Johann S. Bach@Organ Concerto BWV596
Transcription of Vivaldi's Concerto



The Concerto in D minor (BWV 596) was composed in 1714, during the period of Weimar, where he was employed by the puritancial Duke Wilhelm Ernst, from 1708 to 1717.

None of Bach's Organ Concertos are not original works, and Bach was frequently criticized for transcribing certain virtuoso passages, which were idiomatic to the violin but not to the organ.


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Organ@Simon Preston

Recorded in Luebeck, Germany, 3/1987



The Concerto in D minor (BWV 596) is notable for both its fine quality and its curious history.
Until recently it was thought to be not by him but by his eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann. It has confirmed J. S. Bach the arranger, according to examinations of the paper and handwriting on the manuscript.

The work itself presents a somewhat more archaic physiognomy than do the other concertos, suggesting that it might be the earliest work arranged from Vivaldi's Op. 3. And yet there are many things in its five movements that we find echoed in the music of Bach's later years.






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