Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg, Wach auf mein Herz und singe

by admin · July 9, 2022

The Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in München owns two collections of choral preludes and fugues by Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg. The compositions by Marpurg’s hand that I published till now were transcribed from the first collection. The second collection, “Zweiter Versuch in figurirten Choräle und Fugen”, is sadly incomplete. There are 8 pages missing and the volume contains only 5 complete compositions, plus 3 incomplete compositions. The missing pages must have contained a further 5 or 6 compositions. It’s sad that this copy is incomplete. Hopefully I’ll find a suitable source for the rest of the pieces from this second volume.

The first composition from this second collection is a prelude to the chorale “Wach auf mein Herz und singe”. It is a simple bicinium, in which the choral melody is played twice. First in the left hand, than in the right hand. The accompaniment is writte in double counterpoint. It is first played by the right hand, above the chorale melody and the second time by the left hand, below the chorale melody. And ‘written in doubel counterpoint’ means that the accompanment sounds good in both versions and does not violate any voice leading or harmony rules. The original edition contains a four part setting of the chorale melody as well, that I do not include in my performance, but is included in the score.

The recording was done with the Hauptwerk software and the sampleset, made by Sonus Paradisi, of the Schnittger organ in the St. Martini-kerk, Groningen (https://www.sonusparadisi.cz/en/organs/netherlands/groningen-st-martini.html).

Score
Marpurg, Wach auf mein Herz und singe