Bach's "Ich Ruf Zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ"

A wonderful “soundtrack” for the somber season of Lent.

At the beginning of last Lent, I was four months into taking organ lessons. Because I had won these lessons through the American Guild of Organists program, I had agreed – upon receipt of the lessons – to play at a recital in June, where the scholarship awardees demonstrate what they have learned so far.

The year prior, my mother and I had watched the FSSP’s diaconal ordinations. While the deacons were being ordained, the music being played on the organ caught my ear. I took my phone, went on Google, and asked it to identify the melody. The results listed Bach’s chorale, “Ich Ruf Zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ.” I found a good recording of the piece on the organ and started listening to it. The more I listened to it, the more I loved it. Yet never, at that point in my life, did I ever dream that I would someday learn to play the organ – much less, that I would one day be able to play that piece myself. 

When my organ teacher asked me if I had any ideas for the pieces I wanted to play at the recital last year, I shyly mentioned “Ich Ruf Zu Dir.” She thought it was a good idea, soon provided me with the score, and instructed me how to learn it. It was not easy. I was a beginner, and the piece had a very involved pedal and left-hand part. 

I started learning this piece around Lent last year. (I don’t know that I thought of it, but I could very well have offered the learning process as part of my Lenten penance.) When you play an instrument, a piece of music is not just something you learn – it becomes part of your life. You play it over and over again over a certain period of time; it becomes ingrained in your fingers (and feet, if the instrument you play happens to be the organ); you read the notes in your mind while you hear the piece for the umpteenth time in your head as you do the dishes, or walk around the house, knit, or even when you wake up after a night’s sleep.

Bach’s chorale followed that route with me. Without me realizing it, it became the “soundtrack” to last Lent. I did not finish learning it by the time Easter came, but often when I hear “Ich Ruf Zu Dir,” I think of the cold Lenten days, and how I felt through them. And when I think of the Lenten days, I hear “Ich Ruf Zu Dir.”

Which is why I wanted to share this piece with the readers of Heavenly Chant. Set in F minor, “Ich Ruf Zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ” showcases a haunting melody and is the perfect piece to become familiar with during Lent. You can find my favorite organ version here, or linked below. Listen carefully for the underlying pedal part, and the left-hand accompaniment, which could both be a piece on their own. To me, the mood of this chorale is not entirely straightforward; the melody is overwhelmingly sad, but at the same time peculiarly sweet, and is utterly, somberly beautiful. You could say that it is an analogy for how the Lenten season should be for us – a beautiful season tinged with a bit of sadness as we spend it in contemplation of Our Lord’s Passion – but still somewhat sweet, because we know our acts of penance are a consolation to Him, as well as that it all ends in the joy of the Resurrection. 

Thumbnail image credit: New Liturgical Movement