About this edition
Bach's Violin Concerto in E major, BWV 1042, stands as one of the crowning achievements of the Baroque concerto tradition, composed during his Köthen years (circa 1717–1723) when he devoted himself intensively to instrumental music. The work is remarkable for its jubilant, radiant opening Allegro built on a boldly arpeggiated E-major triad, its deeply expressive Adagio in C-sharp minor with its unforgettable ostinato bass line, and its exuberant rondo finale — a structure Bach rarely employed elsewhere. Together with the A minor concerto and the Double Concerto, it represents Bach's mastery of the Italian concerto form as filtered through his own contrapuntal genius.
This edition reproduces the score as published in the monumental Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe, Band 21 (pages 19–38), issued by Breitkopf und Härtel in Leipzig in 1874 under plate number B.W. XXI (1) and edited by Wilhelm Rust (1822–1892). The Bach-Gesellschaft edition, undertaken between 1851 and 1900 to mark the centenary of Bach's death, was the first attempt at a complete critical edition of his works and remains a cornerstone of Bach scholarship. Rust, who served as editor for many volumes and later became Thomaskantor in Leipzig, was among the most meticulous nineteenth-century Bach scholars, and his editorial work continues to inform modern performance and study.
About this edition:
- Full orchestral score (solo violin, strings, and continuo)
- Page size: 8.5 x 11 inches
- Reproduced from a public domain historical edition
- Published by Purple 4R Publishing
We're delighted to make this historical edition available in a clean, affordable printed format. It's our hope that conductors, soloists, chamber orchestras, students, and Bach enthusiasts will find this a welcome addition to their libraries — a chance to engage directly with one of the great scholarly editions of the nineteenth century.
