Ach Gott und Herr

Another exceptional chorale prelude by Johann Christoph Bach (1642 – 1703): "Ach Gott und Herr".

More info about J.C. Bach: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Christoph_Bach

It's a very unusual prelude on this chorale. The composer treats the melody mainly in a minor scale instead of the (natural) major scale. Probably he did this to emphasize the meaning of the text:

Ach Gott und Herr,
wie groß und schwer
sind mein begangne Sünden!
Da ist niemand,
der helfen kann,
in dieser Welt zu finden.

That is:

Ah, my Lord and God,
how great and heavy
are the sins I have committed!
There is nobody
who can help me
to be found in this world.

I thought a nice registration for this would be a darker combination of 16' and 8' strings. Played on the colourful Engler instrument at Krzeszow.

Quite a different approach compared to Walther in his 7 verses composition: https://www.contrebombarde.com/concerthall/music/38739

Enjoy!

Marco