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 Bach Toccata & Fugue BWV 565   

 

 

BIOGRAPHY

 

Johann Sebastian Bach (pronounced [joˈhan/ˈjoːhan zeˈbastjan ˈbax]) (31 March [O.S. 21 March] 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and organist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity. Although he introduced no new forms, he enriched the prevailing German style with a robust contrapuntal technique, an unrivalled control of harmonic and motivic organisation in composition for diverse musical forces, and the adaptation of rhythms and textures from abroad, particularly Italy and France.

Revered for their intellectual depth and technical and artistic beauty, Bach's works include the Brandenburg concertos; the Goldberg Variations; the English Suites, French Suites, Partitas, and Well-Tempered Clavier; the Mass in B Minor; the St. Matthew Passion; the St. John Passion; The Musical Offering; The Art of Fugue; the Sonatas and Partitas for violin solo; the Cello Suites; more than 200 surviving cantatas; and a similar number of organ works, including the celebrated Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.

While Bach's fame as an organist was great during his lifetime, he was not particularly well-known as a composer. His adherence to Baroque forms and contrapuntal style was considered "old-fashioned" by his contemporaries, especially late in his career when the musical fashion tended towards Rococo and later Classical styles. A revival of interest and performances of his music began early in the 19th century, and he is now widely considered to be one of the greatest composers in the Western tradition.

Childhood (1685–1703)

Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, Saxe-Eisenach. He was the youngest child of Johann Ambrosius Bach, an organist at St. George's Church, and Maria Elisabetha Lämmerhirt Bach. His father taught him to play violin and harpsichord. His uncles were all professional musicians, whose posts ranged from church organists and court chamber musicians to composers. One uncle, Johann Christoph Bach (1645–93), was especially famous and introduced him to the art of organ playing. Bach was proud of his family's musical achievements, and around 1735 he drafted a genealogy, "Origin of the musical Bach family", printed in translation in The Bach Reader (ISBN 0393002594).

Bach's mother died in 1694, and his father eight months later. The 10-year-old orphan moved in with his oldest brother, Johann Christoph Bach (1671–1721), the organist at the Michaeliskirche in nearby Ohrdruf. There, he copied, studied and performed music, and apparently received valuable teaching from his brother, who instructed him on the clavichord. J.C. Bach exposed him to the works of the great South German composers of the day, such as Johann Pachelbel (under whom Johann Christoph had studied) and Johann Jakob Froberger; possibly to the music of North German composers, to Frenchmen, such as Jean-Baptiste Lully, Louis Marchand, Marin Marais; and to the Italian clavierist Girolamo Frescobaldi. The young Bach probably witnessed and assisted in the maintenance of the organ music. Bach's obituary indicates that he copied music out of Johann Christoph's scores, but his brother had apparently forbidden him to do so, possibly because scores were valuable and private commodities at the time.

At the age of 14, Bach, along with his older school friend George Erdmann, was awarded a choral scholarship to study at the prestigious St. Michael's School in Lüneburg, not far from the northern seaport of Hamburg, one of the largest cities in the Holy Roman Empire. This involved a long journey with his friend, probably undertaken partly on foot and partly by coach. His two years there appear to have been critical in exposing him to a wider palette of European culture than he would have experienced in Thuringia. In addition to singing in the a cappella choir, it is likely that he played the School's three-manual organ and its harpsichords. He probably learned French and Italian, and received a thorough grounding in theology, Latin, history, geography, and physics. He would have come into contact with sons of noblemen from northern Germany sent to the highly selective school to prepare for careers in diplomacy, government, and the military.

Although little supporting historical evidence exists at this time, it is almost certain that while in Lüneburg, young Bach would have visited Johanniskirche (Church of St. John) and heard (and possibly played) the church's famous organ (built in 1549 by Jasper Johannsen and nicknamed the "Böhm organ" after its most prominent master), an instrument whose sonic capabilities could well have been the inspiration for the mighty Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Given his innate musical talent, Bach would have had significant contact with prominent organists of the day in Lüneburg, most notably Georg Böhm (the organist at Johanniskirche) as well as organists in nearby Hamburg, such as Johann Adam Reincken. Through contact with these musicians, Bach probably gained access to the largest and finest instruments he had played thus far. It is likely that during this stage he became acquainted with the music of the German organ schools, especially the work of Dieterich Buxtehude, and with music manuscripts and treatises on music theory that were in the possession of these musicians.

Arnstadt to Weimar (1703–08)

In January 1703, shortly after graduating, Bach took up a post as a court musician in the chapel of Duke Johann Ernst in Weimar, a large town in Thuringia. His role there is unclear, but appears to have included menial, non-musical duties. During his seven-month tenure at Weimar, his reputation as a keyboard player spread. He was invited to inspect and give the inaugural recital on the new organ at St. Boniface's Church in Arnstadt. The Bach family had close connections with this oldest town in Thuringia, about 180 km to the southwest of Weimar at the edge of the great forest. In August 1703, he accepted the post of organist at that church, with light duties, a relatively generous salary, and a fine new organ tuned to a modern system that allowed a wide range of keys to be used. At this time, Bach was embarking on the serious composition of organ preludes; these works, in the North German tradition of virtuosic, improvisatory preludes, already showed tight motivic control (where a single, short music idea is explored cogently throughout a movement). However, in these works the composer had yet to fully develop his powers of large-scale organisation and his contrapuntal technique (where two or more melodies interact simultaneously).

Strong family connections and a musically enthusiastic employer failed to prevent tension between the young organist and the authorities after several years in the post. He was apparently dissatisfied with the standard of singers in the choir; more seriously, there was his unauthorised absence from Arnstadt for several months in 1705–06, when he visited the great master Dieterich Buxtehude and his Abendmusik in the northern city of Lübeck. This well-known incident in Bach's life involved his walking some 400 kilometres (250 mi) each way to spend time with the man he probably regarded as the father figure of German organists. The trip reinforced Buxtehude's style as a foundation for Bach's earlier works, and that he overstayed his planned visit by several months suggests that his time with the old man was of great value to his art. According to legend, both Bach and George Frederic Handel wanted to become amanuenses of Buxtehude, but neither wanted to marry his daughter, as that was a condition for the position.

According to minutes from the proceedings of the Arnstadt consistory in August 1705, Bach was involved in a brawl in Arnstadt:

“

Johann Sebastian Bach, organist here at the New Church, appeared and stated that, as he walked home yesterday, fairly late night ... six students were sitting on the "Langenstein" (Long Stone), and as he passed the town hall, the student Geyersbach went after him with a stick, calling him to account: Why had he [Bach] made abusive remarks about him? He [Bach] answered that he had made no abusive remarks about him, and that no one could prove it, for he had gone his way very quietly. Geyersbach retorted that while he [Bach] might not have maligned him, he had maligned his bassoon at some time, and whoever insulted his belongings insulted him as well ... [Geyersbach] had at once struck out at him. Since he had not been prepared for this, he had been about to draw his dagger, but Geyersbach had fallen into his arms, and the two of them tumbled about until the rest of the students ... had rushed toward them and separated them.

”

Despite his comfortable position in Arnstadt, by 1706 Bach appeared to have realised that he needed to escape from the family milieu and move on to further his career. He was offered a more lucrative post as organist at St. Blasius's in Mühlhausen, a large and important city to the north. The following year, he took up this senior post with significantly improved pay and conditions, including a good choir. Four months after arriving at Mühlhausen, he married his second cousin from Arnstadt, Maria Barbara Bach. They had seven children, four of whom survived to adulthood. Two of them—Wilhelm Friedemann Bach and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach—became important composers in the ornate Rococo style that followed the Baroque.

The church and city government at Mühlhausen must have been proud of their new musical director. They readily agreed to his plan for an expensive renovation of the organ at St. Blasius's, and were so delighted at the elaborate, festive cantata he wrote for the inauguration of the new council in 1708—God is my king BWV 71, clearly in the style of Buxtehude—that they paid handsomely for its publication, and twice in later years had the composer return to conduct it. However, that same year, Bach was offered a better position in Weimar.

Weimar (1708–17)

After barely a year at Mühlhausen, Bach left to become the court organist and concertmaster at the ducal court in Weimar, a far cry from his earlier position there as 'lackey'. The munificent salary on offer at the court and the prospect of working entirely with a large, well-funded contingent of professional musicians may have prompted the move. The family moved into an apartment just five minutes' walk from the ducal palace. In the following year, their first child was born and they were joined by Maria Barbara's elder, unmarried sister, who remained with them to assist in the running of the household until her death in 1729. It was in Weimar that the two musically significant sons were born—Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach.

Bach's position in Weimar marked the start of a sustained period of composing keyboard and orchestral works, in which he had attained the technical proficiency and confidence to extend the prevailing large-scale structures and to synthesise influences from abroad. From the music of Italians such as Vivaldi, Corelli and Torelli, he learnt how to write dramatic openings and adopted their sunny dispositions, dynamic motor-rhythms and decisive harmonic schemes. Bach inducted himself into these stylistic aspects largely by transcribing for harpsichord and organ the ensemble concertos of Vivaldi; these works are still concert favourites. He may have picked up the idea of transcribing the latest fashionable Italian music from Prince Johann Ernst, one of his employers, who was a musician of professional calibre. In 1713, the Duke returned from a tour of the Low Countries with a large collection of scores, some of them possibly transcriptions of the latest fashionable Italian music by the blind organist Jan Jacob de Graaf. Bach was particularly attracted to the Italian solo-tutti structure, in which one or more solo instruments alternate section-by-section with the full orchestra throughout a movement.

