Home

Bach for Guitar website's

Manuscripts Page

Where "thumbnailed" (miniature) images are shown, click to view full resolution of the scans.


---------------------------------------------

BWV 1006a (suite in E major)

autograph (J.S. Bach) manuscript

Popularly known as a "lute suite", this one is an arrangement of BWV 1006 (the Violin Partita No.3)

BWV 1006a, title page BWV 1006a, page 1 (Prelude) BWV 1006a, page 2 BWV 1006a, page 3 BWV 1006a, page 4 BWV 1006a, page 5 BWV 1006a, page 6 (Loure) link fixed 06-06-07
BWV 1006a, page 7 (Gavotte en Rondeau) BWV 1006a, page 8 BWV 1006a, page 9 (Menuet I) link fixed 06-06-07 BWV 1006a, page 10 (Menuet II) link fixed 06-06-07 BWV 1006a, page 11 (Bouree) link fixed 06-06-07 BWV 1006a, page 12 (Gigue) link fixed AGAIN 06-06-07 BWV 1006a, page 13
---------------------------------------------

BWV 996 (Lute Suite in e minor)

Walther manuscript

Here are scans (of all but the title page) of the most important source for suite BWV 996. This manuscript is kept in the Stattsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preussischer Kulturbesitz, where it is numbered Mus. ms. Bach P 801, pp. 385-395.

BWV 996, page 1 BWV 996, page 2 BWV 996, page 3 BWV 996, page 4 BWV 996, page 5 BWV 996, page 6 BWV 996, page 7 BWV 996, page 8 BWV 996, page 9 BWV 996, page 10
---------------------------------------------

BWV 997 (Suite in c minor)

Agricola manuscript

Very important: The only way to make sense of this suite's notation is to realize that the upper staff is written 8va (an octave higher than it sounds, just as guitar music is written). This one is likely to be a direct copy of the lost original.

The unusual octave feature is seen in all copies except that of J.C. Weyrauch (a friend of Bach's) who obviously understood it before converting to lute tablature. (Many other manuscripts trace back to the misguided "repair" attempts of an unknown copyist who didn't perceive the 8va for what it was.)

This manuscript copy was done between 1738 and 1741 by Johann Friedrich Agricola. It is kept in the Stattsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preussischer Kulturbesitz, where it is numbered Mus. ms. Bach P 650. I've scanned all but the title page.

BWV 997, page 1 BWV 997, page 2 BWV 997, page 3 BWV 997, page 4 BWV 997, page 5 link fixed 06-06-07 BWV 997, page 6 link fixed 06-06-07 BWV 997, page 7 BWV 997, page 8 BWV 997, page 9
---------------------------------------------

BWV 998 (Prelude, Fugue, and Allegro) for lute or keyboard

autograph (J.S. Bach) manuscript

This manuscript is in standard notation until the last part of the allegro, where Bach switches to "keyboard tablature" to squeeze it all in on the remaining paper. (Even so, the tablature passage overflows onto the bottom of page 1.)

BWV 998, page 1 (Prelude) BWV 998, page 2 (Fuga) link fixed 06-06-07 BWV 998, page 3 BWV 998, page 4 (Allegro) link fixed 06-06-07
---------------------------------------------

BWV 1001 (Sonata No.1 in g minor for unaccompanied violin)

autograph (J.S. Bach) manuscript

(I didn't scan the end of the Presto, but the rest all is here.) Notice that the last line of the fugue stretches across both its pages.

BWV 1001, page 1 BWV 1001, page 2 BWV 1001, page 3 BWV 1001, page 4
---------------------------------------------

BWV 1003 movements 1, 2, 3 (grave, fuga, andante from Sonata No.2 for unaccompanied violin)

autograph (J.S. Bach) manuscript

BWV 1003, page 1 BWV 1003, page 2 BWV 1003, page 3 BWV 1003, page 4 BWV 1003, page 5
---------------------------------------------

BWV 995 (Lute Suite in g minor)

autograph (J.S. Bach) manuscript

This one is an arrangement of BWV 1011 (the Cello Suite No.5)
external linkWimmercello has scans of both the lute (BWV 995) and cello (BWV 1011) incarnations of this suite.
---------------------------------------------

BWV 999 (Prelude in c minor)

Kellner manuscript

This copy is the single surviving source for this work.
external linkDave's J. S. Bach Page has the biggest scan of this.
---------------------------------------------

BWV 1007, 1008, 1009, 1010, 1011, 1012 (the Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello)

Anna Magdalena Bach manuscript

This is one of the five surviving independent copies of the suites. (None of Bach's autograph copies survives- although there seem to have been at least three.)
external linkWimmercello has scans of Anna Magdalena Bach's copy.



The Manuscripts page was created March 10th 2006; since then it has been visited counter times.

Jump to a different page of the Bach for Guitar website :

©2006 Alan Melvin.