JAVS Fall 1996

67

NEW WORKS

K eeping abreast of new viola literature can yield some surprises. Who would have predicted that Barenreiter-Verlag, venerated German publisher of the Neue Bach-Ausgabe, would-among other heroic tasks-bless the late twentieth century with a new concerto for viola by Johann Sebastian Bach? This publication, available through the Primrose International Viola Archive, consists of a solo part (labeled "Viola concertato") and a "pianoforte" accompaniment. The work is in three movements: the outer two are fast movements in E-flat major; the middle one is a siciliano in c minor, in twelve-eight meter. The first movement is in standard da capo form, in common time. The last is also a da capo (an impressive 395 measures long) but in three-eight meter. Altogether, the work takes about twenty minutes to perform. Both the viola and piano parts are clean of editorial performance help. There are no fig ured bass numbers, the sparsest of dynamic markings, and only sporadic phrase marks. The viola part has no fingerings or bowings. Occasionally there is a suggested ornament, properly in parentheses. Tutti and solo pas sages are clearly indicated, and there are even convenient rests for the violist at page-turns. The paper quality is up to standard, and mea sure numbers are provided at the beginning of each staff. In short, this is a crisp, clean edition, ready for the markings needed to make it a performance edition. Of course, the overriding question is "Where did this concerto come from?" As stated on the cover, this is a reconstruction of movements from other works, a practice Bach indulged in frequently. The first movement is the sinfonia of the Cantata in D major "Gott soll allein Herze haben," BWV 169, scored for two oboes d' amore, English horn, strings, and continuo with organ obligato. 1 The

siciliano also appears in this cantata as an aria for alto voice, strings, continuo, and organ obligato. 2 Gerhard Herz 3 dates this cantata to 1726, a time when Bach had ceased regular cantata composition, so it is possible that Bach borrowed a couple of movements from among his earlier compositions. The third movement, the sinfonia to Cantata BWV 49 "lch geh und suche mit Verlangen," in E major, is scored for oboe d' amore, strings, and continuo with organ obligato. 4 All three movements of the "new" viola concerto are listed in the Schmieder catalog 5 as constituting Cembalo Concerto II, BWV 1053. This work has the outer movements in E-major, and the siciliano in c-sharp minor. The New Grove Dictionary indicates that it was originally a harpsichord concerto, but possibly taken in part from a lost oboe con certo. Also noted is that some movements from this group of fourteen harpsichord con certos are original or transcriptions of cantata movements." The Neue Bach-Ausgabe series VII, vol. 7 is a supplement containing five reconstructed concertos edited by Wilfried Fischer (profes sor at the Seminar for Music Education at the University School of Paderborn, Germany), who is responsible for the E-fl.at viola concerto. He spoke about its reconstruction at the Viola Congress in Markneukirchen, Ger many, in June of 1996. Exactly how he arrived at the key of E-flat for the present edition, or how he selected these movements to be combined into a viola concerto is not clear. Professor Fischer clearly has much expe rience in the reconstruction process; what he has come up with represents a most welcome addition to our literature. Although stylistic authenticity is not in question, violistic appropriateness may be an issue. Lacking are those typical string concerto