In Weimar, he had the opportunity to play and compose for the organ, and to perform a varied repertoire of concert music with the duke's ensemble. A master of contrapuntal technique, Bach's steady output of fugues began in Weimar. The largest single body of his fugal writing is Das wohltemperierte Clavier ("The well-tempered keyboard"—Clavier meaning keyboard instrument). It consists of two collections compiled in 1722 and 1744, each containing a prelude and fugue in every major and minor key. This is a monumental work for its masterful use of counterpoint and its exploration, for the first time, of the full range of keys–and the means of expression made possible by their slight differences from each other—available to keyboardists when their instruments are tuned according to systems such as that of Andreas Werckmeister.

During his tenure at Weimar, Bach started work on The little organ book for his eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann; this contains traditional Lutheran chorales (hymn tunes), set in complex textures to assist the training of organists. The book illustrates two major themes in Bach's life: his dedication to teaching and his love of the chorale as a musical form.

Bach eventually fell out of favour in Weimar and was, according to the court secretary's report, jailed for almost a month before being unfavourably dismissed:

“

On November 6, [1717], the quondam concertmaster and organist Bach was confined to the County Judge's place of detention for too stubbornly forcing the issue of his dismissal and finally on December 2 was freed from arrest with notice of his unfavourable discharge.

”

Cöthen (1717–23)

Bach began once again to search out a more stable job that was conducive to his musical interests. Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen hired Bach to serve as his Kapellmeister (director of music). Prince Leopold, himself a musician, appreciated Bach's talents, paid him well, and gave him considerable latitude in composing and performing. However, the prince was Calvinist and did not use elaborate music in his worship; thus, most of Bach's work from this period was secular, including the Orchestral suites, the Six suites for solo cello and the Sonatas and partitas for solo violin. This photograph of the opening page of the first violin sonata shows the composer's handwriting—fast and efficient, but just as visually ornate as the music it encoded. The well-known Brandenburg concertos date from this period.

On 7 July 1720, while Bach was abroad with Prince Leopold, tragedy struck: his wife, Maria Barbara, the mother of his first 7 children, died suddenly. The following year, the widower met Anna Magdalena Wilcke, a young, highly gifted soprano 17 years his junior, who performed at the court in Cöthen; they married on 3 December 1721. Together they had 13 more children, six of whom survived into adulthood: Gottfried Heinrich, Johann Christoph Friedrich and Johann Christian, all of whom became significant musicians; Elisabeth Juliane Friederica (1726–81), who married Bach's pupil Johann Christoph Altnikol; Johanna Carolina (1737–81); and Regina Susanna (1742–1809).

Leipzig (1723–50)

In 1723, Bach was appointed Cantor of Thomasschule, adjacent to the Thomaskirche (St. Thomas' Lutheran Church) in Leipzig, as well as Director of Music in the principal churches in the town. This was a prestigious post in the leading mercantile city in Saxony, a neighbouring electorate to Thuringia. Apart from his brief tenures in Arnstadt and Mühlhausen, this was Bach's first government position in a career that had mainly involved service to the aristocracy. This final post, which he held for 27 years until his death, brought him into contact with the political machinations of his employer, the Leipzig Council. The Council comprised two factions: the Absolutists, loyal to the Saxon monarch in Dresden, Augustus the Strong; and the City-Estate faction, representing the interests of the mercantile class, the guilds and minor aristocrats. Bach was the nominee of the monarchists, in particular of the Mayor at the time, Gottlieb Lange, a lawyer who had earlier served in the Dresden court. In return for agreeing to Bach's appointment, the City-Estate faction was granted control of the School, and Bach was required to make a number of compromises with respect to his working conditions. Although it appears that no one on the Council doubted Bach's musical genius, there was continual tension between the Cantor, who regarded himself as the leader of church music in the city, and the City-Estate faction, which saw him as a schoolmaster and wanted to reduce the emphasis on elaborate music in both the School and the Churches. The Council never honoured Lange's promise at interview of a handsome salary of 1,000 talers a year, although it did provide Bach and his family with a smaller income and a good apartment at one end of the school building, which was renovated at great expense in 1732.

Bach's job required him to instruct the students of the Thomasschule in singing and to provide weekly music at the two main churches in Leipzig, St. Thomas' and St Nicholas's. His post also obliged him to teach Latin, but he was allowed to employ a deputy to do this instead. In an astonishing burst of creativity, he wrote up to five annual cantata cycles during his first six years in Leipzig (two of which have apparently been lost). Most of these concerted works expound on the Gospel readings for every Sunday and feast day in the Lutheran year; many were written using traditional church hymns, such as Wachet auf! Ruft uns die Stimme and Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, as inspiration.

To rehearse and perform these works at St Thomas's Church, Bach probably sat at the harpsichord or stood in front of the choir on the lower gallery at the west end, his back to the congregation and the altar at the east end. He would have looked upwards to the organ that rose from a loft about four metres above. To the right of the organ in a side gallery would have been the winds, brass and timpani; to the left were the strings. The Council provided only about eight permanent instrumentalists, a source of continual friction with the Cantor, who had to recruit the rest of the 20 or so players required for medium-to-large scores from the University, the School and the public. The organ or harpsichord was probably played by the composer (when not standing to conduct), the in-house organist, or one of Bach's elder sons, Wilhelm Friedemann or Carl Philipp Emanuel.

Bach drew the soprano and alto choristers from the School, and the tenors and basses from the School and elsewhere in Leipzig. Performing at weddings and funerals provided extra income for these groups; it was probably for this purpose, and for in-school training, that he wrote at least six motets, mostly for double choir. As part of his regular church work, he performed motets of the Venetian school and Germans such as Heinrich Schütz, which would have served as formal models for his own motets.

Having spent much of the 1720s composing cantatas, Bach had assembled a huge repertoire of church music for Leipzig's two main churches. He now wished to broaden his composing and performing beyond the liturgy. In March 1729, he took over the directorship of the Collegium Musicum, a secular performance ensemble that had been started in 1701 by his old friend, the composer Georg Philipp Telemann. This was one of the dozens of private societies in the major German-speaking cities that had been established by musically active university students; these societies had come to play an increasingly important role in public musical life and were typically led by the most prominent professionals in a city. In the words of Christoph Wolff, assuming the directorship was a shrewd move that 'consolidated Bach's firm grip on Leipzig's principal musical institutions'.^[8] During much of the year, Leipzig's Collegium Musicum gave twice-weekly, two-hour performances in Zimmerman's Coffeehouse on Catherine Street, just off the main market square. For this purpose, the proprietor provided a large hall and acquired several musical instruments. Many of Bach's works during the 1730s and 1740s were probably written for and performed by the Collegium Musicum; among these were almost certainly parts of the Clavier-Übung (Keyboard Practice) and many of the violin and harpsichord concertos.

During this period, he composed the Kyrie and Gloria of the Mass in B Minor, and in 1733, he presented the manuscript to the Elector of Saxony in an ultimately successful bid to persuade the monarch to appoint him as Royal Court Composer. He later extended this work into a full Mass, by adding a Credo, Sanctus and Agnus Dei, the music for which was almost wholly taken from some of the best of his cantata movements. Bach's appointment as court composer appears to have been part of his long-term struggle to achieve greater bargaining power with the Leipzig Council. Although the complete mass was probably never performed during the composer's lifetime, it is considered to be among the greatest choral works of all time. Between 1737 and 1739, Bach's former pupil Carl Gotthelf Gerlach took over the directorship of the Collegium Musicum.

In 1747, Bach went to the court of Frederick II of Prussia in Potsdam, where the king played a theme for Bach and challenged him to improvise a fugue based on his theme. Bach improvised a three-part fugue on Frederick's pianoforte, then a novelty, and later presented the king with a Musical Offering which consists of fugues, canons and a trio based on the "royal theme", nominated by the monarch. Its six-part fugue includes a slightly altered subject more suitable for extensive elaboration.

The Art of Fugue, published posthumously but probably written years before Bach's death, is unfinished. It consists of 18 complex fugues and canons based on a simple theme. A magnum opus of thematic transformation and contrapuntal devices, this work is often cited as the summation of polyphonic techniques.

The final work Bach completed was a chorale prelude for organ, dictated to his son-in-law, Johann Altnikol, from his deathbed. Entitled Vor deinen Thron tret ich hiermit (Before thy throne I now appear); when the notes on the three staves of the final cadence are counted and mapped onto the Roman alphabet, the initials "JSB" are found. The chorale is often played after the unfinished 14th fugue to conclude performances of The Art of Fugue.

Death (1750)

Bach's health may have been in decline in 1749, as on 2 June, Heinrich von Brühl wrote to one of the Leipzig burgomasters to request that his music director, Gottlob Harrer, immediately begin to audition someone to succeed to the Thomascantor and Director musices posts "upon the eventual... decease of Mr. Bach."Bach became increasingly blind, and a celebrated British quack John Taylor (who had operated unsuccessfully on Handel) operated on Bach while visiting Leipzig in 1750. Bach died on 28 July 1750 at the age of 65. A contemporary newspaper reported the cause of death was "from the unhappy consequences of the very unsuccessful eye operation".Some modern historians speculate the cause of death was a stroke complicated by pneumonia His estate was valued at 1159 Thalers and included 5 Clavecins, 2 Lute-Harpsichords, 3 violins, 3 violas, 2 cellos, a viola da gamba, a lute and a spinet, 52 "Sacred Books" (many by Martin Luther, Muller and Pfeiffer, also including Josephus' History of the Jews and 9 volumes of Wagner's Leipzig Song Book).

                                

 

During his life he composed more than 1,000 works.

At Leipzig, Bach seems to have maintained active relationships with several members of the faculty of the university. He enjoyed a particularly fruitful relationship with the poet Picander. Sebastian and Anna Magdalena welcomed friends, family, and fellow musicians from all over Germany into their home. Court musicians at Dresden and Berlin, and musicians including Georg Philipp Telemann (one of Emanuel's godfathers) made frequent visits to Bach's apartment and may have kept up frequent correspondence with him. Interestingly, George Frideric Handel, who was born in the same year as Bach in Halle, only 50 km from Leipzig, made several trips to Germany, but Bach was unable to meet him—a fact that Bach appears to have deeply regretted.

