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BACHEDITION

VOLUMEIOrchestral Works / Chamber Music

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CD I-1

BRANDENBURGCONCERTOS1-2-3The surviving orchestral works of Johann Sebastian Bach provide examples of concertos and suites, the twomost important orchestral genres in the late Baroque. Bach dedicated his final versions of the six BrandenburgConcertos (BWV 1046-1051) on March 24, 1721 to Christian Ludwig, the Margrave of Brandenburg. Probablyeach concerto had had earlier performances (at least two - Nos. 1 and 5 - in different versions) in Weimar orCthen. The Brandenburg Concertos are not solo concertos in the sense in which we understand concertostoday, but examples of earlier forms of concerted music. Each of the six features a different combination ofsolo and tutti instruments, combinations that are highly unusual for the late Baroque. In three of these concer-

tos (Nos. 1, 3 and 6) the orchestra is divided into well-balanced instrumental groups which pass themes fromone to another in a lively musical dialogue, comparable to a series of questions and answers. From time to timea solo instrument takes control of the conversation. The three other concertos (Nos. 2, 4, and 5) are typical ofthe concerto grosso, with three or four solo instruments (concertino) competing with an accompanying groupof strings (the ripieno). However, one solo instrument in each of these concertos stands out above the others inthe concertino (the trumpet, violin, and harpsichord in Nos. 2, 4, and 5, respectively), thereby creating in effectthree solo concertos. Although not conceived as a group, these six works seem to be brought together to demon-

strate different ways of writing `concertos for several instruments, as the autograph title-page calls them.

The first concerto, in F major, is scored for two horns, three oboes, bassoon, violin (a small violin, called vio-lino piccolo), strings and continuo. This seems to be an unusual ensemble, but one which Vivaldi used (withtwo oboes instead of three) in four concertos. More unusual is the works structure. At first glance it mightappear that Bach has merely added a French-style minuet to the usual three movement concerto. But in fact thegenesis of the work is more complicated than that. An earlier version (BWV 1046a) without the violino picco-lo and called `sinfonia has only the first two movements and the minuet (lacking the second trio, the stringpolonaise). Bach could have used this piece for an introduction to a longer work, to Cantata 208, as has beensuggested. The new Allegro, the third movement of the concerto in its well-known version, makes the workmuch more of a concerto. But even the style and structure of this movement point to Bachs secular vocal musicrather than to his other orchestral works. Bach did, indeed, use it again as the opening chorus of the secular

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cantata BWV 207. The music sounds more at home there, with trumpets, drums and four part chorus. Thefamous Bach scholar Alfred Drr called this unbelievably skilled adaptation of a concerto movement as a dacapo chorus `one of Bachs most remarkable achievements.

If the first concerto was designed more in the French taste, the other five are more Italianate in structure. Thesecond concerto, in F major like the first, has a solo group consisting of trumpet, recorder, oboe and violin, avery heterogeneous collection of instruments. In its perfect proportions this concerto seems to be the very pro-totype of a concerto grosso. The trumpet, with its high clarino register, is treated with such virtuosity that thework gives the impression of a real solo concerto. In the melancholy middle movement the trumpet is keptsilent, but in the Finale it is put to the forefront again. It announces the jolly main subject and also concludesthis dashing piece.

The Third Brandenburg Concerto is arranged for three groups of strings, each of which is divided in turn intothree parts. The majestic first movement, with its contending melodic forces and the occasional emergence ofsombre harmonies in the minor, is full of drama. Bach dispensed with the customary slow second movement.A simple cadence of only two chords provide the performers with an opportunity to improvise a cadenza. Thebreathtaking Finale sounds like a wild chase among the nine string parts.

Clemens Romijn

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CD I-2

BRANDENBURGCONCERTOS4-5-6The title page of the autograph score of the Brandenburg Concertos and Bachs dedication (according to theNew Bach Reader) reads as follows:

Six Concertos with several instruments dedicated to His Royal Highness, Monsieur Christian Ludwig,Margrave of Brandenburg &c. &c. &c, by His very humble and very obedient servant Johann Sebastian Bach,Capellmeister of His Most Serene Highness, the Reigning Prince of Anhalt-Cthen.

Your Royal Highness,As I had a couple of years ago the pleasure of appearing before Your Royal Highness, by virtue of YourHighnesss commands, and as I noticed then that Your Highness took some pleasure in the small talents thatHeaven has given me for Music, and as in taking leave of Your Royal Highness, Your Highness deigned tohonor me with the command to send Your Highness some pieces of my composition: I have then in accordan-ce with Your Highnesss most gracious orders taken the liberty of rendering my most humble duty to YourRoyal Highness with the present concertos, which I have adapted to several instruments; begging Your

Highness most humbly not to judge their imperfection with the rigor and fine and delicate taste that the wholeworld knows Your Highness has for musical pieces; but rather to infer from them in benign consideration theprofound respect and the most humble obedience that I try to show Your Highness therewith. For the rest, Sir,I beg your Royal Highness very humbly to have the goodness to continue Your Highnesss gracious favortoward me, and to be assured that nothing is so close to my heart as the wish that I may be employed on occa-sions more worthy of Your Royal Highness and of Your Highnesss service - I, who without an equal in zealam,

Sire, Your Royal Highnesss most humble and obedient servant

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Coethen, March 24, 1721 JEAN SEBASTIAN BACHAlthough Brandenburg Concertos No.4 and 5 still owe a lot to the concerto grosso, in each of these works oneinstrument takes the lead as soloist. In No.4 a concertino of violin and two recorders is set against the strings.The second movement, with the violin pre-eminent, has an unmistakable concertante character.

Technically, the Brandenburg Concerto No.5 is a concerto grosso with three soloists: flute, violin and harpsi-chord. It is obvious however, from Bachs treatment of the three solo instruments, that he was thinking in termsof the keyboard concerto. Not only is there a brilliant harpsichord cadenza of no less than 65 bars towards theend of the first movement, but throughout this Allegro and in the Finale too, the harpsichord emerges as themost prominent of the three soloists. The humble harpsichord, whose role in ensembles had mostly been thatof supporting other instruments, assumes the proud role of leader. Obviously this work was from the outset

intended for the harpsichord and must be considered as the first original clavier concerto ever written. ProbablyBach, who played the part himself, was inspired to compose it by the exquisite harpsichord he had bought in1719 for his Prince in Berlin. The thrilling and dramatic first movement is followed by a melancholic`Affettuoso, played by the three solo instruments only. The Finale has a completely different mood, shakingoff the strong introspection of the first and second movement. Elements of the fugue, concerto, gigue and dacapo aria have been brought together here in a skilful combination. A sense of bucolic humor prevails in thislightweight gigue-like piece.

Brandenburg Concerto No.6 has the most unusual and thinnest scoring of the set, written for two violas, twoviole da gamba, cello and continuo. One of the gamba parts may have been intended for Prince Leopold, anenthousiastic amateur on the instrument, because this part offers virtually no technical difficulties. Bach him-self most likely played the first viola part. After a brilliant first movement full of polyphonic intricacies theAdagio omits the viole da gamba and gives an expressive and nostalgic melody to the violas. The finale hasthe same optimistic mood and rhythmic drive as the first movement.

Clemens Romijn

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CD I-3

ORCHESTRALSUITES1&2 BWV 1066 & 1067After the six Italianate Brandenburg Concertos this and the following compact disk offer examples of the otherimportant musical genre in 18th century Europe: the suite. The great composers of the 17th and 18th century -like Purcell, Telemann, Bach and Handel - were internationally oriented pioneers and very aware of the musi-cal fashions of their day, the most important being the Italian concerto and the French suite. The BrandenburgConcertos are brilliant examples of Italianate compositions by a German composer, who, like Telemann, neverset a foot on Italian ground. While France itself was the scene of heated debate between adherents of the Frenchstyle against those of the Italian, composers in neighbouring Austria, Germany and England switched without

any problem from the one style to the other and back again, or even tried to combine the two, following theexample of Franois Couperins Gots Runis. Telemann, like Bach a real cosmopolitan, produced fine speci-mens of this `gemischte Geschmack [mixed taste], as it was called in German speaking countries. Tragicallyfor France, around 1750 the musical controversy brought on dramatic changes of direction in French art. Thefinal triumph of the Italian style over the French was later made even more complete by the musical invasionfrom the East led by composers such as Schobert and Mannheims Stamitz.

