Erbarm dich mein, o Herre Gott

Heinrich Bach (1615 – 1692) was the brother of J.S. Bach’s grandfather. Heinrich Bach himself was the grandfather of the first wife of J.S. Bach. As so many of the Bach-family Heinrich was a talented musician. In 1641 he became organist at the Liebfrauen- und Oberkirche in Arnstadt, a position he held untill his death, more than 50 years later. Not much of his music has survived till the present day. But what did survive shows great quality. The chorale prelude on the melody of “Erbarm dich, meine Seele” is one of the few remaining organ works of Heinrich Bach. It shows how deep the the Bach-family’s musical talent ran in Heinrich Bach.

Score available here: http://partitura.org/index.php/heinrich-bach-erbarm-dich-mein/