Johann Sebastian Bach

The recorder parts of his vocal works

Johann Sebastian Bachs recorder parts are amongst the most delightful artistic challenges which baroque music has to offer players of this instrument. In the 25 cantatas and oratorios in which Bach uses the recorder, there are parts with moderate technical demands, but also many where the instrument is at the limits of the performing techniques of the time. Taken as a whole, Bachs recorder parts constitute a body of study material which presents plenty of challenges even for advanced players. This edition is intended to be both a resource for practice and for use in performance. It contains all the recorder parts from Bachs vocal works in Urtext editions in a practical layout. The music text is always given in full, and includes indications of movements where the recorder is tacet. Cue-sized notes help orientation within the scoring. Where necessary additional transposed parts for instruments at different pitches are included, or alternative variants are suggested on ossia staves. The music text matches the sources. The text section includes an introduction and commentary on the individual pieces. The introduction covers the different types of recorder in Bachs time, the body of works and the source material, as well as various specific problems. The commentary includes information about each work, the sources and the approach to editing the music in each case, plus comments on variant readings and tips on performance practice and performing technique.