Time for another Bach post. Here are some Bach organ works I have become rather fond of in these strange times. They are (of course) in order of BWV catalogue number.
Passacaglia in C minor, BWV 582. An example of Bach's bass. The feet play the tune, which carries on (occasionally migrating to another register), with increasingly complex things going on around and above it. The link is to the All of Bach recording by Reitze Smits.
Das alte Jahr vergangen ist, BWV 614. The old year has (is) gone. I think this seems rather sad. Was the old year a bad one? Or are we sad to see the old year go? Or are we not looking forward to the approaching new year? Whichever, this is not quite Auld Lang Syne with marching pipe bands, and it is perhaps particularly thought provoking in these strange times. The link is to the All of Bach recording by Bart Jacobs. See later note below...
Ich ruf zu dir Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 639, reflective, even melancholic piece. The link is to the All of Bach page, with a recording by Leo van Doeselaar.
Komm heiliger Geist, BWV 651. This has bass notes which demonstrate what I said in an earlier post. There is also much happening in the two other registers. If the other suggestions are too slow, or sad, listen to this one. The link goes to the All of Bach recording by Leo van Doeselaar.
Nun komm der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659. Bach wrote two other pieces based on this hymn (BWV 660 and BWV 661), all very different. This one is a bit ethereal, I think, but with a Baroque walking bass. The link is to the Dresden Frauenkirche's Klingende Adventkalendar 2020, where it is the small door (Tuerchen) for 2nd December but it is also in All of Bach, see link below.
Dies sind die heil'gen zehn Gebot, BWV 678. I think not sad, although perhaps reflective, but certainly lovely, and that's interesting given the subject (the Ten Commandments), perhaps often seen as a list of Don'ts. The link is to the All of Bach recording by Reitze Smits.
The Nederlandse Bachvereniging (Netherlands Bach Society)'s All of Bach site has an accompanying video of the musician talking about the piece, as well as the video that is on YouTube. Use the English language search or the Dutch language search to search for the BWV number (with a space, so for example BWV 678).
Later note: I could have found this out by myself, but only when the organ prelude and the chorale made an appearance in the Silvesterkonzert from the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, with a reading of the first verse, did I realise the nature of the old year being described:
Das alte Jahr vergangen ist;
Wir danken dir, Herr Jesu Christ,
Dass du uns in so groß Gefahr
Bewahrt hast lange Zeit und Jahr.
(The old year now hath passed away;
We thank Thee, O our God, today
That Thou hast kept us through the year
When danger and distress were near.).
Words in both languages from Bach-Cantatas.com. Cross checking the English confirms it is the translation by Catherine Winkworth, published in 1863. She used a version published in 1588, but the first two verses (including the one above) appeared in a book published in 1568.
"A happier, better year be this", as her translation says, in a later verse.
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