# Wilhelm Friedemann Bach

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (22 November 1710 – 1 July 1784) was a German composer, organist and harpsichordist. He was the second child and eldest son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Maria Barbara Bach. Despite his acknowledged genius as an improviser and composer, his income and employment were unstable, and he died in poverty.

## Life

Wilhelm Friedemann (hereafter Friedemann) was born in Weimar, where his father was employed as organist and chamber musician to the Duke of Saxe-Weimar. In July 1720, when Friedemann was nine, his mother Maria Barbara Bach died suddenly; Johann Sebastian Bach remarried in December 1721. J. S. Bach supervised Friedemann's musical education and career with great attention. The graded course of keyboard studies and composition that J. S. Bach provided is documented in the Clavier-Büchlein vor Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (modern spelling: Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann Bach), with entries by both father and son. This education also included (parts of) the French Suites, (Two-Part) Inventions, (Three-Part) Sinfonias (popularly known as "Inventions"), the first volume of The Well-Tempered Clavier, and the six Trio Sonatas for organ. At the age of 16 he went to Merseburg to learn the violin with his teacher Johann Gottlieb Graun.
In addition to his musical training, Friedemann received formal schooling beginning in Weimar. When J. S. Bach took the post of Cantor of the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig (in 1723), he enrolled Friedemann in the associated Thomasschule. (J. S. Bach—who had himself been orphaned at the age of 10—said that he took the position in Leipzig partly because of the educational opportunities it afforded his children). On graduating in 1729, Friedemann enrolled as a law student in Leipzig University, a renowned institution at the time, but later moved on to study law and mathematics at the University of Halle. He maintained a lifelong interest in mathematics, and continued to study it privately during his first job in Dresden.
Friedemann was appointed in 1733 to the position of organist of the St. Sophia's Church at Dresden. In competing for the post he played a new version of his father's Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 541. The judge described Friedemann as clearly superior to the other two candidates. He remained a renowned organist throughout his life. Among his many pupils in Dresden was Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, the keyboardist whose name is erroneously enshrined in the popular nickname given to J. S. Bach's 1742 publication, "Aria with Diverse Variations"—that is, "The Goldberg Variations." The scholar Peter Williams has discredited the story which links the work to Goldberg stating that J. S. Bach wrote the work for the Russian Ambassador Count Hermann Carl von Keyserlingk, who would ask his employee, Goldberg, to play the variations to entertain him during sleepless nights. Williams instead has argued that J. S. Bach wrote the variations to provide a display piece for Friedemann.
In 1746 Friedemann became organist of the Liebfrauenkirche at Halle. In 1751, Friedemann married Dorothea Elisabeth Georgi (1721–1791), who was 11 years his junior and who outlived him by seven years. Dorothea was the daughter of a tax collector. The landed estates she inherited caused the family to be placed in a high tax bracket by Halle authorities, who were raising taxes to meet the revenue demands of the Seven Years' War. To raise cash for these payments, she sold part of her property in 1770. The couple produced two sons and a daughter, Friederica Sophia (born in 1757), who was the only one of their offspring to live past infancy. The descendants of Friederica Sophia eventually migrated to Oklahoma.
Friedemann was deeply unhappy in Halle almost from the beginning of his tenure. In 1749 he was involved in a conflict with the Cantor of the Liebfrauenkirche, Gottfried Mittag, who had misappropriated funds that were due to Friedemann. In 1750 the church authorities reprimanded Friedemann for overstaying a leave of absence (he was in Leipzig settling his father's estate). In 1753 he made his first documented attempt to find another post, and thereafter made several others. All these attempts failed. Bach had at least two pupils, Friedrich Wilhelm Rust and Johann Samuel Petri.
In 1762, he negotiated for the post of Kapellmeister to the court of Darmstadt; although he protracted the negotiations for reasons that are opaque to historians and did not actively take the post, he nevertheless was appointed Hofkapellmeister of Hessen-Darmstadt, a title he used in the dedication of his Harpsichord Concerto in E minor.
