Bach’s beloved chorale setting, commonly known as Jesu Joy of man's desiring, transcribed for the pipe organ by James Kennerley.

It is a setting of the choral from the cantata Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147, composed in 1724 when Bach was cantor at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig. This version fills out the harmony where many other arrangements choose to leave the texture bare. The accompanimental string lines are included throughout the ritornelli full since they include so much beauty and charm. I have deliberately left stop indications to a bare minimum, instead preferring to illustrate the salient orchestral timbres from the full score, with an understanding that the most successful registration schemes will vary widely from instrument to instrument.

Watch a performance of this transcription by James, performed on the Kotzschmar Memorial Organ in Portland, Maine: https://youtu.be/uLzV4F5P-D8