Arreglo de la Partita No. 3 para violín solo, BWV 1006
Place and date: Cöthen, 1720.
Chief source: Tokyo, Musashino Music Academy, Litters rara vol. 2‑14 (autograph). Editions: BG 42, NBA V/10.
Movements: Prelude – Loure –Sarabande – Gavotte I‑II – Gigue
By the time Bach copied out the autograph of BWV 1006a he had already arranged the first movement as an organ solo with orchestral accompaniment in Cantata No. 29, performed in 1731. The combination of two‑fisted batteries with simple pedal writing is reminiscent of the end of the early Praeludium BWV 921; perhaps one of Bach’s lute‑harpsichords had «pull‑down» pedals like the ones apparently built by Johann Nicolaus Bach of Jena.
The loure is of particular interest as a more strictly fugal example than the one in the Fifth French Suite, although each half employs a different subject.