebastian Bach, which
were added to the BWV catalogue as Nos. 1090–1120 and
published in 1985.
This is another of the Bach chorale preludes unearthed
in 1985 by Christoph Wolff, who discovered the
Neumeister Collection at the Yale Library. Most of the
Neumeister Bach works are believed to date to the years
1700 - 1708, and this one, "Ehre sei dir, Christe, der
du leidest Not" (May You Be Praised, Christ, for You
Suffer Pain), was probably written in the earliest
years of that span. It exhibits the influence of both
Pachelbel and Buxtehude and is somewhat unusual in its
consistent use of what German writers call
Vorimitation: thematic material is anticipated
throughout the work in an imitative, fugue-like manner.
For all its seemingly rigid formal qualities, this work
presents the chorale theme in a majestic and
imaginative way, growing from modest textures at the
outset to grander and more colorful ones later on. As
the work progresses, its mood takes on a more ecstatic
manner, the music a fuller and more complex character.
In the end, this approximately two-minute chorale
prelude will likely strike Baroque enthusiasts as a
compelling even if still youthful work from the pen of
the young Bach.
This is one of 38 Bach works rediscovered in 1985 by
musicologist Christoph Wolff at the Yale Library.
Johann Gottfried Neumeister assembled 82 chorales by
various composers, but after his death in 1840, the
collection passed hands and eventually found its way to
Yale, where it was filed away and consigned to
oblivion. This chorale prelude, "Aus tiefer Not schrei
ich zu dir" (Out of the Depths I Cry to You), is an
attractive work that employs a chorale theme used
earlier by composer Georg Böhm (1661 -- 1733). Bach's
G major chorale prelude here uses a technique called
vorimitation, where imitation of the thematic material
anticipates the theme itself. The chorale melody is
given a majestic, if slightly somber treatment in the
first half of the work, while the music becomes more
animated and more contrapuntal in the latter part.
Still, even though the stately character of the piece
yields somewhat to a livelier, almost ecstatic manner,
the mood of the piece remains largely serene and
subdued.
For a work that has only been known of since 1985, this
chorale prelude has received a relatively sizeable
amount of attention. Other Bach pieces rediscovered
that year in the now-famous Neumeister Collection at
the Yale Library by organist/scholar Christoph Wolff
have generally not fared as well, at least on
recordings. "Gott ist mein Heil, mein Hilf und Trost"
(God Is My Welfare, My Help and Comfort) offers music
that perfectly matches the reassuring words of its
title. Bach was a deeply religious man who was ever
ingenious and ever imaginative in capturing the spirit
of the chorale's text when he fashioned preludes based
on their themes. This one presents the chorale melody
in glittering sonorities, the upper register beaming as
it surrounds the main line with running contrapuntal
accompaniment. In later appearances, the glorious theme
is also heard in the higher ranges, with the
accompaniment in the middle register. About midway
through, the music is briefly pruned of some of its
contrapuntal activity, the thematic material mostly
played in chords amid lively trills. This approximately
three-minute work closes in much the same resplendent
mood in which it opened. .
Although originally written for Organ, I created this
Transcription of the Chorale Prelude "Gott ist mein
Heil, mein Hilf und Trost" (God Is My Welfare, My Help
and Comfort) BWV 1106 for Piano.
PARTITION