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Chorales
“The blessed author has no need of my recommendation. One expects nothing
but masterpieces from him. His name ensures that those versed in the art
of music will not fail to appreciate the present collection when they
examine with due attention the especial ordering of the harmony, the natural
flowing of the inner voices and of the bass, all of which excellently
distinguish these chorales.”
With these bold words Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach proclaimed in 1765 the
publication of a first volume of Johann Sebastian Bach’s four-part chorales.
That project, which had to wait for its second and final stage in 1784/87
before coming to a successful conclusion, enabled musicians for the first
time to gain full insight into an important segment of Johann Sebastian
Bach’s creative output, revealing his harmonic and melodic power of expression,
which was unrivalled by his contemporaries, and which has never been surpassed.
We have learned from Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Forkel that in musical
education in Bach’s time the harmonisation of chorales was the ladder
leading up to the higher branches of composition. This has remained the
case – for example in the curricula of conservatories of music – to this
day. Despite, or perhaps because of, their harmonic audacities resulting
from the meaning of the words, the chorales meet the needs of church musicians
in our time to a remarkable degree.
Chorales from
the St. Matthew Passion
Bach chorales
for the Church Year
Christmas chorales
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