Program Notes

J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Chorale Prelude, Nun komm der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659, arr. for Oboe and Strings by Peggy Pearson

Notes for: July 17, 2007

This is an arrangement by oboist Peggy Pearson of a work originally composed for organ, with each instrument playing one of the organ’s customary four lines (two hands and two feet).

A “chorale” is a Lutheran hymn, traditionally thought to be by Martin Luther himself, and a “chorale prelude” is a piece for organ based on a chorale tune. In the 1600s, chorale preludes were short, simple introductions to the chorales sung by the congregation. As time passed, the preludes grew longer and more complex, and they evolved into independent pieces. Bach, the foremost organ virtuoso of his day, produced more than 150 chorale preludes, and they are among his most challenging compositions.

This chorale prelude was one of the so-called “Eighteen,” a collection composed in Weimar before 1714 but then copied and revised by Bach in Leipzig in the 1740s, probably with publication in mind. The manuscript collection, now in the Berlin State Library, includes three chorales based on this Martin Luther hymn, “Come now, Saviour of the heathen.” The primary Lutheran hymn for Advent Sunday, it apparently was a Bach favorite since he also based two cantatas on it.

Each of the three chorales features a different setting of the hymn. In this, the first of the three, the chorale treats the hymn in a florid style. The chorale tune is made into an expressive, highly ornamented melody, with prefatory imitations of each line, interludes between succeeding lines and a meditative coda over a long-held tonic note in the bass.

Copyright © 2007 by Willard J. Hertz