Organ concerto (Bach) in the context of "BWV"

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⭐ Core Definition: Organ concerto (Bach)

The organ concertos of Johann Sebastian Bach are solo works for organ, transcribed and reworked from instrumental concertos originally composed by Antonio Vivaldi and the musically talented Prince Johann Ernst of Saxe-Weimar. While there is no doubt about the authenticity of BWV 592–596, the sixth concerto BWV 597 is now probably considered to be spurious. Composed during Bach's second period at the court in Weimar (1708–1717), the concertos can be dated more precisely to 1713–1714.

Bach also made several transcriptions of Vivaldi's concertos for single, two and four harpsichords from exactly the same period in Weimar. The original concertos were picked from Vivaldi's Op.3, L'estro armonico, composed in 1711, a set of twelve concertos for one, two and four violins. The publication of these Bach transcriptions by C.F. Peters in the 1850s and Breitkopf & Härtel in the 1890s played a decisive role in the Vivaldi revival of the twentieth century.

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Organ concerto (Bach) in the context of Organ concerto

An organ concerto is a type of classical music composition in which a pipe organ soloist is accompanied by an orchestra, although some works exist with the name "concerto" which are for organ alone.

The orchestral form first evolved in the 18th century, when composers including Antonio Vivaldi and George Frideric Handel wrote organ concertos with small orchestras; these organ parts rarely if ever call for the organ pedal board. During the Classical period the organ concerto became popular in many places, especially in Bavaria, Austria and Bohemia (whether called there a concerto, pastorella, or sonata), reaching a position of being almost an integral part of the church music tradition of jubilus character. From the Romantic era fewer works are known. Finally, there are some 20th- and 21st-century examples, of which the concerto by Francis Poulenc has entered the basic repertoire, and is quite frequently played.

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