Published
Alle Menschen müssen sterben (BWV 643)
Bach’s prelude on “Alle Menschen müssen sterben” is extraordinarily sweet and gentle, with thirds and sixths that rock back and forth almost like a cradle. If this is death, Bach seems to say, it is nothing more than falling asleep in the arms of a loving God. At the end, there’s an extraordinary moment. Bach’s biographer Philipp Spitta was profoundly moved by this writing: “What a tender melancholy lurks in the chorale ‘Alle Menschen müssen sterben’ … what an indescribable expression … arises in the last bar from the false relation between C sharp and C, and the almost imperceptible ornamentation of the melody!”
This is such a Great Choral. One thing I love about this choral is the flexibility it can be. If it’s played slow it’s clearly the solemn side of death but if it’s played this fast tempo it can be interpreted as the joy after death where the spirit leaves the body and enters the after life to meet God. I know people may not like this video but to me and others he played it to the right tempo that depicts the joy after death and joy to finally leave earth and meet God.Honestly listening to how Wolfgang Zerer played this choral brought tears of joy to my eyes.
Played too fast – its a mournful piece as often played at Funeral services