About Bach’s Chorales

The number of harmonies that can be added to a given melody is virtually infinite. The same melody can sometimes be composed in major and sometimes in minor harmonies. Furthermore, the possibilities are literally limitless when contrapuntal techniques are used. German baroque composers, including Bach, arranged German chorales (music pieces with melodies set to German translations of biblical passages or stories) in a variety of styles. In addition to four-part choruses, many cantatas were composed with orchestras, creating so-called “chorale fantasies” in them, and “chorale preludes” were written for organ.

Here is Martin Luther’s chorale “From High Heaven I Come” (Figure 1). Among the works based on this chorale, we introduce pieces by Michael Praetorius and Johann Hermann Schein (Figures 2 and 3).

Bach uses this chorale three times in his Christmas Oratorio. First, in the ninth movement, it is a chorale with orchestral accompaniment, featuring trumpets and timpani (Figure 4). Next, in the seventeenth movement, it is a four-part vocal chorale (Figure 5). Finally, in the twenty-third movement, it is sung with orchestral accompaniment in a Siciliano rhythm (Figure 6).

Bach also used the melody from this chorale in his canon variations for organ, “Vom Himmel hoch da komm’ ich her” (From the High Sky I Come), BWV 769 (see my article “About Bach’s Canon” for more information on this piece). He also used this chorale melody in his Chorale Prelude for organ, BWV 700 (Figure 7). In this work, the chorale melody is developed through a four-part fugue, with the pedal adding chorale melody as the fifth voice.

Here, I’d like to talk a bit about the “chorale cantata”. A chorale cantata is a cantata in which a single chorale (melody, lyrics, or both) is used throughout the entire cantata. Bach’s chorale cantatas follow the following patterns:

1. The opening movement is a large-scale chorale, sometimes contrapuntal choral piece (chorale fantasie) using the first stanza of a chorale. It is often accompanied by a full orchestra as ritornello or accompaniment.

2. The finale is a simple four-part chorus (sometimes with overlapping instruments) using the final stanza of a chorale.

3. The middle movement is primarily composed of recitatives and arias, but the text is often a paraphrase (reconstruction) of the chorale text to make it suitable as recitative or aria poetry. The compositional methods vary, from the soloist being asked to sing a chorale melody to the singer singing a free melody over which the instruments add a chorale melody. Many of the chorale cantatas were written during his time in Leipzig period. The following are the comlete list of Bach’s chorale cantatas:

BWV1 Bach: Cantata No. 1 “Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern”
BWV2 Bach: Cantata No. 2 “Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein”
BWV3 Bach: Cantata No. 3 “Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid”
BWV5 Bach: Cantata No. 5 “Wo soll ich fliehen hin”
BWV7 Bach: Cantata No. 7 “Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam”
BWV8 Bach: Cantata No. 8 “Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben?”
BWV10 Bach: Cantata No. 10 “Meine Seel erhebt den Herren”
BWV20 Bach: Cantata No. 20 “O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort”
BWV26 Bach: Cantata No. 26 “Ach wie flüchtig, ach wie nichtig”
BWV33 Bach: Cantata No. 33 “Allein zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ”
BWV38 Bach: Cantata No. 38 “Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir”
BWV41 Bach: Cantata No. 41 “Jesu, nun sei gepreiset”
BWV62 Bach: Cantata No. 62 “Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland”
BWV78 Bach: Cantata No. 78 “Jesu, Der Du Meine Seele”
BWV91 Bach: Cantata No. 91 “Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ”
BWV92 Bach: Cantata No. 92 “Ich hab in Gottes Herz und Sinn”
BWV93 Bach: Cantata No. 93 “Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten”
BWV94 Bach: Cantata No. 94 “Was frag ich nach der Welt”
BWV96 Bach: Cantata No. 96 “Herr Christ, der einge Gottessohno”
BWV99 Bach: Cantata No. 99 “Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan”
BWV101 Bach: Cantata No. 101 “Nimm von uns, Herr, du treuer Gott”
BWV107 Bach: Cantata No. 107 “Was willst du dich betrüben”
BWV111 Bach: Cantata No. 111 “Was mein Gott will, das g’scheh allzeit”
BWV113 Bach: Cantata No. 113 “Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut”
BWV114 Bach: Cantata No. 114 “Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost”
BWV115 Bach: Cantata No. 115 “Mache dich, mein Geist, bereit”
BWV116 Bach: Cantata No. 116 “Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ”
BWV121 Bach: Cantata No. 121 “Christum wir sollen loben schon”
BWV122 Bach: Cantata No. 122 “Das neugeborne Kindelein”
BWV123 Bach: Cantata No. 123 “Liebster Immanuel, Herzog der Frommen”
BWV124 Bach: Cantata No. 124 “Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht”
BWV125 Bach: Cantata No. 125 “Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin”
BWV126 Bach: Cantata No. 126 “Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort”
BWV127 Bach: Cantata No. 127 “Herr Jesu Christ, wahr’ Mensch und Gott”
BWV130 Bach: Cantata No. 130 “Herr Gott, dich loben alle wir”
BWV133 Bach: Cantata No. 133 “Ich freue mich in dir”
BWV135 Bach: Cantata No. 135 “Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder”
BWV139 Bach: Cantata No. 139 “Wohl dem, der sich auf seinen Gott”
BWV178 Bach: Cantata No. 178 “Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält”
BWV180 Bach: Cantata No. 180 “Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele”
#baroque #bach #chorale #片山俊幸