Erbarme dich from St Matthew Passion, Transcription by Frederic Chiu

The duet for alto and violin “Erbarme dich“, from the St Matthew Passion of JS Bach, is one of the highlights of the entire Baroque masterpiece. This transcription was begun in the early 2000s, but left unfinished until 2007, on the occasion of the untimely death of the conductor Richard Kapp. I was lucky to have had numerous occasions to work with Maestro Kapp and his Philharmonia Orchestra, and would consider him an important mentor. His death left a prominent vacuum in the NY music scene that has yet to be filled by someone with his combination of experience, knowledge, wisdom, entrepreneurship and consummate artistry. The work was premiered at the Metropolitan Museum’s commemorative concert for Maestro Kapp. It has since been recorded for my Hymns & Dervishes album on Centaur Records, as a finale to that program of music of Gurdjieff/De Hartmann. The newly edited score is available at From my