Bach referred to his Four Orchestral Suites as `Ouvertren, which strictly applies only to the first movements.`Suite or `Partie [partita], though perfectly appropriate for these pieces, was then usually applied to similarworks for individual instruments, like lute, harpsichord, viola da gamba or violin. Each of the Four OrchestralSuites begins with a French overture, a slow, serious section with a dotted rhythm followed by a faster, fugalone, which leads back to the first section. The other movements are usually dance forms like sarabandes, gavot-tes, courantes, bourres etc.

The Four Orchestral Suites or Overtures (BWV 1066-1069) most likely orginated in Cthen (Nos. 1 and 4) andLeipzig (Nos. 2 and 3). These last two are more richly orchestrated and date probably from the years 1729 to1736 in Bachs Leipzig years. Each of the Suites has a different instrumentation and a different combination ofdances following an opening French overture. Number 2 features solo flute throughout; Nos. 3 and 4 have amore festive character, with three trumpets and timpani. Very little is known about the origin of these pieces.

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This is largely due to the fact that the original manuscripts have been lost and we are only left with later copies.Rather than being based on one original source, the Suites as we know them today are the result of diligentresearch and detective work, especially in the previous century. In contrast to the sonata, the suite is an entire-ly secular form, consisting usually of a number of dances with or without an introduction prelude or overture.

Although one can find a strong French influence in these suites, the order of the dances cannot be changed wit-hout doing damage to Bachs intentions, this in contrast to the more arbitrary ordering in suites in the Frenchstyle.

Just as in the Brandenburg Concertos in each of the suites certain instruments come to the foreground, takingfull advantage of their possibilities, especially in the opening movements (the actual overture). Suite No.1 isfor two oboes, bassoon and strings. It is striking how often the movements are arranged in pairs. Four of the

dances are paired with dances of the same form. Bach seems to have had a preference for combining the oboesand bassoon to contrast with the tutti sections. In this overture, this preference is obvious right from the start.The virtuosity of the flute part in Suite No.2 is one of the most convincing arguments for dating this piece afterBachs Cthen period, when he wrote relatively easy flute parts. The virtuosity demonstrated here gives thework the allure of a solo concerto. Especially the last movement belongs to the best show pieces ever writtenfor the flute.

Clemens Romijn

CD I-4

ORCHESTRALSUITES3&4 BWV 1068 & 1069

In 1723 Bach moved from Cthen to Leipzig and became what he is mostly remembered for: cantor of thechurch of St.Thomas. In 1729 he also took over the university music society founded by Telemann in 1702, theLeipzig Collegium Musicum. If, in becoming cantor, Bachs main attentions had been directed away from theconcertos, sonatas and suites of the Cthen period and more towards church music, he was now at least presen-ted with a new opportunity of regularly performing secular works. Bach probably performed his Four OrchestralSuites - like his harpsichord concertos and secular cantatas - at the concerts of this Collegium Musicum. The

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style and instrumentation of these dazzling pieces for orchestra suggest that they were conceived in Cthen andplayed in Leipzig in some newer version. The French titles to the Suites and their various dance movements fol-low examples of the French (Italian born) composer Jean Baptiste Lully, who put together the dances of his `bal-lets and his opra-ballets to form suites. They found their counterpart in the refined art of the 17th century

French lute and the harpsichord players, and found their way to Germany through Johann Jakob Froberger, who-ses music was familiar to Bach. The development leading to the suites of Bach presents an interesting pictureof international cooperation. Briefly stated, Italy contributed the early development (16th century), England theGigue, France the great wealth of dance types (early 17th century), and Germany the conception of the suite asa unified and definite musical form. In this way, a new form developed with a basic scheme of Allemande,Courante, Sarabande and Gigue and was taken over by numerous German composers. They wrote orchestral sui-tes consisting of a French overture followed by a series of `modern dances, such as rigaudon, marche, chacon-

ne, bourre and many others. Such suites, briefly called Ouverture after the initial movement, were written byJohann Kusser, Georg Muffat, Johann Kaspar Ferdinand Fischer, Johann Joseph Fux, Georg Philipp Telemannand Bach. Bach also transferred this type of orchestral suite to the harpsichord in his Franzsische Ouvertre(French Overture) contained in his Clavierbung III, as did Georg Bhm before him. Bachs Orchestral SuitesNos.3 and 4 are in the same key (D major) and scored for nearly the same group of instruments.Through the addition of trumpets and timpani to the basic instrumentation of two oboes and strings, Suite No.3takes on a festive character. Suite No.4 also makes use of trumpets, in addition to three oboes, bassoon and tim-

pani. When young Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy played the magnificent initial movement of No.3 on the pianoto Goethe in May 1830, the poet remarked: `There is such pomp and ceremony here that one can actually seea procession of elegantly dressed people descending a vast flight of stairs.Bach himself used the joyous intro-ductory movement of this Suite for the initial chorus of his Christmas Cantata 110, based on Psalm 126, v.2with the words: `Then was our mouth filled with laughter and our tongue with singing. Perhaps the best knownmovement of all four suites is the beautiful Air of No.3. The two Gavottes following the Air have an earthysense of humour and the Finale is a turbulent Gigue. In No.4 the three oboes form an independent trio, which

takes on a kind of solo function from the first movement to the last. Is is frequently expanded into a quartet bythe addition of the bassoon which gives the work a witty charm. A character piece with the appropriate Frenchtitle Rjouissane [Rejoicing] serves as a final movement.

Clemens Romijn

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CD I-5

VIOLINCONCERTOSExcept for his fourteen concertos for one to four harpsichords, Bach composed most of his concertos for oneor more solo instruments and orchestra in the congenial athmosphere of the court of the young Prince Leopoldat Cthen, between 1717 and 1723. Prince Leopold, Bachs junior by nine years, was an enthousiastic musiclover and proficient player of the violin, viola da gamba and harpsichord. When Bach took up his position atthe Cthen Hofkapelle the orchestra comprised 18 musicians. It was here that Bach composed much of hisharpsichord and chamber music, but also concertos for violin and for wind instruments, most of them now lost.The only concertos that have survived in their original form are the six Brandenburg Concertos and the three

violin concertos, one in A minor (BWV 1041), one in E major (BWV 1042) and one for two violins and stringsin D minor (BWV 1043). It may seem strange that only three violin concertos from the Cthen period are pre-served, while there exist considerably more transcriptions of such works for solo harpsichord and strings fromBachs Leipzig years. Did Bach discard some of the originals as soon as the arrangements were completed? Orwere some violin concertos lost after Bachs death, possibly through the negligence of his eldest son, WilhelmFriedemann? These questions probably will never been answered. The three extant violin concertos mark theclimax of Bachs violin music, together with the sonatas and partitas for violin solo and the sonatas for violin

and cembalo obbligato. They were presumably written for the leader of the Cthen orchestra, Joseph Spiess, atalented violinist recruted from Berlin in 1714. In the Concerto or two violins Spiess might have been joinedby his colleague Martin Friedrich Marcus, also from Berlin.

