“Through Adam's Fall” — BWV 637 — it is fascinating how Bach harmonised this choral which illustrates the fall of the human race. With a massive amount of dissonances and chromatic sequences, the effects of the ancestral sin are emphasised in an astonishing way.

To add even more intensity to the piece, I chose a plenum registration featuring trumpets, mixtures and other registers, giving a feeling of severity to the subject of the piece — the fall of man.

The piece ends in a positive manner, using major chords and upward chromatic structures.

The final chord is a major one, encapsulating the idea that even Adam fell, each one of us can be justified by grace, through Jesus — the Last Adam, as the Apostle Paul writes:

“So it is written: «The first man Adam became a living being»; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.” — 1 Corinthians 15:45 (NIV), and

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” — Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)

Location: Rogerius Reformed Church — Oradea, Romania