Italian Concerto (Bach)

The Italian Concerto, BWV 971, originally titled Concerto nach Italienischen Gusto (Concerto in the Italian taste), is a three-movement concerto for two-manual harpsichord solo composed by Johann Sebastian Bach and published in 1735 as the first half of Clavier-Übung II (the second half being the French Overture). The Italian Concerto has become popular among Bach's keyboard works, and has been widely recorded both on the harpsichord and the piano.

Context

An Italian concerto relies upon the contrasting roles of different groups of instruments in an ensemble; Bach imitates this effect by creating contrasts using the forte and piano manuals of a two-manual harpsichord throughout the piece. In fact, along with the French Overture and some of the Goldberg Variations, this is one of the few works by Bach which specifically require a 2-manual harpsichord.

Bach also transcribed Italian concertos by Vivaldi and others for solo harpsichord (BWV 972–987), and for solo organ or pedal harpsichord (BWV 592–596).

Movements

The Italian Concerto consists of three movements:

  1. Allegro
  2. Andante
  3. Presto

The two lively F major outer movements, in ritornello style, frame a florid arioso-style movement in D minor, the relative minor.

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References
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