The Concerto in G minor (BWV 1056) has been reconstructed from the well known Concerto for harpsichordand strings in F minor (BWV 1056). The Largo exists also as Sinfonia to Cantata No.156, Ich steh mit einemFuss im Grabe. Also the Concerto for violin and strings in D minor (BWV 1052) has been reconstructed from

a version for harpsichord which Bach himself arranged from an original for violin that has not been preserved.The Concerto for violin, strings and basso continuo in E major (BWV 1042) is very popular for its familiarityand technical brilliance. In the first movement ritornello form is combined with da-capo form. The crisp tuttitheme at the beginning prevails over the whole movement. From a structural point of view, the orchestra andsolo violin mix together far more than in the former concerto. The second movement, an Adagio in C sharp

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minor, is a tender cantilena with the same plan as the A minor concerto. The orchestra intervenes only at thebeginning and at the end, the violinists lyrical solo line is backed by its persistent figuration. The finale,Allegro assai, in rondo form shows passepied-like vivid rhythm. Five identical ritornelles flank the soloistsfour episodes.

The Concerto for violin, strings and basso continuo in A minor (BWV 1041) is in the three movement Vivaldiform, fast-slow-fast, unlike many other German concertos by e.g. Telemann that have four movements. Theritornello form is used for the outer fast movements; this plan is common to all five concertos recorded here.But, by developing Vivaldis simple principle with his original ideas, Bach transformed it into a richer and morediversified form. In the first movement, the clear contrast between solo and tutti is abandoned, so that the wholemight be flowing and more unified. It starts with a lively tempo, in which ritornelles and episodes for the soloist

alternate in a regular and symmetrical way. The second movement, Andante in C major, is a beautiful cantile-na with ostinato bass, a simple harmonic backing that is repeated over and over again. The fast finale, Allegroassai, shows gigue rhythm.

The Concerto for three violins in D major (BWV 1064) is a recent arrangement of Bachs Concerto for threeharpsichords and strings in C major (BWV 1064). The earliest source of the harpsichord version dates fromc.1740. According to tradition Bach would have composed the Concerto for three harpsichords for his own use,

to present himself together with his eldest sons Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emanuel in the meetingsof the Leipzig Collegium Musicum in the early 1730s. As Bach research has shown, Bach, when writing hisConcerto for three harpsichords, used an original version for three violins and strings now lost and probablyearlier than his Brandenburg Concertos.

Clemens Romijn

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CD I-6

HARPSICHORDCONCERTOSBWV 1052-1055Most of Bachs instrumental works are usually assigned to the seven years (1717-1723) which he spent in theservice of the Prince of Anhalt-Cthen. At this Calvinistic court Bach was free from ecclesiastical duties andhad an instrumental ensemble of about seventeen musicians to direct. The Violin Concertos belong to thisperiod, but the Harpsichord Concertos were the product of Bachs association with the Telemann MusicalSociety, the Leipzig University Collegium Musicum, in the `20s, `30s and `40s of the seventeenth century. Hissons were growing up and he taught them to play the harpsichord. The concertos for two, three and four harp-sichords, transcriptions some of them of Vivaldi, were arranged by Bach to play with his sons at home or with

his pupils at these weekly gatherings. Indeed the harpsichord concerto seems to have been Bachs personalinnovation, as the organ concerto was Handels. Corelli, Vivaldi and a few other Italians had been the starting-point for the concerto grosso and the solo concerto for violin. Bach took over (and as always with him, trans-formed) the form evolved by the Italian violin school. Needing music for the Collegium Musicum he transcri-bed his own and other mens violin concertos for keyboard and thereby initiated a new form of musical art.

The keyboard versions are usually a tone lower than the originals. It may be that the transpositions were deter-

mined by differences in Cthen and Leipzig tunings, or, more likely, were necessary to compensate the harp-sichords lack of high e prominent in the violin version. Bach was an inveterate borrower from himself andeven used a number of these concerto movements in his cantatas. As the canon now stands there are some sevenharpsichord concertos of which the claims to originality of No.1 in D minor (BWV 1052) are discussed below.Movements of No.2 in E (BWV 1053) were used again for two church cantatas, No.3 in D (BWV 1054) is atransposition of the Violin Concerto in E, No.4 in A (BWV 1066) and No.5 in F minor (BWV 1056) are pro-bably transcriptions of violin concertos. No.6 (BWV 1057) is identical with the Fourth Brandenburg Concerto,

and No.7 in G minor (BWB 1058) is a transcription of the A minor Violin Concerto. Of the three concertos fortwo harpsichords, No.3 in C minor (BWV 1060) is identical with the Double Violin Concerto in D minor(BWV 1043), No.2 in C major (BWV 1061) is an original work for two harpsichords and No.1 in C minor(BWV 1060) is regarded as a transcription of a lost original for violin and oboe. There are two concertos forthree harpsichords, in D minor (BWV 1063) and C major (BWV 1064), and one for four harpsichords in A

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minor (BWV 1065), which is a transcription of a concerto for four violins by Vivaldi. Of the lost violin con-certos three have survived, as said above, in the form of harpsichord transcriptions. Bachs lack of considera-tion for posterity in thus confronting his posthumous students with editorial tangles is comparable to that ofDvork in the numbering of his symphonies and Moussorgsky in the confusion of his Boris Godunow.

The violin concerto from which the Harpsichord Concerto No.1 in D minor (BWV 1052), whether Bachs ownor anothers, is thought to have been derived, is lost. Some figurations of the soloist are sometimes cited as evi-dence of a violinistic origin. The demonic first movement with its vigorous unison theme was afterwards used(by Bach himself) as an organ prelude and the slow movement as the first chorus of the Church Cantata No.146,Wir mssen durch viel Trbsal. The solemn and spacious slow movement is also in a minor mode (G), whichis very exceptional in Bachs concertos and sonatas in minor modes. The construction of the Finale is very simi-

lar to that of the first movement. It is built on a ritornello of twelve bars after which the soloist has a toccata-like figure for his first main solo.

Apparently several other harpsichord concertos are transcriptions of violin concertos too. The E majorConcerto (BWV 1053) may preserve a lost violin in D or an oboe concerto, although some scholars think thatit was originally conceived for the harpsichord. The D major Concerto (BWV 1054) is Bachs arrangement ofhis own Violin Concerto in E (BWV 1042), dated c.1720. Also the A major Concerto (BWV 1055) may pre-

serve a lost violin concerto or a concerto for oboe damore. One scholar, W. Mohr, suggests that the originalversion was for a string instrument and not an oboe - probably a viola since the range is too low for the violin.

Clemens Romijn

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CD I-7

HARPSICHORDCONCERTOSBWV 1056-1057-1058-1060-1065The F minor Concerto for harpsichord and strings (BWV 1056) probably originated from a Violin concerto inG that has been lost, but which has been reconstructed twice in the last decades. The Largo exists also asSinfonia to Cantata No.156, Ich steh mit einem Fuss im Grabe. This is perhaps a more light-weight concertothan the majestic and even dramatic one in D minor (BWV 1052) that lasts almost twice as long. The firstmovement is founded on a ritornello, which within four bars gives sufficient characteristic features to supplyall the material for the following development. The slow movement, in A flat major, is a long arabesque witha light and regular accompaniment on the strings. The finale is a vigorous allegro movement, full of echo-

effects like the first movement, but in a more flowing triple time. It is amazing how much wit and humour canbe expressed in the somber key of F minor.

The F major Concerto for harpsichord and strings (BWV 1057) is Bachs arrangement of his BrandenburgConcerto No.4 (BWV 1049), dated c.1719. It is the only harpsichord concerto to use two recorders in theaccompaniment. The G minor Concerto (BWV 1058) was arranged from Bachs Violin Concerto in A minor(BWV 1041) from about 1720. Bach used the Vivaldian ritornello form for the outer fast movements of this

concerto. But, by developing Vivaldis simple principle with his original ideas, Bach transformed it into a richerand more diversified form. In the first movement, the clear contrast between solo and tutti is abandoned, so thatthe whole might be flowing and more unified. It starts with a lively tempo, in which ritornelles and episodesfor the soloist alternate in a regular and symmetrical way. The second movement is a beautiful cantilena withostinato bass, a simple harmonic backing that is repeated over and over again. The fast finale, Allegro assai,shows gigue rhythm.

