Johann Sebastian Bach

Sacred Vocal Works

Cantatas

Bach's sacred cantatas are among his most treasured and ample groups of pieces. They come predominately from his first years in Leipzig (1723–1750). The main movement types are arias, duos, and choruses, interleaved with recitatives. Instrumentation varies according to the text: Bach lived in a time of many conventions associating specific instruments with attitudes and emotions such as grief and joy but also triumph, sorrow, contrition, and so forth.

Cantatas Nos. 1–10 (BWV 1–10)

Item No.	Title	Catalogue No.	Voices	Instruments	Key	Score
No. 1	Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern	BWV 1	SATB	2Hn, 2ObdC; 2VnPr, 2Vn, Va, Bc	G Major	BWV 1
No. 2	Ach Gott, von Himmel sieh darein	BWV 2	SATB	4Trb, 2Ob; 2Vn, Va, Bc	F Major	BWV 2
No. 3	Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid	BWV 3	SATB	2ObdA; 2Vn, Va, Bc	A Major	BWV 3
No. 4	Christ lag in Todesbanden	BWV 4	SATB	Crn, 3Trb; 2Vn, 2Va, Bc	E Minor	BWV 4
No. 5	Wo soll ich fliehen hin	BWV 5	SATB	2Ob, Sl Tr; 2Vn, Va, Bc	G Minor	BWV 5
No. 6	Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden	BWV 6	Example	Example	Example	Example
No. 7	Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kamm	BWV 7	Example	Example	Example	Example
No. 8	Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben	BWV 8	Example	Example	Example	Example
No. 9	Es ist das Heil uns kommen her	BWV 9	Example	Example	Example	Example
No 10	Meine Seel erhebt den Herren	BWV 10	Example	Example	Example	Example

Cantatas Nos. 11–50 (BWV 11–50)

If there is a baseline for measuring Bach's progress as a composer of cantatas, the cantata BWV 23 is it. On 7 February 1723 Bach used it for his audition for the position of cantor at the Thomas Kirche in Leipzig. It opens with an Adagio for soprano and contralto and concludes with a robust chorus of substantial proportions.

Item No.	Title	Catalogue No.	Voices	Instruments	Key	Score
Example	Example	Example	Example	Example	Example
No. 23	Du wahrer Gott und Davids Sohn	BWV 23	SATB	2Ob; 2Vn, Va, Bc	C Minor	BWV 23
Example	Example	Example	Example	Example	Example
No. 42	Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbats	BWV 42	SATB	2Ob, Fg; 2Vn, Va, Org, Bc	F# Minor	BWV 42
No. 43	Gott fähret auf mit Jauchzen	BWV 43	SATB	3Tr, Timp, 2Ob; 2Vn, Va, Bc	G Major	BWV 43
No. 44	Sie werden euch in den Bann tun	BWV 44	SATB	2Ob, Fg; 2Vn, Va, Bc	Bb Major	BWV 44
No. 45	Es ist dir gesagt, Mensch, was gut ist	BWV 45	SATB	2Fl, 2Ob; 2Vn, Va, Bc	E Major	BWV 45
No. 46	Schauet doch und sehet, ob irgend ein Schmerz sei	BWV 46	SATB	2Fl, Tr, 2ObdC; 2Vn, Va, Bc	D Minor	BWV 46
No. 47	Wer sich selbst erhöhet, der soll erniedriget werden	BWV 47	SATB	2Ob; 2Vn, Va, Bc	G Minor	BWV 47
No. 48	Ich elender Mensch, wer wird mich erlösen	BWV 48	SATB	Tr, 2Ob; 2Vn, Va, Bc	G Minor	BWV 48
No. 49	Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen	BWV 49	SATB	ObdA; 2Vn, Va, Org, Bc	E Major	BWV 49

Performing editions of Bach cantatas by Craig Smith (Emmanuel Music)

Craig Smith (1947–2007), the founder of the ensemble Emmanuel Music in Boston, was perhaps the most devoted conductor of the genre active in the U.S. The editions appearing in the table below reflect his ideas about how the pieces should be performed. These editions were made by CCARH in cooperation with the conductor.

