Max Derrickson

Georg Böhm
(Born in Hohenkirken, Germany in 1661; died in Lüneburg, Germany in 1733)

Partita: Variations on “Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele”

German Baroque composer and organist Böhm was a great organist and an important influence in two ways: his probable tutelage of the young Johann Sebastian Bach, and his great advancement of the partita form for keyboard, which would deeply influence Bach’s later perfection of the solo partitas, which would eventually evolve into the sonata form and the symphony (as we know them today). 

The term “partita” originally referred to a part of a set of variations, but over time it was the name for an entire set of variations – the variation aspect would later evolve into the Chorale Prelude.  Böhm’s magical set of 12 variations on the hymn tune “Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele” (Rejoice greatly, […], and not lose their reference to the original.  Böhm’s compositions are […].