Bach did not confine himself to writing concertos for single solo harpsichord, but also composed concertos fortwo, three and even four harpsichords accompanied by string orchestra. These works seem once again to bederived from earlier versions. Among the Concertos for two harpsichords and strings one, in C minor (BWV1062), is based on Bachs own Concerto for two violins in D minor (BWV 1043). A second C minor Concerto(BWV 1060) is probably the transcription of a Concerto for oboe and violin, no longer in existence. In these

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is the second movement of the third of six sonatas for organ (BWV 527), composed after 1727 or, possibly,after 1723. The traditional view is that this concerto was developed from these works. However, in a recentarticle by Hans Eppstein, it is suggested that the Prelude and Fuge was itself based on a lost keyboard concer-to and that the Organ Sonata BWV 527 may also be an arrangement of an earlier instrumental trio, now lost.

Eppstein believes that stylistic elements in the A minor Triple Concerto point to a composition date around thatof Brandenburg Concerto No.5, c.1720, which also has a monumental concertante part for the harpsichord.When arranging his earlier harpsichord Prelude and Fugue into the outer movements of the Triple ConcertoBach not only broadened but also reconstructed the general form. By reworking and enlarging the original ideashe produced a staggeringly impressive conception, dramatized further by dynamic contrasts and (in the Finale)by the confrontation of highly intense solo lines with the orchestras sharp impact. Yet the orchestra is not mere-ly a contrasting partner to the soloist concertino, it also produces a broad canvas of an obbligato accompag-

nato. Bach also makes use of unique effects, such as the combination of harpsichord passages with the orche-stras pizzicato before the end of the first movement. The brilliant effect of inner unity in the first and lastmovements is achieved by the ingenious combination of concerto form and fuge, which Bach had already expe-rimented with in some of his Brandenburg Concertos. The crowning point of the virtuoso harpsichord part is amagnificent cadence in the last movement. The second movement, Adagio e dolce, contrasts strongly with thedramatic first and last movements. Despite all contrapuntal strictness this music is in a more modern and galantstyle. Perhaps it is no coincidence, that Mozart, on the suggestion of Baron Gottfried van Swieten, transcribed

the original organ version for a string trio.As we have seen above, most of Bachs fifteen concertos for the harpsichord (or for two, three or four harpsi-chords) were produced by re-writing concertos composed originally for other instruments, usually the violin.Bach transposed the original key down by a second, so that the work would fit the range of the harpsichordsof Bachs time. The original versions have mostly been lost. But a study of Bachs method of re-writing workswhere both versions have been preserved (e.g. the famous Concerto in D minor for two violins, later arrangedfor two harpsichords) provides us with a reliable means of reconstructing the original versions from the later

transcriptions. This is the case with another Concerto in C minor for two harpsichords (BWV 1060). Its ori-ginal model, which has been lost, the Concerto in D minor for oboe and violin was offered in the Breitkopfcatalogue as late as 1764: `Bach, G(iovanni) S(ebastian) I. Concerto a Oboe concert(ato), Violino concert(ato),2 Violini, Viola, Basso. 1 thl. The musical content and charm of this composition is perhaps even more con-vincing in this version, because the sound of the harpsichord in the later version can only roughly sketch the

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flowing melody sung by the two melodic instruments in the slow movement.

The Concerto for two violins, strings and basso continuo in D minor (BWV 1043) is one of the most beautifulworks among Bachs numerous instrumental music. From the point of view of style, this piece seems to be

archaic in comparison with the two solo violin concertos. The date of composition is believed to be a little ear-lier than the others, 1718. This concerto is written with well-ordered structure in each of the three movementsand with the technique of imitation skillfully employed throughout. Bach reduced the orchestral contributionsubstantially in order not to distract the listeners to much from the solo parts. The weight of the first movementfalls upon the soloists in two long episodes, the tutti returning only briefly in the middle and at the end. Thework reaches its peak in the second movement, Largo ma non tanto, in a sicilian rhythm, a sublime duet ofbeautifully overlapping and imitative phrases.

The Concerto in A major for harpsichord and strings (BWV 1055) is believed to be a transcription from an ear-lier version for violin or oboe damore. One scholar, W. Mohr, suggests that the original version was for a strin-ged instrument and not an oboe - probably a viola since the range is too low for the violin. But, in 1939 DonaldTovey suggested - or as some say, even proved - that the A major Concerto for harpsichord and strings (BWV1055) was originally written for the oboe damore, an instrument that came into use around 1720 and remai-ned popular until the end of the 18th century.

Clemens Romijn

CD I-10/11

SONATE EPARTITE PERVIOLINOSOLO

Vier arme Saiten! - es klingt wie Scherz -Fr alle Wunder des Schalles!Hat doch der Mensch nur ein einzig Herz,und reicht doch hin fr alles!

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(Four poor strings! it seems a joke For all the wonders of sound!While mankind has just a single heartEnough for any task!)

Franz Grillparzer, Austrian poet, 1791-1872

A poem about the poverty and wealth of the violin. Just a piece of wood, some strings and a bow, but a simp-ly unbelievable sound. Grillparzers last lines refer to the great mental capacity of the human species, and allthat can be comprehended and achieved with just a single heart. The poet is optimistic about our human capa-bilities, declining to mention the things we do not understand. It is doubtful whether Grillparzer, a contempor-

ary of Beethoven and Schubert, would have known Bachs six works for solo violin, but he has unintentional-ly captured them in the first two lines of this poem. Bach seems to demand the very most of the violin, or per-haps even more, more indeed than it can cope with. Many passages, particularly those with frequent double-stopping, cannot be performed literally. Violinists and scholars have devoted numerous bottles of ink and pilesof paper to this and many other aspects of the performance practice of Bachs violin solos much more thanBach ever needed to write down his six sonatas and partitas.

We are accustomed to consider Bachs six violin solos as chamber music, music with a certain intimacy, usu-ally performed in small concert halls. But it is almost certain that three of the six works, the three sonatas, wereintended for performance in the church. This is mentioned in 1802 by Johann Nikolaus Forkel, Bachs first bio-grapher.

Just one little number, a fingering in the form of a small three, forms the ultimate proof in Bachs magnifi-cent autograph (a calligraphic work of art in itself, dating from 1720) that Bach played the violin solos him-

self. Violin playing was indeed a family tradition, and Bachs appointment in 1703 at the early age of eighteenas violinist at the court of Weimar was followed by the post of violinist and harpsichordist from 1708-1717.Bach the violinist has been overshadowed by our fascination with Bach the composer, organist and harpsi-chordist. But beside his imposing organ solos, his fifth Brandenburg concerto and The Well-Tempered Clavier,Bach was also soloist in his violin concertos and unaccompanied violin solos. And the latter are so extremely

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difficult that they raise the question who else could possibly have played them at the time. Perhaps JohannGeorg Pisendel, the leading German violinist of Bachs day, concertmaster at the court chapel in Dresden at thetime of August the Strong, pupil and friend of Vivaldi, and celebrated for his enormous technical commandof complex double stopping and figuration. Great composers including Vivaldi, Albinoni and Telemann dedi-

cated works to him. Was this who Bach had in mind? Or did Bach have nobody in mind except himself? Oneis inclined to think so. For in Bachs circle of players and audiences, who could have faced the mental, artisticand technical tax of these works?The question has often been raised which pieces formed Bachs examples. Polyphonic and harmonic writingfor the violin was not at all new in his time, since Biber, Westhoff and Walther had already exploited this style.But with the possible exception of Biber, none could stand in the shadow of Bach in terms of quality and artis-tic accomplishment. Bach set a standard which was never equalled before and has never been surpassed since.