In June 1764, Friedemann left the job in Halle without any employment secured elsewhere. His financial situation deteriorated so much that in 1768 he re-applied for his old job in Halle, without success. He thereafter supported himself by teaching. After leaving Halle in 1770, he lived for several years (1771–1774) in Braunschweig where he applied in vain for the post of an organist at the St. Catherine's church. Then he moved to Berlin, where he initially was welcomed by the princess Anna Amalia (the sister of Frederick the Great). Later, no longer in favor at court, he gave harpsichord lessons to Sarah Levy, the daughter of a prominent Jewish family in Berlin and an avid collector of Bach and other early 18th-century music, who was also a "patron" of Friedemann's brother C. P. E. Bach. Friedemann died in Berlin.
Earlier biographers have concluded that his "wayward" and difficult personality reduced his ability to gain and hold secure employment, but the scholar David Schulenberg writes (in the Oxford Composer Companion: J. S. Bach, ed. Malcolm Boyd, 1999) that "he may also have been affected by changing social conditions that made it difficult for a self-possessed virtuoso to succeed in a church- or court-related position" (p. 39). Schulenberg adds, "he was evidently less willing than most younger contemporaries to compose fashionable, readily accessible music".
Friedemann Bach was renowned for his improvisatory skills. It is speculated that when in Leipzig his father's accomplishments set so high a bar that he focused on improvisation rather than composition. Evidence adduced for this speculation includes the fact that his compositional output increased in Dresden and Halle.
Friedemann's compositions include many church cantatas and instrumental works, of which the most notable are the fugues, polonaises and fantasias for clavier, and the duets for two flutes. He incorporated more elements of the contrapuntal style learned from his father than any of his three composer brothers, but his use of the style has an individualistic and improvisatory edge which endeared his work to musicians of the late 19th century, when there was something of a revival of his reputation.
Friedemann's students included Johann Nikolaus Forkel, who in 1802 published the first biography of Johann Sebastian Bach; Friedemann, as well as his younger brother Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, were major informants for Forkel. Friedemann has in earlier biographies been called a poor custodian of his father's musical manuscripts, many of which he inherited; however, more recent scholars are uncertain how many were lost. It is known that Friedemann sold some of his father's collection to raise cash to pay debts (including a large sale in 1759 to Johann Georg Nacke). Also, his daughter took some of the Sebastian Bach manuscripts with her when she moved to America, and these were passed on to her descendants, who inadvertently destroyed many of them. Others were passed on through his only known Berlin pupil, Sarah Itzig Levy, great-aunt of Felix Mendelssohn. Some of his scores were collected by Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch and his pupil Carl Friedrich Zelter, the teacher of Felix Mendelssohn and through them these materials were placed in the library of the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin, which Fasch founded in 1791 and of which Zelter took charge in 1800.
Friedemann is known occasionally to have claimed credit for music written by his father, but this was in keeping with common musical practices in the era.

## Works

"BR-WFB" denotes "Bach-Repertorium Wilhelm Friedemann Bach". "Fk." denotes "Falck catalogue". Bach Digital Work (BDW) pages contain information about individual compositions.
