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  • One Long River of Song
    • 2025-2026 Concerts >
      • The Rise of Polyphony
      • Music's Renaissance
      • A Three-Nation Celebration
      • Exploring the 18th Century
      • Partsong in the Romantic Era
      • Johannes Brahms and the Geometry of Hope
      • Music for Modern Times
    • Donate today!
  • Tickets
    • Tickets
    • Subscriptions
  • Who we are and What we do
    • Board of Directors and Staff
    • Mission Statement
  • Our Ensembles
    • Sonoma Bach Choir
    • Circa 1600
    • Green Mountain Consort
    • Live Oak Baroque Orchestra
  • Support
    • Donate
    • Sponsor a Singer!
    • Escrip & Amazon Smile
  • Resources
    • Virtual Offerings - Archive >
      • The Choir Loft
      • Virtual BachTalk
      • Adventures in Sightsinging
      • Madrigal Mondays
      • Chorale Wednesdays
      • Motet Fridays
      • Virtual Recording Projects
      • Virtual Concerts >
        • Live Oak Baroque Orchestra
        • Music for these Distracted Times - Barefoot All-Stars
        • Agave Baroque American Originals
        • Bach's Long Walk to Lübeck - Anne Laver, organ
    • Concert Programs
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​O Mensch bewein dein Sünde groß - Sigismund Paminger
Yes, it's Wednesday: Chorale of the Week Day! I'm kind of going rogue here, because (gasp!) this is not a Bach chorale. It is a setting of a tune which we already know and love, though, in versions by Bach
(and also, last Fall, by Michael Praetorius).


But the composer here is not so famous. He's called Sigismund Paminger, the son of a much better-known (though not exactly a household name [yet]) composer, Leonhard Paminger. Sigismund edited the complete works of his father, and inserted within the multi-volume collection a single composition of his own, this stunning setting of 'O Mensch bewein dein Sünde groß'.
​The wonderful recording is by the German quartet Stimmwerck.

​
Since you know the tune already, you will appreciate the special features of this arrangement: Flowing Renaissance counterpoint; canonic passages between soprano and tenor; spare modal harmonies. It seems somehow to be the perfect piece for this moment, music to assuage our fears and anxieties and to bring much-needed balm to our souls.
Download Score
Midi Practice Track
Soprano Midi
Alto Midi
Tenor Midi
Bass Midi
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