In music, a chorale prelude or chorale setting is a short liturgical composition for organ using a chorale tune as its basis. It was a predominant style of the German Baroque era and reached its culmination in the works of J.S. Bach, who wrote 46 (with a 47th unfinished) examples of the form in his Orgelbüchlein,[1] along with multiple other works of the type in other collections.
Autograph manuscript of the chorale prelude Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BWV 739, 1705
The precise liturgical function of a chorale prelude in the Baroque period is uncertain and is a subject of debate. One possibility is that they were used to introduce the hymn about to be sung by the congregation, usually in a Protestant, and originally in a Lutheran, church. This assumption may be valid for the shorter chorale preludes (Bach's setting of 'Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier, BWV 731, for example), but many chorale preludes are very long. It could be the case that these were played during extended ceremonial in church or in cathedrals.
Style
Chorale preludes are typically polyphonic settings, with a chorale tune, plainly audible and often ornamented, used as cantus firmus. Accompanying motifs are usually derived from contrapuntal manipulations of the chorale melody.
The only known painting of Buxtehude (detail, Johannes Voorhout, 1674)
Among the old masters who wrote chorale preludes is Samuel Scheidt.[3][4] His Tabulatura Nova, containing several such works, was published in 1624.[3][5]Sweelinck is also typical of the early Baroque period.
Johann Pachelbel's compositions are another example of the form, with many of his chorale preludes elaborating upon Protestant chorale melodies.[8]
The best-known composer of chorale preludes is Johann Sebastian Bach.[9] His earliest extant compositions, works for organ which he possibly wrote before his fifteenth birthday, include the chorale preludes BWV 700, 724, 1091, 1094, 1097, 1112, 1113 and 1119.[10]
In Bach's early Orgelbüchlein (1708-1717), the chorale melody is usually in the upper part and the accompanying lower parts, while being highly elaborate in their harmonic and contrapuntal detail, the beginnings and endings of phrases generally coincide with those of the chorale. An example is "Jesu, meine Freude", where the chorale melody in the upper part is supported by a closely woven and harmonically subtle counterpoint in three parts:
Jesu, meine Freude from the Orgelbuchlein.
Jesu meine Freude (BWV 610)
Peter Williams (1972, p. 27) says of the Orgelbüchlein: “Each approach to Bach’s organ chorales – their beauty, their ‘symbolism’, their mastery- is rewarding.” [11] Williams continues (1972, p29) “One of the most remarkable features of most of the settings is that the accompaniment and the motifs from which it is composed are newly invented and are not related thematically to the melody.”
By contrast, in the prelude on Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (BWV 645) from the set of six Schübler Chorales, taken from earlier cantata movements, the accompaniment is a free-flowing obbligato which both derives from the chorale melody, yet seems to float independently over it. "The achieving of a melody independent of the cantus firmus, though in principle it is familiar in obbligato arias, is here unusually complete."[12] Julian Mincham (2010) sees an asymmetry here that is possibly rooted in the chorale itself “with its slightly puzzling mixture of different phrase lengths”:[13]
Chorale melody (cantus firmus) of Wachet auf.
Two melodic ideas from the chorale, labelled (a) and (b) above are embedded in the obbligato line:
Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (BWV 645)
Mincham says that while “theme and chorale are not designed to begin and end together… [they] fit together perfectly. Get to know the chorale and ritornello melodies well and the apparently effortless ways in which they inter-relate will become obvious. The important point is that they seem not to fit; but they do.”[13]
chorale, prelude, music, chorale, prelude, chorale, setting, short, liturgical, composition, organ, using, chorale, tune, basis, predominant, style, german, baroque, reached, culmination, works, bach, wrote, with, 47th, unfinished, examples, form, orgelbüchlei. In music a chorale prelude or chorale setting is a short liturgical composition for organ using a chorale tune as its basis It was a predominant style of the German Baroque era and reached its culmination in the works of J S Bach who wrote 46 with a 47th unfinished examples of the form in his Orgelbuchlein 1 along with multiple other works of the type in other collections Autograph manuscript of the chorale prelude Wie schon leuchtet der Morgenstern BWV 739 1705 Contents 1 Function 2 Style 3 Baroque period 4 Romantic period and twentieth century 4 1 Johannes Brahms 4 2 Max Reger 5 See also 6 ReferencesFunction EditThe precise liturgical function of a chorale prelude in the Baroque period is uncertain and is a subject of debate One possibility is that they were used to introduce the hymn about to be sung by the congregation usually in a Protestant and originally in a Lutheran church This assumption may be valid for the shorter chorale preludes Bach s setting of Liebster Jesu wir sind hier BWV 731 for example but many chorale preludes are very long It could be the case that these were played during extended ceremonial in church or in cathedrals Style EditChorale preludes are typically polyphonic settings with a chorale tune plainly audible and often ornamented used as cantus firmus Accompanying motifs are usually derived from contrapuntal manipulations of the chorale melody Notable composers of chorale preludes during the Baroque period include Dieterich Buxtehude Johann Pachelbel and Johann Sebastian Bach Examples also exist from the late 19th