# List of orchestral works by Johann Sebastian Bach

Orchestral works by Johann Sebastian Bach refers to the compositions in the eleventh chapter of the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (BWV, catalogue of Bach's compositions), or, in the New Bach Edition, the compositions in Series VII.

## Concertos

The orchestra of the concertos for one or more accompanied soloists (BWV 1041–1044, 1049–1050 and 1052–1065) consists in most cases of strings (two parts for violins and one viola part) and continuo (for example performed on cello and harpsichord). Such orchestra of the Baroque era can be indicated as string orchestra or chamber orchestra. In the 19th century, the Bach-Gesellschaft published Bach's concertos BWV 1041–1044 and 1046–1065 as chamber music – the designation as orchestral music becoming more common in the second half of the 20th century. Apart from the concertos for more than one performer listed in the sections below, Bach also wrote concertos for a single unaccompanied harpsichordist or organist:
* Weimar concerto transcriptions, BWV 592–596 and 972–987
* Italian Concerto, BWV 971

### Violin concertos (BWV 1041–1043)

* BWV 1041 – Violin Concerto in A minor
* BWV 1042 – Violin Concerto in E major
* BWV 1043 – Double Concerto in D minor for two violins

### Triple concerto (BWV 1044)

* BWV 1044 – Triple Concerto in A minor for traverso, violin and harpsichord

### Opening movement for a cantata, for violin and orchestra (BWV 1045)

* BWV 1045 – Fragment of a sinfonia in D major for violin and orchestra, from an unknown cantata

### Brandenburg concertos (BWV 1046–1051)

* BWV 1046.1, formerly BWV 1046a, originally BWV 1071 – Sinfonia in F major (early version of Brandenburg Concerto No. 1)
* BWV 1046.2, formerly BWV 1046 – Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F major for violino piccolo, three oboes, bassoon, two corni da caccia, strings and continuo
* BWV 1047 – Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major for trumpet, oboe, recorder, violin, strings and continuo
* BWV 1048 – Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major for three violins, three violas, three cellos and continuo
* BWV 1049 – Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G major for violin, two fiauti d'echo (recorders), strings and continuo
* BWV 1050.1, formerly BWV 1050a – Concerto in D major for harpsichord, violin, traverso and strings (early version of Brandenburg Concerto No. 5)
* BWV 1050.2, formerly BWV 1050 – Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major for harpsichord, violin, traverso and strings
* BWV 1051 – Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in B-flat major for two violas, two violas da gamba, cello and continuo

### Keyboard concertos (BWV 1052–1065)

* BWV 1052.1, formerly BWV 1052a – Concerto for harpsichord and strings in D minor
* BWV 1052.2, formerly BWV 1052 – Concerto for harpsichord and strings in D minor (revised version)
* BWV 1053 – Concerto for harpsichord and strings in E major
* BWV 1054 – Concerto for harpsichord and strings in D major (after BWV 1042, Violin Concerto in E major)
* BWV 1055 – Concerto for harpsichord and strings in A major
* BWV 1056 – Concerto for harpsichord and strings in F minor
* BWV 1057 – Concerto for harpsichord, two recorders and strings in F major (after BWV 1049, Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G major)
* BWV 1058 – Concerto for harpsichord and strings in G minor (after BWV 1041, Violin Concerto in A minor)
* BWV 1059 – Fragment of a concerto for harpsichord in D minor
* BWV 1060 – Concerto for two harpsichords and strings in C minor
* BWV 1061.1, formerly BWV 1061a – Concerto for two harpsichords in C major (without orchestral accompaniment)
* BWV 1061.2, formerly BWV 1061 – Concerto for two harpsichords and strings in C major
* BWV 1062 – Concerto for two harpsichords and strings in C minor (after BWV 1043, Double Violin Concerto in D minor)
* BWV 1063 – Concerto for three harpsichords and strings in D minor
* BWV 1064 – Concerto for three harpsichords and strings in C major
* BWV 1065 – Concerto for four harpsichords and strings in A minor (after Antonio Vivaldi's concerto for four violins in B minor, RV 580, L'estro Armonico, Op. 3 No. 10)

