BWV735 is a Fantasia based on the chorale ‘Valet will ich geben’. The description is apt, highlighting a stylistic freedom to the setting which is grounded in a certain discipline to its structure: the phrases of the prelude closely follow those of the chorale, but the counterpoint that flows from them runs free. The melody is given as a cantus firmus in the obbligato pedal line, though the counterpoint in the manuals is also derived from it. The writing bears comparison with two other of Bach’s preludes from the Eighteen Leipzig chorales: ‘Komm Heiliger Geist’, (BWV651) and ‘Jesus Christus, unser Heiland’, (BWV665): all are linked by the characteristic use of a rhythmic figure (three semiquavers followed by two quavers), generating a joyful affect that stands somewhat in contrast to the chorale’s text (‘Valet will ich dir geben, du arge, falsche Welt’/’I shall say farewell to you, O wicked, false world’).

from notes by George Parsons © 2017