oboeinsight

(Yes, I will start posting these again when I find something I want to share!)

JS Bach: Jesu, der du meine Seele, BWV 354
Netherlands Bach Society

We know of a whole series of chorale melodies that have been handed down separately, to which Bach added chords. ‘Jesu, der du meine Seele’ seems to be just one of many texts in which standard Lutheran theology is turned into poetry: Christ suffered and died for our sins. But that’s not the whole story. The words of this hymn were written by Johann Rist (1607-1667), a poet, playwright and founder of a literary society, who was interested in mathematics, medicine and the world.

The melody Bach used for ‘Jesu, der du meine Seele’ is not the one Rist originally published with his text. However, it is a melody that may possibly have been written by Rist. Some time later, the melody was combined with Rist’s lyrics for ‘Jesu der du meine Seele’. Bach took this hymn – both text and melody – for the opening chorus of a cantata, for instance BWV 78, as well as using it in this individual chorale BWV 354, which was probably part of a lost cantata.

Recorded for the project All of Bach on 28th February 2019 at Grote Kerk, Alkmaar. If you want to help us complete All of Bach, please subscribe to our channel http://bit.ly/2vhCeFB and consider donating http://bit.ly/2uZuMj5.

For more information on BWV 354 and this production go to www.bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/bwv-354/

All of Bach is a project of the Netherlands Bach Society / Nederlandse Bachvereniging, offering high-quality film recordings of the works by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by the Netherlands Bach Society and its guest musicians. Visit our free online treasury for more videos and background material https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/allofbach For concert dates and further information go to https://www.bachvereniging.nl

Netherlands Bach Society
Christoph Prégardien, conductor