### Reconstructed concertos

In Series VII of the New Bach Edition:
* BWV 1052R – Violin concerto in D minor
* BWV 1055R – Oboe d'amore concerto in A major
* BWV 1056R – Violin concerto in G minor
* BWV 1060R – Concerto for oboe and violin in C minor
* BWV 1064R – Concerto for three violins in D major

## Suites (BWV 1066–1070)

* BWV 1066 – Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C major (for woodwinds, strings and continuo); Movements: [Ouverture] (no description, two sections), Courante, Gavotte I & II, Forlane, Menuet I & II, Bourrée I & II, Passepied I & II
* BWV 1067 – Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor (for traverso, strings and continuo); Movements: [Ouverture] (no description, two sections), Rondeau, Sarabande, Bourrée I & II, Polonaise & Double, Menuet, Badinerie
* BWV 1068 – Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major (for oboes, trumpets, timpani, strings and continuo); Movements: [Ouverture] (no description, two sections), Air, Gavotte I & II, Bourrée, Gigue
* BWV 1069 – Orchestral Suite No. 4 in D major (for oboes, bassoon, trumpets, timpani, strings and continuo); Movements: [Ouverture] (no description, two sections), Bourrée I & II, Gavotte, Menuet I & II, Rejouissance
* BWV 1070 – Orchestral Suite in G minor by an unknown composer

## Sinfonia (BWV 1071)

* BWV 1071, renumbered as BWV 1046a: early version of the first Brandenburg Concerto.

