This page was created by James A. Brokaw II. The last update was by Elizabeth Budd.
Cantata Sinfonia in D Major BWV 1045 / BC A 193
Occasion unknown. First performed between 1743 and 1746 in Leipzig
The Sinfonia in D Major BWV 1045, an extended concerto movement for solo violin and orchestra, is transmitted in a score written by Johann Sebastian Bach between 1743 and 1746. It was handed down separately from its context, was composed during Bach’s last decade, and exhibits stylistic peculiarities.Its title, “Concerto,” and scoring leave no doubt that it is the opening sinfonia to a church cantata that is otherwise completely lost. The work breaks off after 150 measures. Its continuation seems to have gone missing even before the end of the eighteenth century so that, then as now, an expansion of the fragment is indispensable. More serious, however, is the question of the work’s authenticity—it is transmitted without any composer name—and the other question that follows naturally, that of the work’s original nature.
Bach’s manuscript shows that trumpets and drums were added, as well as woodwinds if necessary. These additions were primarily intended as a timbral enrichment regarding a festive occasion we can no longer determine, such as a town council election. But it is also clear that the new wind texture is meant to cloak certain compositional weaknesses, in particular, the rather conventional triadic theme of the opening ritornello together with its not terribly compelling Fortspinnung, laden with all too many sequences. The first large solo for violin, with a thinly voiced string accompaniment, is incapable of supplying any new energy. The entire opening passage of thirty-two measures becomes a problem when it is repeated nearly verbatim, beginning at the dominant, A major. Here, at the very latest, the question arises whether this is an arrangement of a work by another composer or a revision of a relatively old work of the composer’s own—perhaps a fantasy for violin and basso continuo.
However, after measure 70 the concerto movement seems to undergo a transformation. Harmony, voice leading, counterpoint, modulation, thematic structure, and instrumentation: all now unmistakably display Bach’s imprint. Rigorously and logically, powerfully and briskly, the musical development forges ahead, flowing into a solo episode of great difficulty, probably to be understood as a cadenza. The fragment breaks off shortly after the return of the ritornello in the opening key of D major. It is just as problematic now as it was at first; in its new context, its effect seems even more alien. Although the missing conclusion can be provided according to our best knowledge, many questions remain open: as it were, an appeal to the scholarly curiosity of listeners, researchers, and interpreters.