Recorded on 02/05/2010, uploaded on 03/09/2010

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Italian Concerto, BWV 971      Johann Sebastian Bach

Of Bach’s tremendous compositional output, only a handful of his works were published during his lifetime. A significant portion is taken up by the collection of works published in the four volumes of the Clavier-Übung (“Keyboard Practice”) between 1726 and 1741.

One such work in this collection is the Concerto after the Italian style, better known today as simply the Italian Concerto. It was published in 1735 alongside the Overture in the French Style as part of Clavier-Übung II. Since then, it has become one of Bach’s most popular works for keyboard and is often performed on both harpsichord and piano.

Though called a “concerto,” the work is for harpsichord alone. To achieve the effect of contrasting instrumental groups, which is the crucial element of any concerto, Bach employs the forte and piano manuals of the two-manual harpsichord. Incidentally, the Italian Concerto is one of only a few of Bach’s composition that specifically call for the two-manual instrument—the others being its companion, the French Overture, and the Goldberg Variations.

The three-movement concerto is in the key of F major. The outer movements, both in lively duple meters and ritornello style, frame a somber arioso movement in D minor.     Joseph DuBose