Catalogue No.	Title	Voices	Instruments	Score	Choral score	Parts
BWV 135	Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder	SATB	Example
BWV 136	Example	SATB	Example
Example	Example	Example	Example
Example	Example	Example	Example
Example	Example	Example	Example

Motets

Bach's six motets are well known to choirs and choral groups. Each one was composed and performed for a funeral or memorial service. Each reflects on the personal relationship between the recently deceased and God by proclaiming joy at the imminent reunion with Him in Heaven. Nos. 4 and 6 are thought to have been composed during Bach's Weimar period (1708–1717), the remainder subsequently. These were composed between 1723 and 1732, during Bach's long tenure in Leipzig. Opinions vary on the question of whether two additions motets ("Ich lasse dich nicht," BWV Anh. 159, and "Jauchzet dem Herrn, alle Welt," BWV 160) are partly by Bach or entirely by other members of his family. Although some motets were composed for funeral services, others may have been performed at festive celebrations.

Work No.	Title	Catalogue No.	Voices	Score
No. 1	Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied	BWV 225	SATB, SATB	BWV 225
No. 2	Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf	BWV 226	SATB, SATB	BWV 226
No. 3	Jesu, meine Freude	BWV 227	SSATB	BWV 227
No. 4	Fürchte dich nicht, ich bin bei dir	BWV 228	SATB, SATB, insts.	BWV 228
No. 5	Komm, Jesu, komm	BWV 229	SATB	BWV 229
No. 6	Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden	BWV 230	SATB, Bc	BWV 230

Masses

Mass in B minor (BWV 232)

Bach's Mass in B minor was assembled in bits and pieces. Like the building of a great cathedral, its overall structure and content may not have been appreciated by those who perceived only a few gargoyles or saw one stained-glass window. In its entirety it was a colossus of its own kind. It was difficult to comprehend. It required a long acquaintance to absorb its dimensions, angles, and superstructures.

Historical and cultural background

Bach presented his first setting of the Kyrie and Gloria to Friedrich August II, Elector of Saxony, soon after his ascension in 1733. The Saxon court had converted to Catholicism in 1697, partly to facilitate an eventual link to the Polish throne, and the new duke also served as Augustus III of Poland. With his Thuringian origins, Bach served Leipzig's Thomas-Schule (from 1723 until his death in 1750) with the strict devotion characteristic of Lutheranism of the time. Bach was born under the shadow of the Wartburg, where Martin Luther translated the Greek New Testament into the German vernacular.

Elsewhere at the time the idea of a devout Protestant composing an elaborate Catholic mass would have presented many conflicts of ideology and interpretation, but Bach transcended those conflicts by allowing art to guide him through the process. Bach expanded the Credo and completed the remaining sections of the mass in 1748 and 1749. In its fullest form the mass became a resume of the composer's earlier activities, as it threaded elements of cantatas from his Weimar period into the fabric. Bach never felt his compositions were "perfect enough," and in recycling their remnants he also sought to improve them. In the end, the Mass in B minor stands as an epitome of Bach's musical career. In some accounts Bach's goals went further still by embedding elements of the stile antico and Renaissance polyphony into his magnum opus.

Liturgical structure and musical specifications

Musically, the mass relies heavily on choral numbers, predominately for five voices (SSATB). (A point of controversy in recent years has been the question of whether these parts were sung exclusively, in Bach's presence, by soloists, by a chorus, or by a combination of the two.) Familiar and uncommon instruments are arrayed as appropriate. Overall, the timbre varies from one piece to the next. The elements of an ordinary mass are all present, but Bach has grouped them in his own way. What he calls the Missa (Mass) consists of the Kyrie and the Gloria. In keeping with the practice of other composers of his time, Bach makes each line of text the subject of a separate movement. Departing from tradition, he calls the Credo section (with its many separate pieces) the Symbolum Nicenum (in parallel with the English term Nicene Creed). The Sanctus constitutes the third section. The fourth section consists of the Hosannah, Benedictus, Agnus Dei, and the benediction, Dona nobis pacem. We divide the score below into Bach's four-sectioned format.

