Chorale Prelude on “Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern”
Johann Ludwig KREBS
About this Piece
Following in the footsteps of his teacher J.S. Bach, Johann Ludwig Krebs (1713-1780) continued his master’s penchant for chorale preludes in the Baroque style. He set the 16th-century hymn “Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern” (How beautiful shines the morning star shine) by Phillipp Nicolai (1556-1608) with a relentless ostinato in the right hand and the melody in the left. The starkly simple construction nonetheless has its fascinating moments when simple scalar motion and sequencing become expressive, even catchy.