In D minor and C major (P. bks. 258, 259). The tradition is that Bach wrote these two Concertos in order to play them with his elder sons. Spitta (iii. 144) finds the tradition trustworthy. Hence the two works must have been written by c. 1733 at latest, before the sons left home. See also Schweitzer, i. 414.
In A minor (P. bk. 260). This is not an original composition, but is an arrangement by Bach of a Vivaldi Concerto for four Violins. Spitta (iii. 149) assigns it to the same period as the Concertos for three Claviers, c. 1733. See B.G. XLIII. (1) infra.
The pedal on the small German Organ had only the compass of an octave.
The Great Preludes and Fugues are, with one exception, in B.G. XV. The Prelude and Fugue in E flat was published by Bach in the third Part of the Clavierübung. Its Fugue is known as the “St. Anne's.”
From the figures printed by Forkel the twelve can be identified as follows (the references in parentheses are to the Novello edition of Bach's Organ works):
| Prelude and Fugue in C minor, the “Great” (bk. vii. 64). | |
|---|---|
| Prelude and Fugue in A minor, (bk. vii. 42). | |
| Prelude and Fugue in G major, (bk. viii. 112). | |
| Prelude and Fugue in E minor, (bk. viii. 98). | |
| Prelude and Fugue in B minor, (vii. 52). | |
| Prelude and Fugue in C major, (bk. ix. 156). | |
| Prelude and Fugue in D minor, (bk. ix. 150). | |
| Prelude and Fugue in C major (bk iii. 70). | |
| Tocatta and Fugue in D minor (bk. x. 196). | |
| Tocatta and Fugue in F major (bk. ix. 176). | |
| Prelude and Fugue in G minor (bk. viii. 120). | |
| Prelude and Fugue in E minor (bk. ii. 44). |
The Passacaglia in C minor (Novello bk. 10 p. 214) was written originally for the Clavicembalo and pedal. It belongs to the later Weimar period, i.e. circ. 1715. See Spitta, i. 588 and Schweitzer, i. 280.
They are all printed in Novello bk. 19, and are three in number, on the melodies “Christ, der du bist der helle Tag”, “O Gott, du frommer Gott,” and “Sei gegrüsset, Jesu gütig.” The pedal is only required in one movement of the first, in none of the second, and considerably in the third. Without question all three date from Bach's earliest period, but whether they were written at Arnstadt or Lüneburg cannot be stated.
The fullest collection of these miscellaneous Organ Choral Preludes is in B.G. XL. Not counting variant readings they number fifty-two, besides two fragments and thirteen of doubtful authenticity, of which two are sets of Variations. The Novello edition contains fifty-two in bks. 18 and 19. To these must be added the “Eighteen” Preludes on Choral Melodies, which Forkel nowhere mentions, as well as the third Part of the Clavierübung, the Schübler Chorals, and the Variations on Vom Himmel hoch, to which he has already made reference in the first section of this chapter. As he does not mention it specifically, it is to be inferred that Forkel was ignorant of the existence of the Orgelbüchlein; otherwise he could hardly have failed to introduce it in this section. All Bach's Choral Preludes, miscellaneous and in collections made by himself, are in Novello's edition, bks. 15-19. A useful key to their melodies is provided by bk. 20. For more detailed information see Terry, Bach's Chorals, Part III.
The large number of MSS. of many of the miscellaneous Preludes is made evident in the introduction to B.G. XL.