Works by Wilhelm Friedemann Bach :
| BR- WFB | Name | Fk. | Notes | BDW |
| Keyboard works |||||
| A1 | Keyboard Sonata in C major | Add. 200 | | 09359 |
| A2a | Keyboard Sonata in C major | 001B | earlier version | 08713 |
| A2b | Keyboard Sonata in C major | 001A | later version | 09361 |
| A3 | Keyboard Sonata in C major | 002 | | 09363 |
| A4 | Keyboard Sonata in D major | 003 | | 08813 |
| A5 | Keyboard Sonata in D major | 004 | | 09365 |
| A6 | Sonata for two harpsichords in D major | 011 | lost | 09367 |
| A7 | Keyboard Sonata in E-flat major | 005 | | 08697 |
| A8 | Keyboard Sonata in E-flat major | Add. 201 | | 09369 |
| A9 | Keyboard Sonata in E minor | Add. 204 | related to flute sonata B17 | 09371 |
| A10 | Keyboard Sonata in F major | Add. 202 | | 09373 |
| A11a | Keyboard Sonata in F major | 006C | earliest version | 09375 |
| A11b | Keyboard Sonata in F major | 006B | middle version | 08715 |
| A11c | Keyboard Sonata in F major | 006 | latest version | 09377 |
| A11d | Keyboard Sonata in F major | deest | alternative version; related to flute sonata B18 | 09379 |
| A12 | Concerto for two harpsichords in F major | 010 | = BWV Anh. 188 | 01499 |
| A13a | Concerto for harpsichord solo in G major | deest | earlier version | 08711 |
| A13b | Concerto for harpsichord solo in G major | 040 | later version | 09381 |
| A14 | Keyboard Sonata in G major | 007 | | 09383 |
| A15 | Keyboard Sonata in A major | 008 | | 09385 |
| A16 | Keyboard Sonata in B-flat major | 009 | | 09387 |
| A17 | Fantasia in C major | 014 | not before 1770 | 09624 |
| A18 | 2 Fantasias in C minor | 015 | composed for Georg von Behr around 1775 | 09626 |
| A19 | 2 Fantasias in C minor | 016 | composed for Georg von Behr around 1775 | 09628 |
| A20 | Fantasia in D major | 017 | not before 1770 | 09630 |
| A21 | Fantasia in D minor | 018 | not before 1770 | 08845 |
| A22 | Fantasia in D minor | 019 | not before 1770 | 09632 |
| A23 | Fantasia in E minor | 020 | October 1770 | 09634 |
| A24 | Fantasia in E minor | 021 | not before 1770 | 09636 |
| A25 | Fantasia in G major | 022 | around 1763 | 09638 |
| A26 | Fantasia in C major/A minor | 023 | unfinished | 09640 |
| A27 | Twelve Polonaises | 012 | No. 1 in C major; composed between 1765–1770 | 09517 |
| A28 | Twelve Polonaises | 012 | No. 2 in C minor; composed between 1765–1770 | 09642 |
| A29 | Twelve Polonaises | 012 | No. 3 in D major; composed between 1765–1770 | 09644 |
| A30 | Twelve Polonaises | 012 | No. 4 in D minor; composed between 1765–1770 | 09646 |
| A31 | Twelve Polonaises | 012 | No. 5 in E-flat major; composed between 1765–1770 | 09649 |
| A32 | Twelve Polonaises | 012 | No. 6 in E-flat minor; composed between 1765–1770 | 09651 |
| A33 | Twelve Polonaises | 012 | No. 7 in E major; composed between 1765–1770 | 09653 |
| A34 | Twelve Polonaises | 012 | No. 8 in E minor; composed between 1765–1770 | 09655 |
| A35 | Twelve Polonaises | 012 | No. 9 in F major; composed between 1765–1770 | 09657 |
| A36 | Twelve Polonaises | 012 | No. 10 in F minor; composed between 1765–1770 | 09659 |
| A37 | Twelve Polonaises | 012 | No. 11 in G major; composed between 1765–1770 | 09661 |
| A38 | Twelve Polonaises | 012 | No. 12 in G minor; composed between 1765–1770 | 09663 |
| A39 | Harpsichord Suite in G minor | 024 | early work | 09665 |
| A40 | Two Allemandes in G minor for keyboard | Add. 205 | by W. F. and/or J. S. Bach; in Klavierbüchlein WFB; = BWV 836 | 00975 |
| A41 | Two Allemandes in G minor for keyboard | Add. 205 | by W. F. and/or J. S. Bach; in Klavierbüchlein WFB; frag.; = BWV 837 | 00976 |
