THE HOUSE OF BACH | Six Chorale Preludes

The House of Bach — Six Chorale Preludes



0:00 J. C. Bach — Wo Gott zum Haus nicht gibt sein Gunst
1:04 Heinrich Bach — Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund
3:42 J. M. Bach — Wenn mein Stündlein vorhanden ist
5:43 F. W. Marpurg — Meinen Jesum lass’ ich nicht
8:17 J. B. Bach — Vom Himmel hoch da kam ich her
10:23 W. F. Bach — Wir Christenleut han jetzund Freud



In 1735, Johann Sebastian Bach drew up a genealogy of his remarkable musical family. By then, the Bachs had been professional musicians for generations—organists, town musicians, court musicians, and composers spread across several branches of a family whose name had become almost synonymous with music in parts of Thuringia.

This small collection visits that musical household through six chorale preludes drawn from several generations and branches of the Bach family. Heinrich Bach represents an early generation; his sons Johann Christoph and Johann Michael follow; Johann Bernhard comes from a related branch; and Wilhelm Friedemann carries the story into the generation of J. S. Bach’s sons.

One guest at the family gathering is not a Bach: Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg. He stands here as a nod to C. P. E. Bach, who in 1752 enlisted Marpurg to write a new preface for the second edition of his father’s "Art of Fugue." (Without Marpurg's introduction, we can only speculate as to what might have been of J.S. Bach's now immortal legacy.)

The order also creates an unexpected journey through the chorale texts: from God’s blessing upon the "house," through the Cross and human mortality, toward steadfast faith, the proclamation of Christ’s birth, and finally joy.

The instrument is the small c.1750 Johannes Baumgartner organ of St. Imre Church in Gelence (Ghelința), Transylvania, sampled by Augustine’s Virtual Organs. This recording uses AVO’s extended version of this remarkable little historical instrument.