Four Chorale Trios, Volume 1

- Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg

PDF Sample

Use: General, Christmas
Required Resources: Organ

Delightfully elegant — that sums up these chorale trios by Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg. Working in Berlin during the late Baroque/early Roccoco periods, Marpurg was not only a composer, but a music critic and philospher. His cantankerous attitude caused him quite the public difficulty, even in the days before rampant social media.

His music, however, is beautifully crafted. In this volume, we present four of his organ works, all trios based on popular German chorales:

1. Aus tiefer Not Schrei ich zu dir – Out of the depths I cry to Thee
2. Gott des Himmel und der Erden – God who made heaven and earth
3. Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her – From heaven above to earth I come
4. Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan – Whatever God ordains is right

These are all strict trios, for two manuals and pedal. Numbers 1 and 4 set the cantus firmus in the right hand; numbers 2 and 3 have it in the pedal. None are overly difficult, yet produce a pleasing, effective result.