Apart from his orchestral keyboard concertos and his solo organ concertos, Johann Sebastian Bach composed keyboard concertos for unaccompanied harpsichord:

• Most of his Weimar concerto transcriptions, over twenty arrangements of Italian and Italianate orchestral concertos which he produced around 1713–1714 when he was employed in Weimar, were written for solo harpsichord (BWV 592a and 972–987).
• Two decades later, some ten years after he had become Thomaskantor in Leipzig, he wrote a concerto for two harpsichords, BWV 1061a, which was later orchestrated as BWV 1061.
• The Italian Concerto, BWV 971, was published in 1735 as part of his Clavier-Übung II.

Weimar concerto transcriptions

In his Weimar period, Johann Sebastian Bach transcribed Italian and Italianate concertos. Most, if not all, of the concerto transcriptions for unaccompanied harpsichord were realised from July 1713 to July 1714. Most of these transcriptions were based on concertos by Antonio Vivaldi. Other models for the transcriptions included concertos by Alessandro Marcello, Benedetto Marcello, Georg Philipp Telemann and Prince Johann Ernst of Saxe-Weimar.

Concerto in G major, BWV 592a

After Violin Concerto in G major by Prince Johann Ernst of Saxe-Weimar, and organ version BWV 592.

Movements:

1. [no tempo indication]
2. Grave
3. Presto

Concerto in D major, BWV 972

After Violin Concerto in D major Op. 3 No. 9 (RV 230) by Antonio Vivaldi. There is an earlier version of this arrangement, BWV 972a.

Movements:

1. [no tempo indication]
2. Largo- Larghetto
3. Allegro

Concerto in G major, BWV 973

After Violin Concerto in G major, RV 299, by Antonio Vivaldi (later version published as Op. 7 No. 8).

Movements:

1. [no tempo indication]
2. Largo
3. Allegro

Concerto in D minor, BWV 974

After Oboe Concerto in D minor by Alessandro Marcello.

Movements:

1. [no tempo indication]
2. Adagio
3. Presto

Concerto in G minor, BWV 975

After Violin Concerto in G minor, RV 316, by Antonio Vivaldi (variant RV 316a, published as Op. 4 No. 6).

Movements:

1. [no tempo indication]
2. Largo
3. Giga Presto

Concerto in C major, BWV 976

After Violin Concerto in E major Op. 3 No. 12 (RV 265) by Antonio Vivaldi.

Movements:

1. [no tempo indication]
2. Largo
3. Allegro

Concerto in C major, BWV 977

After an unidentified model.

Movements:

1. [no tempo indication]
2. Adagio
3. Giga

Concerto in F major, BWV 978

After Violin Concerto in G major Op. 3 No. 3 (RV 310) by Antonio Vivaldi.

Movements:

1. Allegro
2. Largo
3. Allegro

Concerto in B minor, BWV 979

After Violin Concerto in D minor, RV 813, by Antonio Vivaldi (formerly RV Anh. 10 attributed to Torelli).

Movements:

1. Allegro – Adagio
2. Allegro
3. Andante
4. Adagio
5. Allegro

Concerto in G major, BWV 980

After Violin Concerto in B-flat major, RV 383 by Antonio Vivaldi (variant RV 383a published as Op. 4 No. 1).

Movements:

1. [no tempo indication]
2. Largo
3. Allegro

Concerto in C minor, BWV 981

After Violin Concerto in C minor Op. 1 No. 2 by Benedetto Marcello.

Movements:

1. Adagio
2. Vivace
3. [no tempo indication]
4. Prestissimo

Concerto in B-flat major, BWV 982

After Violin Concerto in B-flat major Op. 1 No. 1 by Prince Johann Ernst of Saxe-Weimar.

Movements:

1. [no tempo indication]
2. Adagio
3. Allegro
4. Allegro

Concerto in G minor, BWV 983

After an unidentified model.

Movements:

1. [no tempo indication]
2. Adagio
3. Allegro

Concerto in C major, BWV 984

After the Violin Concerto in C major by Prince Johann Ernst of Saxe–Weimar (like BWV 595).

Movements:

1. [no tempo indication]
2. Adagio e affettoso
3. Allegro assai

Concerto in G minor, BWV 985

After the Violin Concerto in G minor, TWV 51:g1, by Georg Philipp Telemann.

Movements:

1. [no tempo indication]
2. Adagio
3. Allegro

Concerto in G major, BWV 986

After an unidentified model.

Movements:

1. [no tempo indication]
2. Adagio
3. Allegro

Concerto in D minor, BWV 987

After Concerto Op. 1 No. 4 by Prince Johann Ernst of Saxe-Weimar.

Movements:

1. [no tempo indication]
2. Allegro
3. Adagio
4. Vivace

Original compositions

Bach composed unaccompanied keyboard concertos for one and two harpsichords.

Italian Concerto included in Clavier-Übung II

Bach's Italian Concerto, BWV 971, was published in 1735, as first of two compositions included in Clavier-Übung II. An early version of the concerto's first movement survives in an 18th-century copy.