Musical style

Bach's musical style arose from his extraordinary fluency in contrapuntal invention and motivic control, his flair for improvisation at the keyboard, his exposure to South German, North German, Italian and French music, and his apparent devotion to the Lutheran liturgy. His access to musicians, scores and instruments as a child and a young man, combined with his emerging talent for writing tightly woven music of powerful sonority, appear to have set him on course to develop an eclectic, energetic musical style in which foreign influences were injected into an intensified version of the pre-existing German musical language. Throughout his teens and 20s, his output showed increasing skill in the large-scale organisation of musical ideas, and the enhancement of the Buxtehudian model of improvisatory preludes and counterpoint of limited complexity. The period 1713–14, when a large repertoire of Italian music became available to the Weimar court orchestra, was a turning point. From this time onwards, he appears to have absorbed into his style the Italians' dramatic openings, clear melodic contours, the sharp outlines of their bass lines, greater motoric and rhythmic conciseness, more unified motivic treatment, and more clearly articulated schemes for modulation.

There are several more specific features of Bach's style. The notation of baroque melodic lines tended to assume that composers would write out only the basic framework, and that performers would embellish this framework by inserting ornamental notes and otherwise elaborating on it. Although this practice varied considerably between the schools of European music, Bach was regarded at the time as being on one extreme end of the spectrum, notating most or all of the details of his melodic lines—particularly in his fast movements—thus leaving little for performers to interpolate. This may have assisted his control over the dense contrapuntal textures that he favoured, which allow less leeway for the spontaneous variation of musical lines. Bach's contrapuntal textures tend to be more cumulative than those of Händel and most other composers of the day, who would typically allow a line to drop out after it had been joined by two or three others. Bach's harmony is marked by a tendency to employ brief tonicisation—subtle references to another key that lasts for only a few beats at the longest—particularly of the supertonic, to add colour to his textures.

At the same time, Bach, unlike later composers, left the instrumentation of major works including The Art of Fugue and The Musical Offering open. It is likely that his detailed notation was less an absolute demand on the performer and more a response to a 17th-century culture in which the boundary between what the performer could embellish and what the composer demanded to be authentic was being negotiated.

Bach's apparently devout, personal relationship with the Christian God in the Lutheran tradition and the high demand for religious music of his times inevitably placed sacred music at the centre of his repertory; more specifically, the Lutheran chorale hymn tune, the principal musical aspect of the Lutheran service, was the basis of much of his output. He invested the chorale prelude, already a standard set of Lutheran forms, with a more cogent, tightly integrated architecture, in which the intervallic patterns and melodic contours of the tune were typically treated in a dense, contrapuntal lattice against relatively slow-moving, overarching statements of the tune.

Bach's theology also informed his compositional structures: Sei Gegrüsset is perhaps the finest example where there is a theme with 11 variations (making 12 movements) that, while still one work, becomes two sets of six—to match Lutheran preaching principles of repetition. At the same time the theological interpretation of 'master' and 11 disciples would not be lost on his contemporary audience. Further, the practical relationship of each variation to the next (in preparing registration and the expected textural changes) seems to show an incredible capacity to preach through the music using the musical forms available at the time.

Bach's deep knowledge of and interest in the liturgy led to his developing intricate relationships between music and linguistic text. This was evident from the smallest to the largest levels of his compositional technique. On the smallest level, many of his sacred works contain short motifs that, by recurrent association, can be regarded as pictorial symbolism and articulations of liturgical concepts. For example, the octave leap, usually in a bass line, represents the relationship between heaven and earth; the slow, repeated notes of the bass line in the opening movement of Cantata 106 (Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit) depict the laboured trudging of Jesus as he was forced to drag the cross from the city to the crucifixion site.

On the largest level, the large-scale structure of some of his sacred vocal works is evidence of subtle, elaborate planning: for example, the overall form of the St. Matthew Passion illustrates the liturgical and dramatic flow of the Easter story on a number of levels simultaneously; the text, keys and variations of instrumental and vocal forces used in the movements of Cantata 11 (Lobet Gott in seinen Reichen) may form a structure that resembles the cross.

Beyond these specific musical features arising from Bach's religious affiliation is the fact that he was able to produce music for an audience that was committed to serious, regular worship, for which a concentrated density and complexity was accepted. His natural inclination may have been to reinvigorate existing forms, rather than to discard them and pursue more dramatic musical innovations. Thus, Bach's inventive genius was almost entirely directed towards working within the structures he inherited, according to most critics and historians.

Bach's inner personal drive to display his musical achievements was evident in a number of ways. The most obvious was his successful striving to become the leading virtuoso and improviser of the day on the organ. Keyboard music occupied a central position in his output throughout his life, and he pioneered the elevation of the keyboard from continuo to solo instrument in his numerous harpsichord concertos and chamber movements with keyboard obbligato, in which he himself probably played the solo part. Many of his keyboard preludes are vehicles for a free improvisatory virtuosity in the German tradition, although their internal organisation became increasingly more cogent as he matured. Virtuosity is a key element in other forms, such as the fugal movement from Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, in which Bach himself may have been the first to play the rapid solo violin passages. Another example is in the organ fugue from BWV547, a late work from Leipzig, in which virtuosic passages are mapped onto Italian solo-tutti alternation within the fugal development.

Related to his cherished role as teacher was his drive to encompass whole genres by producing collections of movements that thoroughly explore the range of artistic and technical possibilities inherent in those genres. The most famous examples are the two books of the Well Tempered Clavier, each of which presents a prelude and fugue in every major and minor key, in which a variety of contrapuntal and fugal techniques are displayed. The English and French Suites, and the Partitas, all keyboard works from the Cöthen period, systematically explore a range of metres and of sharp and flat keys. This urge to manifest structures is evident throughout his life: the Goldberg Variations (1746?), include a sequence of canons at increasing intervals (unison, seconds, thirds, etc.), and The Art of Fugue (1749) can be seen as a compendium of fugal techniques.

Works

Main articles: BWV and List of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach

See also: Category:Compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach, List of fugal works by Johann Sebastian Bach, and List of transcriptions of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach

J.S. Bach's works are indexed with BWV numbers, an initialism for Bach Werke Verzeichnis (Bach Works Catalogue). The catalogue, published in 1950, was compiled by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue is organised thematically, rather than chronologically: BWV 1–224 are cantatas; BWV 225–249, the large-scale choral works; BWV 250–524, chorales and sacred songs; BWV 525–748, organ works; BWV 772–994, other keyboard works; BWV 995–1000, lute music; BWV 1001–40, chamber music; BWV 1041–71, orchestral music; and BWV 1072–1126, canons and fugues. In compiling the catalogue, Schmieder largely followed the Bach Gesellschaft Ausgabe, a comprehensive edition of the composer's works that was produced between 1850 and 1905. For a list of works catalogued by BWV number, see List of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Organ works

Bach was best known during his lifetime as an organist, organ consultant, and composer of organ works in both the traditional German free genres—such as preludes, fantasias, and toccatas—and stricter forms, such as chorale preludes and fugues. He established a reputation at a young age for his great creativity and ability to integrate foreign styles into his organ works. A decidedly North German influence was exerted by Georg Böhm, with whom Bach came into contact in Lüneburg, and Dieterich Buxtehude in Lübeck, whom the young organist visited in 1704 on an extended leave of absence from his job in Arnstadt. Around this time, Bach copied the works of numerous French and Italian composers to gain insights into their compositional languages, and later arranged violin concertos by Vivaldi and others for organ and harpsichord. His most productive period (1708–14) saw the composition of several pairs of preludes & fugues and toccatas & fugues, and of the Orgelbüchlein ("Little organ book"), an unfinished collection of 45 short chorale preludes that demonstrate compositional techniques in the setting of chorale tunes. After he left Weimar, Bach's output for organ fell off, although his best-known works (the six trio sonatas, the "German Organ Mass" in Clavier-Übung III from 1739, and the "Great eighteen" chorales, revised late in his life) were all composed after this time. Bach was extensively engaged later in his life in consulting on organ projects, testing newly built organs, and dedicating organs in afternoon recitals.One of the high points may be the third part of the Clavier-Übung, a setting of 21 chorale preludes uniting the traditional Catholic Missa with the Lutheran catechism liturgy, the whole set interpolated between the mighty "St. Anne" Prelude and Fugue on the theme of the Trinity.

Other keyboard works

Bach wrote many works for the harpsichord, some of which may also have been played on the clavichord. Many of his keyboard works are anthologies that show an eagerness to encompass whole theoretical systems in an encyclopaedic fashion.

• The Well-Tempered Clavier, Books 1 and 2 (BWV 846–893). Each book comprises a prelude and fugue in each of the 24 major and minor keys (thus, the whole collection is often referred to as 'the 48'). "Well-tempered" in the title refers to the temperament (system of tuning); many temperaments before Bach's time were not flexible enough to allow compositions to move through more than just a few keys.
• The 15 Inventions and 15 Sinfonias (BWV 772–801). These are short two- and three-part contrapuntal works arranged in order of key signatures of increasing sharps and flats, omitting some of the less used ones. The pieces were intended by Bach for instructional purposes.
• Three collections of dance suites: the English Suites (BWV 806–811), the French Suites (BWV 812–817) and the Partitas for keyboard (BWV 825–830). Each collection contains six suites built on the standard model (Allemande–Courante–Sarabande–(optional movement)–Gigue). The English Suites closely follow the traditional model, adding a prelude before the allemande and including a single movement between the sarabande and the gigue. The French Suites omit preludes, but have multiple movements between the sarabande and the gigue. The partitas expand the model further with elaborate introductory movements and miscellaneous movements between the basic elements of the model.
• The Goldberg Variations (BWV 988), an aria with thirty variations. The collection has a complex and unconventional structure: the variations build on the bass line of the aria, rather than its melody, and musical canons are interpolated according to a grand plan. There are nine canons within the 30 variations, one placed every three variations between variations 3 and 27. These variations move in order from canon at the unison to canon at the ninth. The first eight are in pairs (unison and octave, second and seventh, third and sixth, fourth and fifth). The ninth canon stands on its own due to compositional dissimilarities.
• Miscellaneous pieces such as the Overture in the French Style (French Overture, BWV 831), Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue (BWV 903), and the Italian Concerto (BWV 971).