In their attempts to write for solo violin composers such as Reger, Ysae and Hindemith have felt Bach breat-hing down their necks. Bach inspired them, but frustrated them too. Bach fanatics like Mendelssohn andSchumann even considered that Bachs musical torrent was more than the small violin could deal with: bothcomposed piano accompaniments, Schumann indeed for the entire set of six violin solos and six cello suites.

Bachs manuscript of the six works is arranged so that each sonata is followed by a partita. The sonatas comp-rise four movements, slow-fast, slow-fast, grouped in pairs. The slow introductions are followed by fast fugues.

Sonata no. 1 in G minor has a three-part fugue. The third movement is a rocking, three-part siciliano. In thefinal Presto the quasi-polyphonic style is striking. In contrast to the sonatas, the partitas feature dance forms,likewise grouped in pairs in the sequence slow-fast. In Partita no. 1 in B minor each dance is followed by acontrasting double or variation. The customary gigue as fourth dance is replaced here by a Boure.

The slow opening movement of Sonata no. 2 is a lengthy piece, loaded with written-out embellishments. Anentirely different world opens up in the succeeding fugue, based on a somewhat dry two-bar theme with a stri-

king chromatically descending countersubject. The 18th-century critic Johann Mattheson already noted theenormous diversity and naturalness of this fugue. After an Andante in the parallel key of C major an energetic,almost restless final movement follows, with Italianate echo effects. The Partita no. 2 in D minor has becomeparticularly famous for its fifth movement, a Chaconne: its abnormal length of 257 bars and unbridled fantasyurge the partita to a staggering climax.

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The Sonata no. 3 in C major has the most extensive fugue of the three sonatas. It is a real treasure chest of con-trapuntal invention. When Bach arrives at a pedal point, and the listener suspects that the end is approaching,he presents all the material again, but now in reversed order - an awe-inspiring tour de force! After a splendidlyradiant Largo the work ends with an amazing perpetuum mobile. The power of this sonata lies largely in the

perfect succession of remarkably differing movements. The Partita no. 3 in E major, strongly influenced by theFrench suite, opens with a Preludio rather than an Allemande as in the other partitas. In view of the number ofarrangements of the movement by Bach himself, this Preludio must have been one of his special favourites. InBachs hands the Loure, a dance originating from Normandy, became a slow and somewhat introvert move-ment. After the Gavotte and Rondeau and two Menuets, a transparent Gigue brings the circle of this partita toa light-footed conclusion.

Clemens Romijn

CD I-12/13

CELLOSUITES1-2-3-4-5-6

One of the happiest periods of Johann Sebastian Bachs life was the seven years (1717-1723) when he livedand worked in Cthen. He subsequently moved to Leipzig with his wife and children, becoming cantor of theThomaskirche and writing his now world-famous passions and hundreds of cantatas. This is our most familiarpicture of Bach. Much of his chamber music, however, was composed in Cthen, where Bach was chapelmas-ter of the court orchestra of Prince Leopold von Anhalt-Cthen, a fanatical music lover of only 23 years of age.The prince spent no less than a quarter of his court finances on music and often joined his virtuoso musicianson the violin, viola da gamba or harpsichord. We would probably have forgotten the prince entirely had his

court not been the setting for the composition of Bachs Brandenburg Concertos, the Well-Tempered Clavierpart 1, the Sonatas and Partitas for violin solo, the Suites for cello solo and other chamber music.

One of the virtuosos employed by Prince Leopold was the celebrated viol player and cellist Christian FerdinandAbel. Bach is presumed to have written his six suites for solo cello for him, since the composer makes extre-

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me demands, if not requiring the impossible, of both cello and cellist. Many passages, particularly the manydouble stoppings, cannot be executed literally. In the Suites for solo cello, as in the Sonatas and Partitas forsolo violin, Bach pursued hitherto untrodden paths. He achieved the very greatest effect with the very smallestmeans, turning an obstacle race into a display of grandeur. As an instrumentalist to the back-bone, Bach pus-

hed forward the boundaries of performance practice by exploiting to the full the specific possibilities of thecello. These Suites, with their improvisational adventures, strict imitative excursions, rhythmic flair and for thetime unequalled virtuosity, are in every sense the equal of Bachs keyboard works of the same period.Furthermore, within his oeuvre they form a group of compositions in their own right, in which he succeeded,with all the means offered by the instrument but without the accompaniment of a basso continuo, in creatinggenuine polyphony and harmony. Bachs suites present an absolute standard, a standard which had to be meas-ured up to by composers including Reger, Hindemith, Ysae, Kdaly, Bartk, Honegger and Ligeti when they

composed for solo cello.

Unlike the works for solo violin, all six cello suites have a similar structure. They commence with a prelude,followed by an allemande, courante, two French dances (galanteries) and a gigue. The First Suite in G majorbegins with a genuine prelude with perpetual motion in semiquavers, employing arpeggio and scale motifs.Bach builds the tension up until the very end, culminating in the widely spread final chord with a high g. Theprelude is followed by an allemande, pacing forward regularly, and a courante, highly virtuosic despite its sing-

le voice. The small-scale sarabande is a fine example of classical structure, with two phrases of eight bars each.After two simple menuets, employing material reminiscent of the prelude, the suite ends with a whirling gigue.

Darker and more dramatic is the Second Suite in D minor. The prelude and allemande offer more rhythmicvariety than the corresponding movements in the First Suite. Wonderful chords and a dark timbre lend the sara-bande great profundity. The menuets provide a strong contrast. The first is in D minor and has such robustchords that it is hardly a galanterie. The galant second menuet is in the sunny key of D major. The same stur-

dy character permeates the concluding gigue.

In the opening of the magnificent prelude to the Third Suite in C major, a descending scale and broken chordsare the broad brush strokes used to establish the key. The exciting semiquaver movement set in motion hereculminates in a long pedal point, the bass note G which is repeated for no less than seven bars. The prelude is

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followed by a beautifully ornamented, noble allemande, followed by a fast pendant in the form of the couran-te, the French dance which runs along so agilely but surprises us with all sorts of risky melodic leaps. Slowonce more is the dignified, striding sarabande with its wonderful double stoppings. Perhaps the most familiarmovements are the two bourres, originally French country dances, with their appealing and sweeping melo-

dies. The suite ends with an English jumping dance, the gigue, larded with virtuosic effects and awkward hand-fuls of notes.

The Fourth Suite commences with a most spectacular prelude: 48 bars of continuosly tumbling arpeggios arebrought to an end only by a pause, followed by a long garland of semiquavers. More pensive is the prelude tothe Fifth Suite in C minor. It is the only prelude of the six to comprise two contrasting halves, first a dark,improvisational section and then a fugal passage which constitutes a wonder of single-part polyphony. In

order to accomodate double stoppings and create a particularly dark colour, Bach requires the highest A stringto be tuned down to G. The recalcitrant Sixth Suite in D major was written for an instrument with five strings,the viola pomposa. In size this instrument occupies a place between the cello and viola; above the customaryhigh A string it has an E string. In the lengthy prelude the uninterrupted 12/8 movement maintains the tensionfrom beginning to end. It is followed by the most richly ornamented and broadly sweeping allemande of theseries of six. More streamlined and straightforward is the transparent and single-voiced courante, after whichthe sarabande indulges once more in an ingenious chordal style. The customary two menuets between the sara-

bande and gigue are replaced here by gavottes.

Clemens Romijn

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Sonata in E flat major BWV 1031 and the Sonata in A major BWV 1032. Solo and Trio were the most pop-ular chamber music genres of the period. The Trio was especially loved because it offered the opportunity formusical imitation of a dialogue. The two independent upper parts, supported by the basso continuo, conduct amusical conversation in which they are heard to agree and disagree, sometimes in harmony and sometimes in

competition.One of Bachs contemporaries, the critic Johann Adolph Scheibe, mentioned as a trait of the trio sonata theFugenmssige, the fugue-like, or the so-called principle of imitation. This is recognisable in the entries of theconcertato upper parts which imitate one another like two voices in a fugue. Occasionally the bass joins in thegame, picking up the melody and copying the others, but usually it concentrates on its own role as a founda-tion. In Bachs time sonatas and trio sonatas were also expected to offer an alternation of virtuosic and canta-bile passages, with all sorts of technical escapades including broken chords and brilliant passagework in the

fast movements, and agreable, easily flowing melodic lines in the slow movements.

