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Play, download and edit the free video Concerto in A minor, mvt. I, BWV 593 - Antonio Vivaldi/J.S. Bach, played by Brent te Velde.

The art of transcribing music for the organ tends to be associated with organists of the late 19th century and later, but was of course already in practice much earlier. Bach made one of the greatest contributions to the transcription repertoire with his transcriptions of several concertos by Antonio Vivaldi. These concertos employ a form called ritornello, which involves alternating passages for the full orchestra with passages featuring the soloist and a small group of accompanying instruments. Bach achieves this at the organ by indicating manual changes - a rare instance of such instruction in his organ music. This regular contrast in texture is paired with strikingly contrasting and developing musical ideas that succeed in holding the listener's attention to the final chord. These formal and thematic principles came to inform several of Bach's original solo organ works, and especially movements of his cantatas. Through his study of Vivaldi's music, Bach learned new ways of sustaining interest through ever-growing musical structures. Thanks to David Knight for requesting a recording of this piece!

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