Among Bach's lesser known keyboard works are seven toccatas (BWV 910–916), four duets (BWV 802–805), sonatas for keyboard (BWV 963–967), the Six Little Preludes (BWV 933–938), and the Aria variata alla maniera italiana (BWV 989).

Orchestral and chamber music

wBach rote music for single instruments, duets and small ensembles. Bach's works for solo instruments—the six sonatas and partitas for violin (BWV 1001–1006), the six cello suites (BWV 1007–1012) and the Partita for solo flute (BWV 1013)—may be listed among the most profound works in the repertoire. Bach also composed a suite and several other works for solo lute. He wrote trio sonatas; solo sonatas (accompanied by continuo) for the flute and for the viola da gamba; and a large number of canons and ricercare, mostly for unspecified instrumentation. The most significant examples of the latter are contained in The Art of Fugue and The Musical Offering.

Bach's best-known orchestral works are the Brandenburg concertos, so named because he submitted them in the hope of gaining employment from Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Schwedt in 1721; his application was unsuccessful. These works are examples of the concerto grosso genre. Other surviving works in the concerto form include two violin concertos (BWV 1041 and BWV 1042); a Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor (BWV 1043), often referred to as Bach's "double" concerto; and concertos for one, two, three and even four harpsichords. It is widely accepted that many of the harpsichord concertos were not original works, but arrangements of his concertos for other instruments now lost. A number of violin, oboe and flute concertos have been reconstructed from these. In addition to concertos, Bach also wrote four orchestral suites, a series of stylised dances for orchestra, each preceded by a French overture. The work now known as the Air on the G String is an arrangement for the violin made in the nineteenth century from the second movement of the Orchestral Suite No. 3.

Vocal and choral works

Bach performed a cantata on Sunday at the Thomaskirche, on a theme corresponding to the lectionary readings of the week, as determined by the Lutheran Church Year calendar. He did not perform cantatas during the seasons of Lent and Advent. Although he performed cantatas by other composers, he also composed at least three entire sets of cantatas, one for each Sunday and holiday of the church year, at Leipzig, in addition to those composed at Mühlhausen and Weimar. In total he wrote more than 300 sacred cantatas, of which approximately 195 survive.

His cantatas vary greatly in form and instrumentation. Some of them are only for a solo singer; some are single choruses; some are for grand orchestras; some only a few instruments. A very common format, however, includes a large opening chorus followed by one or more recitative-aria pairs for soloists (or duets) and a concluding chorale. The recitative is part of the corresponding Bible reading for the week and the aria is a contemporary reflection on it. The melody of the concluding chorale often appears as a cantus firmus in the opening movement. Among the best known cantatas are BWV 4 ("Christ lag in Todesbanden"), BWV 21 ("Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis"), BWV 80 ("Ein' feste Burg"), BWV 106 ("Actus Tragicus"), BWV 140 ("Wachet auf") and BWV 147 ("Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben").

In addition, Bach wrote a number of secular cantatas, usually for civic events such as council inaugurations. These also include wedding cantatas, the Wedding Quodlibet, the Peasant Cantata and the Coffee Cantata, which concerns a girl whose father will not let her marry until she gives up her addiction to that extremely popular drink.

Bach's large choral-orchestral works include the famous St. Matthew Passion and St. John Passion, both written for Good Friday vespers services at St. Thomas' and St. Nicholas' Churches in alternate years, and the Christmas Oratorio (a set of six cantatas for use in the Liturgical season of Christmas). The Magnificat in two versions (one in E-flat major, with four interpolated Christmas-related movements, and the later and better-known version in D major) and the Easter Oratorio compare to large, elaborate cantatas, of a lesser extent than the Passions and the Christmas Oratorio.

Bach's other large work, the Mass in B minor, was assembled by Bach near the end of his life, mostly from pieces composed earlier (such as cantata BWV 191 and BWV 12). It was never performed in Bach's lifetime, or even after his death, until the 19th century.

All of these works, unlike the six motets (Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied; Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf; Jesu, meine Freude; Fürchte dich nicht; Komm, Jesu, komm!; and Lobet den Herrn alle Heiden), have substantial solo parts as well as choruses.

Bach's copy of a two volume Bible commentary by the orthodox Lutheran theologian, Abraham Calov, was discovered in the 1950s in a barn in Minnesota, purchased apparently in Germany as part of a "job lot" of old books and brought to America by an immigrant. Its provenance was verified and it was subsequently deposited in the rare book holdings of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. It contains his markings of texts for his cantatas and notes. It is only rarely displayed to the public. A study of the so-called Bach Bible was prepared by Robin Leaver, titled J.S. Bach and Scripture: Glosses from the Calov Bible Commentary (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1985).

Performances

Present-day Bach performers usually pursue either of two traditions: so-called "authentic performance practice", utilising historical techniques, or alternatively the use of modern instruments and playing techniques, with a tendency towards larger ensembles. In Bach's time orchestras and choirs were usually smaller than those known to, for example, Brahms, and even Bach's most ambitious choral works, such as his Mass in B minor and Passions, are composed for relatively modest forces. Some of Bach's important chamber music does not indicate instrumentation, which gives greater latitude for variety of ensemble.

"Easy listening" realisations of Bach's music and its use in advertising also contributed greatly to Bach's popularisation in the second half of the twentieth century. Among these were the Swingle Singers' versions of Bach pieces that are now well-known (for instance, the Air on the G string, or the Wachet Auf chorale prelude) and Wendy Carlos' 1968 ground-breaking recording Switched-On Bach, using the then recently-invented Moog electronic synthesiser. Jazz musicians have also adopted Bach's music, with Jacques Loussier, Ian Anderson, Uri Caine and the Modern Jazz Quartet among those creating jazz versions of Bach works.

Legacy

In his later years and after his death, Bach's reputation as a composer declined; his work was regarded as old-fashioned compared to the emerging classical style. Initially he was remembered more as a player, teacher and as the father of his children, most notably Johann Christian and Carl Philipp Emanuel. (Two other children, Wilhelm Friedmann and Johann Christoph Friedrich, were also composers.)

During this time, his works for keyboard were those most appreciated and composers ever since have acknowledged his mastery of the genre. Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin were among his most prominent admirers. On a visit to Thomasschule, for example, Mozart heard a performance of one of the motets (BWV 225) and exclaimed "Now, here is something one can learn from!"; on being given the motets' parts, "Mozart sat down, the parts all around him, held in both hands, on his knees, on the nearest chairs. Forgetting everything else, he did not stand up again until he had looked through all the music of Sebastian Bach". Beethoven was a devotee, learning the Well-Tempered Clavier as a child and later calling Bach the "Urvater der Harmonie" ("Original father of Harmony") and, in a pun on the literal meaning of Bach's name, "nicht Bach, sondern Meer" ("not a brook, but a sea"). Before performing a concert, Chopin used to lock himself away and play Bach's music. Several notable composers, including Mozart, Beethoven, Robert Schumann, and Felix Mendelssohn began writing in a more contrapuntal style after being introduced to Bach's music.

Today the "Bach style" continues to influence musical composition, from hymns and religious works to pop and rock. Many of Bach's themes—particularly the theme from Toccata and Fugue in D minor—have been used in rock songs repeatedly and have received notable popularity. Bach has even been referred to as "the father of all music."

The revival in the composer's reputation among the wider public was prompted in part by Johann Nikolaus Forkel's 1802 biography, which was read by Beethoven. Goethe became acquainted with Bach's works relatively late in life through a series of performances of keyboard and choral works at Bad Berka in 1814 and 1815; in a letter of 1827 he compared the experience of listening to Bach's music to "eternal harmony in dialogue with itself". But it was Felix Mendelssohn who did the most to revive Bach's reputation with his 1829 Berlin performance of the St. Matthew Passion. Hegel, who attended the performance, later called Bach a "grand, truly Protestant, robust and, so to speak, erudite genius which we have only recently learned again to appreciate at its full value".Mendelssohn's promotion of Bach, and the growth of the composer's stature, continued in subsequent years. The Bach Gesellschaft (Bach Society) was founded in 1850 to promote the works, publishing a comprehensive edition over the subsequent half century.

Thereafter, Bach's reputation has remained consistently high. During the twentieth century, the process of recognising the musical as well as the pedagogic value of some of the works has continued, perhaps most notably in the promotion of the Cello Suites by Pablo Casals. Another development has been the growth of the "authentic" or period performance movement, which, as far as possible, attempts to present the music as the composer intended it. Examples include the playing of keyboard works on the harpsichord rather than a modern grand piano and the use of small choirs or single voices instead of the larger forces favoured by nineteenth- and early twentieth-century performers.

Johann Sebastian Bach's contributions to music—or, to borrow a term popularised by his student Lorenz Christoph Mizler, his "musical science"—are frequently bracketed with those by William Shakespeare in English literature and Isaac Newton in physics. Scientist and author Lewis Thomas once suggested how the people of Earth should communicate with the universe: "I would vote for Bach, all of Bach, streamed out into space, over and over again. We would be bragging, of course, but it is surely excusable to put the best possible face on at the beginning of such an acquaintance. We can tell the harder truths later."