Beside chamber music with an accompaniment Bach left us some dozen other works for unaccompanied melo-dy instruments, such as the Sonatas and Partitas for violin solo and the Cello Suites. An example is the Partitain A minor BWV 1013, a work usually heard on the flauto traverso or flute. The unreliable transmission andthe idiom of this composition have led some scholars to doubt the authenticity of this instrumentation and tosuggest performance on a string instrument. This makes some passages easier to play, such as the continuous

stream of semiquavers in the Allemande which a flautist has to interrupt in order to breath. Despite doubtsabout the correct instrumentation, the listener is treated to wonderful examples of characteristic dances such asthe French Allemande, the Italian Corrente and the French Sarabande. The most magical of all is surely thesparkling Bourre anglaise.

The Trio Sonata in G major exists in three versions: one for viola da gamba and concertato harpsichord (BWV1027, certainly authentic), one for two flauti traversi and basso continuo (BWV 1039, assumed to be authen-

tic), and a version of the first, second and fourth movements for organ (or harpsichord or clavichord withpedals) BWV 1027a. What Bach exactly had in mind in respect to the second version we do not know, since itis not clear whether it is supposed to be a trio sonata (for three instruments: two flutes and basso continuo) ora work for one flute and concertato harpsichord. In the latter case the harpsichord plays two parts, one of thetwo upper voices and the bass. Because of these different instrumentations this poetic (Andante) and at the

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same time happy and energetic work has enjoyed extra attention. Moreover, it is one of the many examples ofhow Bach continued to reuse his own work. The various instrumentations enabled him to give one and the samepiece different expression and colour, so that his music could not fall into oblivion so quickly.

Clemens Romijn

CD I-16/17

LUTEWORKS

For much of his life Bach had a particular interest in the lute and its music. According to the description of hisestate his Leipzig house contained a considerable collection of musical instruments including five harpsi-chords, a pedal harpsichord, two lute-harpsichords, a spinet, two violins, a violino piccolo, three violas, aBassetchen (viola pomposa), two cellos, a viola da gamba and a lute. These instruments were for private use,for tuition and for the Collegium Musicum in the church. But when the opportunity arose the family gave houseconcerts for guests. Concerning one of these concerts we know that Wilhelm Friedemann, Bachs eldest son,was here for four weeks and played several times in our home, with the two famous lutenists Herr [Silvius

Leopold] Weiss and Herr [Johann] Kropffgans from Dresden. Weiss was among the well-known guest musi-cians invited by Bach to play with the Leipziger Collegium Musicum in the 1730s. Some of Bachs lute workssaw the light of day thanks to his friendship with these lutenists and with Ernst Gottlieb Baron. Moreover, atleast two of Bachs pupils, Johann Ludwig Krebs and Rudolph Straube, played and composed for the lute.

Thanks to his many connections with instrument builders Bach was able to experiment to his hearts contentwith newly-developed instruments. His interest was both artistic, technical and material. Besides being an

unsurpassed organ expert he played an important role in the development and construction of new types of key-board instrument such as the lute-harpsichord, a gut-stringed variation on the traditional instrument. PerhapsBach was tempted to experiment with this hybrid instrument because examples had been built by JohannNicolaus Bach, an elder nephew from Jena. Later, Johann Friedrich Agricola recalled that he had seen andheard a lute-harpsichord in about 1740 in Leipzig, designed by Herr Johann Sebastian Bach and built by Herr

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Zacharias Hildebrandt, of smaller dimensions than a normal harpsichord. Bach had written several works forthis instrument, including the Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in E flat major, BWV 998, composed shortly after1740 and, according to the autograph, written pour la Luth Cembal, and the Suite in E minor BWV 996.Nowadays these two works are usually played on the lute.

Bach employed the lute both as a solo instrument and in ensembles, for example in the Trauermusik BWV 198(1727), which has two lute parts, and the arioso no. 31 in the St John Passion. Bachs oeuvre for solo lute comp-rises three suites, the above-mentioned Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in E flat major, a fugue and a prelude. TheFugue in G minor BWV 1000 is an adaptation of the fugue from the Sonata in D minor for solo violin BWV1001, which Bach also adapted for the organ (BWV 539), and the Suite in E major BWV 1006a is an arrange-ment of the Partita in E major for solo violin BWV 1006.

One of Bachs most impressive lute works is the Suite in G minor, BWV 995, which survives in the compo-sers handwriting. It is an arrangement of the Fifth Suite for solo cello BWV 1011 and was adapted and exten-ded (several passages and bass lines) by Bach in such a manner that it sounds like an original lute work. Theprofound and pensive prelude comprises two contrasting halves, first dark and improvisational and then fugal.Where there was the suggestion of polyphony in the cello version, in the adaptation for lute it became genui-ne polyphony.

In view of the number of versions of the Preludio from Partita no. 3 in E major for solo violin, Bach must havebeen particularly fond of the piece. One such version is recorded here on the lute. Instead of the customary suitemovements allemande, courante and sarabande, Bach wrote a loure, originally a folk dance stemming fromNormandy. After the gavotte en rondeau and two menuets, a transparent gigue closes the circle of this suite ona light note. On the manuscript of the Prelude in C minor BWV 999 Bach wrote explicitly pour la lute.Although it is indeed a very idiomatic piece for the instrument, thanks to Friedrich Conrad Griepenkerl, one of

the 19th-century editors of Bachs work, it became known as a keyboard piece and was included as no. 3 in theseries of 12 Short Preludes which form the stable diet of all beginners on the keyboard.

In about 1800 an unknown hand wrote aufs Lautenwerk on a manuscript of the Suite in E minor BWV 996,a reference to the above-mentioned lute-harpsichord. This suite, usually performed on the lute and sometimes

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texture and their combined comprehensive critique of the sonata genre suggests that they somehow belong withone another. Only the first sonata exists in a previous version, a trio sonata for two flutes and continuo, BWV1039, and this cannot be dated to a period much before the version preserved in BWV 1027. Moreover the auto-graph of the first sonata originates from around the early 1740s. Stylistically too, the three sonatas seem to

accord more with the musical processes typical of the mid-Leipzig years than with the period traditionallyassigned to chamber music, Bachs years as the Kthen Kapellmeister, 1717-23. The work of contemporaryscholars, particularly Laurence Dreyfus, has done much to revolutionize our conception of Bachs career, andthe dating of the gamba sonatas has been a prime target for revision.Furthermore, this hypothesis is strengthened if with a little circularity by the conjecture made both by Dreyfusan Lucy Robinson, that Bach designed the sonatas for the gamba virtuoso Carl Friedrich Abel, who lived inLeipzig sometime between 1737 and 1743 and who probably studied with Bach. Certainly the calligraphic score

of the first sonata, beautifully laid out in separate parts with convenient page-turns, suggests a manuscriptdesigned both for presentation and for actual performance. Given the detail of ornamentation and articulationwhich Bach specifies here (more complete than even his conscientious wont) it is not difficult to imagine the com-poser preparing this manuscript for one of Abels appearances in the Leipzig Collegium Musicum. What we knowabout the lost autograph of the third sonata, suggests that this manuscript was similar in appearance and layout.

Despite Bachs care in preparing his scores, he did not necessarily work with the same degree of consistency

and precision that we may expect from a modern Urtext editor. Indeed the view of each piece of music as afinite and perfected musical text was by no means the norm in Bachs age. The problems of establishing a plau-sible text today are compounded when the works preserved only in the hands of later and non-too-careful copy-ists; this is the case with the second and third sonatas. Quite often, the sources might offer contradictory or imp-lausible readings, so the modern performer has to make decisions regarding certain details, just as presumablydid the players of Bachs own age.