1. Mass in B minor (BWV 232): Kyrie and Gloria ("Missa")

Item number	Title/text	Voices	Instruments	Key	Score
No. 1	Kyrie eleison I	SSATB	2Fl, 2ObdA, Bn; 2Vn, Va, Bc	B Minor	PDF
No. 2	Christe eleison	SS	2Vn, Bc	D Major	PDF
No. 3	Kyrie eleison 2	SATB	2Fl, 2ObdA, Bn; 2Vn, Va, Bc	F# Minor	PDF
No. 4	Gloria; Et in terra pax	SSATB	3Tr, Timp; 2Fl, 2Ob, Bn; 2Vn, Va, Bc	D Major	PDF
No. 5	Laudamus te	S2	3Vn, Va, Bc	A Major	PDF
No. 6	Gratias agimus tibi	SATB	3Tr, Timp; 2Fl, 2Ob, Bn; 2Vn, Va, Bc	D Major	PDF
No. 7	Domine Deus	ST	Fl; 2Vn, Va, Bc	G Major	PDF
No. 8	Qui tollis peccata mundi	SATB	2Fl; 2Vn, Va, Bc	F# Minor	PDF
No. 9	Qui sedes	A	ObdA; 2V, Va, Bc	B Minor	PDF
No. 10	Quoniam tu solus sanctus	B	Hn, 2Bn, Bc	D Major	PDF
No. 11	Cum sancto spiritu	SSATB	3Tr, Timp; 2Fl, 2Ob, Bn; 2Vn, Va, Bc	D Major	PDF

2. Mass in B minor (BWV 232): Credo ("Symbolum Nicenum")

Item number	Title/text	Voices	Instruments	Key	Score
No. 10	Credo in unum Deum	SSATB	2Vn, Bc	A Minor	PDF
No. 11	Patrem omnipotentem	SATB	3Tr, Timp; 2Ob, 2Vn, Va, Bc	D Major	PDF
No. 12	Et in unum Dominum	SA	2Vn, Bc	G Major	PDF
No. 13	Et incarnatus est	SSATB	2ObdA, 2Vn, Va, Bc	B Minor	PDF
No. 14	Crucifixus	SATB	2Fl, 2Vn, Va, Bc	E Minor	PDF
No. 15	Et resurrexit	SSATB	3Tr, Timp; 2Fl, 2Ob, 2Vn, Va, Bc	D Major	PDF
No. 16	Et in Spiritum Sanctum	B	2ObdA	A Major	PDF
No. 17	Confiteor	SSATB	Bc	F# Minor	PDF
No. 18	Et expecto	SSATB	3Tr, Timp; 2Fl, 2Ob, 2Vn, Va, Bc	D Major	PDF

3. Mass in B minor (BWV 232): Sanctus

Item Number	Title	Voices	Instruments	Key	Score
No. 19	Sanctus	SSATB	3Tr, Timp; 3Ob, 2Vn, Va, Bc	D Major	PDF

4. Mass in B minor (BWV 232): Osanna, Benedictus; Agnus Dei, Dona nobis pacem

Item number	Title/text	Voices	Instruments	Key	Score
No. 20 (22)	Osanna	SATB, SATB	3Tr, Timp; 2Fl, 2Ob, 2Vn, Va, Bc	D Major	PDF
No. 21	Benedictus	T	Vn, Bc	B Minor	PDF
No. 23	Agnus Dei	A	2Vn, Bc	G Minor	PDF
No. 24	Dona nobis pacem	SATB	3Tr, Timp; 2Fl, 2Ob, 2Vn, Va, Bc	D Major	PDF

Orchestral Works

Brandenburg Concertos

Bach's six Brandenburg Concertos are demonstrations par excellence of both virtuosity and interplay between most of the instruments available during Bach's time in Thuringia, where Bach was raised and where all his posts lay prior to his move to Leipzig (1723). He composed these works while living in Cöthen, which offered few of the resources required here but may have prompted Bach to show how many different combinations of sounds could be found in the broader palette of sonorities in use within a day's travel from the court.

