Organ works by Johann Sebastian Bach

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Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the most important organ composers. On the one hand, almost all types of forms and movements can be found in his extensive work; on the other hand, many of the pieces display the virtuoso fugue style that he valued .

The versatility of Bach's organ works, who composed for the organ for a long time, poses many questions to historians. Furthermore, many of these works still place very high technical demands on the organist, for example the six trio sonatas.

meaning

The "Works for Organ" are listed in the Bach Works Directory (BWV) under the numbers 525–771, 1090–1120 and 1128. Leaving aside those that are presumably not by Bach, there are around 220 organ compositions - a fifth of his complete works. This number shows the importance of the organ to Bach. Instrumental chorale arrangements , partitas , fantasies , preludes and fugues formed the basic elements of his compositions from early youth to old age.

In his organ compositions, Bach was particularly influenced by the north German organ school , i.e. by composers such as Dietrich Buxtehude , Nicolaus Bruhns and Johann Adam Reincken . Other musical styles that shaped all of his work (such as the Italian concerto and the courtly French ornamentation tradition) also influenced his organ work.

Bach's organ music can easily be divided into two groups, depending on whether it is based on a chorale or not. The Bach works directory also uses this criterion for subdivision.

Organ music related to chorales

Collections and Cycles

A large part of Bach's organ music is based on a chorale melody. His method of processing the chorale , which goes back to models such as Dietrich Buxtehude , leads to rather short individual movements, the form of which is determined by the sequence of the chorale lines. Bach tends to put together several such movements that use different chorales but fit together in structure and volume.

One example is the Orgelbüchlein (BWV 599–644) that was started in Weimar , according to Albert Schweitzer the “Dictionary of Bach's Tonic Language”; it comprises 46 sentences. Are applied similarly in the resulting Leipzig Eighteen Choräle (BWV 651-668) and the third part of the Clavierübung (here the Choralbearbeitungen are framed by Prelude and fugue Major - see below).

The six chorales of various kinds (BWV 645–650), known under the name of “Schüblersche Chorale”, were initially created individually as cantata movements and later arranged and compiled by Bach for organ.

Variations

In some cases Bach also combined several variations on the same chorale to form multi-movement "Partitas", such as the Partite diverse sopra "Be greeted, Jesu gütig" (BWV 768) or the canonical changes on "Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich hier" (BWV 769), which is one of Bach's late contrapuntal works.

Free organ music

A large part of Bach's organ work does not refer to a chorale. The majority of these works follow the two-movement structure of prelude and fugue ; in individual cases Bach also referred to the prelude as a fantasy or toccata .

Works called "Toccata and Fugue"

Bach's best-known organ work is the Toccata from the Toccata and Fugue in D minor (BWV 565), which is probably a youth work. The toccata influenced numerous other composers, for example the French masters Léon Boëllmann , Eugène Gigout and Charles-Marie Widor . Even in later rock and pop music there were arrangements of this piece. Further toccatas can be found in the first movement of the toccata and fugue in F major (BWV 540), in the “Doric” toccata and fugue (BWV 538, the key is real D minor) and in the toccata, adagio and fugue C. Major (BWV 564).

Works called "Prelude and Fugue" or "Fantasy and Fugue"

The most frequently played two-movement pieces include the Prelude and Fugue in D major (BWV 532), the Fantasy and Fugue in C minor (BWV 537), and the Prelude and Fugue in C major (BWV 547). The harmoniously bold Fantasia and Fugue in G minor (BWV 542) are also remarkable. Hermann Keller attributes the Prelude in B minor (from the Prelude and Fugue BWV 544) a “lyrical, painful basic character” and attests that the fugue has an interesting development.

Bach himself showed his appreciation for the Prelude and Fugue in E flat major (BWV 552) by having it printed as part of the third part of the keyboard exercise.

The Eight Little Preludes and Fugues (BWV 553-560) are now attributed to one of Bach's students by music research, such as Johann Tobias Krebs or his son Johann Ludwig Krebs . The rather short works are often used as popular practice pieces in organ lessons today.

Pièce d'Orgue

The Fantasie in G major BWV 572 (also known as Pièce d'Orgue ), an early work by Bach, is unique in the sense that it takes up the French style of Nicolas de Grigny . The grand plein jeu plays a central role here. Many stops are drawn here, and the emphasis is on harmonic progression.

Passacaglia and Fugue

The eight-bar bass theme of the Passacaglia in C minor (BWV 582) is the basis of twenty variations; the fugue uses the theme halves as theme and first counterpoint and adds a second counterpoint theme.

Multi-movement organ works

The Six Sonatas (BWV 525-530), which initially had didactic intentions (the musical training of his eldest son Wilhelm Friedemann ), are considered a climax of the three-part organ setting and, because of the full integration and equality of the pedal, are among Bach's most difficult works. The compositions do not follow the four-movement form of the Sonata da Chiesa , but already show the more modern sequence of three movements , which is based on the Italian concerto .

The Six Organ Concerts (BWV 592–597) are arrangements of instrumental concerts by other composers that Bach made for study purposes.

Sheet music samples

  • Score example 1

  • Score example 2

literature

Web links