User:Jashiin/Bachdraft

Works

General information

The most widely used catalogue of Bach's works is the Bach Werke Verzeichnis by Wolfgang Schmieder, first published in 1950 and revised many times since then. It is thematically organized, largely following the 19th century Bach Gesellschaft edition of Bach's works. Perhaps the most historically significant catalogue is the one compiled by CPE Bach and JF Agricola at around 1750; although quite incomplete, it is notable as the first ever catalogue of the composer's works.

Almost all works published during Bach's lifetime survive in printed copies, and autograph manuscripts are also numerous. The ones lost most probably belonged to Bach's sons - most of them were inherited by WF Bach, who sold the materials item by item because of financial difficulties. The most serious losses occured among orchestral (many pieces known only through Bach's own transcriptions for other instruments) and vocal works (around 100 cantatas, several large-scale works in the vein of St. Matthew Passion and some secular pieces). Today the core of Bach archives consists of the compositions perserved by Anna Magdalena and CPE Bach.

The exact chronology of Bach's works is hard to establish in most cases, and virtually impossible for the early works. In modern scholarship it is generally believed that Bach's earliest influences were southern German composers and members of the Bach family. Of these, Froberger and Pachelbel were probably the most significant: the frequent use of subjects on scale degrees that were not limited to 1 and 5 after the exposition and the economy of motives during the episodes seen in Froberger's works are also present in Bach's (and rare among other late Baroque composers); and Pachelbel's chorale combination form model is present in both Bach's earliest and late works. Considerably more important for Bach was the influence of northern German composers such as Reincken, Böhm and, most importantly, Dieterich Buxtehude. Their bold harmonic and structural experiments, extensive use of pedal and high demands for the performer were all present and developed further in Bach's work.

Organ works

Bach was best known during his lifetime as an organist, organ consultant and organ composer; after he left Weimar, his output for organ fell off but still the most important late works were composed in the late 1740s). Around 250 works survive, most of them chorale preludes. Bach's most significant contributions to the latter genre include an individual style developed in the 49 chorales of the Orgelbüchlein and the so-called Great Eighteen chorales BWV 651–668, which further developed the already existing forms. Bach's fugues are frequently exploring long subjects in the north German tradition, are tighter and more strict than those of earlier composers and more unified in their use of the subject as the driving force behind the composition. They are usually paired with an improvisatory movement - a prelude, a toccata or a fantasia - commonly sectional and with no strict contrapuntal parts, similar to Pachelbel in structure, but more like Buxtehude or Froberger in terms of overall complexity.

The remaining works explore almost all organ genres of the time, but are not very numerous. Particularly significant of these are four early chorale partitas, one set of canonic variations and a grand passacaglia from the Mühlhausen period, which are Bach's only organ contributions to the variation form. The 1739 Clavier-Übung III contained four organ duets and German Kyrie and Gloria settings adapted for smaller organs or domestic instruments. Bach's six organ concertos, while innovative as a whole and important for his development as a composer, are all transcriptions: three after Vivaldi, two after Duke Johann Ernst and one with an unknown source. The trio sonatas BWV 525-530 are late works possibly composed for WF Bach; a new organ genre, they are among Bach's finest works and, with a few other works, represent the pinnacle of his development as an organ composer.

Other keyboard music

Keyboard music by German composers before Bach was either entirely for organ or, when harpsichord pieces were present, concentrated on the dance suite as introduced by Froberger; even Buxtehude and Pachelbel, the most important composers of the late 17th century, did not compose much for harpsichord. Bach was the first and the last German Baroque composer to write extensively for keyboard instruments other than organ, employing both free and strict contrapuntal genres. Furthermore, many of his keyboard works are anthologies that show an eagerness to encompass whole theoretical systems in an encyclopaedic fashion, as it were, becoming some of the most influential classical compositions ever written.

Among these summation works are the two books of Well-Tempered Clavier. They consist of pairs of preludes and fugues in each of the 24 major and minor keys (thus, the whole collection is often referred to as ‘the 48’). “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 WTC became the first work of music to consciously employ all keys and contributed to the development of equal temperament which subsequently became the standard tuning and is used today. Furthermore, the fugues employed nearly all existing contrapuntal techniques, including double and triple fugues and the use of several countersubjects; and the preludes were not mere improvisatory movements but intricately woven works that did not adhere to a single style, foreshadowing prelude cycles by later composers. Bach's three dance suite collections - the English Suites (BWV 806–811), the French Suites (BWV 812–817) and the Partitas for keyboard (BWV 825-830) - were also encyclopaedic in a way, expanding the standard model (Allemande–Courante–Sarabande–(optional movement)–Gigue) by using introductory preludes, additional movements between the main dances and elaborate contrapuntal writing which frequently abandoned the dance character of the pieces.

Although Bach's organ works include a few didactic pieces, they are much more numerous in his surviving harpsichord music. The Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann Bach and the two Anna Magdalena Bach notebooks contained early drafts of some of the WTC works and some of the suites, several sets of short preludes and a number of works by contemporary composers, all intended for teaching. The 15 Inventions and 15 Sinfonias (BWV 772–801) 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, and also intended by Bach for instructional purposes.

Two late keyboard works, the Goldberg Variations and the Art of Fugue were neglected for a long time but are now recognized as the most important keyboard works of the late Baroque. The former is an aria with thirty variations that follow a complex and unconventional structure, building on the bass line of the aria, rather than its melody. The Art of Fugue, although unfinished, is a complete and concise encyclopaedia of fugal techniques, which includes everything from simple monothematic four-voice fugues to canons, mirror fugues and triple fugues. The last unfinished fugue may have been conceived as a quadruple fugue, representing an exceptional rarity for its time.

