Bach - Partita no. 1 for solo violin BWV 1002 (2/2)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Partita No. 1 in B minor, BWV 1002

4. Double (Presto)
5. (2:31) Sarabande
6. (4:35) Double
7. (6:00) Tempo di Borea
8. (8:27) Double

Arthur Grumiaux, violin

This partita substitutes a Bourrée (marked Tempo di Borea) for the gigue, and each movement is followed by variations called double in French.

The Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin (BWV 1001-1006) are a set of six works composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. They consist of three sonatas da chiesa, in four movements, and three partitas, in dance-form movements.

The set was completed by 1720, but was only published in 1802 by Nicolaus Simrock in Bonn. Even after publication, it was largely ignored until the celebrated violinist Josef Joachim started performing these works. Today, Bach's Sonatas and Partitas are an essential part of the violin repertoire, and they are frequently performed and recorded.

The Sei Solo a violino senza Basso accompagnato, as Bach titled them, firmly established the technical capability of the violin as a solo instrument. The pieces often served as an archetype for solo violin pieces for the following generations of composers, including, but not limited to, Eugène Ysaÿe, Béla Bartók, and Paul Hindemith.

Bach started composing these works around 1703, while at Weimar, and the set was completed by 1720, when Bach was a Kapellmeister in Köthen. He was almost certainly inspired by Johann Paul von Westhoff's partitas for solo violin, for he worked alongside Westhoff at Weimar, and the older composer's pieces share some stylistic similarities to Bach's. Solo violin repertoire was actively growing at the time: Heinrich Ignaz Biber's celebrated solo passacaglia appeared c.1676, Westhoff's collections of solo violin music were published in 1682 and 1696, Johann Joseph Vilsmayr's Artificiosus Concentus pro Camera in 1715, and finally, Johann Georg Pisendel's solo violin sonata was composed around 1716. The tradition of writing for solo violin did not die after Bach, either; Georg Philipp Telemann published 12 Fantasias for solo violin in 1735.

The tradition of polyphonic violin writing was already well-developed in Germany, particularly by Biber, Johann Heinrich Schmelzer, and the composers of the so-called Dresden school - Johann Jakob Walther and Westhoff. Bach's Weimar and Köthen periods were particularly suitable times for composition of secular music, for he worked as court musician. Bach's cello and orchestral suites date from the Köthen period, as well as the famous Brandenburg concertos and many other well-known collections of instrumental music.

It is not known whether Bach's works were performed during his lifetime, or, if they were, who was the performer. Johann Georg Pisendel and Jean-Baptiste Volumier, both talented violinists in the Dresden court, have been suggested as possible performers, as was Joseph Speiss, leader of the orchestra in Köthen. Friedrich Wilhelm Rust, who would later become part of the Bach family circle in Leipzig, also became a likely candidate. Bach himself also possibly gave the first performance. 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".

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Bach
• Partita
• no
• for
• solo
• violin
• BWV
• 1002

[bartje11]

@tomah92 Smart alec. Go away.

[nuggie9511]

I am changed.

[phoenixwilsonx]

.... :O

[Luc1f3r0S4m]

The double at the beginning was phenomenal... Beautiful piece of music

[tomah92]

@leojregeirt I know you're right. It is shown as an F (he plays G) in the score displayed above, but I actually meant it as a joke, not, as everyone assumed, an offensive slight to the untouchable, infallible Grumiaux.

[renngn]

Absolutely riveting. This is excellent, thank you dearly!

[Grobanite122549]

Why does it say by James Ehnes if its by Arthur Grumiaux?? Haha weird! Anyway, i love this, Bach is amazing!

[PIANOukla]

The first time I heard this piece, played by Grumiaux, I couldn't believe it was only one violin playing...!

[leojregeirt]

@tomah92 you made me check... played as written, nailed it.

[bartje11]

@thebloads Yes, thats the problem with the written word. If it's an ambivalent comment reactions are sure to follow because you have to guess what's going on. And nothing is worse than commenting negatively on a piece of music other people love. A great way to make enemies.

[thebloads]

@bartje11 or it could be a casual comment. You know how common it is to toss off a "haha" in a text message dont you?