## Orchestral works in the 11th chapter of the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (1998)

Legend to the table :
| column | column | content |
| 01 | BWV | Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (lit. 'Bach-works-catalogue'; BWV) numbers. Anhang (Annex; Anh.) numbers are indicated as follows: preceded by I: in Anh. I (lost works) of BWV$^1$ (1950 first edition of the BWV) preceded by II: in Anh. II (doubtful works) of BWV$^1$ preceded by III: in Anh. III (spurious works) of BWV$^1$ preceded by N: new Anh. numbers in BWV$^2$ (1990) and/or BWV$^{2a}$ (1998) |
| 02 | $^{2a}$ | Section in which the composition appears in BWV$^{2a}$: Chapters of the main catalogue indicated by Arabic numerals (1-13) Anh. sections indicated by Roman numerals (I–III) Reconstructions published in the NBE indicated by "R" |
| 03 | Date | Date associated with the completion of the listed version of the composition. Exact dates (e.g. for most cantatas) usually indicate the assumed date of first (public) performance. When the date is followed by an abbreviation in brackets (e.g. JSB for Johann Sebastian Bach) it indicates the date of that person's involvement with the composition as composer, scribe or publisher. |
| 04 | Name | Name of the composition: if the composition is known by a German incipit, that German name is preceded by the composition type (e.g. cantata, chorale prelude, motet, ...) |
| 05 | Key | Key of the composition |
| 06 | Scoring | See scoring table below for the abbreviations used in this column |
| 07 | BG | Bach Gesellschaft-Ausgabe (BG edition; BGA): numbers before the colon indicate the volume in that edition. After the colon an Arabic numeral indicates the page number where the score of the composition begins, while a Roman numeral indicates a description of the composition in the Vorwort (Preface) of the volume. |
| 08 | NBE | New Bach Edition (German: Neue Bach-Ausgabe, NBA): Roman numerals for the series, followed by a slash, and the volume number in Arabic numerals. A page number, after a colon, refers to the "Score" part of the volume. Without such page number, the composition is only described in the "Critical Commentary" part of the volume. The volumes group Bach's compositions by genre: Cantatas (Vol. 1–34: church cantatas grouped by occasion; Vol. 35–40: secular cantatas; Vol. 41: Varia)Masses, Passions, Oratorios (12 volumes)Motets, Chorales, Lieder (4 volumes)Organ Works (11 volumes)Keyboard and Lute Works (14 volumes)Chamber Music (5 volumes)Orchestral Works (7 volumes)Canons, Musical Offering, Art of Fugue (3 volumes)Addenda (approximately 7 volumes) |
| 09 | Additional info | may include: "after" – indicating a model for the composition "by" – indicating the composer of the composition (if different from Johann Sebastian Bach) "in" – indicating the oldest known source for the composition "pasticcio" – indicating a composition with parts of different origin "see" – composition renumbered in a later edition of the BWV "text" – by text author, or, in source Provenance of standard texts and tunes, such as Lutheran hymns and their chorale melodies, Latin liturgical texts (e.g. Magnificat) and common tunes (e.g. Folia), are not usually indicated in this column. For an overview of such resources used by Bach, see individual composition articles, and overviews in, e.g., Chorale cantata (Bach)#Bach's chorale cantatas, List of chorale harmonisations by Johann Sebastian Bach#Chorale harmonisations in various collections and List of organ compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach#Chorale Preludes. |
| 10 | BD | Bach Digital Work page |
Legend for abbreviations in "Scoring" column :
| Voices (see also SATB) |||||||||||||
| a | A | b | B | s | S | t | T | v | v | v | V | V |
