First Sonata for Solo Violin: Adagio (Autograph 1720)

The Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin (BWV 1001–1006) is a set of six works composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. It consists of three sonatas in four movements and three partitas composed of dance-based movements. The complete set was first published in 1802 by Bote and Bock. Today, the Sei Solo – a violino senza Basso accompagnato, as Bach titled it, are an integral part of the violin repertoire, and is recorded and performed frequently. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 393 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (675 × 1028 pixel, file size: 193 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Johann Sebastian Bach Sonata 1ma á Violino Solo senza Baßo di JSBach Adagio 1720 Autograph File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 393 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (675 × 1028 pixel, file size: 193 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Johann Sebastian Bach Sonata 1ma á Violino Solo senza Baßo di JSBach Adagio 1720 Autograph File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as... Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (Bach Works Catalogue) is the numbering system used to identify musical works by Johann Sebastian Bach. ... “Bach” redirects here. ... Sonata da Chiesa is Italian for church sonata. Sonatas are instrumental compositions of three or more movements. ... Partita was originally the name for a single instrumental piece of music (16th and 17th centuries), but Johann Kuhnau and later German composers (notably Johann Sebastian Bach) used it for collections of musical pieces, as a synonym for suite. ... See also: 1801 in music, other events of 1802, 1803 in music and the list of years in music. Events Ludwig van Beethoven completes Moonlight Sonata (Piano Sonata No. ... The violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. ...

Composition

Bach composed the works in 1720, while employed at Köthen. The manuscript was nearly destroyed but someone saved it from being used as butcher paper. There, Bach composed more chamber music than sacred or choral music; the Brandenburg Concertos, concerto for two violins, and cello suites were all composed about this time. // Events January 6 - The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble publishes its findings February 11 - Sweden and Prussia sign the (2nd Treaty of Stockholm) declaring peace. ... city hall â–¶ (help· info) is a small town in central Germany, about 30 km north of Halle. ... Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. ... This article is about choirs, musical ensembles containing singers. ... Johann Sebastian Bach, c. ... The Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043, is perhaps one of the most famous works by J.S. Bach and considered among the best examples of the work of the late Baroque period. ... The first page from the manuscript by Anna Magdalena Bach of Suite No. ...

The original performer of Bach's six sonatas and partitas is unknown. J.G. Pisendel and J.B. Volumier have been suggested, both being talented violinists at the Dresden court, as has Joseph Spiess, leader of the orchestra at Cöthen, where Bach composed the works. However, some contend that it may have been Bach himself who gave the first performance, pointing to his skills as a violinist. His father, Johann Ambrosius Bach, was a violinist, and according to his son Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, "in his youth, and until the approach of old age, he played the violin cleanly and powerfully". A violinist is an instrumentalist who plays the violin. ... Dresden (Sorbian: Drježdźany; etymologically from Old Sorbian Drežďany, meaning people of the riverside forest, Czech: ) is the capital city of the German Federal Free State of Saxony. ... For the song titled Orchestra, see The Servant (band). ... Johann Ambrosius Bach. ... Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (March 8, 1714 – December 14, 1788) was a German musician and composer, the second of five sons of Johann Sebastian Bach and Maria Barbara Bach. ...

The Sonatas and Partitas

The sonatas each consist of four movements, in the slow-fast-slow-fast movement pattern of the sonata da chiesa, with the second movement as a fugue. The partitas are suites of dance movements, making use of the usual baroque pattern of allemande, courante, sarabande, and gigue, with some omissions and the addition of galanteries. Sonata da Chiesa is Italian for church sonata. Sonatas are instrumental compositions of three or more movements. ... In music, a fugue (IPA: ) is a type of contrapuntal composition or technique of composition for a fixed number of parts, normally referred to as voices, irrespective of whether the work is vocal or instrumental. ... Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1500 and 1700[1] (see Dates of classical music eras for a discussion of the problems inherent in defining the beginning and end points). ... An allemande (also spelled allemanda, almain, or alman) (from French German) is a type of dance popular in Baroque music, and a standard element of a suite, generally the first or second movement. ... The courante, corrente, coranto and corant are just some of the names given to a family of triple metre dances from the late Renaissance and the Baroque era. ... In music, the sarabande (It. ... The gigue or giga is a lively baroque dance in a compound metre such as 3/8, 6/8, 6/4, 9/8 or 12/16. ... In music, Galant was a term referring to a style, principally occurring in the third quarter of the 18th century, which featured a return to classical simplicity after the complexity of the late Baroque era. ...

