Wilhelm Friedemann Bach

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (22 November 1710Template:Snd1 July 1784) was a German composer, organist and harpsichordist. He was the second child and eldest son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Maria Barbara Bach. Despite his acknowledged genius as an improviser and composer, his income and employment were unstable, and he died in poverty.

Life

File:Wilhelm Friedemann Bach - Der Trost gehöret - British Library Add MS 50115 f1v.jpg

Manuscript copy of (BR-WFB F26)

File:Halle-WFBachHs2.JPG

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach House (now a museum), where Friedemann lived in Halle

Wilhelm Friedemann (hereafter Friedemann) was born in Weimar, where his father was employed as organist and chamber musician to the Duke of Saxe-Weimar. In July 1720, when Friedemann was nine, his mother Maria Barbara Bach died suddenly; Johann Sebastian Bach remarried in December 1721. J. S. Bach supervised Friedemann's musical education and career with great attention. The graded course of keyboard studies and composition that J. S. Bach provided is documented in the Clavier-Büchlein vor Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (modern spelling: Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann Bach), with entries by both father and son. This education also included (parts of) the French Suites, (Two-Part) Inventions, (Three-Part) Sinfonias (popularly known as "Inventions"), the first volume of The Well-Tempered Clavier, and the six Trio Sonatas for organ. At the age of 16 he went to Merseburg to learn the violin with his teacher Johann Gottlieb Graun.

In addition to his musical training, Friedemann received formal schooling beginning in Weimar. When J. S. Bach took the post of Cantor of the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig (in 1723), he enrolled Friedemann in the associated Thomasschule. (J. S. Bach—who had himself been orphaned at the age of 10—said that he took the position in Leipzig partly because of the educational opportunities it afforded his children). On graduating in 1729, Friedemann enrolled as a law student in Leipzig University, a renowned institution at the time, but later moved on to study law and mathematics at the University of Halle. He maintained a lifelong interest in mathematics, and continued to study it privately during his first job in Dresden.

Friedemann was appointed in 1733 to the position of organist of the St. Sophia's Church at Dresden. In competing for the post he played a new version of his father's Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 541. The judge described Friedemann as clearly superior to the other two candidates. He remained a renowned organist throughout his life. Among his many pupils in Dresden was Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, the keyboardist whose name is erroneously enshrined in the popular nickname given to J. S. Bach's 1742 publication, "Aria with Diverse Variations"—that is, "The Goldberg Variations." The scholar Peter Williams has discredited the story which links the work to Goldberg stating that J. S. Bach wrote the work for the Russian Ambassador Count Hermann Carl von Keyserlingk, who would ask his employee, Goldberg, to play the variations to entertain him during sleepless nights. Williams instead has argued that J. S. Bach wrote the variations to provide a display piece for Friedemann.

In 1746 Friedemann became organist of the Liebfrauenkirche at Halle. In 1751, Friedemann married Dorothea Elisabeth Georgi (1721–1791), who was 11 years his junior and who outlived him by seven years. Dorothea was the daughter of a tax collector. The landed estates she inherited caused the family to be placed in a high tax bracket by Halle authorities, who were raising taxes to meet the revenue demands of the Seven Years' War. To raise cash for these payments, she sold part of her property in 1770. The couple produced two sons and a daughter, Friederica Sophia (born in 1757), who was the only one of their offspring to live past infancy. The descendants of Friederica Sophia eventually migrated to Oklahoma.

Friedemann was deeply unhappy in Halle almost from the beginning of his tenure. In 1749 he was involved in a conflict with the Cantor of the Liebfrauenkirche, Gottfried Mittag, who had misappropriated funds that were due to Friedemann. In 1750 the church authorities reprimanded Friedemann for overstaying a leave of absence (he was in Leipzig settling his father's estate). In 1753 he made his first documented attempt to find another post, and thereafter made several others. All these attempts failed. Bach had at least two pupils, Friedrich Wilhelm Rust and Johann Samuel Petri.

In 1762, he negotiated for the post of Kapellmeister to the court of Darmstadt; although he protracted the negotiations for reasons that are opaque to historians and did not actively take the post, he nevertheless was appointed Hofkapellmeister of Hessen-Darmstadt, a title he used in the dedication of his Harpsichord Concerto in E minor.

In June 1764, Friedemann left the job in Halle without any employment secured elsewhere. His financial situation deteriorated so much that in 1768 he re-applied for his old job in Halle, without success. He thereafter supported himself by teaching. After leaving Halle in 1770, he lived for several years (1771–1774) in Braunschweig where he applied in vain for the post of an organist at the St. Catherine's church. Then he moved to Berlin, where he initially was welcomed by the princess Anna Amalia (the sister of Frederick the Great). Later, no longer in favor at court, he gave harpsichord lessons to Sarah Levy, the daughter of a prominent Jewish family in Berlin and an avid collector of Bach and other early 18th-century music, who was also a "patron" of Friedemann's brother C. P. E. Bach. Friedemann died in Berlin.

Earlier biographers have concluded that his "wayward" and difficult personality reduced his ability to gain and hold secure employment, but the scholar David Schulenberg writes (in the Oxford Composer Companion: J. S. Bach, ed. Malcolm Boyd, 1999) that "he may also have been affected by changing social conditions that made it difficult for a self-possessed virtuoso to succeed in a church- or court-related position" (p. 39). Schulenberg adds, "he was evidently less willing than most younger contemporaries to compose fashionable, readily accessible music".

Friedemann Bach was renowned for his improvisatory skills. It is speculated that when in Leipzig his father's accomplishments set so high a bar that he focused on improvisation rather than composition. Evidence adduced for this speculation includes the fact that his compositional output increased in Dresden and Halle.