Work No.	Catalogue No.	Genre / Instruments ?	Key	Score (PDF)	Concordances
No. 1	BWV 1046	Concerto / 2Hn, Ob, Bn; VPiccolo, 2Vn, Va, Vc, Vne, Cem	F Major		BWV 1046/3 = BWV 207a/1. BWV 1046/7 = BWV 207a/5a.
No. 1a	BWV 1046a	Concerto / 2Hn, 3Ob, Bn; 2Vn, Va, Vc, Cem	F Major	BWV 1046a	BWV 1046a/1 = BWV 52/1
No. 2	BWV 1047	Concerto / Tr, Rec, Ob, VnPr; 2Vn, Va, Vc, Vne, Cem	F Major	BWV 1047
No. 3	BWV 1048	Concerto / 3Vn, 3Va, 3Vc, Vne, Cem	G Major	BWV 1048	BWV 1048/1 = BWV 174/1
No. 4	BWV 1049	Concerto / VnPr, Rec; 2Vn, Va, Vc, Vne, Cem	G Major	BWV 1049	BWV 1049 = BWV 1057
No. 5	BWV 1050	Concerto / Fl, VnPr, Cem concertato; Vn, Va, Vc, Vne, Cem	D Major
No. 5a	BWV 1050a	Concerto / Fl, VnPr, Cem concertato; Vn, Va, Vne	D Major	BWV 1050a
No. 6	BWV 1051	Concerto / 2Va, 2Va da gamba, Vc, Vne, Cem	B♭ Major	BWV 1051

The range of styles and instrumental combinations employed gives no hint of uniformity. Bach made no effort to collect them under a unified title, for unlike most manicured groups of six or twelve works these contain no unifying approach, apart from the idea of interweaving of larger and smaller subgroups of timbres within each work. Each piece may first have been heard in a different venue. The First Brandenburg, which is considered the earliest of the lot, highlights horns. The Second features solos by both the recorder and the trumpet. The Third and Sixth call only for strings but they are set apart nonetheless by different specific requirements, with No. 3 requiring only unfretted strings while No. 6 excludes violins but scores for two viole da gamba in their place.

The the Fifth may be the earliest concerto with a solo harpsichord part. It may have been intended to show off the court's new harpsichord by Michael Mietke (1719).

Miscellaneous Concertos

Copies from around 1730 survive for four miscellaneous concertos by Bach. Two or more of them may have been composed earlier, during Bach's Cöthen period. They follow three-movement plans, but relatively little is known about the circumstances for which they were intended. The sinfonia, judged to come from 1743-46, is believed to be detached from a lost cantata.

BWV 1043, for two violins and strings, is one of Bach's best known and most widely played works.

Title	Catalogue No.	Genre / Instruments	Key	Notes	Score
No. 1	BWV 1041	Concerto / VnPr; 2Vn, Va, Bc	A Minor		BWV 1041, 1st movement
No. 2	BWV 1042	Concerto /	E Major		Example
No. 3	BWV 1043	Concerto / 2VnPr; 2Vn, Va, Bc	D Minor		BWV 1043
No. 4	BWV 1044	Concerto /	A Minor		Example
No. 5	BWV 1045	Sinfonia / 3Tr, Timp, 2Ob; 2Vn, Va, Bc	D Major		Example

Orchestral Suites

Bach's orchestral suites come down to our time in editions based on third-party manuscripts. Surviving parts date from c.1730-1745. Some argue that lost originals may have come from Cöthen years (1717-1723), with Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen being the intended recipient. Yet unlike the Brandenburgs, the orchestral suites were not envisaged as a set. (The attribution of a putative fifth orchestra suite, BWV 1070, is widely discredited. BWV 1071, which is effectively a suite, corresponds to BWV 1046a, the alternative version of the first Brandenburg Concerto.)

