An Analysis of Violin Concerto in E major (BWV 1042), I.

Allegro By J.S. Bach

J.S. Bach is arguably one of the most significant music composers in the

history of western music. Often viewed as a start to the Common Practice

Era of western music, Bachs body of music has greatly influenced the

music of several generations after him.

The violin concerto in E major (BWV 1042) is one of the following 24 still

surviving concertos by Bach.

Concerto BWV Key(s)

Concerto for solo violin in A minor 1041 A minor
Concerto for solo violin in E major 1042 E major
Concerto for solo two violins 1043 D minor
Triple concerto for flute, violin and
1044 A minor
harpsichord
The 6 Brandeburg Concertos 1046-
Several
1051
14 Concertos for one or more 1052-
Several
Harpsichords 1065

Historical context

The original year and place of composition of BWV 1042 are not known. As

per Michael T. Roeder, after being appointed as the Kappelmeister and

Director of Chamber Music to the Prince of Cthen in 1717, Bach having no

responsibilities of composing sacred music, may have composed BWV

1042 along with an array of other instrumental music till 1723, the end of

his tenure there.1

Since all manuscripts of Bachs work before 1760 are lost, scholars like

Richard Jones opine that for dating works like BWV 1042, we have to turn

1 Roeder, Michael Thomas. A History of the Concerto. Portland, Or.:

Amadeus Press,1994.pp. 74.
to internal formal or stylistic evidence and comparison with datable Bach

instrumental works.2

Bachs Italian influence in BWV 1042

It is now a known fact that Bach had been greatly influenced by the

Italian-style of music. Many scholars have written about the Vivaldi

inspiration in Bachs works. For instance, Buelow writes, These

masterworks underscore the extent to which Bach had absorbed in Cthen

the Vivaldi model of the concerto into his now mature and distinctively

original instrumental style.3 Also mentioning the Italian influence in

Bachs compositions, Roeder writes, Bachs introduction to concerto the

principal of tutti-solo contrast, coupled with a formal and tonal scheme,

invaded virtually all of Bachs music.4

The influence of Vivaldis musical style can be clearly seen in BWV 1042 in

the following ways:

Like most of Vivaldis concertos, BWV 1042 has three

movements, a stark difference with the contemporary German

concertos, which usually had four movements.

Example: Telemanns concerto for four violins Concerto in D

major, TWV 40:202 (adagio, allegro, grave and allegro).

Having a four-part string orchestra.
Example: Vivaldis Concerto in A min, RV 356.
Emphasis on strong melody lines.
Example: Again, Vivaldis Concerto in A min, RV 356.
Using Ritornello as a musical device.
Example: Vivaldi, Concerto in F maj, RV 286

2 Jones, Richard Douglas. The Creative Development of Johann Sebastian

Bach: Vol. II 1717-1750. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. pp 82.
3 Buelow, George J. A History of Baroque Music. Bloomington, IN: Indiana
University Press, 2004. pp-526. A similar reference about Bachs liking for
Italian composers mentioned in- Geck, Martin, and John Hargraves. Johann
Sebastian Bach: Life and Work. Orlando: Harcourt Press, 2006. pp. 550-
551.
4 Roeder, Michael Thomas. A History of the Concerto. Portland, Or.:
Amadeus Press, 1994. Pp. 74.
Motific idea

A three-note motif highlighting the tonic chord (Figure 1) is the main idea

appearing frequently throughout the piece establishing a motivic unity in

the piece.

Motif-1 Motif-2

Figure 1- J.S. Bach, Violin Concerto in E major, BWV 1042, I. Allegro, mm

1-2.

Motif-3
 Figure 2 J.S. Bach, Violin Concerto in E major, BWV 1042, I. Allegro, mm
4-7

Yet another viewpoint to analyze the motivic development in this

movement can be to consider the introductory idea from mm 1-11 as the

main theme, out of which three major motivic fragments namely Motif-1, 2

and 3 to have been repeated in the piece as ritornello (Figure 1 and 2).

The three-note motif is also reminiscent of the main motif of Vivaldis

violin concerto Il Favorito, again hinting towards him being Bachs

inspiration (Figure 3).

 Figure 3- Vivaldi, Concerto No. 2 in E minor, "Il favorito", RV 277, I.

Allegro, mm-1.

Formal, Harmonic and Textural Analysis

In this movement, motifs 1, 2 and 3 facilitate the passages to transcend

through several related keys in the form of ritornello. Unlike a usual

ritornello piece wherein there is an alternation between the tutti and the

solo instrument, Bach in this piece does bring the ritornello back, but
alongside the soloist. This ritornello device, if viewed individually for each

section based on the contrast caused by tonality and texture inside the

piece, acts in three major divisions of the whole first movement, thus

giving the piece some kind of a hybrid ritornello - Da Capo form.

Section C (Same as A)
Section A (mm 122-174)
Section B
(mm 1-53)
(mm 54-122)

Figure 4- Overall form of BWV 1042, I. Allegro

While section A is in the tonic E major territory, section B is in the relative

minor (C# minor) of the home key, creating a stark contrast between the

two sections. Section B ends with a slow, cadenza like concertato solo in

G# minor. The closing section (C) of the movement returns to the key and

idea of section A and is exactly similar to it. Not only does section B

contrast tonally with A, Bach has also written a much different melodic

development and contrapuntal arrangement in the B section, to add to the

contrast between the section.

