Program Notes, ©2012 Lori Newman
Johann Sebastian Bach
Concerto No. 1 in d minor, BWV 1052 (1738-1739)
As J.S. Bach’s career began to mature, composers began to see the harpsichord in a new and interesting light. No longer just used for basso continuo purposes, demand grew for the composition of solo works for the instrument. Most of Bach’s harpsichord concerti are simply concerti for other instruments that he transposed down a step to fit the range of the harpsichord. Most of the concerti that Bach rewrote for harpsichord were from the period when Bach served in Köthen, and were often originally written for violin or oboe. There is some debate among scholars as to whether or not the d minor concerto is a reworking of an unnamed Italian composer’s work or of a lost Bach violin concerto. There currently is no clear-cut evidence to provide an exacting answer either way.