| alto (solo part) | alto (choir part) | bass (solo part) | bass (choir part) | soprano (solo part) | soprano (choir part) | tenor (solo part) | tenor (choir part) | voice (includes parts for unspecified voices or instruments as in some canons) | voice (includes parts for unspecified voices or instruments as in some canons) | voice (includes parts for unspecified voices or instruments as in some canons) | vocal music for unspecified voice type | vocal music for unspecified voice type |
| Winds and battery (bold = soloist) |||||||||||||
| Bas | Bel | Cnt | Fl | Hn | Ob | Oba | Odc | Tai | Tbn | Tdt | Tmp | Tr |
| bassoon (can be part of Bc, see below) | bell(s) (musical bells) | cornett, cornettino | flute (traverso, flauto dolce, piccolo, flauto basso) | natural horn, corno da caccia, corno da tirarsi, lituo | oboe | oboe d'amore | oboe da caccia | taille | trombone | tromba da tirarsi | timpani | tromba (natural trumpet, clarino trumpet) |
| Strings and keyboard (bold = soloist) |||||||||||||
| Bc | Bc | Hc | Kb | Lu | Lw | Org | Str | Va | Vc | Vdg | Vl | Vne |
| basso continuo: Vdg, Hc, Vc, Bas, Org, Vne and/or Lu | basso continuo: Vdg, Hc, Vc, Bas, Org, Vne and/or Lu | harpsichord | keyboard (Hc, Lw, Org or clavichord) | lute, theorbo | Lautenwerck (lute-harpsichord) | organ (/man. = manualiter, without pedals) | strings: Vl I, Vl II and Va | viola(s), viola d'amore, violetta | violoncello, violoncello piccolo | viola da gamba | violin(s), violino piccolo | violone, violone grosso |
Background colours :
| Colour | Meaning |
| green | extant or clearly documented partial or complete manuscript (copy) by Bach and/or first edition under Bach's supervision |
| yellow | extant or clearly documented manuscript (copy) or print edition, in whole or in part, by close relative, i.e. brother (J. Christoph), wife (A. M.), son (W. F. / C. P. E. / J. C. F. / J. Christian) or son-in-law (Altnickol) |
| orange-brown | extant or clearly documented manuscript (copy) by close friend and/or pupil (Kellner, Krebs, Kirnberger, Walther, ...), or distant family member |
Orchestral works in Chapter 11 of BWV$^{2a}$ :
| BWV | $^{2a}$ | Date | Name | Key | Scoring | BG | NBE | Additional info | BD |
| 1041 | 11. | 1730 | Concerto for violin and orchestra No. 1 | A min. | Vl Str Bc | 21$^1$: 3 45$^1$: 233 | VII/3: 3 | → BWV 1058 | 01223 |
| 1042 | 11. | | Concerto for violin and orchestra No. 2 | E maj. | Vl Str Bc | 21$^1$: 21 | VII/3: 35 | → BWV 1054 | 01224 |
| 1043 | 11. | 1730–1731 or earlier | Concerto for 2 violins and orchestra – Double Concerto | D min. | 2Vl Str Bc | 21$^1$: 41 | VII/3: 71 | → BWV 1062 | 01225 |
| 1044 | 11. | 1727 or later | Concerto for flute, violin, harpsichord and orchestra – Triple Concerto | A min. | Fl Vl Hc Str Bc | 17: 223 | VII/3: 105 | after BWV 894/1, 527/2, 894/2 | 01226 |
| 1045 | 11. | 1743–1746 | Cantata opening: "Concerto" (Symphonic movement for violin and orchestra) | D maj. | Vl 3Tr Tmp 2Ob Str Bc | 21$^1$: 65 | I/34: 305 | after unknown model by other composer? | 01227 |
| 1046.2 | 11. | 1721-03-24 | Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 | F maj. | 2Nho 3Ob Bas Vlp Str Bc | 19: 3 | VII/2: 3 | after BWV 1046.1; /3, /7 → BWV 207(a)/1, /5a | 01228 |
| 1046.1 | 11. | c.1712- 1713? | Sinfonia (opening of BWV 208?) | F maj. | 2Nho 3Ob Str Bas Bc | 31$^1$: 69 | VII/2: 225 | → BWV 1046.2; /1 → BWV 52/1; was BWV 1046a, 1071 | 01229 |
| 1047 | 11. | 1721-03-24 | Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 | F maj. | Tr Fl Ob Vl Str Vne Bc | 19: 3 | VII/2: 43 | | 01230 |
| 1048 | 11. | 1721-03-24 | Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 | G maj. | 3Vl 3Vla 3Vc Vne Hc | 19: 3 | VII/2: 73 | → BWV 174/1 | 01231 |
| 1049 | 11. | 1721-03-24 | Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 | G maj. | Vl 2Fl Str Vc Vne Bc | 19: 3 | VII/2: 99 | → BWV 1057 | 01232 |
