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Motets, Chorales and Songs
There is no exaggeration in the statement that Bach's religious music is his profession of faith, his "I do" for Jesus Christ. It is a measure of his personal piety. It is reflected in his compositions that can be regarded as music prayer. Chorales, the basis of cantatas and passions with the texts about the love to God, about the sin, mercy, redemption and salvation, constituted Bach's pre-source for all his religious compositions. The Chorales composed for organ execution are brilliant examples.
There are seven motets preserved. We know that they were the only compositions that were still executed in Lipsk by the St. Thomas's Church's choir after the death of Bach. They constitute the summary of this many hundred years old form.
Bach's music seems to be eternal, like any phenomenon, like nature itself. It is that that the incredible vitality of Bach's art, its greatness and invariability during ages consists in.
Tadeusz Szeligowski
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