Bach, Johann Sebastian

International Music Score Library Project [IMSLP] entry: Johann Sebastian Bach

J. S. Bach [1685-1750] was the leading member of a large family of famous musicians, and without doubt one of the greatest composers of all time. His son, C. P. E. Bach is also represented here.

Piece	MP3	Midi	Genre
Harpsichord Concerto #1 in D minor, BVW 1052
1st movement -- Allegro		MIDI	harpsichord orchestral
2nd movement -- Adagio
3rd movement -- Allegro
	This Harpsichord Concerto in D minor shows up both good and bad aspects of trying to sequence orchestral music, especially including strings! I haven't found a practicable way of making it sound like anything other than a very weak school orchestra. On the other hand, it is surely remarkable that one person at a keyboard can produce sounds that represent, however feebly, the whole range of orchestral instruments. Sequenced in 2017 from the Eulenburg miniature score, checked against the IMSLP version. The score is for violins, violas, continuo [cello] and keyboard. I've mostly added a four-foot stop to the harpsichord solos, and have used a guitar to represent a lute stop. The full MP3 is well over 30M bytes, so is represented here by the three separate movements [still 10M each] to save downloading the whole thing in one go.
Partita V for Harpsichord in G major, BWV 829
1. Praeambulum		MIDI	harpsichord

2. Allemande
3. Courante
4. Sarabande
5. Tempo di Minuetto
6. Passepied
7. Gigue
	The six Partitas, also known as German Suites, are part of Bach's Klavier-Ubung [Keyboard works], part 1, written in 1726-30 and published in 1731 as his Op. 1, the first of his works to be published under his own direction, though among his later compositions. This one, the fifth, is my personal favourite. It consists of seven movements. The introductory Praeambulum is followed by a rolling Allemande [a slowish German dance], a fast Courante and a slow, stately Sarabande. Then there is a deceptive Minuet, a fast Passepied and finally a Gigue, composed as a three-part fugue. I've attempted to add interest by scoring for 8', 4' and lute stops. So the three-part fugue in the Gigue has distinguishable parts [implying a two-manual harpsichord]. The minuet can be heard in duple or triple time, like an aural illusion. The duple time seems to predominate until the left hand insists on triple, after which you seem to hear both. Sequenced in 1996, 1998 and 2021 from the authoritative Bach-Gesellschaft, as reprinted by Dover.
Fantasia in C minor, BWV 906		MIDI	harpsichord
	Sequenced in 2025 partly from the Augener's Edition (undated), revised by A. Roloff and in my library; and partly from the urtext PD edition found at IMSLP. The Augener was easier to read and has better page turns; the urtext has no tempo or style markings but has a much better idea of what ornamentation is appropriate. The Augener is, of course, edited for the piano, so has a tempo marking [Allegro, MM=96], pedalling, crescendos, and is generally unsuitable for the harpsichord. That speed is simply too fast for the music, and turns it into an unpleasant scramble, so I've ignored it. The music is in two sections, each repeated. There was not much scope for variation, so I've used the same notes in each repeat, but with a small change in registration. BWV 906 also includes a fragmentary fugue, given by IMSLP. It doesn't add much to the music, so I haven't sequenced it here.

For more information about MP3 and Midi files, and especially for why they may not work well, or even at all, on your computer, tablet, smartphone or browser, see here.
To see/hear pieces sorted by genre, click on a link under Genre.
To go back to the full list of pieces, click here.
Where applicable, the link above under Wiki entry will give you a biography of the composer; and the IMSLP link is to a page with available scores and online performances relating to the composer.
For general information about copyright and performance restrictions, see here.

Andy Walker, anw [at] cuboid4.me.uk [remove digit to construct address]