Bach, Johann Sebastian: Sonatas for violin transcribed

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Bach, Johann Sebastian: Sonatas for violin transcribed

Sonatas BWV 1001, 1003, 1005 transcribed for guitar

Maximilan Mangold Guitar

Johann Sebastian Bach arranged many of his works for various other scorings. The sinfonia of the town-council inauguration cantata Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir (BWV 29), for example, is an arrangement of the “Preludio” from the Partita in E Major for solo violin (BWV 1006). Bach gave the violin part to the organ and composed an orchestral setting for strings, oboes, trumpets, and timpani. There are likewise various versions of his violin and harpsichord concertos. Bach additionally made versions for lute of his Suite in C Minor for violoncello solo (BWV 1011) and of his Partita in E major for violin solo (BWV 1006). In the case of the latter works for violin and violoncello, convincing arguments can be made for a realization on a keyboard instrument. The Suite in E Minor (BWV 996) was written for lute or lute harpsichord, a keyboard instrument. Johann Friedrich Agricola, one of Bach’s pupils, pointed out that Bach used to play his violin solo works on the clavichord. All these examples show that for Bach, and for the Baroque period in general, arrangements were not at all an unusual practice.
The guitar in its modern form did not yet exist in Bach’s time. The Sonatas and Partitas for violin solo, however, are better suited to the guitar than are the so-called lute suites. A work for an instrument with four strings, like the violin, is easier to transfer to a six-string guitar than is an original work for the thirteen-course Baroque lute. Whereas in Bach’s lute works numerous octave transpositions of the low bass notes have to be made, and not infrequently notes have to be left out, the musical text of the violin solo works can be realized without limitations on the guitar. In addition, particularly in the quick final movements, the guitar’s instrumental possibilities allow the latent polyphony to become audible through the resonance of the individual voices.