It is rare that lost works by a major composer surface centuries after they were written, but that is precisely the case with this chorale prelude and its 37 siblings housed in the once-forgotten Neumeister Collection. Organist Christoph Wolff discovered the collection in 1985 at the Yale Library, ultimately treating the music world to many previously unknown Bach treasures. This chorale prelude, "Ich hab mein Sach Gott heimgestellt" (I Have Brought My Affairs Home to God), proves to be a worthwhile, perhaps even an important find. It opens with the chorale theme presented in a stately, bright fashion, Bach's characteristic counterpoint blending into the background for the most part rather than offering a competing line. The remainder of the piece has fantasy-like elements in its formal makeup, the theme transforming somewhat and Bach reducing textures in the latter half and adding elegant trills and other ornamentation. The work's close features a buildup that rises from single notes in the middle register to reach resounding sonorities that impart a sense of glorious finality. Lasting about two minutes, this brilliant work must stand with the better Neumeister chorale preludes.

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