Even the titles of these pieces give one pause for thought: Sonatas for viola da gamba and obbligato harpsi-chord. First, the gamba is an instrument that was already somewhat archaic in Bachs age; if a composer usedit in Germany, it would have been as a servile continuo instrument, or in the case of an obbligato, in piecesassociated with royalty or a lamenting effect. If a solo piece were to be written, it would most likely be a suitein the seventeenth-century French tradition, not the more up-to-date sonata genre. Furthermore, the harpsichord

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was an instrument not typically associated with an obbligato role in the sonata (i.e. where the right hand playsas an equal partner with an other instrument). Bach seems to have made a habit of this, since he left multiplesonatas for violin and flute which have a similar obbligato role for harpsichord.

The first two sonatas are written in the Corellian four-movement form (slow-fast-slow-fast), but Bach is notcontent to furnish each of the four positions with a specific and consistent style. The opening movements ofthe first and second sonatas pay lip-service to the expansive melodic gestures typical of the traditional triosonata, yet the pastoral atmosphere of the first sonata is integrated with an often intense contrapuntal dialogue(at times between all three voices), and chromatic gestures. The second sonata opens with a short-breathed,almost galant melody accompanied by a bass which is obviously of the modern Alberti kind; yet it soonemerges that the gamba and harpsichord work together in close imitation for a time in strict canon musical

devices far too serious for the subject matter the hand.While the second movement of the first sonata is conventionally in fugal style, Bach gives it a galant motivicflavour; this is even more noticeable in the second movement of the second sonata which is unexpectedly castin binary form (that most appropiate to the dance) and where the fugal elements are consistently obscured bya modish, carefree texture. The most striking work is the third sonata, which comprises three movements rat-her than four. Not only is this more typical of the Vivaldian concerto than the trio-sonata, but the style of the

music, particularly in the first movement, resembles the concerto idiom. Indeed some scholars have even seenthis as the transcription of an original concerto movement. Yet as a more private sonata this piece is doublyeffective, pointing to worlds and concepts outside its own confines.

The Prelude and Fugue an A minor BWV 894 provides an interesting compliment to the gamba sonatas.Although it is undoubtedly of earlier origins, presumably from the late Weimar years, Bach re-used much ofthe material from both movements in the triple concerto for violin, flute and harpsichord, BWV 1044, during

the mid-Leipzig years. It is not surprising that he chose this earlier work: both movements, particularly thePrelude, show strong traits of the Vivaldian concerto style. Indeed, the ritornello structure of the Prelude quali-fies it to be just as much an Italian Concerto as the work of that name that Bach composed for harpsichordin the 1730s. Bach and his cousin J.G. Walter developed a particular keyboard genre from around 1713, trans-cribing Italian concertos for harpsichord and organ. This prelude might have been part of the next stage, in

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A li B h i d i hi h b i f l d h i hi h

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As a true cosmopolitan, Bach incorporated in his chamber music many forms, styles and techniques whichwere not of German origin. The sonata, trio sonata and concerto were Italian inventions, and the suite camefrom France. Typically German is the integration of these strange forms and elements, and their subordina-tion to a polyphonic concept and fugal and canonic techniques. This is illustrated in Bachs six sonatas for vio-lin and harpsichord. His point of departure was the traditional Italian trio sonata, a genre featuring two upperparts involved in a sort of dialogue above a supporting bass line. This picture is familiar from the three-partInventions or Sinfonias which Bach composed as didactic keyboard pieces for his two eldest sons and otherpupils.

Bachs approach to the role of the harpsichord, however, differs from that found in the customary trio sonata.While the trio sonatas by his contemporary Handel, for instance, all employ the harpsichord purely as a sup-

portive basso continuo instrument, Bach grants it a concertato role. Two of the three parts are usually given tothe harpsichord: one of the two upper voices in the right hand to partner the violin part, and the bass, the fun-dament of the entire composition, in the left hand. Thus Bach liberated the harpsichord from its servile role asbasso continuo instrument in Baroque chamber music, bringing it to the fore to occupy a dominant position inthe composition. At the same time he paved the way for similar works by his second son Carl Philipp Emanuel.

But Bach went even further, actually abandoning the traditional concept of the trio sonata as a strictly three-

part work. Sometimes the harpsichord itself performs a sort of trio sonata, a three-part invention, while the vio-lin adds a fourth voice. The number of parts can indeed increase from four or five to a total of six, with four inthe harpsichord and double stopping in the violin part. But exactly the opposite, a reduction in the number ofparts, may also occur. Occasionally there are just two parts, the violin and the bass in the left hand on the harp-sichord, while the right hand plays broken chords (Sonata BWV 1017, 3rd movement). In the third movementof the last sonata (BWV 1019) Bach even creates a monologue for the harpsichord in the form of a solo wit-hout violin. And so the violin sonatas present all sorts of situations in which the violin and harpsichord domi-

nate in turn. Strict three-part writing is mainly reserved for the fast movements, the two upper parts pursuingand imitating each other as in a canon or fugue (for example the 3rd movement of the sonata BWV 1015).

In general the violin sonatas have the four-movement structure of the so-called church sonata: slow-fast-slow-fast. This is true of the first five, but not of the sixth sonata BWV 1019. The most frequently performed of the

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three known versions of the latter work has five movements, with the above-mentioned harpsichord solo andan extra (second) slow movement in the middle. Both movements are wonderful, despite their being somethingof a curiosity, an odd man out in the sonata as a whole. The first two movements in combination with the lastwould have produced a classical form. But Bach deliberately followed a different path, illustrative of his refi-ned treatment of current styles, genres and conventions in his sonatas for violin and harpsichord.

Clemens Romijn

CD I-22

NOTENBCHLEIN FRANNAMAGDALENABACHThe year 1721 was an eventful one for Bach. In March the now world-famous Brandenburg Concertos werecompleted and dedicated to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg. But Bach also lost the person whohad supported him for thirteen years and given him four children including two musical sons: his wife MariaBarbara. To make matters worse, Johann Christoph, his elder brother and former mentor in Ohrdruf, died too.Bach, now 35 years old, was left alone with four children, Catharina Dorothea (12 years old), WilhelmFriedemann (10), Carl Philipp Emanuel (6) and Johann Gottfried Bernhard (5). In December of the same year

Bach married the talented, 20-year-old soprano Anna Magdalena Wlcken, with whom he had often mademusic. She was the daughter of the court trumpeter Johann Caspar Wlcken. Anna Magdalena became Bachsnew support and refuge, not limiting her contribution to domestic affairs: in Cthen and Leipzig, with thepatience of an angel, she copied much of her husbands music.

Within their first four years together Bach twice compiled a Clavierbchlein for Anna Magdalena, one in 1722in Cthen and one in 1725 in Leipzig. Together with the Clavierbchlein commenced earlier for his eldest sonWilhelm Friedemann, the two volumes for Anna Magdalena give some idea of domestic music-making in theBach family. Here education and diversion went hand in hand. Some of the pieces were included later in lar-ger volumes with a didactic purpose, such as the fifteen Inventions and Sinfonias, the Clavier-bung part I(with the Six Partitas for harpsichord) and The Well-Tempered Clavier. Most of the first Clavierbchlein is

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Wie oft geschieht s nicht bei dem Rauchenda, wenn der Stopfer nicht zur Hand,man pflegt die Finger zu gebrauchen.Dann denk ich, wenn ich mich verbrannt:O, macht die Kohle solche Pein,wie hei mag erst die Hlle sein?

Ich kann bei so gestalten Sachenmir bei dein Toback jederzeiterbauliche Gedanken machen.Drum schmauch ich voll Zufriedenheitzu Land, zu Wasser und zu Hausmein Pfeifchen stets in Andacht aus.

