12 April 2020 | Bach Recital, Holy Week, Music
Christ is erstanden BWV 627 This is a larger scale work from the Orgelbüchlein, in three verses as set out below. You can imagine after the austere season of Lent, Bach stunning the congregation with this chorale on full organ as they arrive in the church. Christ is... 
12 April 2020 | Bach Recital, Holy Week, Music
Lead me, Lord – Samuel Sebastian Wesley St Mildred’s Virtual Choir During the lockdown, St Mildred’s Choir has continued to keep busy and we have produced a recording of Samuel Sebastian Wesley’s ‘Lead me, Lord’ which will premiere on our website from... 
11 April 2020 | Bach Recital, Holy Week, Music
Sei gegrüßet, Jesu gütig, BWV 768 – Chorale and Partita 10 Following on from Monday’s partitas, today we have the sensational Partita X, written in 5 parts. The Partita – very much reminiscent of the techniques in Bach’s Cantatas – opens with a figure in the... 
10 April 2020 | Bach Recital, Holy Week, Music
Sei gegrüßet, Jesu gütig, BWV 768 – Chorale and Partita I Partita I is thought to represent the death of Christ. Bach (a keen and accomplished mathematician) is known to have used number symbology in his compositions and this may be a superb example. Taking letter A... 
9 April 2020 | Bach Recital, Holy Week, Music
O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß BWV 622 Another of the extraordinarily beautiful chorales from the Orgelbüchlein, Bach’s genius is revealed here in the incredibly expressive solo upper voice. Add to that the ending which is very unusual both harmonically and... 
8 April 2020 | Bach Recital, Holy Week, Music
Sei gegrüßet, Jesu gütig, BWV 768 – Chorale and Partitas VIII and IX Partita VIII is in the unusual time signature of 24/16 (24 semiquavers in each bar, in four groups of 6) making it dance-like and more exuberant than the other Partitas, and features a staccato bass... 
7 April 2020 | Bach Recital, Holy Week, Music
Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ BWV 639 My organ tutor once suggested that almost every composer that ever lived would be happy with their output if this were the only piece they’d ever composed. The stunning simplicity and beautiful violin-like figures make this one... 
6 April 2020 | Bach Recital, Holy Week, Music
Sei gegrüßet, Jesu gütig, BWV 768 – Chorale and Partitas VI and VII The Chorale Partita BWV 768 is a tour de force in the organ repertoire, where Bach explores the expressive possibilities in a set of variations (Partitas) on a simple Lutheran chorale melody. During...