Early version of Concerto for two harpsichords, BWV 1061

BWV 1061a, a concerto for two harpsichords without accompaniment, is Bach's original version of the Concerto for two harpsichords and strings, BWV 1061.

Doubtful works

Several concertos for unaccompanied harpsichord are listed as doubtful in Anhang II of the 1998 edition of the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis:

• BWV 909 – Concerto and Fugue in C minor
• BWV Anh. 151 – Concerto in C major
• BWV Anh. 152 – Concerto in G major

Discography

BWV 592a and 972–987

• Pieter Dirksen (1999). Brilliant Classics 99372/3 and /4.

Italian Concerto

BWV 909

• Guy Penson (1986). Ricercar RIC 038014
• Christiane Wuyts (1988). Brilliant Classics 99362/9.

BWV 1061a

• Guillermo Brachetta and Menno van Delft (2016). Resonus RES 10189.

Further reading

• Bach, J.S. (2010), Dirksen, Pieter (ed.), Sonatas, Trios, Concertos, Complete Organ Works (Breitkopf Urtext), vol. 5 EB 8805, Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Härtel, ISMN 979-0-004-18366-3 Introduction (in German and English) • Commentary (English translation—commentary in paperback original is in German)
• Breig, Werner (1997b), "Composition as arrangement and adaptation", in John Butt (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Bach, pp. 154–170, ISBN 9781139002158
• Brover-Lubovsky, Bella (2008), Tonal Space in the Music of Antonio Vivaldi, Indiana University Press, ISBN 978-0253351296
• David, Hans Theodore; Mendel, Arthur; Wolff, Christoph (1998), The New Bach Reader (Revised ed.), W.W. Norton, ISBN 0393319563]
• Forkel, Johann Nikolaus (1920), Charles Sanford Terry (historian) (ed.), Johann Sebastian Bach: His Life, Art, and Work, Harcourt, Brace and Howe
• Sarah Elizabeth Hanks. The German Unaccompanied Keyboard Concerto in the Early 18th Century: Including Works of Walther, Bach, and Their Contemporaries. University of Iowa, 1972 (dissertation).
• Hanks, Sarah E. (2001). "Johann Ernst, Prince of Weimar". Grove Music Online (8th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0.
• Karl Heller. "Zur Stellung des Concerto C-Dur für zwei Cembali BWV 1061 in Bachs Konzert-Œuvre", pp. 241–251 in Bericht über die Wissenschaftliche Konferenz zum V. Internationalen Bachfest der DDR in Verbindung mit dem 60. Bachfest der Neuen Bach-Gesellschaft (1985), edited by Winfried Hoffmann and Armin Schneiderheinze. Leipzig, 1988. (in German)
• Hirschmann, Wolfgang (2013), "'He Liked to Hear the Music of Others': Individuality and Variety in the Works of Bach and His German Contemporaries", in Andrew Talle (ed.), Bach Perspectives, Volume 9: J.S. Bach and His Contemporaries in Germany, University of Illinois Press, pp. 1–23, ISBN 978-0252095399
• Jones, Richard (1997), "The keyboard works: Bach as teacher and virtuoso", in John Butt (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Bach, Cambridge University Press, pp. 136–153, ISBN 9780521587808
• Jones, Richard (2013), The Creative Development of Johann Sebastian Bach: Music to Delight the Spirit, Volume II: 1717-1750, Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780191503849
• Marshall, Robert (1986), "Organ or 'Klavier'? Instrumental prescriptions in the sources of Bach's keyboard works", in George Stauffer; Ernest May (eds.), J.S. Bach as Organist, Indiana University Press, pp. 212–239
• Pincherle, Marc (1962), Vivaldi: Genius of the Baroque, translated by Christopher Hatch, W.W. Norton, ISBN 0393001687
• Schulze, Hans-Joachim (1978), "J. S. Bachs Konzertbearbeitungen nach Vivaldi und anderen: Studien- oder Auftragswerke?", Deutsches Jahrbuch der Musikwissenschaft für 1973–1977, Leipzig, pp. 80–100{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Stevens, Jane R. (2001), The Bach Family and the Keyboard Concerto: The Evolution of a Genre, Harmonie Park Press
• Tagliavini, Luigi Ferdinando (1986), "Bach's organ transcription of Vivaldi's 'Grosso Mogul' concerto", in George Stauffer; Ernest May (eds.), J.S. Bach as Organist, Indiana University Press, pp. 240–255
• Talbot, Michael (1993), Vivaldi, The Master Musicians (2nd ed.), J.M. Dent, ISBN 0460861085
• Williams, Peter (2016), Bach: A Musical Biography, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9781107139251
• Wolff, Christoph (1994), "Bach's Leipzig Chamber Music", Bach: Essays on His Life and Work, Harvard University Press, p. 263, ISBN 0674059263 (a reprint of a 1985 publication in Early Music)
• Wolff, Christoph (2001), Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician, W. W. Norton, ISBN 9780393322569
• Zohn, Steven (2008), Music for a Mixed Taste: Style, Genre, and Meaning in Telemann's Instrumental Works, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0190247850

