page_title: List of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach
section_title: BWV
hierarchical_section_title: List of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach / Listing Bach's compositions / BWV
caption_attribution_description: English: First bars of a Johann Sebastian Bach's loure from third partita for solo violin - BWV 1006 Français&#160;: Premières mesures d'une loure de Johann Sebastian Bach extraite de la troisième partita pour violon - BWV 1006
context_page_description: Johann Sebastian Bach composed cantatas, motets, masses, Magnificats, Passions, oratorios, four-part chorales, songs and arias. His instrumental music includes concertos, suites, sonatas, fugues, and other works for organ, harpsichord, lute, violin, cello, flute, chamber ensemble and orchestra.
  There are over 1000 known compositions by Bach. Nearly all of them are listed in the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, which is the best known and most widely used catalogue of Bach's compositions.
context_section_description: In 1950 the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis was published, allocating a unique number to every known composition by Bach. Wolfgang Schmieder, the editor of that catalogue, grouped the compositions by genre, largely following BG for the collation (e.g. BG cantata number = BWV number of the cantata):
  Kantaten (Cantatas), BWV 1–224
  Motetten (Motets), BWV 225–231
  Messen, Messensätze, Magnificat (Masses, Mass movements, Magnificat), BWV 232–243
  Passionen, Oratorien (Passions, Oratorios), BWV 244–249
  Vierstimmige Choräle (Four-part chorales), BWV 250–438
  Lieder, Arien, Quodlibet (Songs, Arias and Quodlibet), BWV 439–524
  Werke für Orgel (Works for organ), BWV 525–771
  Werke für Klavier (Keyboard compositions), BWV 772–994
  Werke für Laute (Lute compositions), BWV 995–1000
  Kammermusik (Chamber music), BWV 1001–1040
  Orchesterwerke (Works for orchestra), BWV 1041–1071, originally in two separate chapters: Concertos (BWV 1041–1065) and Overtures (BWV 1066–1071)
  Kanons (Canons), BWV 1072–1078
  Musikalisches Opfer, Kunst der Fuge (Musical Offering, Art of the Fugue), BWV 1079–1080
  For instance, the Prelude and Fugue in E-flat major now became BWV 552, situated in the range of the works for organ. In contrast to other catalogues such as the Köchel catalogue for Mozart's compositions there is no attempt at chronological organization in the BWV numbering, for instance BWV 992 is an early composition by Bach. Exceptionally BWV numbers are also indicated as Schmieder (S) numbers (e.g. S. 225 = BWV 225).
  Another consequence of the ordering principles of the BWV was that it tore known collections apart, for instance Clavier-Übung III was partly in the organ compositions range (BWV 552 and 669–689), with the four duets listed among the keyboard compositions (BWV 802–805).
caption: The BWV is a thematic catalogue, thus it identifies every movement of every composition by its first measures, like the opening of BWV 1006, movement 2 (Loure) above.
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