Meine Seele erhebt den Herren, BWV 648

With the coming of the Reformation, the Gregorian style went out of fashion in Northern Europe, although a few melodies did hold firm in the rising tide of chorales. The most iconic of these was the ancient tonus peregrinus, which was traditionally heard to the words of the Magnificat, in particular. This is also the case in Bach’s own Magnificat, BWV 243, from ca.1733 – just listen to the astoundingly beautiful trio Suscepit Israel and the melody that floats above the voices. Bach had already used the melody previously in the cantata Meine Seele erhebt den Herren, BWV 10, from 1724. And this chorale is a literal arrangement of precisely that cantata, once again with the tonus in the instruments above the interwoven voices.

The bass line is equally exceptional. It feels like an ostinato, a regularly repeating bass line, but in fact only the beginning and ending are identical. Along the way, the bass conforms to the harmonies, and the swaying theme jumps from voice to voice. In doing so, the arranger (Bach himself?) follows the original so literally that at certain points the right hand has to help out the left on the lower keyboard.
(source: Allofbach)

I played this piece a bit slower than I usually do. Given the big acoustics of the church room of this church in Goerlitz, I think it works rather well.