Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring by Bach for Guitar

Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) – PDF sheet music arranged for classical guitar, from Cantata BWV 147. Comes with both a notation-only edition and a tab edition. The level is intermediate (Grade 4). YouTube Lesson & Performance. This is a great piece to play but also good for gigs such as weddings. I tried to keep true to the original but also keep it simple enough to sight-read at gigs.

My PDF Sheet Music Edition – Includes both notation-only and tab editions.

Here’s some more info via Wiki: “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring (German: Jesu, meiner Seelen Wonne) is the most common English title of the 10th movement of the cantata Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben (Heart and Mouth and Deed and Life), BWV 147 composed by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1716 and 1723. Today, it is often performed at wedding ceremonies as well as during Christian festive seasons like Christmas & Resurrection Sunday slowly and reverently…Bach in his original scoring, for voices with trumpet, oboes, strings, and continuo. Written during his first year in Leipzig, Germany, this chorale movement is one of Bach’s most enduring works.”

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Playing a wedding?

Check out this article on how to play at weddings.

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Bradford Werner
Bradford Werner

Bradford Werner is a classical guitarist and music publisher from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He originally created this site for his students at the Victoria Conservatory of Music but now shares content worldwide. Curating guitar content helps students absorb the culture, musical ideas, and technique of the classical guitar. Bradford also has a YouTube channel with over 94,000 subscribers and 13 million views. He taught classical guitar at the Victoria Conservatory of Music for 16 years and freelanced in Greater Victoria for 20 years and now dedicates much of his time curating content online and helping connect the classical guitar community. See more at his personal website.

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