| A42 | Minuet in G major | deest | by W. F. and/or J. S. Bach; in Klavierbüchlein WFB; frag.; = BWV 841 | 00980 |
| A43 | Minuet in G minor | deest | by W. F. and/or J. S. Bach; in Klavierbüchlein WFB; frag.; = BWV 842 | 00981 |
| A44 | Prelude in C major | Add. 206 | by W. F. and/or J. S. Bach; in Klavierbüchlein WFB; = BWV 924a | 01099 |
| A45 | Prelude in D major | Add. 206 | by W. F. and/or J. S. Bach; in Klavierbüchlein WFB; = BWV 925 | 01100 |
| A46 | Prelude in E minor | Add. 206 | by W. F. and/or J. S. Bach; in Klavierbüchlein WFB; = BWV 932 | 01107 |
| A47 | Prelude in A minor | Add. 206 | by W. F. and/or J. S. Bach; in Klavierbüchlein WFB; = BWV 931 | 01106 |
| A48 | Minuet in G minor | 025/1 | | 09199 |
| A49a | Presto in D minor | 025/2 | 2 versions; A49b is variant of BWV 970 ("Toccatina" No. 6) | 09201 |
| A49b | Presto in D minor | 025/2 | 2 versions; A49b is variant of BWV 970 ("Toccatina" No. 6) | 01147 |
| A49b var | Toccatina No. 6 | 025/2 | variant of A49b; = BWV 970 | 11148 |
| A50a | Minuet in F major with Trio in F minor | Add. 208 | 2 versions | 09667 |
| A50b | Minuet in F major with Trio in F minor | Add. 208 | 2 versions | 09669 |
| A51a | Bourlesca in C major | 026 | | 09671 |
| A51b | L'imitation de la chasse in C major | 026 | revision of A51a | 08708 |
| A51c | La Caccia in C major | 026 | revision of A51b; last version | 09673 |
| A52 | La Reveille in C major | 027 | | 08726 |
| A53a | Gigue in G major | 028 | earlier version | 09675 |
| A53b | Gigue in G major | 028 | later version; also final movement of flute duet B2 | 08729 |
| A54a | keyboard Piece/Prelude in C minor | 029 | earlier version; incomplete | 09174 |
| A54b | keyboard Piece/Prelude in C minor | 029 | later version; completion possibly by Johann Nikolaus Forkel | 11443 |
| A55 | Scherzo in E minor | deest | not ascertained; also in "Toccatina"; = BWV 844a | 00984 |
| A56 | March in E-flat major | 030 | | 09677 |
| A57 | March in F major | deest | | 09679 |
| A58 | Polonaise in C major with trio in C minor | 013 | | 09681 |
| A59 | Ouverture for harpsichord in E-flat major | deest | not before 1770 | 09683 |
| A60 | Andante for harpsichord in E minor | Add. 209 | Berlin period; originally middle movement of A13 | 09685 |
| A61 | Allegro non troppo in G major | Add. 203 | Berlin period 1775–1785; lost | 09687 |
| A62 | Un poco allegro in C major | deest | Berlin period | 09689 |
| A63 | 18 pieces for a musical clock [scores] | Add. 207 | No. 1 in G major; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 133 | 01444 |
| A64 | 18 pieces for a musical clock [scores] | Add. 207 | No. 2 in G major; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 134 | 01445 |
| A65 | 18 pieces for a musical clock [scores] | Add. 207 | No. 3 in A minor; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 135 | 01446 |
| A66 | 18 pieces for a musical clock [scores] | Add. 207 | No. 4 in A minor; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 136 | 01447 |
| A67 | 18 pieces for a musical clock [scores] | Add. 207 | No. 5 in E-flat major; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 137 | 01448 |
| A68 | 18 pieces for a musical clock [scores] | Add. 207 | No. 6 in E-flat major; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 138 | 01449 |
| A69 | 18 pieces for a musical clock [scores] | Add. 207 | No. 7 in D major; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 139 | 01450 |
| A70 | 18 pieces for a musical clock [scores] | Add. 207 | No. 8 in D minor; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 140 | 01451 |