Some composers have paid tribute to Bach by setting his name in musical notes (B-flat, A, C, B-natural; B-natural is notated as "H" in German musical texts, whilst B-flat is just "B") or using contrapuntal derivatives. Liszt, for example, wrote a praeludium & fugue on this BACH motif (existing in versions both for organ and piano). Bach himself set the precedent for this musical acronym, most notably in Contrapunctus XIV from the Art of Fugue. Whereas Bach also conceived this cruciform melody (among other similar ones) as a sign of devotion to Christ and his cross, later composers have employed the BACH motif in homage to the composer himself.

Some of the greatest composers since Bach have written works that explicitly pay homage to him. Examples include Beethoven's Diabelli Variations, Shostakovich's Preludes and Fugues, and Brahms's Cello Sonata in E, whose finale is based on themes from the Art of Fugue. A 20th-century work very strongly influenced by Bach is Villa-Lobos' Bachianas brasileiras. Stephen Sondheim once claimed he listened to no one else except Bach.

He is commemorated as a musician in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church on 28 July.

Bach is the most represented artist on the Voyager Golden Record, a phonograph record included in two Voyager missions. Bach's compositions comprise three of the 27 recordings chosen. Many early examples of synthesised music played on the Commodore 64 home computer's SID chip were realisations of Bach's contrapuntal works.

Although Bach fathered twenty children, only ten survived infancy. He has no known descendants living today. His great-granddaughter—Frau Carolina Augusta Wilhelmine Ritter, who died May 13, 1871—was his last known descendant.

A modern reconstruction of Johann Sebastian Bach's head using computer modeling techniques, unveiled 3 March 2008 in Berlin, showed the composer as a strong-jawed man with a slight underbite, his large head topped with short, silver hair.

 Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Sebastian_Bach

 

 

 Compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Johann_Sebastian_Bach

There are over 1000 known compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. Listed here are about half of these in the order of the BWV catalog, including the spurious works in the BWV Anhang ("Appendix"). The complementary pages listing the other known compositions by Bach according to the BWV system are:

Works for voice

Cantatas (1–224)

BWV 1 — Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern

BWV 2 — Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein

BWV 3 — Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid

BWV 4 — Christ lag in Todesbanden

BWV 5 — Wo soll ich fliehen hin

BWV 6 — Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden

BWV 7 — Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam

BWV 8 — Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben?

BWV 9 — Es ist das Heil uns kommen her

BWV 10 — Meine Seel erhebt den Herren

BWV 11 — Lobet Gott in seinen Reichen (Himmelfahrts-Oratorium (Ascension Oratorio))

BWV 12 — Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen

BWV 13 — Meine Seufzer, meine Tränen

BWV 14 — Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit

BWV 15 — Denn du wirst meine Seele nicht in der Hölle lassen (spurious: actually by Johann Ludwig Bach)

BWV 16 — Herr Gott, dich loben wir

BWV 17 — Wer Dank opfert, der preiset mich

BWV 18 — Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt

BWV 19 — Es erhub sich ein Streit

BWV 20 — O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort

BWV 21 — Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis

BWV 22 — Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe

BWV 23 — Du wahrer Gott und Davids Sohn

BWV 24 — Ein ungefärbt Gemüte

BWV 25 — Es ist nichts Gesundes an meinem Leibe

BWV 26 — Ach wie flüchtig, ach wie nichtig

BWV 27 — Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende

BWV 28 — Gottlob! nun geht das Jahr zu Ende

BWV 29 — Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir

BWV 30 — Freue dich, erlöste Schar

BWV 30a — Angenehmes Wiederau secular

BWV 31 — Der Himmel lacht! Die Erde jubilieret

BWV 32 — Liebster Jesu, mein Verlangen

BWV 33 — Allein zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ

BWV 34 — O ewiges Feuer, o Ursprung der Liebe

BWV 34a — O ewiges Feuer, o Ursprung der Liebe

BWV 35 — Geist und Seele wird verwirret

BWV 36 — Schwingt freudig euch empor

BWV 36a — Steigt freudig in die Luft (lost) secular

BWV 36b — Die Freude reget sich secular

BWV 36c — Schwingt freudig euch empor secular

BWV 37 — Wer da gläubet und getauft wird

BWV 38 — Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir

BWV 39 — Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot

BWV 40 — Darzu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes

BWV 41 — Jesu, nun sei gepreiset

BWV 42 — Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbats

BWV 43 — Gott fähret auf mit Jauchzen

BWV 44 — Sie werden euch in den Bann tun

BWV 45 — Es ist dir gesagt, Mensch, was gut ist

BWV 46 — Schauet doch und sehet, ob irgend ein Schmerz sei

BWV 47 — Wer sich selbst erhöhet, der soll erniedriget werden

BWV 48 — Ich elender Mensch, wer wird mich erlösen

BWV 49 — Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen

BWV 50 — Nun ist das Heil und die Kraft

BWV 51 — Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen

BWV 52 — Falsche Welt, dir trau ich nicht

BWV 53 — Schlage doch, gewünschte Stunde (spurious: possibly by Georg Melchior Hoffmann)

BWV 54 — Widerstehe doch der Sünde

BWV 55 — Ich armer Mensch, ich Sündenknecht

BWV 56 — Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen

BWV 57 — Selig ist der Mann (Lehms)

BWV 58 — Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid

BWV 59 — Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten

BWV 60 — O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort

BWV 61 — Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland

BWV 62 — Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland

BWV 63 — Christen, ätzet diesen Tag

BWV 64 — Sehet, welch eine Liebe hat uns der Vater erzeiget

BWV 65 — Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen

BWV 66 — Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen

BWV 66a — Der Himmel dacht auf Anhalts Ruhm und Glück (lost)

BWV 67 — Halt im Gedächtnis Jesum Christ

BWV 68 — Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt

BWV 69 — Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele

BWV 69a — Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele

BWV 70 — Wachet! betet! betet! wachet!

BWV 70a — Wachet! betet! betet! wachet!

BWV 71 — Gott ist mein König

BWV 72 — Alles nur nach Gottes Willen

BWV 73 — Herr, wie du willt, so schicks mit mir

BWV 74 — Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten

BWV 75 — Die Elenden sollen essen

BWV 76 — Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes

BWV 77 — Du sollt Gott, deinen Herren, lieben

BWV 78 — Jesu, der du meine Seele

BWV 79 — Gott der Herr ist Sonn und Schild

BWV 80 — Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott

BWV 80a — Alles, was von Gott geboren

BWV 80b — Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott

BWV 81 — Jesus schläft, was soll ich hoffen

BWV 82 — Ich habe genug

BWV 83 — Erfreute Zeit im neuen Bunde

BWV 84 — Ich bin vergnügt mit meinem Glücke

BWV 85 — Ich bin ein guter Hirt

BWV 86 — Wahrlich, wahrlich, ich sage euch

BWV 87 — Bisher habt ihr nichts gebeten in meinem Namen

BWV 88 — Siehe, ich will viel Fischer aussenden

BWV 89 — Was soll ich aus dir machen, Ephraim

BWV 90 — Es reißet euch ein schrecklich Ende

BWV 91 — Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ

BWV 92 — Ich hab in Gottes Herz und Sinn

BWV 93 — Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten

BWV 94 — Was frag ich nach der Welt

BWV 95 — Christus, der ist mein Leben

BWV 96 — Herr Christ, der einge Gottessohn

BWV 97 — In allen meinen Taten

BWV 98 — Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan

BWV 99 — Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan

BWV 100 — Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan

BWV 101 — Nimm von uns, Herr, du treuer Gott

BWV 102 — Herr, deine Augen sehen nach dem Glauben

BWV 103 — Ihr werdet weinen und heulen

BWV 104 — Du Hirte Israel, höre

BWV 105 — Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht mit deinem Knecht

BWV 106 — Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit (Actus Tragicus)

BWV 107 — Was willst du dich betrüben

BWV 108 — Es ist euch gut, daß ich hingehe

BWV 109 — Ich glaube, lieber Herr, hilf meinem Unglauben

BWV 110 — Unser Mund sei voll Lachens

BWV 111 — Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit

BWV 112 — Der Herr ist mein getreuer Hirt

BWV 113 — Herr Jesu Christ, du höchstes Gut

BWV 114 — Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost

BWV 115 — Mache dich, mein Geist, bereit

BWV 116 — Du Friedenfürst, Herr Jesu Christ

BWV 117 — Sei Lob und Ehr dem höchsten Gut

BWV 118 — O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht

BWV 118b — O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht (2nd version)

BWV 119 — Preise, Jerusalem, den Herrn

BWV 120 — Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille

BWV 120a — Herr Gott, Beherrscher aller Dinge

BWV 120b — Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille

BWV 121 — Christum wir sollen loben schon

BWV 122 — Das neugeborne Kindelein

BWV 123 — Liebster Immanuel, Herzog der Frommen

BWV 124 — Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht

BWV 125 — Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin

BWV 126 — Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort

BWV 127 — Herr Jesu Christ, wahr' Mensch und Gott

BWV 128 — Auf Christi Himmelfahrt allein

BWV 129 — Gelobet sei der Herr, mein Gott

BWV 130 — Herr Gott, dich loben alle wir

BWV 131 — Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir

BWV 131a — Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir

BWV 132 — Bereitet die Wege, bereitet die Bahn

BWV 133 — Ich freue mich in dir

BWV 134 — Ein Herz, das seinen Jesum lebend weiß

BWV 134a — Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht secular                                                                    

BWV 135 — Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder

BWV 136 — Erforsche mich, Gott, und erfahre mein Herz

BWV 137 — Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren

BWV 138 — Warum betrübst du dich, mein Herz

BWV 139 — Wohl dem, der sich auf seinen Gott

BWV 140 — Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme

BWV 141 — Das ist je gewißlich wahr (spurious: actually by Georg Philipp Telemann)

BWV 142 — Uns ist ein Kind geboren (spurious: possibly by Johann Kuhnau)

BWV 143 — Lobe den Herrn, meine Seele (doubtful: possibly not by J. S. Bach)

BWV 144 — Nimm, was dein ist, und gehe hin

BWV 145 — Ich lebe, mein Herze, zu deinem Ergötzen

BWV 146 — Wir müssen durch viel Trübsal

BWV 147 — Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben

BWV 147a — Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben

BWV 148 — Bringet dem Herrn Ehre seines Namens

BWV 149 — Man singet mit Freuden vom Sieg

BWV 150 — Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich

BWV 151 — Süßer Trost, mein Jesus kömmt

BWV 152 — Tritt auf die Glaubensbahn

BWV 153 — Schau, lieber Gott, wie meine Feind

BWV 154 — Mein liebster Jesus ist verloren

BWV 155 — Mein Gott, wie lang, ach lange

BWV 156 — Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe

BWV 157 — Ich lasse dich nicht, du segnest mich denn

BWV 158 — Der Friede sei mit dir

BWV 159 — Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem

BWV 160 — Ich weiß, daß mein Erlöser lebt (spurious: actually by Georg Philipp Telemann)

BWV 161 — Komm, du süße Todesstunde

BWV 162 — Ach! ich sehe, itzt, da ich zur Hochzeit gehe

BWV 163 — Nur jedem das Seine

BWV 164 — Ihr, die ihr euch von Christo nennet

BWV 165 — O heilges Geist- und Wasserbad

BWV 166 — Wo gehest du hin?