Examples:

Mm 57, a distinct top voice melody is introduced with an

accompaniment very different from section A.

 Figure 5-BWV 1042, I. Allegro. mm 57-59

Mm 95, a quite different interwoven contrapuntal solo with

only continuo accompaniment playing the Motif-1.

Figure 6 BWV 1042, I. Allegro. mm 95-98

A much-detailed formal division of this movement can be observed in

Figure 7.

Interestingly the violin concertato, though having subtly virtuosic and

directional melody, evidently is not the main attraction of the movement.

It merely adds to the overall texture of the piece by intricately dialoguing

with the orchestra, also maintaining that none has supremacy over the

other while both still being independent.

Bach has juxtaposed the solo and tutti sections not only to emphasize the

ritornello, but to also give passages a much tight knit contrapuntal

texture. This also helps the ritornello motifs to subtly penetrate beneath

the continuously playing solo as ripieno voices and giving the passages a

forward direction. The solos in the piece also act as episodes to separate

the tutti sections.

The scholar John Butt opines that Bach would usually use a three or a five-

stave notational system for the instruments at his disposal. While a three-
stave composition would have a texture of its own, Butt says, in scores of

five or more staves, the instrumental part is not identical to the voice of

the polyphonic texture.5 Butt further suggests that the usage of a five

stave system, as in BWV 1054, made the soloist a part of the ripieno when

playing in unison, as well as a for solo sections. 6 This would in turn also

change the texture by having different number of ripieno violins at

different sections. Such was Bachs use of texture.

Conclusion

J.S. Bachs works like BWV 1042 have been monumental in development

and understanding of harmony, texture, orchestration and form in his

successors in the western classical music repertoire. His prodigious and

diverse musical compositions are not only excellent communicators of

human expression, but also great examples of intricately designed art

forms. Even though J.S. Bach was not a much celebrated and travelled

composer of his time, he continues to serve as a great teacher for

musicians across the globe.

5 Butt, John. The Cambridge Companion to Bach. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press, 1997. pp 125.
6Ibid.
 Section A Start
Intro theme in E
maj (has Motifs
1,2 & 3) Violin solo 5 Section A End
mm 48-50 mm 51 Rit. tutti in B
mm 1-11 Violin solo 3
maj (motif 2)
mm 143-146
mm 142-143

Short solo Section B Start

Rit. tutti (Motif Violin Solo 2
mm 12-14 C#min (Motif 1
3) (motif 1 in Rit. tutti (Motif
underneath)
mm 43-46 violin ripieno 3)
mm 53
from mm 140) mm 147-150
Rit. tutti in E
maj mm 139-141
New top voice
(A') material with
(motifs 1 & 2 Violin solo 4 diff.
together) Rit. tutti in Another short
mm 39-42 contrapuntal Emaj solo (motif 1
mm 15-16 accomp. More (A'') back in E maj)
contrast. mm 137 mm 152-154
Violin Solo 2 mm 57
(motif 1 in
violin ripieno Rit. tutti (Motif
from mm 18) Rit. tutti (Motif
2) 1 in C# min in Rit. tutti (Motif
mm-38-39 Short solo
mm 17-19 ripieno) 2)
mm 70-72. Key mm 134-136 mm 160-161
Bmaj in mm 73
Rit. tutti in B
maj (motif 2) Another short Section C,
solo (motif 1 Allegro in Emaj
mm 20-21 back in E maj)
Rit. tutti Emaj
Start Violin solo 4 Section C End
mm 30-34 (same as mm4)
Intro theme mm 161 mm 174
mm 79-81 same as mm 1
Violin solo 3.
(Syncopated mm 123
notes between Rit. tutti (Motif
3) same as mm Section B End
viola and Interwoven
4. Adagio, slow Rit. tutti (Motif
continuo) contrapuntal Violin solo 5
mm 25-28 violin solo in 3)
mm 23-24 solo figuration mm 170-172
G# min mm 165-168
mm 95-100
mm 121-122
Figure 7-A detailed formal breakdown of BWV 1054, I. Allegro
 Bibliography

1. Butt, John. The Cambridge Companion to Bach. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press, 1997.

2. Dreyfus, Laurence. Bach and the Patterns of Invention. Cambridge,

MA: Harvard UP, 1996.

3. Geck, Martin, and John Hargraves. Johann Sebastian Bach: Life and

Work. Orlando: Harcourt Press, 2006

4. Jones, Richard Douglas. The Creative Development of Johann

Sebastian Bach: Vol. II 1717-1750. Oxford: Oxford University Press,

2007.
5. Roeder, Michael Thomas. A History of the Concerto. Portland, Or.:

Amadeus Press, 1994.

6. Stinson, Russell, and Gregory Butler. Bach Perspectives. Lincoln

Press: University of Nebraska, 2007.

7. Wolff, Christoph. Bach: Essays on His Life and Music. Cambridge,

MA: Harvard University Press, 1991.