| A71 | 18 pieces for a musical clock [scores] | Add. 207 | No. 9 in F major; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 141 | 01452 |
| A72 | 18 pieces for a musical clock [scores] | Add. 207 | No. 10 in A minor; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 142 | 01453 |
| A73 | 18 pieces for a musical clock [scores] | Add. 207 | No. 11 in E minor; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 143 | 01454 |
| A74 | 18 pieces for a musical clock [scores] | Add. 207 | No. 12 in A minor; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 144 | 01455 |
| A75 | 18 pieces for a musical clock [scores] | Add. 207 | No. 13 in C major; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 145 | 01456 |
| A76 | 18 pieces for a musical clock [scores] | Add. 207 | No. 14 in F major; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 146 | 01457 |
| A77 | 18 pieces for a musical clock [scores] | Add. 207 | No. 15 in G major; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 147 | 01458 |
| A78 | 18 pieces for a musical clock [scores] | Add. 207 | No. 16 in G minor; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 148 | 01459 |
| A79 | 18 pieces for a musical clock [scores] | Add. 207 | No. 17 in G major; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 149 | 01460 |
| A80 | 18 pieces for a musical clock [scores] | Add. 207 | No. 18 in G minor; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 150 | 01461 |
| A81 | Eight fugues | 031 | No. 1 in C major; Berlin Period | 09513 |
| A82 | Eight fugues | 031 | No. 2 in C minor; Berlin Period | 09691 |
| A83 | Eight fugues | 031 | No. 3 in D major; Berlin Period | 09693 |
| A84 | Eight fugues | 031 | No. 4 in D minor; Berlin Period | 09695 |
| A85 | Eight fugues | 031 | No. 5 in E-flat major; Berlin Period | 09697 |
| A86 | Eight fugues | 031 | No. 6 in E minor; Berlin Period | 09699 |
| A87 | Eight fugues | 031 | No. 7 in B-flat major; Berlin Period | 09701 |
| A88 | Eight fugues | 031 | No. 8 in F minor; Berlin Period | 09703 |
| A89 | Fugue in C minor | 032 | probably late 1740s | 09705 |
| A90 | Fugue in F major | 033 | | 09707 |
| A91 | Fugue for organ in F major | 036 | authenticity doubted | 08694 |
| A92 | Fugue for organ in G minor | 037 | authenticity doubted | 09709 |
| A93 | Seven chorale preludes for organ | 038, 1 | Nun komm der Heiden Heiland; authenticity doubted | 09712 |
| A94 | Seven chorale preludes for organ | 038, 1 | Christe, der du bist Tag und Licht; authenticity doubted | 09715 |
| A95 | Seven chorale preludes for organ | 038, 1 | Jesu, meine Freude; authenticity doubted | 09717 |
| A96 | Seven chorale preludes for organ | 038, 1 | Durch Adams Fall ist ganz verderbt; authenticity doubted | 09719 |
| A97 | Seven chorale preludes for organ | 038, 1 | Wir danken dir, Herr Jesu Christ; authenticity doubted | 09721 |
| A98 | Seven chorale preludes for organ | 038, 1 | Was mein Gott will; authenticity doubted | 09723 |
| A99 | Seven chorale preludes for organ | 038, 1 | Wir Christenleut; authenticity doubted | 09725 |
| A100 | Trio for organ | 038, 2 | on "Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr"; lost | 09727 |
| A101 | Four chorale preludes for organ | deest | Christus, der ist mein Leben | 09729 |
| A102 | Four chorale preludes for organ | deest | Die Seele Christi heilige mich | 09731 |
| A103 | Four chorale preludes for organ | deest | Sei Lob und Ehr dem höchsten Gut | 09733 |
| A104 | Four chorale preludes for organ | deest | Nun freut euch, lieben Christen | 09735 |
| A105 | Two fantasias | deest | D minor | 09737 |
| A106 | Two fantasias | deest | G major | 09739 |
