This is another of the 38 works attributed to Bach in the Neumeister Collection, an assemblage of 82 chorales by several different composers that was discovered in 1985 by organist Christoph Wolff. Most of the Bach works in the collection have been dated to the period 1700 - 1708, but precisely why only these 38 chorale preludes (some say 36, questioning the authorship of a couple) wound up in the hands of Johann Gottfried Neumeister, and not any later ones, is not known. This work, "O Lamm Gottes unschuldig" (O innocent Lamb of God), is an appropriately subdued and quite lovely adaptation of the chorale theme. It will appeal to a wide audience. Bach followed the melody-chorale style of Buxtehude here, but his effort nevertheless exhibits his own individual, if still burgeoning, voice. Much of his writing here is in the upper registers and his contrapuntal activity is not as strictly drawn from the thematic material as in most of his other, especially later, chorale preludes. The melody here is quite attractive in its demure and graceful manner and in its soothing, slowly paced sense of assurance. This work typically has a duration of two minutes.

© All Music Guide