Erbarm dich mein, o Herre Gott BWV 721

Bach's setting of Luther's 1524 chorale is perhaps one of his most famous pieces. The text is a setting of Psalm 51 and in BWV 721, Bach accompanies the chorale melody with pulsing chords in the key of F# minor. The repeating chords are perhaps reminiscent of nails being hammered into the wood of the Cross. The piece is marked 'manualiter' although performers have interpreted this many different ways - some follow the manuals only instruction, whilst others take the bass line, marked with downward pointing stems, in the pedals, allowing the chorale melody to be soloed on a contrasting registration. When I play this piece, I do things slightly differently, taking the chorale melody as solo line in the pedal. This allows for the use of 16ft tone in the manual parts, adding gravitas to this sombre composition.

The 2007 Mocnik organ in Velesovo, sampled by Sonus Paradisi, is very much built in the Thuringian style, making it highly suitable for Bach's organ music. An update to the organ was recently released with beautiful portrait stop jambs, ideal for my setup.