Dank sei dir, Herr (c 1905)

Dank sei dir, Herr was originally published in 1905 as an aria discovered in an (unspecified) Handel cantata and edited by Siegfried Ochs. Since Ochs was known as a prominent Berlin composer, choirmaster and academic with a special interest in Bach, Handel and Schütz, his claims were not seriously challenged in his lifetime. Nowadays, when we know so much more about the style of baroque music, Dank sei dir, Herr wouldn’t survive even for a few minutes as a composition by Handel or anyone else of that period. It remains, however, a highly attractive arioso with a sustained melodic line for which Ochs, whatever his qualities as an editor, can take full credit as a composer.