Vater unser im Himmelreich

BWV 737 performed by Bart Jacobs
St. Bavo's Church, Haarlem

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Subdued and timeless

The stop used by Bart Jacobs emphasises the vocal character

Vater unser im Himmelreich is Luther’s interpretation of Our Father: the only prayer that came directly from Jesus himself and which has thus always had a special place in Christianity. In Bach’s day, besides being used as a hymn during Communion, Vater unser im Himmelreich was also linked to Rogation Sunday, the fifth Sunday after Easter, which is therefore also the Sunday before Ascension Day, when there were traditional processions through the fields.

Of the various organ arrangements Bach made of this chorale, this is the most subdued and timeless. The piece is written in stile antico – the ‘ancient’, vocal, polyphonic composition style of the sixteenth century.

Here, Bart Jacobs emphasises this archaic character with the cornet stop. Its name and timbre refer to the cornetto, a sixteenth-century wind instrument. The stop makes the organ sound like a brass ensemble from the Renaissance.

And that suits this piece really well, as Bach may have used the ‘ancient style’ here to emphasise the fact that Vater unser im Himmelreich is a prayer. And a prayer implies words and thoughts, either spoken or sung. In fact, this arrangement is a four-part motet in the ancient style and you could easily perform the whole piece in song. Occasionally, there is a slightly more daring harmony, which is all that betrays the fact that this piece is not really a motet from Luther’s day.

Organ
This recording was made on the famous Müller organ in the Great or St. Bavo Church, in Haarlem. It is a very special instrument from 1738. Both Georg Friedrich Händel and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart travelled to Haarlem to play this organ! Händel was particularly delighted by the unusual Vox Humana register. The organ has over 5000 pipes, divided over 64 registers, with three manuals and a pedal.

BWV: 737
Title: Vater unser im Himmelreich
Instrument: organ
Genre: organ works
Year: unknown
City: Arnstadt?/Weimar?

Extra videos

Organist Bart Jacobs

“It's sheer enjoyment: that old style of the 16th century restrained and pious. That's the beauty of this chorale arrangement.”

Vocal texts

Original

Translation

Credits

Publication date

24 March 2017
Recording date

22 September 2016
Location

St Bavo's Church, Haarlem
Organist

Bart Jacobs
Organ

Christian Müller, 1738
Director

Bas Wielenga
Music recording

Guido Tichelman, Bastiaan Kuijt
Music edit and mix

Guido Tichelman
Camera

Bas Wielenga, Jeroen Simons
Lights

Gregoor van de Kamp
Interview

Onno van Ameijde, Marloes Biermans
Producer

Jessie Verbrugh

Discover

Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille

cantatas, BWV 120