Each suite has a distinctly different character, each calls for an ensemble of a different composition, and each consists of a different number and sequence of movements. The treble wind instrument in No. 2 (originally in A Minor) is variously claimed to have been an oboe or a violin, although the flute and viola parts for it are in Bach's hand on one manuscript set in Berlin. We know that Bach sometimes modified one or another aspect (e.g. key) of individual works in his instrumental collections to meld the whole into a coherent entity. This may not have been the case with the ouvertures (as the orchestral suites were originally named), but the latitude to make changes is ever-present.

Earlier full or partial versions exist for two of the works, giving latitude to arguments for alternative instrumental choices. In the case of No. 2 (possibly the latest of the group), partisan perspectives on the principal part variously favor the violin (Joshua Rifkin), the flute (Steven Zohn), or the oboe (Gonsalo Ruiz). (Copy dates in the table below do not establish date of composition.)

No. 1. BWV 1066

Movement name	Catalogue No.	Instruments	Key	Earliest copy date	Score
Ouverture	BWV 1066	2Ob, Bn, 2Vn, Va, Vc, Cb, Continuo	C Major	Leipzig, 1724–1725	PDF
Courante	BWV 1066	2Ob, Bn, 2Vn, Va, Vc, Cb, Continuo	C Major	Leipzig, 1724–1725	PDF
Gavottes 1, 2	BWV 1066	2Ob, Bn, 2Vn, Va, Vc, Cb, Continuo	C Major	Leipzig, 1724–1725	PDF
Forlane	BWV 1066	2Ob, Bn, 2Vn, Va, Vc, Cb, Continuo	C Major	Leipzig, 1724–1725	PDF
Menuets 1, 2	BWV 1066	2Ob, Bn, 2Vn, Va, Vc, Cb, Continuo	C Major	Leipzig, 1724–1725	PDF
Bourrées 1, 2	BWV 1066	2Ob, Bn, 2Vn, Va, Vc, Cb, Continuo	C Major	Leipzig, 1724–1725	PDF
Passepieds 1, 2	BWV 1066	2Ob, Bn, 2Vn, Va, Vc, Cb, Continuo	C Major	Leipzig, 1724–1725	PDF

No. 2. BWV 1067

Movement name	Catalogue no.	Instruments	Key	Earliest copy	Score
Ouverture	BWV 1067	Fl, 2Vn, Va, Vc, Cb, Continuo	B Minor	1738–1739	PDF
Rondeau	BWV 1067	Fl, 2Vn, Va, Vc, Cb, Continuo	B Minor	1738–1739	PDF
Sarabande	BWV 1067	Fl, 2Vn, Va, Vc, Cb, Continuo	B Minor	1738–1739	PDF
Bourrées I, II	BWV 1067	Fl, 2Vn, Va, Vc, Cb, Continuo	B Minor	1738–1739	PDF
Polonaise	BWV 1067	Fl, 2Vn, Va, Vc, Cb, Continuo	B Minor	1738–1739	PDF
Menuet	BWV 1067	Fl, 2Vn, Va, Vc, Cb, Continuo	B Minor	1738–1739	PDF
Badinerie	BWV 1067	Fl, 2Vn, Va, Vc, Cb, Continuo	B Minor	1738–1739	PDF

No. 3. BWV 1068

Movement name	Catalogue no.	Instruments	Key	Earliest copy	Score
Ouverture	BWV 1068	3Tr, Timp, 2Ob, 2Vn, Va, Vc, Cb, Continuo	D Major	1730	PDF
Air	BWV 1068	2Vn, Va, Bc	D Major	1730	PDF
Gavottes I, II	BWV 1068	3Tr, Timp, 2Ob, 2Vn, Va, Vc, Cb, Continuo	D Major	1730	PDF
Bourrée	BWV 1068	3Tr, Timp, 2Ob, 2Vn, Va, Vc, Cb, Continuo	D Major	1730	PDF
Gigue	BWV 1068	3Tr, Timp, 2Ob, 2Vn, Va, Vc, Cb, Continuo	D Major	1730	PDF

