Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält
Encyclopedia
Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält is an organ
chorale
fantasia
written by the composer Johann Sebastian Bach
, BWV
1128. The manuscript was recently discovered on 15 March 2008 at an auction of items from the collection of Wilhelm Rust
(1822–92). The first public record of this chorale fantasia is 1845, almost 100 years after Bach’s death, listed among organ pieces by “Sebastian Bach” in the estate auction for Johann Nicolaus Julius Kötschau, once organist at St. Mary’s in Halle (Saale)
. According to public record, he acquired the pieces in an 1814 auction along with the “Clavier-Büchlein of Wilhelm Friedemann”, Bach’s son and once an organist in Halle, who had passed the scores on to his distant relative and student Johann Christian. Kötschau, who apparently was reluctant to share his prize collection, eventually relented, first loaning it to Felix Mendelssohn
, and then to the Leipzig publishers C. F. Peters. However, there is no evidence that anyone recognized the significance of what they saw.
This got the attention of Wilhelm Rust
, who had it sent on a library loan to Berlin, where he copied it. This transcription of 8 September 1877 has become “Source A” of this edition, and it is unknown whether Rust, as editor
of 26 volumes of the 46-volume Bach Gesamtausgabe, intended to include it. He resigned over conflicts, particularly with Philipp Spitta
, but got even in 1878, in a sense, by sharing the composition with Spitta’s rival Carl Hermann Bittner, whose Vol. IV of his second edition of “J. S. Bach” (Dresden 1880 / Berlin 1881) includes “141. Wo Gott der Herr nicht bey uns hält. Fantasia sopra il Chorale G-moll. (Königsberger Bibliothek.)” For whatever reason the chorale fantasia was not included in the Gesamtausgabe, so Wolfgang Schmieder
in his Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (Leipzig 1950) put a fragment of it in an appendix (BWV Anh. II 71).
After Rust’s death in 1892, a large part of his collection went to his student, Erich Prieger, who wrote an extensive essay in 1885 on “Wilhelm Rust and His Bach Edition.” Prieger’s collection in turn was put up for auction after World War I in three sections, one of which went in 1924 to the Cologne book dealer M. Lempertz and refers to many copies of “Bachiana” from the 18th and 19th centuries, including in Lot No. 157 with Rust’s collection
of manuscripts.
This edition is based on two 19th-century manuscripts: “Source A” by Rust and “Source B,” a copy made by Ernst Naumann sometime after 1890 in the collection
of the Bach-Archiv Leipzig
. Researchers, according to Schulze, are still hopeful that Kötschau’s copy survived World War Two and is still to be found, perhaps in a Russian library.
(de), which included Bach's cantata
BWV 178 on the same chorale, sung by the Thomanerchor
. The same day a CD by Rondeau Production with both compositions and works by Rust was released. The score by Ortus was published on 10 June.
. After an introductory section, the ornamented chorale appears in the right hand beginning with bar 12, proceeding verse by verse with interludes, chromaticism and echo sections. It concludes with a coda in a flurry typical of stylus phantasticus, all of which should make this “new work” very exciting indeed for Bach fans.
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
chorale
Chorale
A chorale was originally a hymn sung by a Christian congregation. In certain modern usage, this term may also include classical settings of such hymns and works of a similar character....
fantasia
Fantasia (music)
The fantasia is a musical composition with its roots in the art of improvisation. Because of this, it seldom approximates the textbook rules of any strict musical form ....
written by the composer Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
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...
, BWV
BWV
The Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis is the numbering system identifying compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. The prefix BWV, followed by the work's number, is the shorthand identification for Bach's compositions...
1128. The manuscript was recently discovered on 15 March 2008 at an auction of items from the collection of Wilhelm Rust
Wilhelm Rust
Wilhelm Rust was a German musicologist and composer. He is most noted today for his substantial contributions to the Bach Gesellschaft edition of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach....
(1822–92). The first public record of this chorale fantasia is 1845, almost 100 years after Bach’s death, listed among organ pieces by “Sebastian Bach” in the estate auction for Johann Nicolaus Julius Kötschau, once organist at St. Mary’s in Halle (Saale)
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
. According to public record, he acquired the pieces in an 1814 auction along with the “Clavier-Büchlein of Wilhelm Friedemann”, Bach’s son and once an organist in Halle, who had passed the scores on to his distant relative and student Johann Christian. Kötschau, who apparently was reluctant to share his prize collection, eventually relented, first loaning it to Felix Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
, and then to the Leipzig publishers C. F. Peters. However, there is no evidence that anyone recognized the significance of what they saw.
History
In the 1845 auction of Kötschau’s estate, the manuscript, along with other Bach works, was acquired by Friedrich August Gotthold. In 1852, to preserve his collection, he donated it to the Königsberg Library, but it only drew attention 25 years later when Joseph Müller, in spite of opposition from superiors, prepared a catalogue, which on p. 93 lists “24 books of organ compositions by J. S. Bach,” of which fascicle No. 5 lists “Fantasia Sopra il Corale ‘Wo Gott der Herr nicht bey uns hält’ pro Organo à 2 Clav. e Pedale.”This got the attention of Wilhelm Rust
Wilhelm Rust
Wilhelm Rust was a German musicologist and composer. He is most noted today for his substantial contributions to the Bach Gesellschaft edition of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach....
