Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow, Jesaia dem Propheten das geschah (LV 48)

by admin · February 3, 2020

Zachow’s choral prelude to “Jesaia dem Propheten das geschah” consistst of three different movements. The first of these has no direct relation to the choral and is probably just an introduction to what follows. As the manuscript is not an autograph but a copy made some 50 years after Zachow’s death, I think there are possibly some transcription errors in the manuscript. In the score I added alterations where I think they are missing in the manuscipt and where notes are missing in my opinion I added them as well. These editorial decisions are indicated in the score, so it is possible to play what is in the manuscript.

The second and third movement are each a fugue on the first phrase of the choral melody. The second of these shows Zachow’s contrapuntal ingenuity in that the counter subject is used in its ‘normal’ form and in its inverted form (contrasubjecto al inverso). And in bar 69 the pedals make a very late entry. Only the fugue subject is indicated for the pedals. In my performance however, I use the pedals in both cadences that follow as well. It seems a bit odd to me to use the pedals just for the fugue theme and then end the fugua manualiter. But that’s just me.

The recording was done on the sampleset, made by Voxus, of the Matthijs van Deventer-orgel in the Grote Kerk, Nijkerk.

Score
Zachow, Jesaia dem Propheten das geschah (LV 48)