Bach at Ewell July 12 2022

July 12
Trio Sonata No 6 in G major BWV 530 (1. Vivace, 2. Lento, 3. Allegro)
Komm Gott Schopfer, heiliger geist BWV 667
Herr Jesu,Christ, dich zu uns wend’ Lord Christ, reveal Thy holy face, BWV 709
Herr Jesu,Christ, dich zu uns wend’ Lord Christ, reveal Thy holy face, BWV 726
Herr Jesu,Christ, dich zu uns wend’ Lord Christ, reveal Thy holy face, BWV 632
Prelude and Fugue in C BWV 545
Trio Sonatas BWV 525–30
Various trios for the organ have become known, particularly six for two manuals and pedal which are written in such galant style that they still sound very good and never grow old, but on the contrary will outlive all revolutions and fashions in music.
Anonymous author, most likely Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1788)
According to his first biographer Johann Nikolaus Forkel (1802), Bach compiled his six sonatas for two claviers and pedals for his beloved first son Wilhelm Friedemann (b1710) to instruct him in organ playing and composition. Even when measured against his own exalted standards they are works of a unique quality and variety, ranging from movements of joyous high spirits to ones of rare intimacy and introspection. Over and above their many interpretative challenges, they remain an ultimate technical testing ground for organists, demanding complete equality and independence of hands and feet if their musical riches are to be fully realised.
A key trait of Bach's compositional style is the transference and assimilation of styles and idioms from one instrument or ensemble to another. The melodic fluidity and drama of contemporary Italian music greatly appealed to him, reflected in his transcriptions of concertos for organ and harpsichord from his Weimar years and his later keyboard concertos and sonatas with keyboard obbligato. In the six organ sonatas Bach utilised the familiar baroque trio-sonata texture, setting them apart from the normal idioms for the instrument. However, his adoption of the Italian chamber style is selective and not total, for example in the characteristic rigour of the part writing and the use of a three-movement plan, owing more to the concerto than to the sonata.
Bach's manuscript seems to have been compiled during the late 1720s, and the idea that this was for the education of Wilhelm Friedemann is given weight by the existence of a further copy made jointly by Friedmann and his stepmother, Anna Magdalena. This must have been before he gained his prestigious first post as organist of the Dresden Sophienkirch in 1733. There were many copies of the sonatas in circulation by the middle of the 18th century, indicating a wide appreciation among Bach's circle. Although his music was little known outside northern Germany at the end of the 18th century, Mozart knew the organ sonatas - in 1782 he produced Six Preludes and Fugues for String Trio K404a which included the second and third movements of Sonata No 2. The six sonatas appeared in print for the first time in 1827.
The bold opening movement of the G major Sonata BWV 530 betrays its Italian heritage more than any other one in the set, with both upper voices starting together in concerto style. The plaintive Lento is strikingly reminiscent in motive and gesture to certain arias from Bach's Passions, specifically Erbarme dich from the St Matthew Passion of 1727. The final Allegro is a complex fugal movement, containing many challenges for the unwary performer.
BWV 667 Komm, Gott, Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist [Come, God the Creator, Holy Ghost], in Organo pleno con Pedale obligato (chorale partita)
This chorale prelude on Martin Luther's hymn for Pentecost "Komm, Gott Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist" consists of two variations linked by a bridging interlude: the first is a miniature chorale prelude almost identical to BWV 631 in the Orgelbüchlein, with an uninterrupted cantus firmus in the soprano line; in the second, the four lines of the cantus firmus are heard in the pedal, beneath a flowing imitative ritornello accompaniment on the keyboard.

In rather archaic fashion, Bach invokes Christ's help in finding the path
This arrangement of the chorale ‘Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu und wend’ BWV 709 is moving in its simplicity. The richly embellished melody in the soprano advances slowly, and solemnly. The three lower parts make an extremely modest contribution, using snatches of the original chorale melody. It’s thought to be an early work.

This remarkable chorale arrangement of 'Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend' BWV 726, is over in less than a minute. The melody comes in immediately and is played all the way through to the end, which shows that this piece was intended simply to accompany the congregation’s singing. Yet within this ultrashort space of time, the four melody lines also alternate with interludes of quasi-improvised strings of notes.