The manuscript on which our edition is based is part of a collection of organ works by Hanoverian and Hamburg organists. Our fascicle contains eight chorale arrangements for organ on 14 leaves. With the exception of prelude no. 9 (author's inscription: J P.), all compositions have survived anonymously. The faintly recognisable monogram ‘J T’ on the title page indicates the scribe or the owner. The watermark ‘A’ of the Arnstadt paper mill gave the manuscript its name. The chorale arrangements are - according to concordances - compositions by Johann Michael Bach, Johann Pachelbel and an unknown composer. The manuscript contains an interesting repertoire for the playing of hymns in church services, which has mostly only survived in more recent sources. [...] The partly very valuable ‘classical’ repertoire with compositions by Johann Pachelbel and Johann Michael Bach and its clean and almost error-free transcription make our fascicle a reference source. If one compares the chorale arrangements of our source, of which concordances are known, with the complete editions in which these are included, it becomes apparent that our source offers the simpler and thus probably older readings in compositional details. The brackets for the distribution of the playing hands, which are rarely found in comparable organ repertoire, emphasise the pedagogical purpose of the collection. These are all sufficient reasons to present the ‘Arnstadt Tablature’ as a sheet music edition. Although many songs are no longer part of the repertoire in our church services today, these chorale arrangements are suitable for use in church services as interludes, e.g. during the distribution of communion. It goes without saying that they could also have their place in concerts of sacred music. The chorale arrangements by Johann Pachelbel and his school are still loved by performers and listeners alike for their vocal writing and good polyphony.
From the foreword by Rüdiger Wilhelm
