BWV659 is one of the jewels of the collection, whether seen in the textures (the walking bass), the harmony (fluid inner parts, effortless sequences, and beautifully crafted suspensions), or the expressively ornamented chorale. Of the three settings, the current performer sees the first as representative specifically of the birth of Christ. The G minor key matches some of the greatest utterances on the organ for Bach—the ‘Sei gegrüsset partita’, the Fantasia and Fugue—and the cantus lines emphasise ascent, even when the chorale phrase doesn’t; perhaps a surprising emphasis given the text, which references the descent of the Saviour in the Incarnation. The inner parts are typically dense in motifs that are traceable both to the chorale and to the ornamented cantus firmus line. There are four phrases, with long episodes in between, giving a meditative focus. Note the beautiful harmonic sequences found throughout this setting, which is a feature of the writing of all three ‘Nun komm’ settings.

from notes by George Parsons © 2017