The Chorale Fantasia on ‘Nun freut euch, lieben Christen gmein’, BuxWV210 is based on Martin Luther’s Advent hymn (‘Be glad now all you Christian men’), published in about 1524; the melody is thought to have been derived by him from a secular source. The ten variations of this grand work accord with the ten verses of the hymn and deploy a fascinating variety of textures, metres and organ resources.
from notes by Relf Clark © 2008
