Herzlich thut mich verlangen

I mentioned that this piece was a PUZZLE TO BE SOLVED, and it is! For more information, or to try your hand at solving it, see the FIRST COMMENT.

Johann Gottfried Müthel (January 17, 1728 – July 14, 1788) was a German composer and noted keyboard virtuoso. Along with C.P.E. Bach, he represented the "Sturm und Drang" style of composition.

He was born in Mölln in the Duchy of Lauenburg. His father was Christian Caspar, an organist and friend of Georg Philipp Telemann. He studied music with his father, and later Johann Paul Kunzen in Lübeck. When only 19 years of age, he became a court organist and harpsichordist for Duke Christian Ludwig II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, in Schwerin.

In 1750 he was given leave to become the student of Bach in Leipzig. He became Bach's last pupil, beginning study only three months before the master's death. In that time, he notated a number of the blind composer's final works, including parts of the Orgelbüchlein. According to Bach's biographer Philipp Spitta, he was present at Bach's deathbed, and took over his duties for nine weeks. He maintained a lifelong friendship with C.P.E. Bach.

In 1751 Müthel returned to the ducal court, where he remained for two more years, eventually being replaced by his younger brother. Two years later he moved to Riga, where one of his brothers had moved. It was here that he published his first works, in 1756; most of his compositions remained in manuscript during his lifetime. At first he worked as a conductor for a private orchestra, before being appointed organist at St. Peter's Church, which he served from 1767 until 1788, when he died in nearby Bienenhof.

The scores, both manuscript and "edited" are attached below, as well as a painting of Müthel, and several photos of St. Peter's Church in Riga. Most of the photos are modern, as the church was bombed in World War Two, although there is a nineteenth century photo, which probably shows how the church looked when Müthel was organist there.