No. 4. BWV 1069

Movement name	Catalogue no.	Instruments	Key	Earliest copy	Score
Ouverture	BWV 1069	3Tr, Timp, 3Ob, Bn, 2Vn, Va, Vc, Cb, Continuo	D Major	1730	PDF
Bourrées I, II	BWV 1069	3Tr, Timp, 3Ob, Bn, 2Vn, Va, Vc, Cb, Continuo	D Major	1730	PDF
Gavotte	BWV 1069	3Tr, Timp, 3Ob, Bn, 2Vn, Va, Vc, Cb, Continuo	D Major	1730	PDF
Menuets I, II	BWV 1069	3Ob, Bn, 2Vn, Va, Vc, Cb, Continuo	D Major	1730	PDF
Réjouissance	BWV 1069	3Tr, Timp, 3Ob, Bn, 2Vn, Va, Vc, Cb, Continuo	D Major	1730	PDF

Works for Organ

Preludes and Fugues for Organ (BWV 531–535)

These two-movement sets for organ, despite their outward resemblance to the Well-Tempered Clavier and the Inventions, share with the orchestral suites that they span quite a stretch of Bach's lifetime. They share the two-movement arrangement but were undoubtedly composed for varied circumstances. Despite the span of years they cover, these works are set apart by the brilliance of the preludes. As assembled, they begin on consecutive tones of a pentatonic cycle—C Major (c1703-c1707), D Major (1708–1712), E Minor (1703), F Minor (c1712–1717), and G Minor (post-1717). (N.B. Subscripts in the table below distinguish preludes and fugues sharing a BWV number. They do not refer to other versions of the work.)

The first, third, and fifth of these pairs are thought to come from Bach's Arnstadt period (1703-1707), when he was serving as organist at the Neue Kirche. Some of Bach's best-known chorale settings are considered to come from this period.

Work Number	Catalogue Number	Movement	Key	Score
No. 1a	BWV 531a	Prelude	C Major	PDF
No. 1b	BWV 531b	Fugue	C Major	PDF
No. 2a	BWV 532a	Prelude	D Major	PDF
No. 2b	BWV 532b	Fugue	D Major	PDF
No. 3a	BWV 533a	Prelude	E Minor	PDF
No. 3b	BWV 533b	Fugue	E Minor	PDF
No. 4a	BWV 534a	Prelude	F Minor	PDF
No. 4b	BWV 534b	Fugue	F Minor	PDF
No. 5a	BWV 535a	Prelude	G Minor	PDF
No. 5b	BWV 535b	Fugue	G Minor	PDF

Preludes and Fugues for Organ (BWV 549–551)

In this group of three sets of organ preludes and fugues the first and third seem to come from near the start of Bach's tenure in Arnstadt. The middle set is slightly later (up to 1708) but is still likely to come from Bach's first professional position. Considering that they were composed when the composer was between 18 and 20 years of age, they show his enormous promise.

Work No.	Catalogue No.	Movement	Key	Score
No. 1	BWV 549	Prelude & Fugue	C Minor	PDF
No. 2	BWV 550	Prelude & Fugue	G Major	PDF
No. 3	BWV 551	Prelude & Fugue/Organ	A Minor	PDF

Miscellaneous Works for Organ

• Prelude in G Major (BWV 568)

Very little is known about the Prelude in G Major.

• Prelude in A Minor (BWV 569)

Similarly little-known, this work was composed before 1717.

Works for Harpsichord

The Well-Tempered Clavier

Bach composed two books of 24 pairs of works in each key (major and minor) of the "well-tempered" keyboard. Each pair consists of a prelude and fugue. Equal temperament, the practical virtue of which was the ability to play in any key without retuning the instrument, was emerging when Bach compiled the first book of the Well-Tempered Clavier. Equal temperament, in which each named tone is set equidistant (in cents) from adjacent keys, was not instantly adopted everywhere. Organs were generally tuned to meantone temperament. Much of the music of Asia employs just intonation, which requires an instrument to be retuned for the next piece, unless it is in the same key as the preceding one. Bach demonstrated the use of equal temperament by compiling this cycle of short pieces. The preludes could show off the effect of equal temperament in scale passages, while the fugues' imitative processes required consonance in certain places to fulfill the work's satisfaction of the genre's requirements.

