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Bach chorales for trombone quartet

Fifty of Bach's four-part chorales arranged for four trombones, free to download. Full score, a book for each part and MusicXML, with Bach's harmony exactly as he wrote it.

The Trombone Quartet Hymnal, Vol. 3: Fifty Bach Chorales

Chorales from the St Matthew and St John Passions, the Christmas Oratorio, the motets and the cantatas, including Ein feste Burg, Nun danket alle Gott, Wachet auf and the Passion Chorale. The download has the full score, separate books for Trombones 1, 2 and 3 and bass trombone, and MusicXML files for every chorale so you can adapt them to your own group. Each chorale fits on one page, so there are no page turns. All the music is public domain and the edition is released under Creative Commons (CC BY 4.0), so your quartet can copy, share and perform it freely.

Free download · PDF + MusicXML · zip, about 2.2MB

Cover of The Trombone Quartet Hymnal Volume 3: Fifty Bach Chorales
Cover
Score preview: Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, Bach chorale arranged for trombone quartet
No. 2 · Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme
Score preview: Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott, Bach chorale arranged for trombone quartet
No. 29 · Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott

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The 50 chorales

In the order of the church year, numbered as in the book. Each is named after its tune; where an English hymn is sung to the same tune, it is shown alongside.

Advent

  1. Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (sung in English as “Saviour of the nations, come”)
  2. Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (Cantata BWV 140: Gloria sei dir gesungen; sung in English as “Wake, O wake! with tidings thrilling”)

Christmas and Epiphany

  1. Vom Himmel hoch, da komm’ ich her (Christmas Oratorio: Ach, mein herzliebes Jesulein; sung in English as “From heaven above to earth I come”)
  2. Ermuntre dich, mein schwacher Geist (Christmas Oratorio: Brich an, o schönes Morgenlicht; sung in English as “Break forth, O beauteous heavenly light”)
  3. Es ist gewißlich an der Zeit (Christmas Oratorio: Ich steh an deiner Krippen hier)
  4. Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ (sung in English as “All praise to thee, eternal Lord”)
  5. Lobt Gott, ihr Christen, allzugleich (sung in English as “Let all together praise our God”)
  6. Puer natus in Bethlehem (sung in English as “A child is born in Bethlehem”)
  7. Wir Christenleut’ (sung in English as “We Christians may rejoice today”)
  8. Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern (sung in English as “How brightly shines the morning star”)

Passiontide

  1. Herzliebster Jesu, was hast du verbrochen (St Matthew Passion; sung in English as “Ah, holy Jesus, how hast thou offended”)
  2. Nun ruhen alle Wälder (St Matthew Passion: Ich bin's, ich sollte büßen; sung in English as “The duteous day now closeth”)
  3. Was mein Gott will, das g’scheh’ allezeit (St Matthew Passion: Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit; sung in English as “The will of God is always best”)
  4. Werde munter, mein Gemüte (St Matthew Passion: Bin ich gleich von dir gewichen; sung in English as “Jesu, joy of man's desiring”)
  5. O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden (St Matthew Passion: Befiehl du deine Wege; sung in English as “O sacred head, sore wounded”)
  6. O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden (St Matthew Passion; sung in English as “O sacred head, sore wounded”)
  7. O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden (St Matthew Passion: Wenn ich einmal soll scheiden; sung in English as “O sacred head, sore wounded”)
  8. Christus, der uns selig macht (St John Passion)
  9. Valet will ich dir geben (St John Passion: In meines Herzens Grunde; sung in English as “All glory, laud and honour”)
  10. Jesu Leiden, Pein und Tod (St John Passion: Er nahm alles wohl in acht)
  11. Herzlich lieb hab’ ich dich, o Herr (St John Passion: Ach Herr, laß dein lieb Engelein; sung in English as “Lord, thee I love with all my heart”)
  12. O Traurigkeit, o Herzeleid (sung in English as “O darkest woe”)

Easter

  1. Christ lag in Todesbanden (sung in English as “Christ Jesus lay in death's strong bands”)
  2. Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der den Tod überwand
  3. Erschienen ist der herrliche Tag
  4. Heut’ triumphieret Gottes Sohn

Whitsun

  1. Komm, heiliger Geist, Herre Gott (Motet BWV 226: Du heilige Brunst, süßer Trost; sung in English as “Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord”)
  2. Nun bitten wir den heiligen Geist (sung in English as “To God the Holy Spirit let us pray”)

