Gal Shalev wrote:

>I was listening innocently to my Herreweghe's Bach Motets while doing my
>homework when I heard a striking similarity between the motet "Jesu Mein
>Freude" To "Jesu Mein Freude" from a cantata by Buxtehude that I am singing
>in my choir.  When I compared the text of the Buxtehude to the Bach I
>discovered that the whole first part of the motet is sraightly quoting
>and extremely similar to the Bach.

You mean Jesu Meine Freude (not mein).  Of course they are the same.  The
cantata by Buxtehude and the motet by Bach are both based on the Lutheran
chorale tune which predates both of them.  The originality is in what each
composer did to enhance the original!  The text also predates both
composers.

Kevin Sutton