An Introduction to Chorale Preludes

The average church organist is at the distinct disadvantage of not being an organist at all. Rather, most are pianists, cajoled or coërced into playing an instrument with which they have little familiarity. For those attempting to make the case for pipe organs in churches, this situation is, to put it mildly, not ideal. While organ technique can only really be improved by lessons, there is also the issue of repertoire: how does an inexperienced organist select simple-enough literature that is not simply awful? Well, I have some suggestions. Here I present the first in what might be a series of posts featuring simple-to-moderate organ repertoire that will prove useful — and musically sound — for organists who don't know where to begin.

Chorale preludes, relatively simple pieces based on hymn tunes, are an essential part of a church organist's repertory. Whenever possible, use them in conjunction with hymns sung to the same tunes. (One finds that chorale settings of past centuries are very often in a higher key than modern settings, for a variety of reasons not worth examining here. Nevertheless, they can be useful in preparing a congregation to sing a given tune.) The annotated list below suggests collections of chorale preludes that are worth knowing. Whenever possible, I provide links to free scores on IMSLP.

J.S. Bach: Orgelbüchlein, BWV 599-644
Though the Orgelbüchlein ("Little Organ Book") is an essential resource for every organist, not every piece in this collection is suitable for beginners. Some, in fact, are as complex as anything Bach wrote for the instrument. Begin with the easiest settings ("Ich ruf zu dir", "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland", "Komm, Gott Schöpfer, heiliger Geist") to start the lifelong process of beginning to understand Bach's genius. Difficulty: easy to hard

J.S. Bach: Neumeister Chorales, BWV 1090-1120
An odd assortment of settings by the young Bach, the Neumeister Chorales are accessible for beginning organists chiefly because they are mostly manuals-only. Difficulty: easy to moderate

Dieterich Buxtehude: Various Chorale Preludes, BuxWV 177-224
This great North German master, an important influence on the young J.S. Bach, produced a number of chorale settings, ranging from the simple to the virtuosic. The manuals-only selections, as well as some pedaliter settings (e.g. "In dulci jubilo", "Nun bitten wir den heiligen Geist", "Wir danken dir, Herr Jesu Christ") are good places to start. Difficulty: easy to hard

Marcel Dupré: Seventy-Nine Chorales, Op. 28
These settings of Lutheran chorales (all with references to Bach settings of the same tunes) are an excellent introduction to the harmonic language of Dupré, one of the most important organist-composers of the twentieth century. By far the finest of the set is No. 41, In dulci jubilo. Difficulty: easy

Marcel Dupré: Sixteen Chorales, Op. 38, "Le tombeau de Titelouze"
These sixteen settings based on plainchant hymns are helpfully arranged in order of difficulty, and cover a range of different liturgical occasions. They are an equally useful introduction to the harmonic language of Dupré. Difficulty: easy to moderate

Gerald Near: St. Augustine's Organ Book
This collection has ten settings based on chants for a variety of liturgical occasions. Near's harmonic language is modern enough to be interesting, but not terribly dissonant. The best setting in this collection is "Ubi caritas", an excellent choice for the Maundy Thursday liturgy. Difficulty: easy to moderate

Johann Pachelbel: Various Chorale Preludes
Pachelbel's settings are valuable not just for their accessibility, but also for their contrapuntal integrity. Difficulty: easy to moderate

Max Reger: 30 Little Chorale Preludes, Op.135a
This is a terribly useful collection of brief chorale preludes. Most are short enough to actually be used as an introduction to a hymn without trying the patience of modern American congregations. Hands down, the best place to start with Reger, a titan of German Romantic organ music. Difficulty: easy

Max Reger: 52 Chorale Preludes, Op. 67
A great variety of settings, often in Reger's densely chromatic style. Difficulty: moderate

Max Reger: 13 Chorale Preludes, Op. 79b
Yet more characteristic Reger pieces. Difficulty: easy to moderate

Christian Heinrich Rinck: Collection of the Most Popular Organ Compositions
Rinck, though often overlooked, is perhaps the most important organ composer of the early 19th century (not counting Mendelssohn). This collection contains, in addition to seventy-seven freely-composed short pieces, twenty-eight chorale preludes that are quite accessible for the beginning organist. Difficulty: easy

Johann Gottfried Walther: Complete Works for Organ
Walther's grasp of counterpoint occasionally rivalled that of his cousin Bach — no small feat. This collection presents a large array of chorale preludes, many of which can be played manualiter. Difficulty: easy to moderate

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Three Preludes Founded on Welsh Hymn Tunes
Though not idiomatic for the organ, Vaughan Williams's three preludes on Welsh hymns are tuneful (especially the gem of the set, Rhosymedre) and on very familiar Anglican melodies. Difficulty: moderate

Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow: Various Chorale Preludes
Zachow is best known to history as Handel's teacher in Halle. His chorale preludes, all manuals-only, are more valuable for their accessibility than for their compositional quality. Difficulty: very easy

In general, collections — especially those published monthly or quarterly, featuring "new" compositions and arrangements — are to be avoided. An important exception is 80 Chorale Preludes: German Masters of the 17th and 18th Centuries, edited by Hermann Keller. This collection provides a variety of chorale settings by Lutheran baroque composers (J.C. Bach, Krebs, Pachelbel, Scheidt, Walther, Zachow, and others), with a mix of pedaliter and manualiter selections. Every organist should have this book.

It is no coïncidence that the vast majority of composers mentioned above wrote for the Lutheran liturgy, and, accordingly, most of the chorale preludes are on tunes that Lutherans sing (or used to sing). No other denomination comes close in terms of the number of hymn settings for organ. However, Anglican organists have an invaluable resource in the innumerable collections of Healey Willan. His chorale preludes range from the easy to the difficult, and, though not always terribly inventive, are indispensable for Anglican liturgy. Other resources for Anglican organists are the settings of Alec Rowley (generally easy) and Hubert Parry (though these are moderate to difficult). Finally, one last composer with a good many collections of competent chorale preludes is the Belgian Flor Peeters.

Did you find this information useful? You may eagerly anticipate the next installment in this series:
2. Freely-composed organ works for beginning organists