Holy Cross Lutheran Church ELCA
The Eight “Little” Preludes and Fugues by J.S. Bach         Jack Hamill
 
The Pre-service music for September and November 2023 will feature the eight “Little” Preludes and Fugues attributed to J.S. Bach. These pieces form the must play for the beginning organ student.  I, myself, began organ lessons playing these pieces.
 
According to Hermann Keller, a Bach Scholar, he questions whether the pieces are actually composed by J.S. Bach due to obvious compositional errors and similar style of Johann Ludwig Krebs a possible composer for the pieces since he was a pupil of Bach in Leipzig.
 
The Word “little” refers to these pieces as opposed to large scale works by Bach which bear the same title.  For most people who play and know Bach, the BWV listing makes things much clearer.
 
The letters BWV stand for Bach Werke Verseichnis, the works of J.S. Bach catalogued by Wolfgang Schmieder, an early scholar of the music of J. S. Bach. Each work by J.S. Bach has a BWV number to identify it within the Bach Opus.  These eight pieces have BWV listings from 553-560.
 
These pieces are in a variety of styles, each delightful in its own way. Please come
early to the Sunday Services below:
 
(In church attendance only.  Music will not be streamed or podcasted.)