WTC: Book I (1722)

Book I of the Well-Tempered Clavier was published towards the end of Bach's tenure at the Cöthen court.

Work No.	Catalogue No.	Genre/instrument	Key	Score
No. 1a	BWV 846a	Prelude/keyboard	C Major	BWV 846a
No. 1b	BWV 846b	Fugue/keyboard	C Major	BWV 846b
No. 2a	BWV 847a	Prelude/keyboard	C Minor	BWV 847a
No. 2b	BWV 847b	Fugue/keyboard	C Minor	BWV 847b
No. 3a	BWV 848a	Prelude/keyboard	C# Major	BWV 848a
No. 3b	BWV 848b	Fugue/keyboard	C# Major	BWV 848b
No. 4a	BWV 849a	Prelude/keyboard	C# Minor	BWV 849a
No. 4b	BWV 849b	Fugue/keyboard	C# Minor	BWV 849b
No. 5a	BWV 850a	Prelude/keyboard	D Major	BWV 850a
No. 5b	BWV 850b	Fugue/keyboard	D Minor	BWV 850b
No. 6a	BWV 851a	Prelude/keyboard	D Minor	BWV 851a
No. 6b	BWV 851b	Fugue/keyboard	D Minor	BWV 851b
No. 7a	BWV 852a	Prelude/keyboard	Eb Major	BWV 852a
No. 7b	BWV 852b	Fugue/keyboard	Eb Major	BWV 852b
No. 8a	BWV 853a	Prelude/keyboard	Eb Minor	BWV 853a
No. 8b	BWV 853b	Fugue/keyboard	D# Minor	BWV 853b
No. 9a	BWV 854a	Example	Example	Example
No. 9b	BWV 854b	Example	Example	Example
No. 10a	BWV 855a	Example	Example	Example
No. 10b	BWV 855b	Example	Example	Example
No. 11a	BWV 856a	Example	Example	Example
No. 11b	BWV 856b	Example	Example	Example
No. 12a	BWV 857a	Example	Example	Example
No. 12b	BWV 857b	Example	Example	Example
No. 13a	BWV 858a	Example	Example	Example
No. 13b	BWV 858b	Example	Example	Example
No. 14a	BWV 859a	Example	Example	Example
No. 14b	BWV 859b	Example	Example	Example
No. 15a	BWV 860a	Example	Example	Example
No. 15b	BWV 860b	Example	Example	Example
No. 16a	BWV 861a	Example	Example	Example
No. 16b	BWV 861b	Example	Example	Example
No. 17a	BWV 862a	Example	Example	Example
No. 17b	BWV 862b	Example	Example	Example
No. 18a	BWV 863a	Example	Example	Example
No. 18b	BWV 863b	Example	Example	Example
No. 19a	BWV 864a	Example	Example	Example
No. 19b	BWV 864b	Example	Example	Example
No. 20a	BWV 865a	Example	Example	Example
No. 20b	BWV 865b	Example	Example	Example
No. 21a	BWV 866a	Example	Example	Example
No. 21b	BWV 866b	Example	Example	Example
No. 22a	BWV 867a	Example	Example	Example
No. 22b	BWV 867b	Example	Example	Example
No. 23a	BWV 868a	Example	Example	Example
No. 23b	BWV 868b	Example	Example	Example
No. 24a	BWV 869a	Example	Example	Example
No. 24b	BWV 869b	Example	Example	Example

Two-part Inventions

J. S. Bach: Invention No. 4 [BWV 775] from the holograph manuscript, Mus.ms. Bach P 610, Berlin, Deutsche Staatsbibliothek.