century including works by Johannes Brahms and Max Reger 2 Baroque period EditThis section has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This section possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed November 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message This section may be unbalanced towards certain viewpoints Please improve the article or discuss the issue on the talk page November 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message Title page of Scheidt s Tabulatura Nova O Lamm Gottes unschuldig BWV 1095 source source One of the Neumeister Chorales by Johann Sebastian Bach performed by Ulrich Metzner Problems playing this file See media help The only known painting of Buxtehude detail Johannes Voorhout 1674 Among the old masters who wrote chorale preludes is Samuel Scheidt 3 4 His Tabulatura Nova containing several such works was published in 1624 3 5 Sweelinck is also typical of the early Baroque period Chorale preludes also appear in the works of Dieterich Buxtehude and Georg Bohm Over 40 chorale preludes by Buxtehude have survived to this day 6 7 verification needed Johann Pachelbel s compositions are another example of the form with many of his chorale preludes elaborating upon Protestant chorale melodies 8 The best known composer of chorale preludes is Johann Sebastian Bach 9 His earliest extant compositions works for organ which he possibly wrote before his fifteenth birthday include the chorale preludes BWV 700 724 1091 1094 1097 1112 1113 and 1119 10 In Bach s early Orgelbuchlein 1708 1717 the chorale melody is usually in the upper part and the accompanying lower parts while being highly elaborate in their harmonic and contrapuntal detail the beginnings and endings of phrases generally coincide with those of the chorale An example is Jesu meine Freude where the chorale melody in the upper part is supported by a closely woven and harmonically subtle counterpoint in three parts Jesu meine Freude from the Orgelbuchlein source source source Jesu meine Freude BWV 610 Peter Williams 1972 p 27 says of the Orgelbuchlein Each approach to Bach s organ chorales their beauty their symbolism their mastery is rewarding 11 Williams continues 1972 p29 One of the most remarkable features of most of the settings is that the accompaniment and the motifs from which it is composed are newly invented and are not related thematically to the melody By contrast in the prelude on Wachet auf ruft uns die Stimme BWV 645 from the set of six Schubler Chorales taken from earlier cantata movements the accompaniment is a free flowing obbligato which both derives from the chorale melody yet seems to float independently over it The achieving of a melody independent of the cantus firmus though in principle it is familiar in obbligato arias is here unusually complete 12 Julian Mincham 2010 sees an asymmetry here that is possibly rooted in the chorale itself with its slightly puzzling mixture of different phrase lengths 13 Chorale melody cantus firmus of Wachet auf Two melodic ideas from the chorale labelled a and b above are embedded in the obbligato line Wachet auf ruft uns die Stimme BWV 645 Mincham says that while theme and chorale are not designed to begin and end together they fit together perfectly Get to know the chorale and ritornello melodies well and the apparently effortless ways in which they inter relate will become obvious The important point is that they seem not to fit but they do 13 Romantic period and twentieth century Edit O Gott du frommer Gott Op 122 No 7 source source Performed by Matthias Flierl Problems playing this file See media help There are several examples of 19th and 20th century chorale preludes such as the Eleven Chorale Preludes by Johannes Brahms Cesar Franck Max Reger s and Samuel Barber s 14 Works such as these continue to be produced nowadays such as Helmut Walcha s four volumes 15 and the seven volumes of Flor Peeters 16 Johannes Brahms Edit See Eleven Chorale Preludes Max Reger Edit Reger composed among others 52 chorale preludes Op 67 Chorale Preludes for Organ Op 79b 1900 04 and 30 small chorale preludes Op 135a 1914 See also EditChorale compositionReferences Edit Grout Donald J amp Claude V Palisca A History of the Western Music 7th edition Norton London 2006 ISBN 978 0 393 97527 7 Chorale prelude Encyclopedia Britannica Retrieved 9 November 2017 a b August Gottfried Ritter Zur Geschichte des Orgelspiels Leipzig Max Hesse 1884 Scores at the International Music Score Library Project Karl Straube Choralvorspiele alter Meister Edition Peters 1907 Scores at the International Music Score Library Project Samuel Scheidt Tabulatura Nova Hamburg Michael Hering 1624 Scores at the International Music Score Library Project Snyder Kerala J Dieterich Buxtehude Organist in Lubeck New York Schirmer Books 1987 Sadie Stanley and John Tyrell eds The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians 2nd edition Oxford University Press 2001 Melville Ruth The Chorale Preludes of Johann Pachelbel Bulletin of the American Musicological Society Nº3 pp 11 12 Apr 1939 Bach Chorales a guide Classic FM Retrieved 2 December 2017 Works 00820 00847 01277 01280 01283 01298 01299 and 01305 at Bach Digital website Williams P Bach Organ Music London BBC Williams P 1980 p 112 The Organ Music of J S Bach Vol II Works based on Chorales Cambridge University Press a b Mincham Julian 2010 Chapter 55 BWV 140 Wachet auf ruft uns die Stimme Awake The Watchman s voice commands us Retrieved 4 March 2016 Barber Samuel Dei Natali Chorale Preludes for Christmas 1960 Chorale Prelude by Helmut Walcha recordings Cat Opal Libraries org Frankfurt 1980 Peeters menu Organmusic Retrieved 2009 03 05 Portal Classical music Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Chorale prelude amp oldid 1086296938, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
