Johann Sebastian Bach: Encyclopedia II - Johann Sebastian Bach - Works

Johann Sebastian Bach - Works

JS Bach’s works are indexed with BWV numbers, an initialism for Bach Werke Verzeichnis (Bach Works Catalogue). The catalogue, published in 1950, was compiled by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue is organised thematically, rather than chronologically: BWV 1–224 are cantatas, BWV 225–48 the large-scale choral works, BWV 250–524 chorales and sacred songs, BWV 525–748 organ works, BWV 772–994 other keyboard works, BWV 995–1000 lute music, BWV 1001–40 chamber music, BWV 1041–71 orchestral music, and BWV 1072–1126 canons and fugues. In compiling the catalogue, Schmieder largely followed the Bach Gesellschaft Ausgabe, a comprehensive edition of the composer's works that was produced between 1850 and 1905. For a list of works catalogued by BWV number, see List of compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Johann Sebastian Bach - Organ works

Bach was best known during his lifetime as an organist, organ consultant, and composer of organ works both in the traditional German free genres such as preludes, fantasias, and toccatas, and stricter forms such as chorale preludes and fugues. He established a reputation at a young age for his great creativity and ability to integrate aspects of several different national styles into his organ works. A decidedly North German influence was exerted by Georg Böhm, whom Bach came in contact with in Lüneburg, and Dieterich Buxtehude in Lübeck, whom the young organist visited in 1704 on an extended leave of absence from his job in Arnstadt. Around this time Bach also copied the works of numerous French and Italian composers in order to gain insights into their compositional languages, and later even arranged several violin concertos by Vivaldi and others for organ. His most productive period (1708–14) saw not only the composition of several pairs of preludes and fugues and toccatas and fugues, but also the writing of the Orgelbüchlein ("Little Organ Book"), an unfinished collection of forty-nine short chorale preludes intended to demonstrate various compositional techniques that could be used in setting chorale tunes. After he left Weimar, Bach's output for organ fell off, although his most well-known works (the six trio sonatas, the Clavierübung III of 1739, and the "Great Eighteen" chorales, revised very late in his life) were all composed after this time. Bach was also extensively engaged later in his life in consulting on various organ projects, testing newly built organs, and dedicating organs in afternoon recitals.

Johann Sebastian Bach - Other keyboard works

Bach wrote many works for the harpsichord, some of which may also have been played on the clavichord. Many of his keyboard works are anthologies that show an eagerness to encompass whole theoretical systems in an encyclopedic fashion, as it were.

• The Well-Tempered Clavier, Books 1 and 2 (BWV 846–893). Each book comprises a prelude and fugue in each of the 24 major and minor keys (thus, the whole collection is often referred to as ‘the 48’). The WTC was a major influence on later composers, including Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, because of its range of contrapuntal techniques. “Well-tempered” in the title refers to the temperament (system of tuning); many temperaments before Bach’s time were not flexible enough to allow compositions to move through more than just a few keys.
• The 15 Inventions and 15 Sinfonias (BWV 772–801). These are short two- and three-part contrapuntal works arranged in order of key signatures of increasing sharps and flats, omitting some of the less used ones. The pieces were intended by Bach for instructional purposes.
• Three collections of dance suites: the English Suites (BWV 806–811), the French Suites (BWV 812–817) and the Partitas for keyboard (BWV 825–830). Each collection contains six suites built on the standard model (Allemande–Courante–Sarabande–(optional movement)–Gigue). The English Suites closely follow the traditional model, adding a prelude before the allemande and including a single movement between the sarabande and the gigue. The French Suites omit preludes, but have multiple movements between the sarabande and the gigue. The partitas expand the model further with elaborate introductory movements and miscellaneous movements between the basic elements of the model.
• The Goldberg Variations (BWV 988), an aria with 30 variations. The collection has a complex and unconventional structure: the variations build on the bass line of the aria, rather than its melody, and musical canons are interpolated according to a grand plan.
• Miscellaneous pieces such as the Overture in the French Style (French Overture, BWV 831) Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue (BWV 903), and the Italian Concerto (BWV 971).

Among Bach’s lesser known keyboard works are seven toccatas (BWV 910–916), four duets (BWV 802–805), sonatas for keyboard (BWV 963–967), the Six Little Preludes (BWV 933–938), "Aria variata alla maniera italiana" (BWV989).

Johann Sebastian Bach - Orchestral and chamber music

Bach wrote music for single instruments, duets and small ensembles. Bach's works for solo instruments—the 6 sonatas and partitas for violin (BWV1001–1006), the six cello suites (BWV 1007–1012) and the Partita for solo flute (BWV1013)—may be listed among the most profound works in the repertoire. Bach has also composed a suite and several other works for solo lute. He wrote trio sonatas, solo sonatas (accompanied by continuo) for the flute and for the viola da gamba, and a large number of canons and ricercare, mostly for unspecified instrumentation. The most significant examples of the latter are contained in The Art of Fugue and The Musical Offering.

