Organ pedal curriculum › Level 2 · Single moving bass
Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 639
pedal sustained · pedal diff 1/5 · manual diff 2/5
Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 639
Johann Sebastian Bach · baroque · Level 2 · Single moving bass
In the score, the score has a real pedal staff (3-staff system) carrying a gentle, mostly slow-moving pedal line (automated motion proxy 1.022, on the gentle end). That places Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 639 at Level 2 · Single moving bass. On John Stainer’s pedal syllabus this sits at the Use of Alternate Toes / Scale-Passages on Pedals stage: A simple moving bass played with alternating toes is Stainer’s next step after the held note.
Why this piece teaches it
Scale-Passages on Pedals. Use of Alternate Toes: Exercises.
— Stainer, The Organ: A Manual of the True Principles of Organ Playing (Novello Primer, 1877; ed. 1909) (the Use of Alternate Toes / Scale-Passages on Pedals stage of the pedal syllabus).
Confidence: ✓ score-verified. Pedal presence confirmed from the score by the staff detector, and its pedal-motion proxy ranks among the gentlest of the confirmed pedal pieces — i.e. real but undemanding pedal work.
Score (PDF): open / download the score — the site’s own copy, source on IMSLP.
Score
To import into forScore on iPad/iPhone: open the score, then tap Safari’s Share button → Copy to forScore. The score arrives tagged with its title, composer and genre.