BWV 227

In the midst of his first season at Leipzig, while having to produce a cantata for each Sunday of the year, Bach was asked to provide music for the funeral of a distinguished University academic. What resulted was Bach’s most lengthy and ambitious motet. The work “Jesu, meine Freude” is actually a lengthy and detailed set of variations on that choral melody. Bach had, in his early years, produced several Choral “Partitas” for organ that were in variation form, and one of his earliest cantatas “Christ lag in Todesbanden [BWV 4] is in that form. As great as these works are, they do not compare in profundity and mastery to “Jesu, meine Freude.” It is interesting that Bach never returned to this chorale melody. It is as if he had said all that needs to be told about this tune. The work is in a modified palindrome structure, a form that is quite unusual in music:

1) Simple 4-voice chorale
2) Arrangement in 3/2 time
3) Elaborate 5-voice chorale stting
4) Solo trio
5) 5-voice character piece
6) 5-voice fugue
7) 4-voice elaborated chorale setting
8) Solo trio
9) 4-voice character piece without bass, chorale tune in alto
10) Arrangement in 3/2 time
11) Simple 4-voice chorale

The work reaches two impressive climaxes: first, the gorgeous, lyric fugue and second, the heavenly and melancholy character piece with alto chorale. No chorale elaboration so thoroughly explores every aspect of a chorale melody as this extraordinary motet.

©Craig Smith