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Two Funeral Chorale Preludes
1. Wenn mein Stündlein vorhanden ist 2. O Welt, ich muss dich lassen
These chorale preludes formed part of a composition portfolio submitted as a undergraduate final-year project at the University of Hull in 1972. The melody of ‘Wenn mein Stündlein voranden ist’ is first found in the collection Kirchen Gesang (Frankfurt am Main, 1569). J.S. Bach includes it in his cantata Christus, der ist mein Leben, BWV 95, but did not use it as the basis of a chorale prelude. The chorale preludes by Johann Christoph Bach (1642–1703) and Johann Michael Bach (1648–1694) – both cousins of J.S. Bach – offer an imitative treatment of the chorale, whereas my version places the chorale melody in the pedals below extended melodic figuration (derived from the chorale). ‘O Welt, ich muss dich lassen’ takes its tune from ‘Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen’ (1490) by Heinrich Isaac. There is no organ prelude by J.S Bach using this melody, although the opening movement of his cantata In allen meinen Thaten might be regarded as a chorale prelude for orchestra and choir. ‘O Welt, ich muss dich lassen’ was taken up by Johannes Brahms in his Chorale Prelude Op. 122, No. 3. My setting is that of a Chorale Trio, the three voices of which are played on the upper and lower manuals, and the pedals. The chorale, this time, is on the upper manual, the other two voices pursue related melodic material.
Derek B. Scott