| 1050.2 | 11. | 1721-03-24 | Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 (early version) | D maj. | Fl Vl Hc Vl Va Vc Vne | 19: 3 | VII/2: 145 | after BWV 1050.1 | 01233 |
| 1050.1 | 11. | 1720–1721 | Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 (revised version) | D maj. | Fl Vl Hc Vl Va Vne | 19: 3 | VII/2: 145 | → BWV 1050.2 | 01234 |
| 1051 | 11. | 1721-03-24 | Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 | B♭ maj. | 2Vla 2Gam Vc Vne Hc | 19: 3 | VII/2: 197 | | 01235 |
| 1052.2 | 11. | c.1738 | Concerto for harpsichord and orchestra No. 1 (revised version) | D min. | Hc Str Bc | 17: 3 | VII/4: 3 | after BWV 1052.1, BWV 146/1, /2 and 188/1 | 01236 |
| 1052.1 | 11. | before 1726 | Concerto for harpsichord and orchestra No. 1 (early version) | D min. | Hc Str Bc | 17: 3 | VII/4: 317 | by Bach, C. P. E.?; → BWV 1052.2, BWV 146/1, /2 and 188/1 | 01237 |
| 1053 | 11. | c.1738 | Concerto for harpsichord and orchestra No. 2 | E maj. | Hc Str Bc | 17: 3 | VII/4: 79 | after BWV 169/1, /5 and 49/1 | 01238 |
| 1054 | 11. | c.1738 | Concerto for harpsichord and orchestra No. 3 | D maj. | Hc Str Bc | 17: 3 | VII/4: 127 | after BWV 1042 | 01239 |
| 1055 | 11. | c.1738 | Concerto for harpsichord and orchestra No. 4 | A maj. | Hc Str Bc | 17: 3 | VII/4: 161 | after BWV 1055R? | 01240 |
| 1056 | 11. | c.1738 | Concerto for harpsichord and orchestra No. 5 | F min. | Hc Str Bc | 17: 3 | VII/4: 197 | after BWV 1056R?; /2 after BWV 156/1 | 01241 |
| 1057 | 11. | c.1738 | Concerto for harpsichord and orchestra No. 6 | F maj. | Hc 2Fl Str Bc | 17: 3 | VII/4: 221 | after BWV 1049 | 01242 |
| 1058 | 11. | c.1738 | Concerto for harpsichord and orchestra No. 7 | G min. | Hc Str Bc | 17: 3 | VII/4: 283 | after BWV 1041 | 01243 |
| 1059 | 11. | c.1738 | Concerto for harpsichord and orchestra No. 8 (abandoned fragment of 1st movement) | D min. | Hc Ob Str Bc | 17: 3 | VII/4: 313 | after BWV 35/1 and earlier model (for oboe?); completions/ reconstructions usually based on BWV 35/1, /2 and /5 | 01244 |
| 1060 | 11. | c.1736 | Concerto for 2 harpsichords and orchestra No. 1 | C min. | 2Hc Str Bc | 21$^2$: 3 | VII/5: 3 | after BWV 1060R? | 01245 |
| 1061.2 | 11. | after 1732–1733 | Concerto for 2 harpsichords and orchestra No. 2 | C maj. | 2Hc Str Bc | 21$^2$: 39 | VII/5: 109 | after BWV 1061.1 | 01246 |
| 1061.1 | 11. | 1732–1733 or earlier | Concerto for 2 harpsichords (No. 2) | C maj. | 2Hc | 21$^2$: 39 | VII/5: 83 | → BWV 1061.2 | 01247 |
| 1062 | 11. | 1736 | Concerto for 2 harpsichords and orchestra No. 3 | C min. | 2Hc Str Bc | 21$^2$: 83 | VII/5: 43 | after BWV 1043 | 01248 |
| 1063 | 11. | c.1730 | Concerto for 3 harpsichords and orchestra No. 1 | D min. | 3Hc Str Bc | 31$^3$: 3 | VII/6: 3 | after unknown model? | 01249 |
| 1064 | 11. | c.1730 | Concerto for 3 harpsichords and orchestra No. 2 | C maj. | 3Hc Str Bc | 31$^3$: 53 | VII/6: 55 | after BWV 1064R? | 01250 |
| 1065 | 11. | c.1730 | Concerto for 4 harpsichords and orchestra | A min. | 4Hc Str Bc | 43$^1$: 71 | VII/6: 117 | after Vivaldi, Op. 3 No. 10 | 01251 |
| 1066 | 11. | May 1724–End 1725 | Orchestral Suite No. 1 | C maj. | 2Ob Bas Str Bc | 31$^1$: 3 | VII/1: 3 | Ouverture Courante 2Gavotte Forlane 2Minuet 2Bourrée 2Passepied | 01252 |
| 1067 | 11. | 1738–1739 | Orchestral Suite No. 2 | B min. | Fl Str Bc | 31$^1$: 24 | VII/1: 27 | Ouverture Rondeau Sarabande 2Bourrée 2Polonaise Minuet Badinerie | 01253 |
| 1068 | 11. | c.1730 | Orchestral Suite No. 3 | D maj. | 3Tr Tmp 2Ob (Vl) Str Bc | 31$^1$: 40 | VII/1: 49, 119 | Ouverture Air 2Gavotte Bourrée Gigue | 01254 |
| 1069 | 11. | before late 1727 | Orchestral Suite No. 4 | D maj. | 3Tr Tmp 2Ob Bas Str Bc | 31$^1$: 66 | VII/1: 79 | Ouverture 2Bourrée Gavotte 2Minuet Réjouissance; /1 → BWV 110/1 | 01255 |
| 1071 | | | | | | | | see BWV 1046.1 | 01229 |