Church music is fundamentally different from what we hear on the radio and download from mobile applications. It is different not only in its sound, but also in structure. Even classical works have a more secular color than religious plays. One of the latter is a choral prelude, which arose a long time ago and is still an important component of the service in some Christian denominations.
At first there was a chorale
Perhaps this word will be clear even to the most remote person from music and religion. Choral is a work of church character that is performed by a choir of servants. Concrete events may be sung in it, or one or another prayers, requests, etc. may be reproduced.
Chorales as monophonic, that is, works written with one voice, appeared in the Middle Ages. This was the heyday of church authority, and in addition to the majestic cathedrals that were built everywhere in Europe, it was decided to make serving God a cultural event. So the Gregorian choral appeared, which was performed by monks or other church employees on certain holidays. The creation and development of this genre further had a strong influence on the formation of classical music.
Baroque era
Well, here we are already at the origins of the birth of the choral prelude. The creators of the Baroque era, having survived the Renaissance and all its charms, rethought the essence and significance of this work, made it more secular and interesting. How? It’s just that the chorale has now become polyphonic and, most importantly, has ceased to be called Gregorian, turning into Protestant or Lutheran. Yes, all this happened just during the Reformation and this religious innovation could not but affect the art.
Newly made Protestants began to perform in their own way the once sacred motives for the medieval church and gave them the sound that we can hear now. Decades later, in Germany, the work of Johann Sebastian Bach becomes famous, who became the father of the genre of organ choral prelude.
What it is?
Why is the prelude, and what does this cute little play have to do with such a serious work as a chorale? The fact is that Protestants completely rejected the orthodox church norms inherent in the medieval era. Now the temple has become not a source of fear and blind worship, but a house that will listen and understand each person. Parishioners began not only to listen to the performances of church choirs, but also to sing along with them. So it was decided to write for them a separate part - a prelude (performed in public). It was simpler and more understandable than chorale, divided into voices and helped to understand God and become closer to him.
Why organ?
The choral prelude was always performed with the organ, accompaniment was written for this instrument, and four (standard number) parts were performed by the people. Really it was impossible to "play along" to simple parishioners on a simpler instrument? Of course not. The fact is that the piano at that time did not exist yet, and all the other instruments were not acoustic enough to support the crowd. Moreover, every church was equipped with an organ, so there were no problems with this chic instrument these days - it was found literally at every step.
"Organ notebook"
The first notes of choral prelude written on paper were the property of JS Bach. He literally gave his life to music, and on his account an incredible number of church works, among which chorales are far from the last. Almost everyone has their own choral prelude, which may be a kind of introduction, or it may sound as an independent play. The composer designed all the works of this genre in the Organ Notebook. It was found exactly 46 choral preludes and one incomplete.