Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750) was a German
composer and musician of the Baroque period. He
enriched established German styles through his mastery
of counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organization, and
his adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from
abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach's
compositions include the Brandenburg Concertos, the
Goldberg Variations, the Mass in B minor, two Passions,
and over three hundred cantatas of which approximately
two hundred survive.His ...(+)
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750) was a German
composer and musician of the Baroque period. He
enriched established German styles through his mastery
of counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organization, and
his adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from
abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach's
compositions include the Brandenburg Concertos, the
Goldberg Variations, the Mass in B minor, two Passions,
and over three hundred cantatas of which approximately
two hundred survive.His music is revered for its
technical command, artistic beauty, and intellectual
depth. While Bach's abilities as an organist were
highly respected during his lifetime, he was not widely
recognised as an important composer until a revival of
interest in his music during the first half of the 19th
century. He is now generally regarded as one of the
greatest composers of all time.
A group of the instrumental sonatas J.S. Bach composed
while living and working in Cöthen during the late
1710s and early 1720s -- specifically, the six sonatas
for violin and harpsichord, the three for viola da
gamba and harpsichord, and two of the four authentic
flute sonatas -- are especially and rightfully famous
for one thing: in these 11 works, by writing out a full
harpsichord part on two staves rather than merely
writing a bass line and figured bass, Bach promoted the
harpsichord from mere continuo foundation to true equal
of the solo instrument. Although not as famous as the
six Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin, the
above-mentioned sonatas for violin and harpsichord are
among Bach's most famous chamber pieces; it is
possible, assuming that Bach in fact composed it before
the other five, that the first of these sonatas, BWV
1014 in B minor, is in fact history's very first modern
duo sonata.
The Sonata for violin and keyboard No. 1 in B minor,
BWV 1014, falls into four movements that follow the
usual slow-fast-slow-fast plan of the Baroque sonata da
chiesa, but within that loose framework Bach, as usual
in his sonata works, explores diverse forms such as
those of the aria and the concerto. The opening Adagio
is a rich essay in 6/4 time in which the harpsichord
offers an idea built from an arpeggiated bass line and
pungent groups of eighth notes in parallel thirds and
sixths, and the violin provides an obbligato line whose
long-sustained tones invariably taper off into ornate
tails that dip and duck into the next phraselet. The
following Allegro is an example of that peculiar
chamber movement species of which Bach was so fond and
which he alone brought to perfection: a full synthesis
of dense fugal style, Baroque concerto form and trio
sonata part-writing. The movement is in three clear
sections (ABA'), with the opening bars returning to
usher in the final third of the movement.The third
movement, in D major, is a sumptuous Andante in which
the two upper voices -- the harpsichord's right hand
and the violin -- generally move in counterpoint with
one another but come together for a gorgeous subsidiary
idea in parallel thirds. The finale is an Allegro whose
two main ideas -- a trumpet-like, repeated-note notion
and a running sixteenth-note counterpoint to that idea
-- are built up into a true binary design complete with
repeat signs.
Although originally written for Violin & Harpsichord, I
created this Arrangement of the Sonata No. 1 in B Minor
(BWV 1014) for Oboe, Classical Guitar & Cello.
SHEET MUSIC