General

  1. Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott (sung in English as “A mighty fortress is our God”)
  2. Nun danket alle Gott (sung in English as “Now thank we all our God”)
  3. Hast du denn, Jesu, dein Angesicht gänzlich verborgen (sung in English as “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty”)
  4. Nun lob’, mein’ Seel’, den Herren (sung in English as “My soul, now bless thy Maker”)
  5. Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan (sung in English as “Whate'er my God ordains is right”)
  6. Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten (sung in English as “If thou but suffer God to guide thee”)
  7. Herr Gott, dich loben alle wir (sung in English as “All people that on earth do dwell”)
  8. Freu’ dich sehr, o meine Seele (sung in English as “Comfort, comfort ye my people”)
  9. Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier (sung in English as “Blessed Jesus, at thy word”)
  10. Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele (sung in English as “Deck thyself, my soul, with gladness”)
  11. Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein (sung in English as “When in the hour of utmost need”)
  12. Aus meines Herzens Grunde
  13. Es ist das Heil uns kommen her (sung in English as “Salvation unto us has come”)
  14. Es ist genug, so nimm, Herr, meinen Geist
  15. Mit Fried’ und Freud’ ich fahr’ dahin (sung in English as “In peace and joy I now depart”)
  16. Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend’ (sung in English as “Lord Jesus Christ, be present now”)
  17. Jesu, der du meine Seele
  18. Jesu, meine Freude (Motet BWV 227: Weicht, ihr Trauergeister; sung in English as “Jesu, priceless treasure”)
  19. Vater unser im Himmelreich (sung in English as “Our Father, thou in heaven above”)
  20. Allein Gott in der Höh’ sei Ehr’ (sung in English as “All glory be to God on high”)

Evening

  1. Nun sich der Tag geendet hat
  2. Ach bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ (sung in English as “Lord Jesus Christ, with us abide”)

About the arrangements

Every chorale is transcribed note for note from the Breitkopf & Härtel edition of Bach's 371 vierstimmige Choralgesänge (Leipzig, 1871, edited by Alfred Dörffel), which follows the first collected edition made by C. P. E. Bach and Kirnberger in 1784 to 1787. Each one was then checked against a separate encoding of the same chorale, with the printed page deciding every difference. Nothing is reharmonised: soprano goes to Trombone 1, alto to Trombone 2, tenor to Trombone 3 and bass to bass trombone, transposed down as one block. Repeats are written out, and every pause is marked in all four parts. The provenance pages in every book give each chorale's BWV number, its number in the Breitkopf collection and where Bach used it.

The keys suit trombones: twelve are in C major, nine in D minor, eight in B♭ and most of the rest in F, G or E♭. Trombone 1 stays at or below G4 in more than half of them and never goes above B♭4. The bottom part needs a bass trombone, because Bach's bass lines go deep: most stay at A1 or above, seven reach G1 and seven reach F1.

Free to copy, share and perform

The edition is released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0). Print it for the whole section, perform it, record it, rearrange it: all allowed. The only condition is credit: The Trombone Quartet Hymnal, arr. Matthew Waters, basstrombone.co.uk.

Want more? Vol. 1 has 59 hymns and Vol. 2 has 26 Christmas carols, free in the same way.

FAQ

Questions

Can we play these in a service or a paid concert?

Yes. Bach's music is public domain and the edition is released under CC BY 4.0, so you can perform, record and share it anywhere, including paid concerts, as long as you credit the arrangement.

Why are the titles in German?

Each chorale is named after its tune, as Bach and the 1871 edition name it. Where an English hymn is sung to the same tune, the list shows it, so you can spot A Mighty Fortress, Now Thank We All Our God or the Old Hundredth at a glance.

How hard are they?

They are hymn-style, one chorale to a page, with Bach's inner parts kept as he wrote them, so the lower parts move more than in most hymn books. Trombone 1 stays at or below G4 in more than half and never goes above B♭4. The bottom part is for bass trombone: it reaches G1 in seven chorales and F1 in seven more.

Will they work for euphoniums, tubas or mixed low brass?

The parts are in bass clef at concert pitch. Euphonium and baritone players who read bass clef can take the upper parts, and a tuba can take the bass part. For treble-clef parts or other instruments, open the MusicXML in MuseScore, Sibelius or Dorico and transpose.

Is there more?

Yes. Vol. 1 has 59 hymns and Vol. 2 has 26 Christmas carols, free in the same way, on the resources page.

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