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.
When organist Christoph Wolff discovered the Neumeister
Collection of 82 chorales by various co...(+)
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.
When organist Christoph Wolff discovered the Neumeister
Collection of 82 chorales by various composers, it had
been missing for over a century and virtually unknown
to all since the late-eighteenth century. He treated
the music world to a treasure trove of fascinating and,
in some cases masterful compositions. Of the works, 38
were attributed to Bach, though today some question the
authenticity of at least two of them. There is no
question, however, about the authorship of this chorale
prelude, "Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan" (What God
Does, That Is Rightly Done), even if it does exhibit
the influence of Buxtehude on the young composer. That
said, the work is still recognizably Bachian, both for
its quite individual sense of joy and for its
convincing contrapuntal writing. Bach presents the
chorale theme in an almost playful manner, the tempo
unhurried, the sonorities mostly in the upper register
and seeming to float amid the clouds. Structurally, the
music is rather free, the second half breaking away
from the more flowing manner of the first half. The
work thus employs a fantasy-like approach in setting
the chorale theme.
Although originally written for Organ, I created this
Arrangement of the Chorale Prelude "Was Gott tut, das
ist wohlgetan" (What God Does, That Is Rightly Done)
BWV 1116 for Wind quartet (Oboe, English Horn, French
Horn & Bassoon).
PARTITION