Bach: Violin Sonatas, BWV 1014-1019

Featuring

Mark Fewer
Hank Knox
Johann Sebastian Bach

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Critical Reception

C.P.E. Bach, the composer's son, considered these Six Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord among his father's best works, finding them still excellent and joyful over fifty years later.

Historical Context

During his Cöthen years, J.S. Bach produced a brilliant array of non-vocal works, including the Brandenburg Concertos, Orchestral Suites, and The Well-Tempered Clavier (Book 1), due to Prince Leopold's dedication to music and the Calvinist court chapel.

Compositional Technique

The fast movements of these sonatas are characterized by Hans Eppstein as either 'tutti fugues,' which are traditional but with a coupled bass voice, or 'concerto allegros,' where all voices enter at once.

Critical Reception

Musicologist Peter Williams describes these sonatas as 'a newly created genre with a distinct aura, music not quite like anything else,' highlighting their unique originality.

Composer Biography

J.S. Bach composed these sonatas during his time as court Kapellmeister in Cöthen, a period when he focused on instrumental music because he was not required to write church cantatas.

Compositional Technique

Bach experimented greatly with texture in the slow movements, including instances like the violin remaining silent until a gradually emerging held-note, or the harpsichord and violin playing in strict canon.

Compositional Technique

These sonatas mark an early shift from the traditional Baroque trio sonata, with the harpsichord (often marked obbligato) becoming a front-stage partner to the violin, contributing its own contrapuntal voice.