, who had it sent on a library loan to Berlin, where he copied it. This transcription of 8 September 1877 has become “Source A” of this edition, and it is unknown whether Rust, as editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
of 26 volumes of the 46-volume Bach Gesamtausgabe, intended to include it. He resigned over conflicts, particularly with Philipp Spitta
Philipp Spitta
Julius August Philipp Spitta was a German music historian and musicologist best known for his 1873 biography of Johann Sebastian Bach.-Biography:...
, but got even in 1878, in a sense, by sharing the composition with Spitta’s rival Carl Hermann Bittner, whose Vol. IV of his second edition of “J. S. Bach” (Dresden 1880 / Berlin 1881) includes “141. Wo Gott der Herr nicht bey uns hält. Fantasia sopra il Chorale G-moll. (Königsberger Bibliothek.)” For whatever reason the chorale fantasia was not included in the Gesamtausgabe, so Wolfgang Schmieder
Wolfgang Schmieder
Wolfgang Schmieder was a German musicologist.Schmieder was born in Bromberg. In 1950, he published the BWV, or Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis , a catalog of musical works by Johann Sebastian Bach. The numbering system used in the BWV has since become a nearly universal standard, used by scholars and...
in his Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (Leipzig 1950) put a fragment of it in an appendix (BWV Anh. II 71).
After Rust’s death in 1892, a large part of his collection went to his student, Erich Prieger, who wrote an extensive essay in 1885 on “Wilhelm Rust and His Bach Edition.” Prieger’s collection in turn was put up for auction after World War I in three sections, one of which went in 1924 to the Cologne book dealer M. Lempertz and refers to many copies of “Bachiana” from the 18th and 19th centuries, including in Lot No. 157 with Rust’s collection
Collecting
The hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever items are of interest to the individual collector. Some collectors are generalists, accumulating merchandise, or stamps from all countries of the world...
of manuscripts.
Discovery
On 15 March 2008, the Leipzig auction firm of Johannes Wend offered Lot No. 153 with “manuscripts from the estate of Wilhelm Rust. Mostly compositions of his own or arrangements of works by Bach . . . ,” no one could have anticipated that this included parts of Prieger’s collection and the chorale fantasia BWV Anh. II 71. The Rust items were acquired by the University-State Museum of Halle/Salle, and finally due to the work of two editors, Stephan Blaut and Michael Pacholke of Halle University, the chorale fantasia was authenticated.This edition is based on two 19th-century manuscripts: “Source A” by Rust and “Source B,” a copy made by Ernst Naumann sometime after 1890 in the collection
Collection (museum)
A museum is distinguished by a collection of often unique objects that forms the core of its activities for exhibitions, education, research, etc. This differentiates it from an archive or library, where the contents may be more paper-based, replaceable and less exhibition oriented...
of the Bach-Archiv Leipzig
Bach-Archiv Leipzig
The Bach-Archiv Leipzig or Bach-Archiv is the institution for the documentation and research of life and work of Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig, where Bach lived from 1723 until his death. Topic of research is also the Bach family, especially their music...
. Researchers, according to Schulze, are still hopeful that Kötschau’s copy survived World War Two and is still to be found, perhaps in a Russian library.
First performance
On 13 June 2008, Ullrich Böhme played the first Leipzig performance of BWV 1128 at the opening concert of the Bachfest LeipzigBachfest Leipzig
The Leipzig Bach Festival is a music festival which takes place annually in the city of Leipzig, where Bach worked as the Thomaskantor from 1723 until his death in 1750....
(de), which included Bach's cantata
Bach cantata
Bach cantata became a term for a cantata of the German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach who was a prolific writer of the genre. Although many of his works are lost, around 200 cantatas survived....
BWV 178 on the same chorale, sung by the Thomanerchor
Thomanerchor
The Thomanerchor is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. At present, the choir consists of 92 boys from 9 to 18 years of age...
. The same day a CD by Rondeau Production with both compositions and works by Rust was released. The score by Ortus was published on 10 June.
Description
The chorale still exists in German hymnals, but apparently has not survived in American Lutheran usage. The work, a large-scale fantasia believed to date from 1705–1710, is of moderate difficulty in four contrapuntal voices scored for Rückpositiv, Oberwerk and PedalPedal
The word pedal comes from the Latin and relates to the foot.A pedal is a lever activated by one's foot. The term "foot pedal" is redundant, and should be avoided...
. After an introductory section, the ornamented chorale appears in the right hand beginning with bar 12, proceeding verse by verse with interludes, chromaticism and echo sections. It concludes with a coda in a flurry typical of stylus phantasticus, all of which should make this “new work” very exciting indeed for Bach fans.
External links
- Sheet Music of BWV 1128 at the Icking Music Archive
- Free download of BWV 1128 recorded by James KibbieJames KibbieJames Kibbie is an American concert organist, recording artist and pedagogue. He is Professor of Organ at the University of Michigan.- Biography :James Kibbie was born in 1949 in Vinton, Iowa, USA...
on the 1736 Erasmus Bielfeldt organ in St. Wilhadi, Stade, Germany - http://thediapason.com/BWV-1128-A-recently-discovered-Bach-organ-work--article9863