# Bach: Harpsichord Concerto BWV 1052



## DrMuller (May 26, 2014)

Bach's Harpsichord Concerto BWV 1052 must be my favorite Bach Concerto. I also have this Concerto in a Violin Concerto version. I understand that this concerto was originally a Violin Concerto but my question is; how sure are we that it was? I must admit I prefer the Violin version, it's just too perfect, but is it at all possible that the Concerto was originally written for harpsichord?


----------



## Alypius (Jan 23, 2013)

DrMuller said:


> Bach's Harpsichord Concerto BWV 1052 must be my favorite Bach Concerto. I also have this Concerto in a Violin Concerto version. I understand that this concerto was originally a Violin Concerto but my question is; how sure are we that it was? I must admit I prefer the Violin version, it's just too perfect, but is it at all possible that the Concerto was originally written for harpsichord?


There is a reconstruction of the Violin Concerto from the harpsichord version by Midori Seiler who is concertmaster for the Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin (cover below).










Here's the information concerning it that I found in a review:



> "This disc by the ever-outstanding Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, features 'alternate universe' Johann Sebastian Bach concertos and includes a wholly new reconstruction of the Violin Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052R, by the Akademie's concertmaster Midori Seiler. Whereas earlier reconstructions, of which there are several, used Bach's own harpsichord arrangement of the now-lost violin original, as her point of departure Seiler has pressed into service Bach "Son Number 2's" slightly earlier harpsichord arrangement of about 1734. Ironically, the younger Bach's ineptitude in converting the violin part into an effective keyboard solo has, for Seiler, provided additional clues to its true nature. Certainly this is a very effective rendering of what Bach's original might have sounded like, and Seiler's own performance of the solo part is a passionate and winning outing that will make one forget about such messy editorial details."--Dave Lewis (All Music Guide).


When I get home, I'll check the liner notes and see if there is anything else. Hope that helps.


----------



## DrMuller (May 26, 2014)

Thank you for that. So I guess it's not just speculation that this Harpsichord Concerto was in fact a Violin Concerto. If so, it's Bach's best Violin Concerto.


----------



## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

from the infallible wikipedia:



> Concerto I in D minor, BWV 1052
> 
> Allegro
> Adagio
> ...


I think most of the info is copied from Bärenreiters Bach edition..

/ptr

/ptr


----------



## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Yes, it´s a rather grand and great concerto. Max Pommer and his excellent Bach Collegium Leipzig recorded the work both as a violin concerto and as a concerto for organ and orchestra. The original Eterna LP notes are firm that there was an original violin version, maybe even two successive ones.


----------



## DrMuller (May 26, 2014)

so it's not just specuation?


----------



## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Even my earlier LP recording liner notes - like Sylvia Marlowe´s 1964 or Malcolm/Münchiner (1977 re-release) - state that the harpsichord version must be a transcription.


----------



## satoru (May 29, 2014)

Interesting question, so I looked around for a little a bit of information. Wiki has quite good explanation, as ptr quotetd.

As you may know, BWV 1052 is used in cantatas BWV 146 and 188 (if you are going to listen to these, I want to recommend CDs by Suzuki: superb performance with beautiful sound). 

The idea that BWV 1052 was a transcription from a violin concerto, dates back to 1869 (coined by Wilhelm Rust), comes from few features of typical violin techniques at the time, especially bariolage (with notes matching open string on it), heavy use of right hand and analysis of Bach's manuscript. Of course, even though the idea is widely accepted, it is not based on concrete evidences (most notably, the "original" hasn't been found). 

Some scholars now question the idea from a couple of reasons. First, there was a style called "imitatio violistica", mimicking violin on keyboards. Second, in Bach's other violin pieces, barioflage is not used as extensively as in BWV1052. Third, absence of left hand passages were quite common at the time, and the main performer (Bach himself) might not needed any details for the left hand (especially for performance of cantatas). As you can see, this topic is not settled down completely. Set aside from that, an effort to reconstruct the "original" is interesting 

The most detailed reference on this topic seems like the following book published in 2007:
"Bach Perspectives, Volume 7: J. S. Bach's Concerted Ensemble Music: The Concerto" by Gregory Butler (ed.)
University of Illinois Press, ISBN-10: 0252031652, ISBN-13: 978-0252031656

Now, should we start a discussion on "Art of Fugue" whether it was left unfinished intentionally as an exercise for students or not?


----------



## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

He wrote several harpsichord concertos later - also the first or amongst the very first keyboards concertos in general - based on earlier instrumental concertos for other instruments. You might recognise two other as the popular violin concertos in A, E and the double in D, and a Brandenburg number 4.


----------



## satoru (May 29, 2014)

Even more details against the idea in following book:

"The Scoring of Baroque Concertos", by Richard Maunder (Jun 2004)
ISBN-10: 184383071X, ISBN-13: 978-1843830719

The author notes that many passages (especially double stops) are almost impossible to play and surpasses any other violin virtuoso pieces at the time, including Bach's own.


----------



## DrMuller (May 26, 2014)

So it really is possible that is was originally a Harpsichord Concerto?


----------



## satoru (May 29, 2014)

DrMuller said:


> So it really is possible that is was originally a Harpsichord Concerto?


It also could have been one for a 5 string cello (extra E string at the top). This is a speculation coming from arrangement for a cantata (moved one octave lower). The other idea is that Bach started as a string concerto, then abandoned the idea (the piece got too difficult for a string instrument) and finished as a keyboard concerto. This idea comes from the analysis of the manuscript (unusual number of corrections on it). Also, Bach often asked students/sons to study selected compositions. This concerto was one of them as a version by CPE Bach is left and there is no hint that CPE Bach had seen the "original" violin version.

As such, the answer to your question is: Yes, it more likely that the finished form of this concerto was a keyboard concerto from the beginning, even it could have been conceived as a string concerto (as I could read from parts of above two books).


----------



## DrMuller (May 26, 2014)

Ok, I understand, thanks. Do you know the story behind his "original" Oboe Concertos?


----------



## fairbanks (Jun 25, 2014)

My best friend got me "switched on Bach" with this very harpsichord concerto. I would like to hear this done with violin, see if I can find it on YouTube this morn. Thank you for the info.


----------



## satoru (May 29, 2014)

DrMuller said:


> Ok, I understand, thanks. Do you know the story behind his "original" Oboe Concertos?


Not yet. I'm doing some home work on this, too. I'll update when I get some info. Thanks for interesting questions!


----------