| A107 | Two keyboard pieces | deest | D major | 09741 |
| A108 | Two keyboard pieces | deest | D minor | 09743 |
| A109 | Minuet in C major with Trio in C minor | deest | | 09745 |
| A110 | Minuet with 13 variations in G major | deest | Berlin Period | 09747 |
| Chamber music |||||
| B1 | Six duets for two flutes | 054 | No. 1 in E minor; 1740–1745; supplement by J. S. Bach (1745) | 09389 |
| B2 | Six duets for two flutes | 059 | No. 2 in G major; 1740–1745; only one with four movements | 09391 |
| B3 | Six duets for two flutes | 055 | No. 3 in E-flat major; 1740–1745 | 09393 |
| B4 | Six duets for two flutes | 057 | No. 4 in F major; 1740–1745 | 09395 |
| B5 | Six duets for two flutes | 056 | No. 5 in E-flat major; Berlin period | 09397 |
| B6 | Six duets for two flutes | 058 | No. 6 in F minor; Berlin period | 09399 |
| B7 | Three duets for two violas | 060 | No. 1 in C major; Berlin period (& older material) | 09401 |
| B8 | Three duets for two violas | 061 | No. 2 in G major; Berlin period (& older material) | 09403 |
| B9 | Three duets for two violas | 062 | No. 3 in G minor; Berlin period (& older material) | 09405 |
| B10 | Three sonatas for flute and continuo | 051 | No. 1 in F major; likely Dresden period; lost | 09749 |
| B11 | Three sonatas for flute and continuo | 052 | No. 2 in A minor; likely Dresden period; lost | 09751 |
| B12 | Three sonatas for flute and continuo | 053 | No. 3 in D major; likely Dresden period; lost | 09753 |
| B13 | Trio in D major | 047 | for two flutes and continuo; c. 1735–1739 (Dresden) | 09194 |
| B14 | Trio in D major | 048 | for two flutes and continuo; c. 1735–1739 (Dresden) | 09407 |
| B15 | Trio in A minor | 049 | for two flutes and continuo; c. 1735–1739 (Dresden); unfinished | 09196 |
| B16 | Trio in B-flat major | 050 | for two violins (or flute, violin) and continuo; probably Halle period | 09409 |
| B17 | Sonata in E minor for flute and continuo | deest | probably Dresden period; middle movement also in A10 | 09411 |
| B18 | Sonata in F major for flute and continuo | deest | probably Dresden period; movements also in A11b, A2a and A11d | 09413 |
| B‑Inc.19 | Trio in B major | unsicher | for violin and harpsichord; authorship unlikely | 09415 |
| Orchestral works |||||
| C1 | Sinfonia in C major | 063 | likely before 1740 | 09421 |
| C2 | Sinfonia in F major | 067 | likely before 1740; Minuet also in A50a–b, A2b and A11c | 09423 |
| C3 | Sinfonia in G major | 068 | likely before 1740 | 09425 |
| C4 | Sinfonia in G major | 069 | likely before 1740 | 09427 |
| C5 | Sinfonia in B-flat major | 071 | likely before 1740 | 09429 |
| C6 | Sinfonia in A major | 070 | likely before 1740; fragment | 09431 |
| C7 | Sinfonia in D minor | 065 | likely for liturgical use, written in Dresden around or after 1740 | 09176 |
| C8 | Sinfonia in D major | 064 | c. 1755 (Halle); used as overture to F13 (and to G1, BWV 205a?) | 09159 |
| C9 | Harpsichord Concerto in D major | 041 | two versions: likely c. 1740 (Dresden), and copy from c. 1765–1770 | 09564 |
| C10 | Harpsichord Concerto in E-flat major | 042 | unfinished; reused in F14 | 09755 |
| C11 | Concerto for two harpsichords | 046 | in E-flat major; likely c. 1775 | 09417 |
| C12 | Harpsichord Concerto in E minor | 043 | probably around 1767 | 09759 |
| C13 | Harpsichord Concerto in F major | 044 | probably around 1740 | 09762 |
| C14 | Harpsichord Concerto in A minor | 045 | before 1740 | 09764 |
| C15 | Concerto for flute and orchestra in D major | unecht | probably made in Berlin after 1775 | 09419 |
| C‑Inc.16 | Sinfonia in D major | deest | authenticity doubtful; 1730s? | 09433 |