Bach's best-known orchestral works are the Brandenburg concertos, so named because he submitted them as a job audition for the Margrave of Brandenburg in 1721 (he did not get the job). These works are examples of the concerto grosso genre. Other surviving works in the concerto form include two violin concertos, a concerto for two violins (often referred to as Bach’s "double" concerto), and concertos for one, two, three, and even four harpsichords. It is widely accepted that many of the harpsichord concertos were not original works, but arrangements of now lost concertos for other instruments. A number of violin, oboe, and flute concertos have been reconstructed from these. In addition to concertos, Bach also wrote four orchestral suites, a series of stylised dances for orchestra. The work now known as the Air on a G String is an arrangment for the violin made in the 19th Century from the second movement of the Orchestral Suite No. 3.

Johann Sebastian Bach - Vocal and choral works

Bach performed a cantata every Sunday at the Thomaskirche, on a theme corresponding to the lectionary readings of the week. Although he performed cantatas by other composers, he also composed at least three entire sets of cantatas, one for each Sunday and holiday of the church year, at Leipzig, in addition to those composed at Mühlhausen and Weimar. In total he wrote more than 300 sacred cantatas, of which only about 195 survive.

His cantatas vary greatly in form and instrumentation. Some of them are only for a solo singer; some are single choruses; some are for grand orchestras, some only a few instruments. A very common format, however, includes a large opening chorus followed by one or more recitative-aria pairs for soloists (or duets), and a concluding chorale. The recitative is part of the corresponding Bible reading for the week and the aria is a contemporary reflection on it. The concluding chorale often also appears as a chorale prelude in a central movement, and occasionally as a cantus firmus in the opening chorus as well. The best known of these cantatas are Cantata No. 4 ("Christ lag in Todesbanden"), Cantata No. 80 ("Ein feste Burg"), Cantata No. 140 ("Wachet auf") and Cantata No. 147 ("Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben").

In addition, Bach wrote a number of secular cantatas, usually for civic events such as weddings. The two Wedding Cantatas and the Coffee Cantata, which concerns a girl whose father will not let her marry until she gives up her coffee addiction, are among the best known of these.

Bach’s large choral-orchestral works include the famous St Matthew Passion and St John Passion, both written for Holy Week services at the St Thomas’s Church, the Christmas Oratorio (a set of six cantatas for use in the Liturgical season of Christmas). The Magnificat in two versions (one in E-flat major, with extra movements interpolated among the movements of the Magnificat text, and the later and better-known version in D major) and the Easter Oratorio compare to large, elaborated cantatas, of a lesser extent than the Passions and the Christmas Oratorio.

Bach's other large work, the Mass in B minor, was assembled by Bach near the end of his life, mostly from pieces composed earlier (such as Cantata 191 and Cantata 12). It was never performed in Bach’s lifetime, or even after his death until the 19th century.

All of these works, unlike the motets, have substantial solo parts as well as choruses.

Johann Sebastian Bach - Performances

In Bach’s time musical ensembles were generally not as large as, say, in Brahms's. Few of his works were composed for more than a dozen musicians. It is a matter of debate whether present-day performers should adhere to authentic performance, or use larger, modern orchestras. Some of his more important chamber music does not indicate preferred instruments, leaving even larger space for arrangements.

Highly influential interpreters of Bach include Glenn Gould, Edwin Fischer and Rosalyn Tureck (piano), Wanda Landowska (harpsichord), Helmut Walcha and E. Power Biggs (organ), Pablo Casals, Yo-Yo Ma and Anner Bylsma (cello), Nathan Milstein (violin), Karl Richter, Helmuth Rilling and John Eliot Gardiner (chorus and orchestra), Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Gustav Leonhardt (cantatas, authentic performance), Joshua Rifkin and Andrew Parrott (choral works, one per part). Wendy Carlos recorded Switched-On Bach in 1968 on the newly invented Moog synthesizer; this recording, along with Glenn Gould's idiosyncratic performances, was an immense contribution to popularisation of Bach's music during the 20th century.

Johann Sebastian Bach - Transcriptions

Bach’s music has inspired many composers to create music based on his themes, or transcribe his works for other instruments. He is the most arranged and transcribed classical composer. His complete works for harpsichord have been edited or transcribed by Busoni, and Liszt wrote both a praeludium and fugue on the BACH motif. Another familiar transcription is the Ave Maria by Charles Gounod, based on the first prelude of the Well-Tempered Clavier. Andres Segovia was famous for his playing arrangements of Bach works transcribed for classical guitar, such as his almost impossible to play Chaconne from the Violin Partita in D minor. Romantic guitarist Francisco Tarrega transcribed a variety of Bach works, including his Fugue from Violin Sonata No. 1. Mozart arranged some of the fugues from the Well-Tempered Clavier for string trio, Schoenberg arranged for orchestra Bach's "St. Anne" organ prelude and fugue in Eb major, and Webern arranged for orchestra the ricercar from the "Musical Offering". There are arrangements of the "Art of Fugue" for orchestra, for brass quintet, and for saxophone quartet.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Works", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki