The Chorales of J.S. Bach

BWV: 1.6 2.6 3.6 4.8 5.7 6.6 7.7 8.6 9.7 10.7 11.6 12.7 13.6 14.5 16.6 17.7 18.5 19.7 20.7=20.11 22.5 24.6 25.6 26.6 27.6 28.6 29.8 30.6 31.9 32.6 33.6 36.4 36.8 37.6 38.6 39.7 40.3 40.6 40.8 41.6 42.7 43.11 44.7 45.7 46.6 47.5 48.3 48.7 52.6 55.5 56.5 57.8 59.3 60.5 62.6 64.2 64.4 64.8 65.2 65.7 66.6 67.4 67.7 69.6 69a.6 70.7 70.11 72.6 73.5 74.8 75.7=75.14 76.7=76.14 77.6 78.7 79.3 79.6 80.8 81.7 83.5 84.5 85.6 86.6 87.7 88.7 89.6 90.5 91.6 92.9 93.7 94.8 95.7 96.6 97.9 99.6 100.6 101.7 102.7 103.6 104.6 105.6 107.7 108.6 110.7 111.6 112.5 113.1 113.8 114.7 115.6 116.6 117.4=117.9 119.9 120.6 120a.8 121.6 122.6 123.6 124.6 125.6 126.6 127.5 128.5 129.5 130.6 133.6 135.6 136.6 137.5 139.6 140.7 144.3 144.6 145a 145.5 146.8 147.6=147.10 148.6 149.7 151.5 153.1 153.5 153.9 154.3 154.8 155.5 156.6 157.5 158.4 159.5 161.6 162.6 164.6 165.6 166.6 167.5 168.6 169.7 171.6 172.6 174.5 175.7 176.6 177.5 178.7 179.6 180.7 183.5 184.5 185.6 187.7 188.6 190.7 194.6 194.12 195.6 197.5 197.10 197a.7 226.2 227.1=227.11 227.3 227.7 229.2 244.3 244.10 244.15 244.17 244.25 244b.29 244.32 244.37 244.40 244.44 244.46 244.54 244.62 245.3 245.5 245.11 245.14 245.15 245.17 245.22 245.26 245.28 245.37 245.40 248.5 248.9 248.12 248.17 248.23 248.28 248.33 248.35 248.42 248.46 248.53 248.59 248.64 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 441 500a 1084 1089 1122 1123 1124 1125 1126 BWV deest (O Traurigkeit)

Sortable Chorale Index

About the Chorales of J.S. Bach

The more than 400 four–part chorales of Johann Sebastian Bach have enjoyed a status of great importance since they were first composed, collected and published in the 18th century. These concise musical gems have served and continue to serve to this day as superlative models for the study of harmony and counterpoint, demonstrating an unparalleled mastery of harmony in the way the vertical (harmony) and the horizontal (melody) in music are fused into a coherent and beautiful whole. While they may not receive the scholarly attention of the polyphonic instrumental works, the chorales represent in significant ways the pinnacle of contrapuntal mastery.

That the Lutheran chorale, the Lutheran congregational church service hymn, served a central role in the life of J.S. Bach, a thoroughly Lutheran composer, is evident in the hundreds of compositions — both vocal and instrumental — based on chorale melodies. Bach’s great contribution to the Lutheran chorale tradition stems not from his own composing of chorale melodies (less than ten of the 400+ four–part chorales feature melodies that are attributed to Bach himself), but to the great skill and care with which he treated this tradition. The Grove Music Online entry on "chorale," co–written by Robert L. Marshall and Robin Leaver, puts it aptly:

J.S. Bach’s significance for the chorale is not determined by the few original melodies he evidently contributed but rather by his appropriation of the chorale in an enormous variety of instrumental and vocal compositions. His four–part chorale harmonizations in particular, which mark the culmination of the Cantionalsatz tradition, may be the most important event in the history of the chorale since the Reformation, for they conveyed a sense of the greatness of the chorale heritage to later generations and helped to inspire and influence the restoration movement in the 19th century.

Barely more than half of the 400+ four–part chorales of Bach come from extant larger choral works — the cantatas, passions, motets, and Christmas Oratorio. Nearly 200 chorales, on the other hand, have survived only by way of posthumously published chorale collections, most of which owe their survival to the Breitkopf Edition of 371 chorales edited primarily by C.P.E. Bach and first published in the 1780s. The 186 chorales in this collection that do not appear among the extant larger choral works were assigned individual Schmieder catalog numbers: BWV 253–438. Unfortunately, the Breitkopf edition provided neither texts nor any contextual information. Thus, any texts provided for these settings were only added by a later editor. (The texts provided on this site for these chorales were suggested by the 19th c. Bach Gesellschaft Ausgabe (BGA) editors unless otherwise noted.) The lack of information regarding these individual chorales has led to much speculation regarding their origins, and much research remains to be done on this front.

Here is where the chorales are found in the Schmieder catalog:

BWV 1–197: The Cantatas (176 chorales)
BWV 226–229: The Motets (5 chorales)
BWV 244–245: The Passions (26 chorales)
BWV 248: The Christmas Oratorio (13 chorales)
BWV 250–252: Three Wedding Chorales (3 chorales)
BWV 253–438: Individual Chorales (186 chorales)
BWV 441, 500a, 1084, 1089, 1122-1126: Chorales later attributed to Bach (9 chorales)

The purpose of bach–chorales.com is to provide a wide array of resources for the study and enjoyment of the Bach chorales. The site is designed to benefit musicians, music theorists, historians, choral conductors, composers, teachers, students, and amateur Bach–lovers alike.