Bach Solo Works For Violin Solo

J.S. Bach ´s Works for solo violin
History, Style and Performances

In this chapter I would like to introduce the Sonatas and Partitas of J. S. Bach. For this I will divide this chapter in three parts. In the first part, the stylistic development of J. S. Bach, the second part the history and performance of the solos and the third some performance and transcriptions of the pieces areaddressed.

The stylistic Development of J.S. Bach
It is important to investigate the stylistic development of Bach, who wrote his violin solo works during his mature period, called the Cöthen Period (1717-1723).

To trace the origins of the composition of these monumental works, it is interesting to follow the paths through which Bach matured compositionally and also investigate his interactionswith the violinists of his day.
J. S. Bach received his musical training from his father and his elder brother.

His music has had two distinctive and important effects in music history. One has been to present a collection of the techniques and the styles of Bach’s esteemed precursors and contemporaries. The other has been to introduce new methods and ideas to be used by and to inspire thegenerations of composers who have succeeded Bach.
Bach’s stylistic development as a composer can be divided into four periods historically. In the first or early period (1703–1708), the composer was employed to play organ in Arnstadt and Muhlhausen. During this time, Bach was fully devoted to organ music. His compositional style is thus, not surprisingly, characterized by redundant length and ayet-to-be perfected harmonic method.

Bach was probably still exploring rather than establishing his own approach in this period.

The second period (1708–1717) of Bach’s career development took place in Weimar.
Initially he served as an organist and later became the concertmaster of the church orchestra. In Weimar, Bach’s compositional approach began to mature, and Bach formed his owndistinctive “Bachian” musical language.

It was also during this time that the composer successfully merged Italian and German compositional styles; the popular Italian style was characterized by harmonic progression, melodic themes, and clarity of the process of copying the works of the Italian masters. He studied Vivaldi’s violin concertos thoroughly and then transposed selected works to music fororgan and harpsichord. The Italian principles and the violinistic writing of Vivaldi both had great influence on Bach’s compositional development and on the subsequent writing of his unaccompanied violin sonatas and partitas.
Bach was also familiar with Telemann’s Violin Concerto in G Major (1708), possibly because he had known Telemann personally; Telemann served as the godfather of Bach’s son CarlPhilipp Emanuel. Telemann’s Twelve Fantasies, Op. 40:2–13 (1735) for solo violin are an important part of the unaccompanied violin literature. Likely though, Telemann and Bach both influenced each other compositionally.24
Bach’s third compositional period (1717–1723), Cöthen, marked an important time in Bach’s musical career and his personal life. He was appointed to the positions ofCapellmeister (musical director in a royal chapel) and director of chamber music in
Cöthen by Prince Leopold. The Prince was a young man and had a great love for music.
The position of Capellmeister was among the highest and most honorable for musicians
at that time. As Bach enjoyed a successful professional career in Cöthen, he devoted himself also to composing instrumental music, and his works became themusical model for his students, audiences, and contemporaries. He wrote important compositions for harpsichord and organ: Das Wohltemperirte Clavier (The Well-Tempered Clavier), BWV 846-869 (1722); the 15 Two-Part Inventions BWV 772–86 (1723); the 15 Three-Part Inventions, BWV 787–801 (1723); and the Orgel-Buchlein (Exercises for the Organ) BWV
He also completed several works for chamber and...