Manuscripts

• 25448 MSM at Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles (RISM 702002232): Fascicles 3 (BWV 972a) and 4 (BWV 981) at Bach Digital
• D-DS Mus. ms. 66 at Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Darmstadt (BWV 974; RISM 450001735; D-DS Mus. ms. 66 at Bach Digital)
• D-LEb Peters Ms. 8 at Stadtbibliothek Leipzig/Bach Archive: Fascicles 14 (BWV 971), 28 (BWV 984) and 29 (BWV 981) at Bach Digital
• D-LEm Poel. mus. Ms. 29 at Stadtbibliothek Leipzig (BWV 592a, 973 and 983–4; D-LEm Poel. mus. Ms. 29 at Bach Digital)
• Mus.ms. Bach P 280 at Berlin State Library (BWV 592 and 973–982; RISM 467300717; D-B Mus. ms. Bach P 280 at Bach Digital)
• Mus.ms. Bach P 801 (28) at Berlin State Library ("Concerto di Marcello", BWV 981; RISM 467300247; D-B Mus. ms. Bach P 801, Fascicle 28 at Bach Digital)
• Mus.ms. Bach P 804 at Berlin State Library (RISM 467300254): Fascicles 4 (BWV 974), 15 (BWV 976), 28 (BWV 985), 34 (BWV 987), 35 (BWV 983), 46 (BWV 986), 52 (BWV 984), 54 (BWV 973), 55 (BWV 972) and 56 (BWV 977) at Bach Digital
• Mus.ms. Bach St 139, Fascicle 1 at Berlin State Library (autograph parts of BWV 1061a; D-B Mus. ms. Bach St 139, Faszikel 1 at Bach Digital)

References

Sources

• Kirsten Beißwenger. "An early version of the first movement of the Italian Concerto BWV 971 from the Scholz collection?" pp. 1–19 in Bach Studies 2 edited by Daniel R. Melamed. Cambridge University Press, 2006. ISBN 9780521028912
• Boyd, Malcolm (2000), Bach, Master Musician Series, Oxford University Press, pp. 80–83, ISBN 0195142225
• Breig, Werner (1997a), "The Instrumental Music", in John Butt (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Bach, pp. 123–135, ISBN 9781139002158
• Butler, H. Joseph (2011), "Emulation and Inspiration: J. S. Bach's Transcriptions from Vivaldi's L'estro armonico" (PDF), The Diapason: 19–21
• Jones, Richard (2007), The Creative Development of Johann Sebastian Bach: Music to Delight the Spirit, Volume I: 1695-1717, Oxford University Press, pp. 140–153, ISBN 9780198164401
• Schulenberg, David (2013), The Keyboard Music of J.S. Bach, Routledge, pp. 117–139, ISBN 9781136091469, Updates (2016)
• Selfridge-Field, Eleanor (1990), The Music of Benedetto and Alessandro Marcello: A Thematic Catalogue with Commentary on the Composers, Repertory, and Sources, Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780193161269
• Talbot, Michael, ed. (2011), The Vivaldi Compendium, Boydell Press, ISBN 9781843836704
• Williams, Peter (2003), The Organ Music of J. S. Bach (2nd ed.), Cambridge University Press, pp. 201–224, ISBN 0-521-89115-9

External links

• At IMSLP website:
  • BWV 592a: Violin Concerto in G major (Johann Ernst Prinz von Sachsen-Weimar)
  • Italienisches Konzert, BWV 971 (Bach, Johann Sebastian)
  • 16 Konzerte nach verschiedenen Meistern, BWV 972–987 (Bach, Johann Sebastian), Violin Concerto in D major, RV 230 (Vivaldi, Antonio), Violin Concerto in G major, RV 299 (Vivaldi, Antonio), Oboe Concerto in D minor, S.Z799 (Marcello, Alessandro), Violin Concerto in G minor, RV 316a (Vivaldi, Antonio), Violin Concerto in E major, RV 265 (Vivaldi, Antonio), Violin Concerto in G major, RV 310 (Vivaldi, Antonio), Violin Concerto in B-flat major, RV 383a (Vivaldi, Antonio), Violin Concerto in C major (Johann Ernst Prinz von Sachsen-Weimar) and Violin Concerto, TWV 51:g1 (Telemann, Georg Philipp)
  • 12 Concerti Grossi, Op.1 (Marcello, Benedetto), L'estro armonico, Op.3 (Vivaldi, Antonio), La stravaganza, Op.4 (Vivaldi, Antonio), 12 Concerti, Op.7 (Vivaldi, Antonio) and 12 Concerti a 5 (Various)
  • Concerto for 2 Harpsichords in C major, BWV 1061 (Bach, Johann Sebastian)