Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der von uns....

Nikolaus [Nicolaus] Hasse was a composer and organist, eldest son of Peter Hasse (i).

He studied with his father, but other information about his early life is unclear, for there is little agreement among what is to hand in secondary biographical sources. In 1642 he became organist of the Marienkirche, Rostock, and held the post tenuously until 1671, when he seems to have retired. He appears always to have been in financially embarrassing circumstances.

Nikolaus Hasse has long been known as a composer of chamber music and sacred songs, but his organ music remained for a long time undiscovered. Hasse was the principal contributor of melodies (and possibly the harmonizations as well) toGeistliche Seelen-Musik, a collection of religious verse edited by Heinrich Müller. His 50 melodies are much more florid than the others in the volume and are consequently more akin to Italian arias than to simple German hymns.

His four surviving organ works, all of which are to be found in the Pelplin organ tablatures, illustrate the development of the north German organ style.

In Jesus Christus unser Heiland (‘pro Organo pleno’) the chorale is presented in the soprano in the first verse, the tenor in the second and the bass in the third. There is no ornamental elaboration of the cantus firmus, which is presented in strict counterpoint throughout.

Settings:

Quarter Meantone
Front 70 Rear 30

HW: Plenum
Bru: Plenum
Ped: Reeds 16,8, 2, Rauschpfeif, Mixtur

First verse HW; Second Brustwerk; Third HW