In BWV663 the gentle affect is continued in a triple-time setting that contains elements of a courante. The chorale is given in the tenor, with fewer ornaments in an accompaniment that contains the chief motivic interest of the setting. A more static pedal line creates simple harmony that is based around parallel and contrary motion, with stricter counterpoint and imitative sequences that are based around a smaller array of motivic material derived from the chorale. As with BWV662, there is a similarly extemporary feel to the chorale left hand at the end of the lines, perhaps projecting the idea of ‘Fried’ (‘peace’) and the ‘end of war’ mentioned in the first stanza of the chorale text.

from notes by George Parsons © 2017