Chorale Prelude

The organ takes a hymn tune apart, ornaments it and sets it in counterpoint

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A chorale prelude is a short organ piece that prepares a congregation to sing, taking a hymn tune apart, ornamenting it and setting it in counterpoint so the tune is heard first.

Origins and era

In the sixteenth century organists played through the hymn about to be sung, helping the congregation find the pitch, at first in chordal phrases only. In the seventeenth century Scheidt and Buxtehude turned this into independent contrapuntal works, placing the tune in the top part or in the pedals. Bach wrote quantities of chorale preludes in Weimar and Leipzig, the Orgelbüchlein ordered by the church year. In the nineteenth century Brahms and Reger rewrote the genre in Romantic harmony.

What you hear

One movement of one to four minutes, with the hymn tune sounding in long notes in one part while the other voices wrap motifs around it. Several methods recur, the tune ornamented on top, the tune in the bass under the pedals, or the tune split into a three-part canon. Density is controlled by stops, manuals and colour change between phrases, and the pedals carry an independent bass line. Identify the hymn first, then decide which part holds it, how many lines surround it, and whether the accompanying figure changes at each phrase. When the congregation joins in, the organ only has to supply pitch and tempo, so a prelude also does the practical work of setting key and upbeat. Bach's title page for the Orgelbüchlein states the purpose, one prelude for each hymn to be sung, deliberately held to a single page so it could be read at sight.

Key figures

Scheidt and Buxtehude established the Lutheran tradition, Bach's Orgelbüchlein and the eighteen chorale preludes are the core repertory, Walther wrote comparable works for teaching, and Brahms and Reger carried the genre into the nineteenth century.

Lineage

It comes from the Lutheran chorale and organ liturgy and leads to Romantic organ miniatures and twentieth-century worship music.

Common misunderstandings

A chorale prelude is not improvised accompaniment, since most are written works with the tune fixed in position. Nor is it played only at the start, because it also serves during communion and at the close.

Sources

• The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed., entry Chorale Prelude, 用于核对体裁类型划分
• Peter Williams, The Organ Music of J. S. Bach, 用于核对巴赫众赞歌前奏曲的写法分类

Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.