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.
Although he did not introduce new forms, he enriched
the prevailing German style with a robust contrapuntal
technique, an unrivalled control of harmonic and
motivic organisation, and the adaptation of rhythms,
forms and textures from abroad, p...(+)
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.
Although he did not introduce new forms, he enriched
the prevailing German style with a robust contrapuntal
technique, an unrivalled control of harmonic and
motivic organisation, and the adaptation of rhythms,
forms and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy
and France.
The Six Chorales (BWVs 645-650) of Various Kinds (Sechs
Chorale von verschiedener Art) is a collection of
chorale preludes for organ written by Johann Sebastian
Bach, and published around 1748. They are commonly
nicknamed Schübler Chorales, in reference to the
publisher Johann Georg Schübler. All six of the
preludes are for an organ with two manuals and pedal,
at least five of them transcribed from movements in
Bach's cantatas, mostly chorale cantatas. No source has
been found for BWV 646, and most scholars assume that
the source cantata is one of the 100 or so believed to
have been lost. The fact that Bach had gone to the
trouble and expense of securing the services of a
master engraver to produce a collection of
note-for-note transcriptions of this kind indicates
that he did not regard the Schübler Chorales as a
minor piece of hack-work, but as a significant public
statement. These six chorales provide an approachable
version of the music of the cantatas through the more
marketable medium of keyboard transcriptions.
Since no source has been found for BWV 646 "Wo soll ich
fliehen hin" ("Whither shall I flee?"), most scholars
assume that the source cantata is one of the 100 or so
believed to have been lost. The trio scoring of the
movement suggests the original may have been for
violin, or possibly violins and violas in unison (right
hand), and continuo (left hand), with the chorale
(pedal) sung by soprano or alto.
This is the only Schübler Chorale not transcribed from
a known Cantata and although originally written for
Organ, I created this arrangement for Violin & Viola.
PARTITION