Bist du bei mir, BWV 508 (string quartet)

Title: Bist du bei mir, BWV 508

Composer: J. S. Bach, arr. David Gable

Instrumentation: Violin 1; Violin 2; Viola; Cello

Printout: 4 pages

Note: Though originally written by Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, Bist du bei mir has been attributed to Bach for such a long time that it would not be recognized under any other name. Stötzel’s original appeared in 1718 in his opera Diomedes, and it was rearranged for voice and continuo and copied into the second Notenbuch für Anna Magdalena Bach (1725). Since the bass line in the notebook is different from (and, frankly, better than) Stötzel’s, and since the copy is believed to have been written by Anna Magdalena herself, it is possible, even probable, that she was responsible for the revisions.