The
hymn tunes of the
Lutheran hymns on which the
chorale settings included in the
Schübler Chorales are based can be identified by their
Zahn number. The fourth chorale of the set is however based on a German variant of the
Ninth psalm tone. Five of the
Schübler Chorales are transcriptions of movements of extant
church cantatas by Bach. These cantatas belong to the
chorale cantata or second year cycle. Bach began to present the cantatas of this cycle from the first Sunday after
Trinity 11 June 1724, which was the start of his second year in Leipzig. He continued to present 40 new
chorale cantatas until Easter of the next year, 1 April 1725, from which day the chorale cantata cycle and the second year cycle no longer coincide: for the remainder of his second year in Leipzig his newly composed church cantatas were no longer in the chorale cantata format, while on the other hand he added chorale cantatas to the cycle which were composed outside the period of his second year in Leipzig. Listed according to the sequence of the
liturgical year: •
BWV 6 is a
cantata for Easter Monday: it was first presented in Bach's second year in Leipzig, on 2 April 1725, shortly after Bach had discontinued chorale cantatas in that year. Its third movement is the model for BWV 649. •
BWV 10 is a
cantata for Visitation: this chorale cantata was presented during Bach's second year in Leipzig, on the Feast of the
Visitation, 2 July 1724. Its fifth movement is the model for BWV 648. •
BWV 93 is a
cantata for the fifth Sunday after Trinity: first presented one week after BWV 10, on 9 July 1724, it also belongs to both the chorale cantata cycle and the second year cycle. Its fourth movement is the model for BWV 647. •
BWV 137 is a
cantata for the twelfth Sunday after Trinity: first performed on 19 August 1725 it is a later addition to the chorale cantata cycle. Its second movement is the model for BWV 650. •
BWV 140 is a
cantata for the 27th Sunday after Trinity (or: the last Sunday before Advent): first performed on 25 November 1731 it is a later addition to the chorale cantata cycle. Its fourth movement is the model for BWV 645. For BWV 646 there is no extant model from which the chorale prelude may have transcribed. Apart from some original manuscripts of the preceding cantata models there are no extant manuscripts of the
Schübler Chorales older than their 1747–1748 printed version: Bach's only extant autograph regarding the organ versions consists of the corrections and improvements he wrote, before August 1748, in his copy of the first edition. All six
Schübler Chorales are in the
chorale fantasia format: this means that one of the melody lines in the setting is the relatively unadorned chorale tune, which is called
cantus firmus. The two central preludes of the set (BWV 647 and 648) are four-part settings, while the others are three-part settings (trios). the 4th movement of the cantata
Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140, which is a chorale for
tenor voice accompanied by unison
strings and
continuo.
Wo soll ich fliehen hin (or) Auf meinen lieben Gott, BWV 646 Wo soll ich fliehen hin (or) Auf meinen lieben Gott, BWV 646.
Chorale melody Hymn tune: "
Wo soll ich fliehen hin" ("Whither shall I flee?"), or, "
Auf meinen lieben Gott", Zahn No. 2164.
Model Since no model has been found for BWV 646, most scholars assume that the source cantata is one of the 100 or so believed to have been lost. The trio scoring of the movement suggests the original may have been for
violin, or possibly violins and
violas in unison (right hand), and
continuo (left hand), with the chorale (pedal) sung by
soprano or
alto.
Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten, BWV 647 Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten, BWV 647.
Chorale melody Hymn tune: "
Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten" ("Who allows God alone to rule him"), Zahn No. 2778.
Model Arranged from
Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten, BWV 93, movement 4 (duet for
soprano and
alto).
Meine Seele erhebt den Herren, BWV 648 Meine Seele erhebt den Herren, BWV 648.
Chorale melody Tune: "
Meine Seele erhebt den Herren" ("My soul doth magnify the Lord"), a German variant of the
tonus peregrinus or ninth
psalm tone.
Model Arranged from
Meine Seel erhebt den Herren, BWV 10, movement 5 (duet for alto and tenor, chorale instrumental).
Ach bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 649 Ach bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 649.
Chorale melody Hymn tune: "
Ach bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ" ("Lord Jesus Christ, with us abide"), Zahn No. 493 (a.k.a. "
Danket dem Herrn heut und allzeit").
Model Arranged from
Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden, BWV 6, movement 3 (soprano chorale).
Kommst du nun, Jesu, vom Himmel herunter, BWV 650 Kommst du nun, Jesu, vom Himmel herunter, BWV 650.
Chorale melody Hymn tune: "
Kommst du nun, Jesu, vom Himmel herunter auf Erden" ("Come thou, Jesu, from heaven to earth"), Zahn No. 1912a (a.k.a. "
Hast du denn, Jesus, dein Angesicht gänzlich verborgen").
Model Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren, BWV 137, movement 2 (alto solo). ==Publication==