| C17 | Harpsichord Concerto in G minor | unsicher | by C. P. E. Bach?; probably late Dresden period | 09936 |
| Liturgical works |||||
| E1 | Kyrie–Gloria Mass in G minor | 100 | Gloria in German; early Halle period; = BWV Anh. 168 | 01479 |
| E2 | Kyrie–Gloria Mass in D minor | 098 | partially in German | 09766 |
| E3 | Heilig ist Gott, der Herr Zebaoth | 078a | chorus; probably c. 1752; adapted to F24 | 09768 |
| E4 | Agnus Dei in D minor | 098b | parody of E2, movement 5 | 09770 |
| E5 | Amen and Alleluja | 099 | chorus; parody of E2, movement 5; probably Halle period | 08148 |
| E6 | Amen and Alleluja | 099 | chorus; parody of F6, movement 1b; probably Halle period | 09772 |
| Sacred cantatas |||||
| F1 | Lasset uns ablegen die Werke der Finsternis | 080 | cantata for 1st Sunday of Advent (30 November 1749) | 09449 |
| F2 | O Wunder, wer kann dieses fassen | 092 | cantata for 1st Christmas Day; c. 1755–1758?; mvt. 6 = F11, mvt. 6 | 09774 |
| F3 | Ach, daß du den Himmel zerrissest | 093 | cantata for 1st Christmas Day; probably after 1755; variant: F15 | 09776 |
| F4 | Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe | Add. 250 | cantata for 1st Christmas Day; c. 1759? | 09778 |
| F5 | Der Herr zu deiner Rechten | 073 | cantata for New Year/Circumcision; probably c. 1750 or earlier | 09780 |
| F6 | Wir sind Gottes Werk | 074 | cantata for 2nd Sunday of Epiphany; parody of F8 | 09782 |
| F7 | Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern | 082 | cantata for 6th Sunday of Epiphany (12 Feb 1764?); ↔ F6, F17, E6 | 09784 |
| F8 | Cantata | 074a | cantata for Palm Sunday; lost; adapted to F6 | 09786 |
| F9 | Erzittert und fallet | 083 | cantata for 1st Easter Day | 09788 |
| F10 | Gott fähret auf mit Jauchzen | 075 | cantata for Ascension Day | 09790 |
| F11 | Wo geht die Lebensreise hin? | 091 | cantata for Ascension Day | 09792 |
| F12 | Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten | 072 | cantata for 1st Day of Pentecost | 09795 |
| F13 | Dies ist der Tag | 085 | cantata for 1st Day of Pentecost | 09797 |
| F14 | Ertönt, ihr seligen Völker | 088 | cantata for 1st Day of Pentecost | 08146 |
| F15 | Ach, daß du den Himmel zerrissest | 093 | cantata for 1st Day of Pentecost; parody of F3 | 09799 |
| F16 | Es ist eine Stimme eines Predigers | 089 | cantata for St. John's Day (24 June) | 09801 |
| F17 | Der Herr wird mit Gerechtigkeit | 081 | cantata for Visitation (2 July) | 09803 |
| F18 | Ach Gott vom Himmel, sieh darein | 096 | cantata for 10th Sunday after Trinity | 09805 |
| F19 | Wohl dem, der den Herren fürchtet | 076 | cantata for unknown purpose | 09807 |
| F20 | Introduction to a catechism sermon | 077 | pasticcio, partially based on BWV 170/1 and 147.1/1 | 09809 |
| F21 | Der Höchste erhöret das Flehen der Armen | 086 | cantata for leave-taking of pastor Herrnschmidt (3 October 1756) | 09811 |
| F22 | Verhängnis, dein Wüten entkräftet | 087 | cantata for 7th Sunday after Trinity (24 Juli 1757) | 09447 |
| F23 | Auf, Christen, posaunt | 095 | cantata for the end of the Seven Years' War (1762 or 1763) | 08139 |
| F24 | Lobet Gott, unsern Herrn Zebaoth | 078b | chorus; after c. 1752; parody of E3 | 08141 |
| F25 | Dienet dem Herrn mit Freuden | 084 | chorus; likely 1755 | 08143 |
| F26 | Der Trost gehöret nur für Kinder | 089/3 | aria; after F16, mvt. 3 | 09813 |
| F27 | Zerbrecht, zerreist, ihr schnöden Banden | 094 | song | 09815 |
| F28 | Laß dein Wehen in mir spielen | 096/4 | song; after F18, mvt. 4 | 09817 |
| F29 | aria "... Gnaden ein, ..." | 079 | fragment | 09819 |
| F30 | Auf, Christen, posaunt | 095 | cantata for unknown purpose; after F23 | 09821 |
