Another Chorale Prelude today. This time on Herr Gott, dich loben alle wir. This chorale is better known as Old Hundredth in most English speaking countries. The typical first line of the chorale in english is "Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow", but it can be found serving different texts. I found out in the Catholic liturgy this tune is often used as a Song of Farewell in the Diocese for which I work.
It is a typical Pachelbel chorale prelude--the upper two voices begin by playing a part of the first phrase of the chorale before breaking off in to free counterpoint. At this point, the pedals proceed to play the chorale in augmentation, or at twice the speed of the chorale as heard in the upper two voices. Each phrase of the chorale is heard in this way, always beginning with one of the upper voices playing part of the chorale tune, followed by imitation in the second voice, and finally the chorale in the pedals at augmented speed. In the end, I find that these settings of Pachelbel always leave the chorale tune as being fulfilled: heard enough to be remembered while also being elaborated enough to make the compositions interesting to listen to and study.
In this recording, I used a Principal 8' and 4' with a Flute 8' and 4' stop in the manuals. In the pedals, I used the Subbass 16', Principal 8', Octave 4', and Posaune 16'. I am planning on using this for the prelude this weekend, probably with a reduced registration of Flutes 8' and 4' in the manuals with the Subbass 16', Bourdon 8', and the Oboe 8' coupled from the Swell manual for a more meditative take on the piece.