BWV 167 — Ihr Menschen, rühmet Gottes Liebe

BWV 168 — Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort

BWV 169 — Gott soll allein mein Herze haben

BWV 170 — Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust

BWV 171 — Gott, wie dein Name, so ist auch dein Ruhm

BWV 172 — Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten

BWV 173 — Erhöhtes Fleisch und Blut

BWV 173a — Durchlauchtster Leopold secular

BWV 174 — Ich liebe den Höchsten von ganzem Gemüte

BWV 175 — Er rufet seinen Schafen mit Namen

BWV 176 — Es ist ein trotzig und verzagt Ding

BWV 177 — Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ

BWV 178 — Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält

BWV 179 — Siehe zu, daß deine Gottesfurcht nicht Heuchelei sei

BWV 180 — Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele

BWV 181 — Leichtgesinnte Flattergeister

BWV 182 — Himmelskönig, sei willkommen

BWV 183 — Sie werden euch in den Bann tun

BWV 184 — Erwünschtes Freudenlicht

BWV 185 — Barmherziges Herze der ewigen Liebe

BWV 186 — Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht

BWV 187 — Es wartet alles auf dich

BWV 188 — Ich habe meine Zuversicht

BWV 189 — Meine Seele rühmt und priest (spurious: probably by Georg Melchior Hoffmann)

BWV 190 — Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied

BWV 190a — Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied (lost)

BWV 191 — Gloria in excelsis Deo

BWV 192 — Nun danket alle Gott

BWV 193 — Ihr Tore zu Zion

BWV 193a — Ihr Häuser des Himmels (lost) secular

BWV 194 — Höchsterwünschtes Freudenfest

BWV 195 — Dem Gerechten muß das Licht

BWV 196 — Der Herr denket an uns

BWV 197 — Gott ist unsre Zuversicht

BWV 197a — Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe

BWV 198 — Laß, Fürstin, laß noch einen Strahl (Trauerode) secular

BWV 199 — Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut

BWV 200 — Bekennen will ich seinen Namen

BWV 201 — Geschwinde, ihr wirbelnden Winde (The Contest Between Phoebus and Pan) secular

BWV 202 — Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten secular

BWV 203 — Amore traditore secular

BWV 204 — Ich bin in mir vergnügt secular

BWV 205 — Zerreißet, zersprenget, zertrümmert die Gruft secular

BWV 205a — Blast Lärmen, ihr Feinde secular

BWV 206 — Schleicht, spielende Wellen secular

BWV 207 — Vereinigte Zwietracht der wechselnden Saiten secular

BWV 207a — Auf, schmetternde Töne secular

BWV 208 — Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd (Hunting Cantata) secular

BWV 208a — Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd secular

BWV 209 — Non sa che sia dolore secular

BWV 210 — O holder Tag, erwünschte Zeit secular

BWV 210a — O angenehme Melodei secular

BWV 211 — Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht (Coffee Cantata) secular

BWV 212 — Mer hahn en neue Oberkeet (Peasant Cantata) secular

BWV 213 — Laßt uns sorgen, laßt uns wachen (Hercules auf dem Scheidewege) secular

BWV 214 — Tönet, ihr Pauken! Erschallet, Trompeten! secular

BWV 215 — Preise dein Glücke, gesegnetes Sachsen secular

BWV 216 — Vergnügte Pleißenstadt (incomplete) secular

BWV 216a — Erwählte Pleißenstadt (lost) secular

BWV 217 — Gedenke, Herr, wie es uns gehet (spurious)

BWV 218 — Gott der Hoffnung erfülle euch (spurious: by Georg Philipp Telemann)

BWV 219 — Siehe, es hat überwunden der Löwe (spurious: by Georg Philipp Telemann)

BWV 220 — Lobt ihn mit Herz und Munde (spurious)

BWV 221 — Wer sucht die Pracht, wer wünscht den Glanz (spurious)

BWV 222 — Mein Odem ist schwach (spurious: actually by Johann Ernst Bach)

BWV 223 — Meine Seele soll Gott loben (spurious)

BWV 224 — Reißt euch los, bedrängte Sinnen (small fragment) (spurious)

BWV 244a — Klagt, Kinder, klagt es aller Welt

BWV 248a — (text unknown)

BWV 249 - Kommet, eilet und laufet

BWV 1083 — Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden (arrangement of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's Stabat mater)

BWV 1127 - Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn’ ihn

BWV Anh. 3 — Gott, gib dein Gerichte dem Könige

BWV Anh. 5 — Lobet den Herrn, alle seine Heerscharen

 

Motets (225–231)

• BWV 225 — Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied
• BWV 226 — Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf
• BWV 227 — Jesu, meine Freude
• BWV 228 — Fürchte dich nicht
• BWV 229 — Komm, Jesu, komm!
• BWV 230 — Lobet den Herrn alle Heiden (Psalm 117)
• BWV 231 — Sei Lob und Preis mit Ehren (spurious; actually part of an incomplete cantata or motet by Telemann)

Liturgical works in Latin (232–243a)

• BWV 232 — Mass in B minor
• BWV 233 — Mass in F major
• BWV 233a — Kyrie in F major (alternative version of Kyrie from BWV 233)
• BWV 234 — Mass in A major
• BWV 235 — Mass in G minor
• BWV 236 — Mass in G major
• BWV 237 — Sanctus in C major
• BWV 238 — Sanctus in D major
• BWV 239 — Sanctus in D minor
• BWV 240 — Sanctus in G major
• BWV 241 — Sanctus in D major (arrangement of Sanctus from Johann Kaspar Kerll's Missa superba)
• BWV 242 — Christe Eleison in G minor
• BWV 243 — Magnificat in D major
• BWV 243a — Magnificat in E-flat major (earlier version of BWV 243)

Passions and oratorios (244–249)

• BWV 244 — St. Matthew Passion (Matthäus-Passion)
• BWV 244a — Klagt, Kinder, klagt es aller Welt (Trauerkantate (funeral cantata) for Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen)
• BWV 244b — Matthäus-Passion (earlier version)
• BWV 245 — St. John Passion (Johannes-Passion)
• BWV 245a — Himmel reisse, Welt erbebe (aria from the 2nd version of the St. John Passion)
• BWV 245b — Zerschmettert mich, ihr Felsen und ihr Hügel (aria from the 2nd version of the St. John Passion)
• BWV 245c — Ach, windet euch nicht so, geplagte Seelen (aria from the 2nd version of the St. John Passion)
• BWV 246 — St. Luke Passion (Lukas-Passion) (spurious, author unknown)
• BWV 247 — St. Mark Passion (Markus-Passion) (libretto is extant, but much of the music lost)
• BWV 248 — Christmas Oratorio (Weihnachts-Oratorium)
• BWV 249 — Easter Oratorio (Oster-Oratorium)

Secular cantatas (249–249)

• BWV 249a — Entfliehet, verschwindet, entweichet, ihr Sorgen
• BWV 249b — Verjaget, zerstreuet, zerrüttet, ihr Sterne

Chorales (250–438)

• See List of chorales of Johann Sebastian Bach

 Songs and arias (439–518)

• See List of songs and arias of Johann Sebastian Bach

 Songs (519–523)

• BWV 519 — Hier lieg' ich nun
• BWV 520 — Das walt' mein Gott
• BWV 521 — Gott mein Herz dir Dank
• BWV 522 — Meine Seele, lass es gehen
• BWV 523 — Ich gnüge mich an meinem Stande

Quodlibet (524)

• BWV 524 — Wedding Quodlibet

Works for organ

Trio sonatas for organ (525–530)

• BWV 525 — Trio sonata in E-flat major
• BWV 526 — Trio sonata in C minor
• BWV 527 — Trio sonata in D minor
• BWV 528 — Trio sonata in E minor
• BWV 528a — Andante in D minor (alternative version of movement 2 from BWV 528)
• BWV 529 — Trio sonata in C major
• BWV 530 — Trio sonata in G major

 Preludes and Fugues, Toccatas and Fugues, and Fantasias for organ (531–581)

