Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring - J.S.Bach

‘Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring’ needs little in the way of introduction. Taken from a larger cantata (Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben), it is a fine example of a genre Bach enjoyed - the chorale, with organ embellishment. Or rather, the organ prelude, with chorale interjections! The sung chorale is deliberately very simple - the sort of music which the common church-goer could learn and sing. This 'accessibility' was central to Lutheran theology. The organ, meanwhile, plays an elegant, extended, contrapuntally complex melody between the sung phrases. This recording is taken from our recent concert at Llandaff Cathedral. Once again, many thanks to Stephen Moore for his very important rôle in this piece and as our organist for the concert.