Bach's two-part inventions (BWV 772-786) constituted one set of several that J. S. Bach composed for his gifted son Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710-1784). The term invention is traced to the solo violin pieces Op. 10 (1713) by Francesco Antonio Bonporti (1672-1749), a Trentine composer. Bach uses the Latin title Inventio, reminding us of his command of the language, which he sometimes taught (in addition to teaching, composing, and performing music). Each three-voice work [see next section] was likewise called a Sinfonia.

Work No.	Catalogue No.	Genre / Instrument	Key	Score
No. 1	BWV 772	Invention / harpsichord	C Major	BWV 772
No. 1a	BWV 772a	Invention / harpsichord	C Major
No. 2	BWV 773	Invention / harpsichord	C Minor	BWV 773
No. 3	BWV 774	Invention / harpsichord	D Major	BWV 774
No. 4	BWV 775	Invention / harpsichord	D Minor	BWV 775
No. 5	BWV 776	Invention / harpsichord	E♭ Major	BWV 776
No. 6	BWV 777	Invention / harpsichord	E Major	BWV 777
No. 7	BWV 778	Invention / harpsichord	E Minor	BWV 778
No. 8	BWV 779	Invention / harpsichord	F Major	BWV 779
No. 9	BWV 780	Invention / harpsichord	F Minor	BWV 780
No. 10	BWV 781	Invention / harpsichord	G Major	BWV 781
No. 11	BWV 782	Invention / harpsichord	G Minor	BWV 782
No. 12	BWV 783	Invention / harpsichord	A Major	BWV 783
No. 13	BWV 784	Invention / harpsichord	A Minor	BWV 784
No. 14	BWV 785	Invention / harpsichord	Bb Major	BWV 785
No. 15	BWV 786	Invention / harpsichord	B Minor	BWV 786

The harmonic cycle that Bach has constructed in the collection as a whole foreshadows the tonally more complete cycles of the two sets of paired preludes and fugues called the Well-Tempered Clavier. They appeared in 1722 and 1744. It was not enough for young Friedemann to be able to play the pieces. He was being called to understand the cyclic possibilities that inhered in tonal relationships. This was a dominant focus in music theory of the time. Johann David Heinichen's Circle of Fifths was first formalized in 1711 and has remained the dominant scheme for rationalizing harmonic relations in Western music theory.

Three-part Inventions (Sinfonie)

The three-part inventions, or sinfonie, follow the same cyclical organization in the aggregate. It has been suggested that the intended relationship between the inventions and sinfonias was to be performed in pairs, like the prelude-fugue sets of the Well-Tempered Clavier. Given their shared cycle of keys, Invention No. 1 might be followed by Sinfonia No. 1 and so forth.

Work No.	Catalogue No.	Genre / Instrument	Key	Score
No. 1	BWV 787	Sinfonia / harpsichord	C Major	BWV 787
No. 2	BWV 788	Sinfonia / harpsichord	C Minor	BWV 788
No. 3	BWV 789	Sinfonia / harpsichord	D Major	BWV 789
No. 4	BWV 790	Sinfonia / harpsichord	D Minor	BWV 790
No. 5	BWV 791	Sinfonia / harpsichord	E♭ Major	BWV 791
No. 6	BWV 792	Sinfonia / harpsichord	E Major	BWV 792
No. 7	BWV 793	Sinfonia / harpsichord	E Minor	BWV 793
No. 8	BWV 794	Sinfonia / harpsichord	F Major	BWV 794
No. 9	BWV 795	Sinfonia / harpsichord	F Minor
No. 10	BWV 796	Sinfonia / harpsichord	G Major
No. 11	BWV 797	Sinfonia / harpsichord	G Minor	BWV 797
No. 12	BWV 798	Sinfonia / harpsichord	A Major
No. 13	BWV 799	Sinfonia / harpsichord	A Minor
No. 14	BWV 800	Sinfonia / harpsichord	Bb Major	BWV 800
No. 15	BWV 801	Sinfonia / harpsichord	B Minor