• BWV 531 — Prelude and Fugue in C major
• BWV 532 — Prelude and Fugue in D major
• BWV 532a — Fugue in D major (alternative version of BWV 532)
• BWV 533 — Prelude and Fugue in E minor
• BWV 534 — Prelude and Fugue in F minor
• BWV 535 — Prelude and Fugue in G minor
• BWV 535a — Prelude and Fugue in G minor (alternative, simplified version of BWV 535)
• BWV 536 — Prelude and Fugue in A major
• BWV 536a — Prelude and Fugue in A major (alternative version of BWV 536 based on the original manuscript)
• BWV 537 — Fantasia (Prelude) and Fugue in C minor
• BWV 538 — Toccata and Fugue in D minor ("Dorian")
• BWV 539 — Prelude and Fugue in D minor
• BWV 539a — Fugue in D minor (see BWV 1000 for the lute arrangement, movement 2 of BWV 1001 for the violin arrangement)
• BWV 540 — Toccata and Fugue in F major
• BWV 541 — Prelude and Fugue in G major
• BWV 542 — Fantasia and Fugue "Great" in G minor
• BWV 542a — Fugue in G minor (alternative version of the fugue from BWV 542)
• BWV 543 — Prelude and Fugue in A minor
• BWV 544 — Prelude and Fugue in B minor
• BWV 545 — Prelude and Fugue in C major
• BWV 545a — Prelude and Fugue in C major (alternative version of BWV 545)
• BWV 545b — Prelude, Trio and Fugue in B major (alternative version of BWV 545)
• BWV 546 — Prelude and Fugue in C minor
• BWV 547 — Prelude and Fugue in C major
• BWV 548 — Prelude and Fugue in E minor "Wedge"
• BWV 549 — Prelude and Fugue in C minor
• BWV 550 — Prelude and Fugue in G major
• BWV 551 — Prelude and Fugue in A minor
• BWV 552 — Prelude and Fugue in E-flat major "St. Anne" (published in Clavier-Übung III)

• Eight Short Preludes and Fugues (553–560)
  • BWV 553 — Short Prelude and Fugue in C major (spurious, possibly by Johann Tobias Krebs)
  • BWV 554 — Short Prelude and Fugue in D minor (spurious, possibly by Johann Tobias Krebs)
  • BWV 555 — Short Prelude and Fugue in E minor (spurious, possibly by Johann Tobias Krebs)
  • BWV 556 — Short Prelude and Fugue in F major (spurious, possibly by Johann Tobias Krebs)
  • BWV 557 — Short Prelude and Fugue in G major (spurious, possibly by Johann Tobias Krebs)
  • BWV 558 — Short Prelude and Fugue in G minor (spurious, possibly by Johann Tobias Krebs)
  • BWV 559 — Short Prelude and Fugue in A minor (spurious, possibly by Johann Tobias Krebs)
  • BWV 560 — Short Prelude and Fugue in B-flat major (spurious, possibly by Johann Tobias Krebs)

  • 

• BWV 561 — Fantasia and Fugue in A minor (spurious)
• BWV 562 — Fantasia and Fugue in C minor (fugue unfinished)
• BWV 563 — Fantasia with imitation in B minor (spurious)
• BWV 564 — Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major
• BWV 565 — Toccata and Fugue in D minor (disputed)
• BWV 566 — Toccata and Fugue in E major (spurious)
• BWV 566a — Toccata in E major (earlier version of BWV 566)
• BWV 567 — Prelude in C major
• BWV 568 — Prelude in G major
• BWV 569 — Prelude in A minor
• BWV 570 — Fantasia in C major
• BWV 571 — Fantasia (Concerto) in G major (spurious)
• BWV 572 — Fantasia in G major "Pièce d'Orgue"
• BWV 573 — Fantasia in C major (incomplete, from the 1722 Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach)
• BWV 574 — Fugue in C minor
• BWV 574a — Fugue in C minor (alternative version of BWV 574)
• BWV 575 — Fugue in C minor
• BWV 576 — Fugue in G major
• BWV 577 — Fugue in G major 'à la Gigue' (spurious)
• BWV 578 — Fugue in G minor "Little"
• BWV 579 — Fugue on a theme by Arcangelo Corelli (from Op. 3, No. 4); in B Minor
• BWV 580 — Fugue in D major (spurious)
• BWV 581 — Fugue in G major (not by Bach, composed by Gottfried August Homilius)
• BWV 581a — Fugue in G major (spurious)

[edit] Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor (582)

• BWV 582 — Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor

Trios and miscellaneous pieces for organ (583–591)

• BWV 583 — Trio in D minor (spurious)
• BWV 584 — Trio in G minor (spurious)
• BWV 585 — Trio in C minor (spurious, after Johann Friedrich Fasch)
• BWV 586 — Trio in G major (spurious, after Georg Philipp Telemann)
• BWV 587 — Aria in F major (spurious, after François Couperin)
• BWV 588 — Canzona in D minor
• BWV 589 — Alla Breve in D major (spurious)
• BWV 590 — Pastorale (Pastorella) in F major (first movement incomplete, three following movements complete)
• BWV 591 — Little Harmonic Labyrinth (Kleines harmonisches Labyrinth) (spurious, possibly by Johann David Heinichen)

Concerti for organ (592–598)

• BWV 592 — Concerto in G major (after a concerto by Duke Johann Ernst)
• BWV 592a — Concerto in G major (an arrangement of BWV 592 for harpsichord)
• BWV 593 — Concerto in A minor (after Antonio Vivaldi's Concerto Op. 3/8 RV522 for violin)
• BWV 594 — Concerto in C major (after Antonio Vivaldi, Concerto Op. 7/5 RV285a 'il grosso mogul' for violin)
• BWV 595 — Concerto in C major (after a concerto by Duke Johann Ernst)
• BWV 596 — Concerto in D minor (after Antonio Vivaldi, Concerto grosso, Op. 3/11 RV565)
• BWV 597 — Concerto in E-flat major (spurious, source unknown)
• BWV 598 — Pedalexercitium ("Pedal Exercise") in G minor (improvisations recorded by CPE Bach)

Chorale Preludes I: Orgelbüchlein (Little Organ Book)

(599–644)

• BWV 599 — Advent — Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland
• BWV 600 — Advent — Gott, durch deine Güte (oder: Gottes-Sonh ist kommen)
• BWV 601 — Advent — Herr Christ, der ein'ge Gottes-Sohn (oder: Herr Gott, nun sei gepreiset)
• BWV 602 — Advent — Lob sei dem allmächtigen Gott
• BWV 603 — Christmas — Puer natus in Bethlehem
• BWV 604 — Christmas — Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ
• BWV 605 — Christmas — Der Tag, der ist so freudenreich
• BWV 606 — Christmas — Vom Himmel hoch, da komm' ich her
• BWV 607 — Christmas — Vom Himmel kam der Engel Schar
• BWV 608 — Christmas — In dulci jubilo
• BWV 609 — Christmas — Lobt Gott, ihr Christen, allzugleich
• BWV 610 — Christmas — Jesu, meine Freude
• BWV 611 — Christmas — Christum wir sollen loben schon
• BWV 612 — Christmas — Wir Christenleut'
• BWV 613 — New Year — Helft mir Gottes Güte preisen
• BWV 614 — New Year — Das alte Jahr vergangen ist
• BWV 615 — New Year — In dir ist Freude
• BWV 616 — Epiphany — Mit Fried' und Freud' ich fahr' dahin
• BWV 617 — Epiphany — Herr Gott, nun schleuß den Himmel auf
• BWV 618 — Lent — O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig
• BWV 619 — Lent — Christe, du Lamm Gottes
• BWV 620 — Lent — Christus, der uns selig macht
• BWV 620a — Lent — Christus, der uns selig macht (ältere Lesart)
• BWV 621 — Lent — Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund
• BWV 622 — Lent — O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß
• BWV 623 — Lent — Wir danken dir, Herr Jesu Christ
• BWV 624 — Lent — Hilf Gott, daß mir's gelinge
• BWV 625 — Easter — Christ lag in Todesbanden
• BWV 626 — Easter — Jesus Christus, unser Heiland
• BWV 627 — Easter — Christ ist erstanden
• BWV 628 — Easter — Erstanden ist der heil'ge Christ
• BWV 629 — Easter — Erschienen ist der herrliche Tag
• BWV 630 — Easter — Heut' triumphieret Gottes Sohn
• BWV 631 — Pentecost — Komm, Gott Schöpfer, heiliger Geist
• BWV 631a — Pentecost — Komm, Gott Schöpfer, heiliger Geist (ältere Lesart)
• BWV 632 — Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend'
• BWV 633 — Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier
• BWV 634 — Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier (alternative version of BWV 633)
• BWV 635 — Dies sind die heil'gen zehn Gebot'
• BWV 636 — Vater unser im Himmelreich
• BWV 637 — Durch Adams Fall ist ganz verderbt
• BWV 638 — Es ist das Heil uns kommen her
• BWV 639 — Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ
• BWV 640 — In dich hab' ich gehoffet, Herr
• BWV 641 — Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein
• BWV 642 — Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten
• BWV 643 — Alle Menschen müssen sterben
• BWV 644 — Ach wie nichtig, ach wie flüchtig

Chorale Preludes II: Schübler Chorales (645–650)

 

BWV 645 — Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme

• BWV 646 — Wo soll ich fliehen hin (oder: Auf meinen lieben Gott)
• BWV 647 — Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten
• BWV 648 — Meine Seele erhebt den Herren
• BWV 649 — Ach, bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ
• BWV 650 — Kommst du nun, Jesu, vom Himmel herunter

Chorale Preludes III: "Leipzig" Chorale Preludes

 ("The Great Eighteen" chorales) (651–668)

