To appreciate the significance of the rediscovery of the Neumeister Collection in 1985 by organist Christoph Wolff, imagine the sensation that would be caused if a musicologist in the twenty second century stumbled across 38 unknown keyboard works by Beethoven and a good many more by his contemporaries. True, the works attributed to Bach (at least two of which are in dispute) are mostly all early efforts dating to his pre-Weimar period when his style was still very much evolving. Indeed: this effort, Wenn dich Unglück tut greifen an (If You Stumble Upon Misfortune), exhibits the influence of Buxtehude, but is still a worthwhile composition. The work is quite somber throughout, but appropriately so in keeping with the melancholy (but hopeful) nature of the chorale's text. The theme is slowly played in the upper register, with accompaniment whose contrapuntal features are less strict than what is encountered in most later Bach chorale preludes. The melody is lovely in its morose character, and if the harmonies are not particularly outstanding, they nevertheless effectively serve the piece. This work typically has a duration of a minute-and-a-half.

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