Orchestral and chamber music

Evidence exists of a considerable amount of lost orchestral works, traces of unknown concertos seen not only in Bach's own transcriptions but also in his cantatas and large-scale vocal works. The best known of the surviving works are the so-called Brandenburg concertos, which are examples of the concerto grosso genre. Bach abandoned the standard model, employed different instrumental combinations, most of which are unprecedented, and combined solo concerto with group concerto in Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 2 and 5, which is also quite unusual for the time. These works show are Italian-influenced and are reminiscent of Vivaldi's concerto grosso compositions, which too did not adhere to the standards, but which didn't go as far as Bach did in terms of texture and virtuosity.

Bach's harpsichord concertos are almost all either modelled after or transcribed from his other lost works, but nevertheless are extremely important as they mark the beginning of the keyboard concerto genre. Most are solo concertos, two are for two harpsichords, two for three and one is a concerto for four harpsichords, a transcription of a Vivaldi work for four violins. The remaining orchestral works include several concertos for various instruments and four orchestral suites in the French vein.

The surviving chamber music includes miscellanous solo, duo and trio sonatas, several works for solo lute and a single solo flute partita. Many of the duo sonatas are particularly notable for giving the harpsichord more freedom than in the conventional basso continuo sonata. The lute compositions, (critized by some purists because Bach himself did not play the instrument), along with Weiss's works, represent the final stage in the development of lute music, which was at the time experiencing its final stages. Most of the movements in solo sonatas are chordal and employ a limited kind of counterpoint; the Partita No 2. in D minor for solo violin contains a full-fledged chaconne.

Vocal music

Sacred cantatas constitute the biggest part of Bach's vocal oeuvre. The earliest of these conform, for the most part, to the central German model in using established structures as parts of the work. Bach's later contributions to the genre are exceptionally numerous, vary greatly in form, employ a vast array of techniques (fugues, canons, ostinato forms, sacred concertos, motets, French overtures, etc.) and feature diverse kinds of instrumentation; they are undoubtedly among the most developed vocal music of the era.

Bach's regular production of cantatas began in 1713 with his appointment as Weimar's court Konzertmeister; he was to compose a cantata for every fourth Sunday. Some 20 works were written that way; Bach shifted from the early French influences to the Italian style of four-part writing and experimented with various ensembles and musical forms. At the St. Thomas Church, Leipzig Bach's duties included composition and performance of sacred cantatas on Sundays and feast days; the composer's output at that time is usually referred to as his first cycle of cantatas. Apart from arrangements and modifications of earlier works, some 40 new cantatas were composed, generally for larger ensembles than the Weimar pieces, exploring even more new forms and instruments (trumpets, horns, various types of oboe) and increasingly more technically demanding. The works of the second cycle were composed at around 1724/5; they are among Bach's most important contributions to the genre, with textual and thematic connections between movements, adherence to the fundamental chorale and introductory movements arranged as cantus firmus settings of remarkably diverse kinds. The third cycle of cantatas, from 1725/7, suffers from massive amounts of lost works; the surviving pieces demonstrate Bach's intentions to further innovate the medium (for instance with obligatory organ parts or the use of older instrumental forms). The fourth (1728–9) and the fifth (1730s) cycles are almost completely lost.

Bach performed a cantata every Sunday at the St. Thomas Church 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 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 Gloria in excelsis Deo, BWV 191 and Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 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.

Performances

Present-day Bach performers largely divide into two camps: those who follow authentic performance practice, and those who use modern instruments and playing techniques and tend towards larger ensembles. In Bach’s time orchestras and choirs were usually smaller than those known to, for example, Brahms, and even Bach's most ambitious choral works, such as his Mass in B minor and Passions, are composed for relatively modest forces. Some of Bach's important chamber music does not indicate instrumentation, which gives even greater latitude for variety of ensemble.

Highly influential interpreters of Bach include:

Keyboard:	Glenn Gould, Edwin Fischer and Rosalyn Tureck; Wanda Landowska, Gustav Leonhardt (harpsichord); Helmut Walcha and E. Power Biggs (organ)
Cello:	Pablo Casals, Janos Starker, Yo-Yo Ma and Anner Bylsma
Violin:	Itzhak Perlman, Nathan Milstein, Henryk Szeryng, Arthur Grumiaux, and Sigiswald Kuijken
Chorus and orchestra:	Karl Richter and Helmuth Rilling; Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Gustav Leonhardt, Ton Koopman and John Eliot Gardiner (cantatas and "authentic" performance); Joshua Rifkin and Andrew Parrott (choral works with small ensembles)

"Easy listening" realisations of Bach's music and its use in advertising also contributed greatly to Bach's popularisation in the second half of the twentieth century. Among these were the Swingle Singers' versions of Bach pieces that are now well-known (for instance, the Air on the G string, or the Wachet Auf chorale prelude) and Wendy Carlos' 1968 recording Switched-On Bach using the then recently-invented Moog synthesizer. Jazz musicians have also adopted Bach's music, with Jacques Loussier and Uri Caine among those creating jazz versions of Bach works.

Transcriptions

Bach’s music has inspired many composers to create music based on his themes, or transcribe his works for other instruments. He is one of the most arranged and transcribed classical composer. His complete works for harpsichord have been edited or transcribed by Busoni. 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 very difficult 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 the ricercar from the Musical Offering for orchestra. There are arrangements of the Art of Fugue for orchestra, string quartet, brass quintet and saxophone quartet.