Sonata No.1 in G minor, BWV 1001

1. Adagio
2. Fuga (Allegro)
3. Siciliano
4. Presto

c. 16 mins ^[1]

The first sonata is in G minor, although its key signature lacks one flat. Such a notational convention in the baroque period occurs likewise with the key of D minor, and should not necessarily suggest that the piece is in the Dorian mode. The fugue is an adaptation of the organ fugue from Prelude and Fugue in D minor, BWV 539. Due to historical confusion, Dorian mode can refer to two very different musical modes or diatonic scales. ...

Partita No.1 in B minor, BWV 1002

1. Allemanda
2. Double
3. Corrente
4. Double
5. Sarabande
6. Double
7. Tempo di Bourrée
8. Double

The first partita substitutes a tempo di bourrée for the gigue, and each movement is followed by an embellished variation, called a double. The bourree was a dance common in Auvergne and Biscay in Spain in the 17th century, danced in quick double time, somewhat resembling the gavotte. ...

c. 31 mins

Sonata No.2 in A minor, BWV 1003

1. Grave
2. Fuga
3. Andante
4. Allegro

c. 24 mins

Partita No.2 in D minor, BWV 1004

1. Allemanda
2. Corrente
3. Sarabanda
4. Giga
5. Ciaccona

The powerful Ciaconna (chaconne in English) lasts nearly 15 minutes and easily surpasses the length of the other movements combined. This Ciaccona is considered a pinnacle of the solo violin repertoire in that it covers practically every aspect of violin-playing known during Bach's time and thus it is among the most difficult pieces to play for that instrument. The Ciaccona is recorded and played relatively frequently by itself, without the rest of the partita. Autograph of the Ciaccona The Partita in D minor for solo violin (BWV 1004) by Johann Sebastian Bach was written in the period 1717–1723 and is said to have been dedicated to the memory of Bachs first wife, Maria Barbara Bach. ... In music a chaconne is a musical form. ...

c. 29 mins

Sonata No.3 in C major, BWV 1005

1. Adagio
2. Fuga (Alla breve)
3. Largo
4. Allegro assai

c. 23 mins

Partita No.3 in E major, BWV 1006

1. Preludio
2. Loure
3. Gavotte en Rondeau
4. Menuet I
5. Menuet II
6. Bourrée
7. Giga

c. 20 mins

Recordings on violin

Portions were first recorded by Joseph Joachim in 1903, and the first complete set was recorded by Yehudi Menuhin in the mid-30s. Joseph Joachim Joseph Joachim (June 28, 1831 – August 15, 1907) (pronounced YO-a-chim) was a violinist, conductor, composer and teacher. ... Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE (April 22, 1916 – March 12, 1999) was an American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. ...

• Yehudi Menuhin, 1934-1944
• George Enescu, 1948
• Jascha Heifetz, 1952
• Joseph Szigeti, 1956
• Arthur Grumiaux, 1961
• Henryk Szeryng, 1954 and 1967
• Nathan Milstein, 1956 and 1973
• Jean-Jacques Kantorow, 1979
• Sigiswald Kuijken, 1981 (baroque violin)
• Itzhak Perlman, 1988
• Gidon Kremer, 1980 and 2005
• Lucy van Dael, 1996
• Ida Haendel, 1996
• Hilary Hahn, 1997 (1004–1006 only)
• Rachel Podger, 1997-1999 (baroque violin)
• Ingrid Matthews, 2000
• John Holloway, 2006 (baroque violin)
• Dmitry Sitkovetsky
• Oscar Shumsky
• Elizabeth Wallfisch (baroque violin)
• Monica Huggett (baroque violin)
• Thomas Zehetmair
• Shlomo Mintz
• Lara St. John
• Christian Tetzlaff
• Julia Fischer, 2005 (1750 Guadagnini)
• Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Jan. 12./15. 1955 (1004 only)
• Emil Telmanyi (with Vega/Bach bow)
• James Ehnes, 2000
• Richard Tognetti, 2005 (1759 Guadagnini)

Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE (April 22, 1916 – March 12, 1999) was an American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. ... George Enescu George Enescu (pronunciation in Romanian: ; known in France as Georges Enesco) (August 19, 1881, Liveni – May 4, 1955, Paris) was a Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor and teacher, preeminent Romanian musician of the 20th century, and one of the greatest performers of his time. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Joseph Szigeti (September 5, 1892 – February 19, 1973) was a Hungarian violinist. ... Arthur Grumiaux (March 21, 1921–October 16, 1986) was a Belgian violinist who was also proficient in piano. ... Henryk Szeryng (September 22, 1918 – March 8, 1988) was a Polish-born Mexican violinist. ... Nathan Mironovich Milstein (31 December 1903 — 21 December 1992) was a Ukrainian-born violinist who took United States citizenship in 1942 after spending much of his life there. ... Sigiswald Kuijken (born February 16, 1944) is a Belgian violinist, violist, and conductor who works primarily with Pre-Nineteenth Century Music. ... Itzhak Perlman playing during the entertainment portion of the White House State Dinner in honor on Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on May 7, 2007 Itzhak Perlman (born August 31, 1945 in Jaffa) is an Israeli-American virtuoso violinist and teacher. ... Gidon Kremer (Latvian: ; born February 27, 1947) is a Latvian violinist and conductor. ... Lucy van Dael born in 1946 is a Dutch baroque violinist and member of the faculty of the Amsterdam Conservatory. ... Ida Haendel, CBE (born December 15, 1928) is a violinist. ... Hilary Hahn - credit Kasskara courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon Hilary Hahn (born November 27, 1979 in Lexington, Virginia) is an American Grammy Award–winning violinist. ... Rachel Podger (born in 1968) is an English violinist specialising in the performance of baroque music. ... Ingrid Matthews is Music Director of the Seattle Baroque Orchestra, and is recognized as one of worlds leading baroque violinists and period instrument performers. ... John Holloway - a British baroque violinist, currently based in Dresden, Germany. ... Oscar Shumsky (March 23, 1917 – July 24, 2000) was an American violinist born in Philadelphia to Russian parents. ... Elizabeth Wallfisch (born January 28, 1952) is an Australian Baroque violinist. ... Shlomo Mintz (born 1957 Moscow) is a highly regarded Israeli violin virtuoso, violist and conductor. ... Lara St. ... Christian Tetzlaff, (born 1966 in Hamburg, is a noted young German violinist much in demand as a soloist with major orchestras of the world and praised for his recordings, including recent Beethoven works perfomed with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich under David Zinman. ... Julia Fischer Julia Fischer (born 15 June 1983) is a German violinist. ... Wolfgang Eduard Schneiderhan (born May 28, 1915) is a classical violinist. ... Emil Telmányi invented the Bach bow in the 20th century. ... James Ehnes is a Canadian violinist. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Transcriptions and orchestrations

Although this work was intended for violin, Bach himself transcribed portions for other instruments, and the entire set has been transcribed by others for guitar, viola, cello and piano.

• The Fuga from the First Sonata, for organ as BWV 539 and for lute as BWV 1000
• The entire Second Sonata, for keyboard (possibly by Bach) as BWV 964
• The Chaconne of the Second Partita has been transcribed by Ferruccio Busoni for piano, by Andrés Segovia for guitar, and has been orchestrated by Leopold Stokowski.
• The Adagio of the Third Sonata, for keyboard as BWV 968
• The entire Third Partita is also the Fourth Lute Suite, BWV 1006a
• The Preludio to the Third Partita is also used in two different cantatas, BWV 29 (where it is scored rather dramatically for organ obbligato and orchestra) and 120a
• Selected movements from Sonatas and Partitas 1, 2, & 3 as the Bach-Grandjany Etudes for harp, transcribed by Marcel Grandjany.
• Two sonatas and one partita has been transcribed for piano by Godowsky.

