Ach wie nichtig, ach wie flüchtig, BWV 644

Ach wie nichtig, ach wie flüchtig, BWV 644

Johann Sebastian Bach · baroque · Level 3 · Independent toes

In the score, the score has a real pedal staff (3-staff system) carrying a gentle, mostly slow-moving pedal line (automated motion proxy 0.864, on the gentle end). That places Ach wie nichtig, ach wie flüchtig, BWV 644 at Level 3 · Independent toes. On John Stainer’s pedal syllabus this sits at the Use of Alternate Toes / Scale-Passages stage: An independent toes-only pedal line, still before the heel is introduced.

Why this piece teaches it

Use of Alternate Toes: Exercises. Scale-Passages.

— Stainer, The Organ: A Manual of the True Principles of Organ Playing (Novello Primer, 1877; ed. 1909) (the Use of Alternate Toes / Scale-Passages 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: view on IMSLP (local copy not yet collected).