| Secular Cantata and Opera |||||
| G1 | O Himmel, schone | 090 | cantata for Frederick II's birthday (24 January 1758); mostly parody | 09824 |
| G2 | Lausus und Lydie | 106 | opera; c. 1778–1779; lost (likely unfinished) | 09826 |
| Song |||||
| H1 | Herz, mein Herz, sei ruhig | 097 | Cantilena Nuptiarum; wedding; after 1774; reuses keyboard music | 08179 |
| Miscellaneous works |||||
| I1 | Canons and contrapuntal studies | 039 | by W. F. and J. S. Bach; c. 1736–1739 | 01719 |
| I2 | Four Triple Canons for 6 voices | deest | published by J. P. Kirnberger in 1777 (Kunst des reinen Satzes II/2) | 10487 |
| I3 | Four Triple Canons for 6 voices | deest | published by J. P. Kirnberger in 1777 (Kunst des reinen Satzes II/2) | 11130 |
| I4 | Four Triple Canons for 6 voices | deest | published by J. P. Kirnberger in 1777 (Kunst des reinen Satzes II/2) | 11131 |
| I5 | Four Triple Canons for 6 voices | deest | published by J. P. Kirnberger in 1777 (Kunst des reinen Satzes II/2) | 11132 |
| I6 | Fugal exposition for organ in C major | 035 | 1771 | 11133 |
| I7 | Fugue exposition on B-A-C-H for organ | deest | 1773 | 11134 |
| I8 | Abhandlung vom harmonischen Dreiklang | deest | Music theory (Treatise on the harmonic triad); 1750s; lost | 11135 |
| I9 | Rechtmäßige Vertheidigung | deest | Defense against Johann Gottlieb Biedermann [wikisource:de]; 1750 | 11136 |
| Doubtful and spurious works |||||
| YA21 | Arioso con Variazioni in G minor | | for keyboard; doubtful | 11129 |
| YA149 | Three fugues for organ | Add. 211 | No. 1 in C minor; doubtful | 09828 |
| YA150 | Three fugues for organ | Add. 211 | No. 2 in B-flat major; doubtful | 09830 |
| YA151 | Three fugues for organ | Add. 211 | No. 2 in A minor; doubtful | 09832 |
| YB1 | Trio in G major | unecht | for two traversos and viola; also attributed to W. F. E. Bach | 11545 |
| YB2 | Trio in C major | unecht | for two traversos and continuo; also attributed to W. F. E. Bach | 02187 |
| YB3 | Sonata or Trio in F major | unsicher | for flute/violin and harpsichord/continuo; attr. to several Bachs | 02187 |
| YB5 | Sextet in E-flat major | | for winds and strings; also attributed to W. F. E. Bach | 11417 |
| YB6 | Sonata in E-flat major | | for violin and harpsichord; doubtful | 11547 |
| YC1 | Harpsichord Concerto in C minor | unecht | attributed to C. Schaffrath | 11548 |

### More lost, doubtful and spurious works

* Fk. 34 – Fugue in B-flat major: not by any Bach family member
* Fk. 66 – Sinfonia in D minor: spurious
* Fk. 101–105 – lost cantatas
* Orchestral Suite in G Minor, BWV 1070 (possibly spurious)
* Scherzo in D minor, BWV 844, attributed to both W. F. and J. S. Bach.

## Reception
### Use by later composers

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's set of six Preludes and Fugues for string trio, K. 404a, contains five fugues transcribed from The Well-Tempered Clavier by Johann Sebastian Bach while the sixth fugue in F minor, is a transcription of one of the Eight Fugues (Falck 31) of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. The preludes in K. 404a are Mozart's own, except for 4 (from BWV 527) and 5 (second movement from BWV 526).

### Film

Friedemann Bach is a 1941 German historical drama film directed by Traugott Müller and starring Gustaf Gründgens, Leny Marenbach and Johannes Riemann. The film depicts the life of Johann Sebastian Bach's son Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. It is based on Albert Emil Brachvogel's novel Friedemann Bach. Wilhelm Friedemann Bach is shown as a gifted son trying to escape his father's shadow.