Bist du bei mir, BWV 508

Bist du bei mir, geh ich mit Freudenzum Sterben und zu meiner Ruh,zum Sterben und zu meiner Ruh.

Ach, wie vergngt wr so mein Ende,es drckten deine schne Hnde mir getreuenAugen zu.Ach, wie vergngt wr so mein Ende,

es drckten deine schne Hnde mir getreuenAugen zu.

Bist du bei mir, geh ich mit Freudenzum Sterben und zu meiner Ruh,zum Sterben und zu meiner Ruh.

Warum betrbst du dich, Aria,

BWV 516

Warum betrbst du dich und beugest dich zurErden,mein sehr geplagter Geist, mein abgematterSinn?Du sorgst, wie will es doch noch endlich mitdir werden,

und fhrest ber Welt und ber Himmel hin.Wirst du dich nicht recht fest in Gottes Willengrnden,kannst du in Ewigkeit nicht wahre Ruhe fin-den.

Ich habe genug, Rezitativ und Arie, BWV82

Ich habe genug! Mein Trost ist nur allein,da Jesus mein und ich sein eigen mchtensein.Im Glauben halt ich ihn, da seh ich auch mitSimeondie Freude jenes Leben schon.Lat uns mit diesem Manneziehn.Ach! mchte mich von meines Leibes Kettender Herr erretten!Ach wre doch mein Abschied hier,mit Freuden sagt ich, Welt, zu dir:Ich habe genug!

Schlummert ein, ihr matten Augen, fallet sanftund selig zu,

schlummert ein (2x)Schlummert ein, ihr matten Augen,fallet sanft und selig zu (2x )

Welt, ich bleibe nicht mehr hier, hab ich dochkein Teil an dir,das der Seelen knnte taugen (2x)

Schaffs mit mir, Gott, BWV 514

Schaffs mit mir, Gott, nach deinem Willen,dir sei es alle heimgestellt.Du wirst mein Wnschen so erfllen,wies deiner Weisheit wohlgefllt.Du bist mein Vater, du wirst mich versorgen,darauf hoffe ich.

Aria di Giovannini, BWV 518

Willst du dein Herz mir schenken, so fang esheimlich an,da unser beider Denken niemand erraten kan.Die Liebe mu bei beiden allzeit verschwie-

gen sein,drum schlie die grten Freuden in deinemHerzen ein.

Behutsam sei und schweige und traue keinerWand,lieb innerlich und zeige dich auen unbekannt.Kein Argwohn mut du geben, Verstellungntig ist,genug, da du mein Leben, der Treu versichertbist.

Begehre keine Blikke von meiner Liebe nicht,der Neid hat viele Strikke auf unser Tungericht.Du mut die Brust verschlie, halt deineNeigung ein.

Die Lust, die wir genieen, mu einGeheimnis sein.

Zu frei sein, sich ergehen, hat oft Gefahrgebracht.Man mu sich wohl verstehen, weil ein falschAuge gewacht.Du mut den Spruche bedenken, den ichzuvor getan:

Willst du dein Herz mir schenken, so fang esheimlich an.

Dir, dir, Jehova, will ich singen, BWV 299

Dir, dir, Jehova, will ich singen, denn,wo ist so ein Gott wie du?

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Dir will ich meine Lieder bringen wenn mit so angenehmen Freuden gedenke da du sterben mut

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Dir will ich meine Lieder bringen,ach! gib mir deines Geistes Kraft darzu,da ich es tu im Namen Jesu Christ,so wie es dir durch ihn gefllig ist.

Wie wohl ist mir, o Freund der Seelen,

BWV 517Wie wohl ist mir, o Freund der Seelen,wenn ich in deiner Liebe ruh.Ich steige aus der Schwermuts Hhlenund eile deinen Armen zu.Da mu die Nacht des Trauerns erscheiden,

wenn mit so angenehmen Freudendie Liebe strahlt aus deiner Brust.Hier ist mein Himmel schon auf Erden,wer wollte nicht vergnget werden,der in dir findet Ruh und Lust.

Gedenke doch mein Geist, BWV 509Gedenke doch, mein Geist,zurkke ans Grab und an den Glokkenschlag,

da man mich wird zur Ruh begleiten,auf da ich klglich sterben mag.Schreib dieses Wort in Herz und Brust,

gedenke, da du sterben mut.

O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 513

O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort,o Schwert, das durch die Seele bohrt,o Anfang sonder Ende.

O Ewigkeit,Zeit ohne Zeit, ich wei vor groer Traurigkeitnicht,wo ich mich hinwende,Mein ganz erschrocknes Herze bebt,da mir die die Zung am Gaumen klebt.

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CD I 23

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CD I-23

VIOLINSONATAS/ TRIOSONATAS

At some time before 1720 Bach wrote, besides his epoch-making solo violin sonatas and the six sonatas forviolin with obbligato harpsichord (which broke new ground texturally), two more sonatas for violin and conti-nuo, each of which exhibits unusual features. The structure of that in E minor, which appears to be the earlier,is a curious mixture of sonata and suite, or a suite from which some basic movements seem to be missing. Itopens, rather after the fashion of some of Bachs early organ works, with a 30-bar free flourish of impassionedsmiquavers over a tonic pedal. This leads to an ornate Adagio whose intensity is heightened by poignant chro-maticisms. The thematically related Allemande which follows is even more elaborate; but immediately after

this comes the concluding Gigue, in which syncopations like those in the finale of the Sixth BrandenburgConcerto help to swing the rhythm along.The G major work, which came to light only in 1928, when a manuscript copy in the hand of Anna MagdalenaBach was discovered in Eisenach, is a four-movement sonata da chiesa. Much speculation has been aroused bythe entire bass-line being identical with that of the Trio Sonata BWV1038 (another version of the BWV1022violin sonata in F major), though in the latter case the upper parts are thought to be by one of Bachs sons orpupils. Points of technical interest here are the multiple-stopping in the Vivace and the suggestions of polyp-

honic violin writing in the fugato finale.It is a remarkable fact that very few of Bachs trio sonatas for chamber instrumentation have survived; despitethe fact that this was really the most popular classical genre of the Baroque period, only four works survive.It is therefore likely that most of Bachs chamber music has been lost. Furthermore, the trio sonatas which dosurvive are known in different versions with varying instrumentations. The Trio Sonatas in G major BWV 1038and 1039, both conceived as church sonatas in four contrasting movements, are an example. It is even uncer-

tain whether the Trio Sonata BWV 1038 is actually by Bach. It is not unlikely that one of his sons or pupilswrote the piece, making use of an existing bass line by Bach himself, since the bass part corresponds to that ofthe Sonatas for violin and harpsichord BWV 1021 and 1022. The Adagio is strongly reminiscent of GuteNacht, o Wesen, the ninth section of Bachs motet Jesu, meine Freude (BWV 227).

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The Trio Sonata in G major, BWV 1039, likewise exists in different versions: one for viola da gamba and con-

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The Trio Sonata in G major, BWV 1039, likewise exists in different versions: one for viola da gamba and concertato harpsichord (BWV 1027, certainly authentic), and one for two flauto traversos (or violin and traverso)and basso continuo (BWV 1039, assumed to be authentic). In addition, the first, second and fourth movementssurvive in a version for organ, or for harpsichord or clavichord with pedals, BWV 1027a. What Bach exactlyhad in mind in respect to the second version we do not know, since it is not clear whether it was intended as awork for three instruments, two flutes and basso continuo, or for just one flute and concertato harpsichord. Inthe latter case the harpsichordist plays two parts, one of the two upper voices and the bass. Because of thesedifferent instrumentations this poetic (Andante) and at the same time happy and energetic work has enjoyedspecial attention. Moreover, it is one of the many examples of Bachs habit of borrowing from his own work.The various instrumentations enabled him to give one and the same piece different expression and colour, thushelping to save his music from quick oblivion.

Clemens Romijn

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