• BWV 651 — Fantasia super: Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott
• BWV 651a — Fantasia (Präludium) super: Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott (ältere, Weimarer Fassung)
• BWV 652 — Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott
• BWV 652a — Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott (ältere, Weimarer Fassung)
• BWV 653 — An Wasserflüssen Babylon
• BWV 653a — An Wasserflüssen Babylon alio modo a 4 (ältere, Weimarer Fassung)
• BWV 653b — An Wasserflüssen Babylon (Weimarer Urfassung)
• BWV 654 — Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele
• BWV 654a — Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele (ältere, Weimarer Fassung)
• BWV 655 — Trio super: Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend'
• BWV 655a — Trio super: Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend' (ältere, Weimarer Fassung)
• BWV 655b — Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend'
• BWV 655c — Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend'
• BWV 656 — O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig
• BWV 656a — O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig (ältere, Weimarer Fassung)
• BWV 657 — Nun danket alle Gott (ältere Weimarer und Leipziger Fassung)
• BWV 658 — Von Gott will ich nicht lassen
• BWV 658a — Fantasia super: Von Gott will ich nicht lassen (ältere, Weimarer Fassung)
• BWV 659 — Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland
• BWV 659a — Fantasia super: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (ältere, Weimarer Fassung)
• BWV 660 — Trio super: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland
• BWV 660a — Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (ältere, Weimarer Fassung)
• BWV 660b — Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland
• BWV 661 — Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland
• BWV 661a — Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (ältere, Weimarer Fassung)
• BWV 662 — Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr'
• BWV 662a — Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr' (ältere, Weimarer Fassung)
• BWV 663 — Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr'
• BWV 663a — Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr' (ältere, Weimarer Fassung)
• BWV 664 — Trio super: Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr'
• BWV 664a/b — Trio super: Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr' (ältere Weimarer Fassung/Entwurf)
• BWV 665 — Jesus Christus, unser Heiland
• BWV 665a — Jesus Christus, unser Heiland (in organo pleno) (ältere, Weimarer Fassung)
• BWV 666 — Jesus Christus, unser Heiland (alio modo)
• BWV 666a — Jesus Christus, unser Heiland (ältere, Weimarer Fassung)
• BWV 667 — Komm, Gott Schöpfer, heiliger Geist
• BWV 667a/b — Komm, Gott Schöpfer, heiliger Geist (ältere, Weimarer Fassungen)
• BWV 668 — Vor deinen Thron tret' ich (Fragment)
• BWV 668a — Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten (Diktatschrift: Fragment)

[Chorale Preludes IV: "German Organ Mass", part of Clavier-Übung III

(669–689)

• BWV 669 — Kyrie (large versions) — Kyrie, Gott Vater in Ewigkeit
• BWV 670 — Kyrie (large versions) — Christe, aller Welt Trost
• BWV 671 — Kyrie (large versions) — Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist
• BWV 672 — Kyrie (small versions) — Kyrie, Gott Vater in Ewigkeit
• BWV 673 — Kyrie (small versions) — Christe, aller Welt Trost
• BWV 674 — Kyrie (small versions) — Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist
• BWV 675 — Gloria — Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr' (small version)
• BWV 676 — Gloria — Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr' (large version)
• BWV 677 — Gloria — Fughetta super: Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr' (small version)
• BWV 678 — The Ten Commandments — Dies sind die heil'gen zehn Gebot' (large version)
• BWV 679 — The Ten Commandments — Fughetta super: Dies sind die heil'gen zehn Gebot' (small version)
• BWV 680 — Credo — Wir glauben all' an einen Gott (large version)
• BWV 681 — Credo — Fughetta super: Wir glauben all' an einen Gott (small version)
• BWV 682 — The Lord's Prayer — Vater unser im Himmelreich (large version)
• BWV 683 — The Lord's Prayer — Vater unser im Himmelreich (small version)
• BWV 683a — The Lord's Prayer — Vater unser im Himmelreich (small version, variant of BWV 683)
• BWV 684 — The Baptism — Christ, unser Herr, zum Jordan kam (large version)
• BWV 685 — The Baptism — Christ, unser Herr, zum Jordan kam (small version) Alio modo
• BWV 686 — The Penitence — Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir (large version)
• BWV 687 — The Penitence — Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir (small version)
• BWV 688 — Communion — Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der von uns den Zorn Gottes wandt (large version)
• BWV 689 — Communion — Fuga super: Jesus Christus, unser Heiland (small version)

Chorale Preludes V: Kirnberger chorale preludes (690–713)

• BWV 690 — Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten
• BWV 691 — Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten
• BWV 691a — Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten
• BWV 692 — Ach, Gott und Herr (not by Bach, composed by Johann Gottfried Walther)
• BWV 692a — Ach, Gott und Herr (not by Bach, composed by Johann Gottfried Walther)
• BWV 693 — Ach, Gott und Herr (not by Bach, composed by Johann Gottfried Walther)
• BWV 694 — Wo soll ich fliehen hin
• BWV 695 — Christ lag in Todesbanden
• BWV 695a — Christ lag in Todesbanden
• BWV 696 — Fughetta: Christum wir sollen loben schon
• BWV 697 — Fughetta: Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ
• BWV 698 — Fughetta: Herr Christ, der ein'ge Gottes-Sohn
• BWV 699 — Fughetta: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland
• BWV 700 — Vom Himmel hoch, da komm' ich her
• BWV 701 — Fughetta: Vom Himmel hoch, da komm' ich her
• BWV 702 — Fughetta: Das Jesulein soll doch mein Trost
• BWV 703 — Fughetta: Gottes-Sohn ist kommen
• BWV 704 — Fughetta: Lob sei dem allmächtigen Gott
• BWV 705 — Durch Adams Fall ist ganz verderbt
• BWV 706 — Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier
• BWV 707 — Ich hab' mein' Sach' Gott heimgestellt
• BWV 708 — Ich hab' mein' Sach' Gott heimgestellt
• BWV 708a — Ich hab' mein' Sach' Gott heimgestellt
• BWV 709 — Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend'
• BWV 710 — Wir Christenleut'
• BWV 711 — Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr'
• BWV 712 — In dich hab' ich gehoffet, Herr
• BWV 713 — Fantasia: Jesu, meine Freude
• BWV 713a — Fantasia sopra: Jesu, meine Freude

Miscellaneous chorale preludes (714–764)

 

 

 

 

  

• BWV 765 — Chorale partita "Wir glauben all' an einen Gott" (spurious)
• BWV 766 — Chorale partita "Christ, der du bist der helle Tag"
• BWV 767 — Chorale partita "O Gott, du frommer Gott"
• BWV 768 — Chorale partita "Sei gegrüsset, Jesu gütig"
• BWV 769 — Canonic variations on "Vom Himmel hoch, da komm' ich her"
• BWV 770 — Chorale variations "Ach, was soll ich Sünder machen" (spurious)
• BWV 771 — Chorale variations "Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr'" (not by Bach, possibly by Andreas Nicolaus Vetter)

Works for harpsichord

 Inventions and Sinfonias (772–801)

• BWV 772 — Invention No. 1 in C major
• BWV 772a — Invention No. 1 in C major (alternative version of BWV 772)
• BWV 773 — Invention No. 2 in C minor
• BWV 774 — Invention No. 3 in D major
• BWV 775 — Invention No. 4 in D minor
• BWV 776 — Invention No. 5 in E-flat major
• BWV 777 — Invention No. 6 in E major
• BWV 778 — Invention No. 7 in E minor
• BWV 779 — Invention No. 8 in F major
• BWV 780 — Invention No. 9 in F minor
• BWV 781 — Invention No. 10 in G major
• BWV 782 — Invention No. 11 in G minor
• BWV 783 — Invention No. 12 in A major
• BWV 784 — Invention No. 13 in A minor
• BWV 785 — Invention No. 14 in B-flat major
• BWV 786 — Invention No. 15 in B minor
• BWV 787 — Sinfonia No. 1 in C major
• BWV 788 — Sinfonia No. 2 in C minor
• BWV 789 — Sinfonia No. 3 in D major
• BWV 790 — Sinfonia No. 4 in D minor
• BWV 791 — Sinfonia No. 5 in E-flat major
• BWV 792 — Sinfonia No. 6 in E major
• BWV 793 — Sinfonia No. 7 in E minor
• BWV 794 — Sinfonia No. 8 in F major
• BWV 795 — Sinfonia No. 9 in F minor
• BWV 796 — Sinfonia No. 10 in G major
• BWV 797 — Sinfonia No. 11 in G minor
• BWV 798 — Sinfonia No. 12 in A major
• BWV 799 — Sinfonia No. 13 in A minor
• BWV 800 — Sinfonia No. 14 in B-flat major
• BWV 801 — Sinfonia No. 15 in B minor

Four Duets from Clavier-Übung III (802–805)

• BWV 802 — Duet in E minor
• BWV 803 — Duet in F major
• BWV 804 — Duet in G major
• BWV 805 — Duet in A minor

 English Suites (806–811)

• BWV 806 — English Suite No. 1 in A major
• BWV 807 — English Suite No. 2 in A minor
• BWV 808 — English Suite No. 3 in G minor
• BWV 809 — English Suite No. 4 in F major
• BWV 810 — English Suite No. 5 in E minor
• BWV 811 — English Suite No. 6 in D minor

 French Suites (812–817)

• BWV 812 — French Suite No. 1 in D minor
• BWV 813 — French Suite No. 2 in C minor
• BWV 814 — French Suite No. 3 in B minor
• BWV 815 — French Suite No. 4 in E-flat major
• BWV 815a — French Suite No. 4 in E-flat major (several additional movements)
• BWV 816 — French Suite No. 5 in G major
• BWV 817 — French Suite No. 6 in E major

Miscellaneous suites (818–824)

• BWV 818 — Suite in A minor
• BWV 818a — Suite in A minor (alternative version of BWV 818)
• BWV 819 — Suite in E-flat major
• BWV 819a — Suite in E-flat major (alternative versions of movement 1 from BWV 819)
• BWV 820 — Overture (Suite) in F major
• BWV 821 — Suite in B flat major
• BWV 822 — Suite in G minor
• BWV 823 — Suite in F minor
• BWV 824 — Suite in A minor

Partitas for keyboard (published as Clavier-Übung I) (825–830)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

 

BWV 825 — Partita No. 1 in B-flat major

 

 

 

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