Ferruccio Busoni Ferruccio Busoni (April 1, 1866 – July 27, 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, music teacher and conductor. ... Andrés Torres Segovia, marqués de Salobreña (21 February 1893 – 3 June 1987) was a Spanish classical guitarist, and later nobleman, born in Linares, Spain who is considered to be the father of the modern classical guitar movement by most modern music scholars. ... Leopold Stokowski (born Antoni Stanisław Bolesławowicz April 18, 1882 in London, England, died September 13, 1977 in Nether Wallop, England) was the conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the NBC Symphony Orchestra, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and the Symphony of the Air. ... A cantata (Italian, sung) is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment and generally containing more than one movement. ... The baroque organ in Roskilde Cathedral, Copenhagen The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by admitting pressurized air (referred to as wind) through a series of pipes. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Leopold Godowsky (Leopold Godowski) (February 13, 1870–November 21, 1938) was a Polish pianist, composer, and teacher. ...

List of recordings on other instruments

The Sonatas and Partitas have been transcribed for and recorded on many other instruments.

• Scott Slapin, viola
• Andrei Pricope, cello
• Vito Paternoster, cello
• Andrés Segovia, guitar (selected movements)
• John Williams, guitar (selected movements)
• Paul Galbraith, 1998, 8-stringed guitar
• Goran Sollscher, guitar
• Hopkinson Smith, 13-course baroque lute
• Nigel North, complete set (and the cello suites) on lute
• Sergei Rachmaninoff, piano (prelude to the third Partita)
• Béla Fleck, banjo (prelude to the third Partita, played in C instead of E)
• Manuel Barrueco, guitar (The Sonatas BWV 1001, 1003 & 1005)
• Dave Grossman, 7-string electric bass

Scott Slapin is an American violist and composer, recording for Eroica Classical Recordings and Red Mark. ... Andrei Pricope (born in Bacău, Romania, in 1969) is a cellist of Romanian descent. ... Vito Paternoster is an Italian cellist, recording for Musicaimmagine. ... Andrés Torres Segovia, marqués de Salobreña (21 February 1893 – 3 June 1987) was a Spanish classical guitarist, and later nobleman, born in Linares, Spain who is considered to be the father of the modern classical guitar movement by most modern music scholars. ... John Christopher Williams (born 24 April 1941) is one of the worlds best-known classical guitarists. ... Paul Galbraith Paul Galbraith (born March 1964) is a Scottish-born classical guitarist known for his unique style of playing. ... Göran Söllscher with his famous 11-stringed classical guitar. ... Hopkinson Smith is a lutenist. ... Nigel North (born 5 June 1954) is an English lutenist and guitarist. ... The first page from the manuscript by Anna Magdalena Bach of Suite No. ... Portrait of Sergei Rachmaninoff (1925) by Konstantin Somov This article is about the composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. ... Béla Fleck (born July 10, 1958 in New York City, New York) is an American virtuoso banjo player. ... Manuel Barrueco (pronounced Mah-noo-éhl Bah-roo-éh-koh) is a classical guitarist. ...

Notes & References

External links

• Johann Sebastian Bach free scores in the Werner Icking Music Archive
• MIDI Sequences of Bach's Violin Sonatas/Partitas
• Heifetz playing Chaconne from Partita no.2 part I, Chaconne from Partita no.2 part II, Prelude from Partita No. 3
• Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin Vito Paternoster - MP3 Creative Commons Recording, played on cello
• Musical score and MIDI file at the Mutopia Project
• From liner notes of a Benedict Cruft recording
• Discussion of recording history
• Discussion of publishing history and Second Sonata
• Sonatas and partitas for solo violin: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.