Harmonische Seelenlust, Part I (new Edition)

After having published all chorale preludes of the "Harmonische Seelenlust", it is now time to bring them together in one Edition. Well, three actually, otherwise the result would be too voluminous. The works in present Edition appear in the order in which they appear in the source, with a few exceptions where reversing the original order of two pieces contributed to ease of page turning.. They are not ordered alphabettically, nor are they ordered according to the liturgical year. Preludes to for example chorales sung in Advent are scattered throughout the ``Harmonische Seelenlust''. The same is true for chorales belonging to the Pre-Lenten Season or to Lent and Passiontide. This is probably because of the serial nature of the original publication. Kauffmann made sure each volume contained something for each liturgical season. Present edition does not follow the separation of the original volumes, but the result is the same. Each of the three parts contains chorale preludes that are suitable for each of the liturgical seasons.

The showcase from Part I is the prelude to "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern", one of the preludes for organ and hobo. It is a lively piece in 6/8 meter. Kauffmann has a knack for writing in ternary rythm. The oboe is used to for the choral melody while the organ plays a trio like accompaniment. A nice detail is that the oboe plays the first two notes of the choral melody three times: an eighteenth century wake-up call.

Score available here: http://partitura.org/index.php/georg-friedrich-kauffmann-harmonische-seelenlust-part-i