Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe, BWV 22
Piano solo
In brief

The piece has a restrained, meditative character, alternating lyrical sung lines with more articulated passages that drive the musical argument. Technique: focus on General Rhythm (2.5/5) — you must keep a clear but flexible pulse so phrases stay supported rather than collapsing, controlling small expressive hesitations; and on Singing Line (Voix chantante, 2.5/5) — shape cantabile lines at the keyboard with controlled legato and subtle dynamics so the melody breathes like a vocal line. Context: this work is originally a sacred vocal piece by Bach and belongs to his substantial output of cantatas, here approached on piano for study and performance.

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Is this the right work?
MusicCoach difficulty
59/100
Intermediate
Likely range : 47–71/100
Confidence : 38% · to confirm
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 6 to 7

Estimated from our difficulty score, not taken from an exam syllabus. Checked against 333 works on the ABRSM syllabus: the exact grade is right 7 times out of 10, and within one grade 99 times out of 100.

Difficulty estimate by MusicCoach on a scale of 1 to 100.

Where this work sits
050100

Most works cluster between 45 and 65: a small score gap often marks a real step. The highlighted bar shows this work among those for the same instrument.

The MusicCoach difficulty measures a work's overall demands (technique, reading, stamina) on a shared 0-100 scale, consolidated from editorial and pedagogical reference points (Henle, exam syllabuses, curation) and our own analyses. It measures neither musical value nor the practice time YOU will need: two musicians of the same level can experience the same work very differently depending on their strengths (hands used to octaves, quick sight-reading…). The confidence reflects how many reference points sit behind the score and how well they agree — a lightly documented score is flagged “to validate”. For a truly personal bearing, the diagnostic and your space compare each work to YOUR estimated level, which the score alone cannot do.

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Relative difficulty
70%
Among Johann Sebastian Bach
71%
Era
Genre
Estimated skills
Theory
Harmonic analysis
1
Ornaments
Baroque ornaments
1
Technique
Two-voice polyphony
1
Rhythm
General rhythm
1
Style
Baroque style
1
Interpretation
Singing voice
1
What to play next?

Each suggestion combines difficulty gap, risk, confidence and skill overlap. The first two cards in each column are the most useful pedagogically.

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