Played by Dr. W. G. ALCOCK
Relayed from ST. MARGARET'S, WESTMINSTER
Nun komm', der Heiden Heiland (Come now,
Saviour of the Gentiles)
Nun komm', der Heiden Heiland (In Organo pleno)
Tosu, meine Freude (Jesu, Joy and Treasure)
Nun danket alle Gott (Now thank wo all our
God)
Komm, Gott, Schopfor, heiliger Goist (Come,
Thou Creator Spirit, come)
A CHORAL Prelude is a composition, usually for the organ, built upon the melody of a choral. Its structure, since it served the purpose literally of a prelude to the singing of the choral hy the congregation, was not so much (o present the actual melody of the choral, as to herald it by polyphonic adornment and contrapuntal development of the theme. Thus, it differed essentially from the Choral Fantasy and the Organ Prelude, in both of which the melody was stated boldly and dealt with in direct fashion throughout. At Leipzig, in the Thomaskirche, the Hauptgottesdienst was the chief service of the Lutheran liturgy. It was very long, lasting on occasions from seven in the morning till noon, and Bach was in the habit of putting the Choral Preludes, as well as the Organ Preludes, not only to their proper purpose. but also to that of providing organ voluntaries to punctuate and relieve the interminable length of the church service.