Bach, Johann Sebastian - Harpsichord Concerto no. 5 in f minor BWV 1056

Some of Bach’s extremely popular harpsichord concertos were originally written as concertos for a different solo instrument – the violin or a woodwind instrument. Predecessor versions are also assumed for the f-minor concerto, although they have not been preserved. A very close examination of the sources reveals that the outer movements presumably trace back to a violin concerto in g minor. However, according to recent research, for the middle movement Bach went back to the slow movement of an oboe concerto which he had also previously employed for the sinfonia of Cantata BWV 156 “Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe”. The text of the cantata fits exactly to the melancholy mood of the Larghetto, which, with its delicately swaying melody accompanied by string pizzicati, is the famous centrepiece of the f-minor concerto. In addition to the autograph score, later manuscript source material documenting the final, considerably enhanced version of the work was also consulted for the Henle Urtext edition of this repertoire evergreen.