MuseData: Johann Sebastian Bach
Contents
Cantatas
Masses
Brandenburg Concertos
Bach's six Brandenburg Concertos are demonstrations par excellence of both virtuosity and interplay between most of instruments available to Bach's time in Thuringia, where Bach was raised and held all his posts prior to moving to Leipzig in 1723. He composed them while living in Cöthen, which offered few of these resources 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 / 2 Hn, Ob, Bn; VPiccolo, 2V, Va, Vc, Vne Gr, Cem | F Major | BWV 1046/3 = BWV 207a/1. BWV 1046/7 = BWV 207a/5a. | |
| No. 1a | BWV 1046a | Concerto / 2 Hn, 3 Ob, Bn; 2V, Va, Vc, Cem | F Major | BWV 1046a/1 = BWV 52/1 | |
| No. 2 | BWV 1047 | Concerto / Tr, Rec, Ob, Vn; 2V, Va, Vc, Vne, Cem | F Major | ||
| No. 3 | BWV 1048 | Concerto / 3V, 3Va, 3Vc, Vne, Cem | G Major | BWV 1048/1 = BWV 174/1 | |
| No. 4 | BWV 1049 | Concerto / VPr, Rec, 2Vn, Va, Vc, Vne, Cem | G Major | BWV 1049 = BWV 1057 | |
| No. 5 | BWV 1050 | Concerto / Fl, VPr, Cem concertato; V, Va, Vc, Vne, Cem | D Major | ||
| No. 5a | BWV 1050a | Concerto / Fl, VPr, Cem concertato; V, Va, Vne | D Major | ||
| No. 6 | BWV 1051 | Concerto / 2Va, 2Va da gamba, Vc, Vne, Cem | B♭ Major |
Orchestral Suites
Bach's orchestral suites come down to our time in editions based on third-party manuscripts datable to various years between 1724 and 1739. Those who have studied them recently lean to the view that, like the Brandenburgs, they were composed during Bach's Cöthen years (1717-1723) with Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen in mind. It is not clear, however, that he intended him 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.
| Collection, Work No. | Cat. No. | Genre / Instruments | Key | Earliest copy date | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orchestral Suite, No. 1 | BWV 1066 | Suite | C Major | Example | Example |
| Orchestral Suite, No. 2 | BWV 1067 | Suite | B Minor | Example | Example |
| Orchestral Suite, No. 3 | BWV 1068 | Suite | D Major | Example | Example |
| orchestral Suite, No. 4 | BWV 1069 | Suite | D Major | Example | Example |
Well-tempered Clavier
Two- and Three-part Inventions
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 taught in at least one of his posts in addition to teaching music. Each three-voice work that follows in the same collection was likewise called a Sinfonia.
| Work No. | Catalogue No. | Genre / Instrument | Key | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 1 | BWV 772 | Invention / harpsichord | C Major | |
| No. 1a | BWV 772a | Invention / harpsichord | C Major | |
| No. 2 | BWV 773 | Invention / harpsichord | C Minor | |
| No. 3 | BWV 774 | Invention / harpsichord | D Major | |
| No. 4 | BWV 775 | Invention / harpsichord | D Minor | |
| No. 5 | BWV 776 | Invention / harpsichord | E♭ Major | |
| No. 6 | BWV 777 | Invention / harpsichord | E Major | |
| No. 7 | BWV 778 | Invention / harpsichord | E Minor | |
| No. 8 | BWV 779 | Invention / harpsichord | F Major | |
| No. 9 | BWV 780 | Invention / harpsichord | F Minor | |
| No. 10 | BWV 781 | Invention / harpsichord | G Major | |
| No. 11 | BWV 782 | Invention / harpsichord | G Minor | |
| No. 12 | BWV 783 | Invention / harpsichord | A Major | |
| No. 13 | BWV 784 | Invention / harpsichord | A Minor | |
| No. 14 | BWV 785 | Invention / harpsichord | Bb Major | |
| No. 15 | BWV 786 | Invention / harpsichord | B Minor |
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 in Western music theory.
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 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 | |
| No. 2 | BWV 788 | Sinfonia / harpsichord | C Minor | |
| No. 3 | BWV 789 | Sinfonia / harpsichord | D Major | |
| No. 4 | BWV 790 | Sinfonia / harpsichord | D Minor | |
| No. 5 | BWV 791 | Sinfonia / harpsichord | E♭ Major | |
| No. 6 | BWV 792 | Sinfonia / harpsichord | E Major | |
| No. 7 | BWV 793 | Sinfonia / harpsichord | E Minor | |
| No. 8 | BWV 794 | Sinfonia / harpsichord | F Major | |
| No. 9 | BWV 795 | Sinfonia / harpsichord | F Minor | |
| No. 10 | BWV 796 | Sinfonia / harpsichord | G Major | |
| No. 11 | BWV 797 | Sinfonia / harpsichord | G Minor | |
| No. 12 | BWV 798 | Sinfonia / harpsichord | A Major | |
| No. 13 | BWV 799 | Sinfonia / harpsichord | A Minor | |
| No. 14 | BWV 800 | Sinfonia / harpsichord | Bb Major | |
| No. 15 | BWV 801 | Sinfonia / harpsichord | B Minor |