Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten (manualiter)

Friedrich Christian Samuel Mohrheim was born in 1719 in Neumark, near Weimar. He enrolled at the Thomasschule in Leipzig on 8th of April 1733 where he studied with Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750) between 1733 and 1736.

During that period he also served as a scribe and copyist for Bach on musical works such as the St. Matthew Passion, the Christmas Oratorio and the Two and Three Part Inventions.

He continued his studies at the University of Jena in 1738 and the University of Halle from 1739 onwards.

When he arrived in Gdansk/Danzig is unclear, but his musical activities in the city started being noted in 1747. In 1750 he was appointed deputy Kapellmeister at the Marienkirche in Danzig to Johann Balthasar Christian Freißlich (1687 - 1764) and soon after married Freißlich's daughter.

Upon the death of Freißlich, Mohrheim was appointed Kapellmeister of the Marienkirche, a position he would hold for life until his own death.

Around 100 compositions of Mohrheim are known, but only 14 organ works are amongst them.

The chorale prelude performed here was possibly composed in 1742/1743 and was designed for performance on a single manual.

I used the Principal 8’ and Quintadena 8’ of the Oberwerk in this recording.