Präludium und Fuge F-Dur "In Dulci Jubilo"

Christmas is approaching ominously, so what could be more natural than to let the organ ring out in "sweet joy"? That is precisely what "In dulci jubilo" means ....

So what is this song all about?
It first appeared in a song collection probably around 1400, in an assured version by Peter von Dresden in 1440.

Depending on the version, the song contains between four and six stanzas, initially in ten lines, but today in eight. The song was first printed in the "Klugschen Gesangbuch" of 1529, without the (4th) Marian stanza.

The alternating Latin-German version can be found in the Catholic prayer and hymn book Gotteslob under the number 253, a completely German version Nun singet und seid froh, which first appeared in a Hanoverian hymn book in 1646, can be found today in the Protestant hymn book (EG 35).

I composed the present work exactly 3 years ago and have now adapted it on the small but very beautiful sample set of the organ in Kassel Niederzwehren. I have reduced the tempo considerably, so that it now has a playing time of just under 9 minutes. It's hard to say whether it can be played live, I honestly haven't tried it yet. Since the voice leading in my compositions is very dense, as an organist you should try to create a sound result which is manageable with an average fingering. You are welcome to omit notes in the process. This can be done well in the prelude, but in the fugue it is admittedly a difficult undertaking.
In the prelude, the full organ in the "Hauptwerk" alternates with the delicate voices of the Rückpositiv. The organ has very beautiful flute sounds that fit the title of the song very well (in sweet joy).

The fugue begins with the Rückpositiv until all 4 voices, the pedal last, have worked their way through the theme. At the end of page 10, the full organ now enters, the theme is closely led and finally ends under a final 6 bar organ point in the pedal.