Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir, BWV 131
Piano solo
In brief

On piano, this arrangement of the cantata feels like a restrained, urgent plea, alternating nervous recitative-like passages with fuller choral textures where the bass line often drives the momentum. Pay particular attention to the skill labeled “Polyphony for three voices or more (2.5/5)”, which here requires keeping independent lines clear — typically a melody, an inner counterpoint, and a bass — and balancing them with precise fingering and dynamic separation; and to “Bass clef reading (2.5/5)”, since the left-hand parts demand confident bass-clef reading to anticipate shifts and avoid lagging in the lower voice. The piece appears in Bach's catalogue as BWV 131 and originates as a vocal cantata, which explains the compact counterpoint and communal, prayerful character when played on piano. I do not provide a recording recommendation because I am not fully certain of a definitive reference for this specific piano transcription.

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Is this the right work?
MusicCoach difficulty
54/100
Intermediate
Likely range : 42–66/100
Confidence : 33% · to confirm
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 6

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
58%
Among Johann Sebastian Bach
60%
Era
Genre
Estimated skills
Theory
Harmonic analysis
1
Reading
Bass clef reading
1
Technique
Three-or-more-voice polyphony
1
Style
Baroque style
1
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