Friedemann's compositions include many church cantatas and instrumental works, of which the most notable are the fugues, polonaises and fantasias for clavier, and the duets for two flutes. He incorporated more elements of the contrapuntal style learned from his father than any of his three composer brothers, but his use of the style has an individualistic and improvisatory edge which endeared his work to musicians of the late 19th century, when there was something of a revival of his reputation.

Friedemann's students included Johann Nikolaus Forkel, who in 1802 published the first biography of Johann Sebastian Bach; Friedemann, as well as his younger brother Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, were major informants for Forkel. Friedemann has in earlier biographies been called a poor custodian of his father's musical manuscripts, many of which he inherited; however, more recent scholars are uncertain how many were lost. It is known that Friedemann sold some of his father's collection to raise cash to pay debts (including a large sale in 1759 to Johann Georg Nacke). Also, his daughter took some of the Sebastian Bach manuscripts with her when she moved to America, and these were passed on to her descendants, who inadvertently destroyed many of them. Others were passed on through his only known Berlin pupil, Sarah Itzig Levy, great-aunt of Felix Mendelssohn. Some of his scores were collected by Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch and his pupil Carl Friedrich Zelter, the teacher of Felix Mendelssohn and through them these materials were placed in the library of the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin, which Fasch founded in 1791 and of which Zelter took charge in 1800.

Friedemann is known occasionally to have claimed credit for music written by his father, but this was in keeping with common musical practices in the era.

Works

"BR-WFB" denotes "Bach-Repertorium Wilhelm Friedemann Bach". "Fk." denotes "Falck catalogue". Bach Digital Work (BDW) pages contain information about individual compositions.

Works by Wilhelm Friedemann Bach

BR- WFB	Name	Fk.	Notes	BDW
Keyboard works
A1	Keyboard Sonata in C major	Add. 200		Template:BDW
A2a	Keyboard Sonata in C major	001B	earlier version	Template:BDW
A2b		001A	later version	Template:BDW
A3	Keyboard Sonata in C major	002		Template:BDW
A4	Keyboard Sonata in D major	003		Template:BDW
A5	Keyboard Sonata in D major	004		Template:BDW
A6	Sonata for two harpsichords in D major	011	lost	Template:BDW
A7	Keyboard Sonata in E-flat major	005		Template:BDW
A8	Keyboard Sonata in E-flat major	Add. 201		Template:BDW
A9	Keyboard Sonata in E minor	Add. 204	related to flute sonata B17	Template:BDW
A10	Keyboard Sonata in F major	Add. 202		Template:BDW
A11a	Keyboard Sonata in F major	006C	earliest version	Template:BDW
A11b		006B	middle version	Template:BDW
A11c		006	latest version	Template:BDW
A11d		deest	alternative version; related to flute sonata B18	Template:BDW
A12	Concerto for two harpsichords in F major	010	= BWV Anh. 188	Template:BDW
A13a	Concerto for harpsichord solo in G major	deest	earlier version	Template:BDW
A13b		040	later version	Template:BDW
A14	Keyboard Sonata in G major	007		Template:BDW
A15	Keyboard Sonata in A major	008		Template:BDW
A16	Keyboard Sonata in B-flat major	009		Template:BDW
A17	Fantasia in C major	014	not before 1770	Template:BDW
A18	2 Fantasias in C minor	015	composed for Georg von Behr around 1775	Template:BDW
A19		016		Template:BDW
A20	Fantasia in D major	017	not before 1770	Template:BDW
A21	Fantasia in D minor	018	not before 1770	Template:BDW
A22	Fantasia in D minor	019	not before 1770	Template:BDW
A23	Fantasia in E minor	020	October 1770	Template:BDW
A24	Fantasia in E minor	021	not before 1770	Template:BDW
A25	Fantasia in G major	022	around 1763	Template:BDW
A26	Fantasia in C major/A minor	023	unfinished	Template:BDW
A27	Twelve Polonaises	012	No. 1 in C major; composed between 1765–1770	Template:BDW
A28			No. 2 in C minor; composed between 1765–1770	Template:BDW
A29			No. 3 in D major; composed between 1765–1770	Template:BDW
A30			No. 4 in D minor; composed between 1765–1770	Template:BDW
A31			No. 5 in E-flat major; composed between 1765–1770	Template:BDW
A32			No. 6 in E-flat minor; composed between 1765–1770	Template:BDW
A33			No. 7 in E major; composed between 1765–1770	Template:BDW
A34			No. 8 in E minor; composed between 1765–1770	Template:BDW
A35			No. 9 in F major; composed between 1765–1770	Template:BDW
A36			No. 10 in F minor; composed between 1765–1770	Template:BDW
A37			No. 11 in G major; composed between 1765–1770	Template:BDW
A38			No. 12 in G minor; composed between 1765–1770	Template:BDW
A39	Harpsichord Suite in G minor	024	early work	Template:BDW
A40	Two Allemandes in G minor for keyboard	Add. 205	by W. F. and/or J. S. Bach; in Klavierbüchlein WFB; = BWV 836	Template:BDW
A41			by W. F. and/or J. S. Bach; in Klavierbüchlein WFB; frag.; = BWV 837	Template:BDW
A42	Minuet in G major	deest	by W. F. and/or J. S. Bach; in Klavierbüchlein WFB; frag.; = BWV 841	Template:BDW
A43	Minuet in G minor		by W. F. and/or J. S. Bach; in Klavierbüchlein WFB; frag.; = BWV 842	Template:BDW
A44	Prelude in C major	Add. 206	by W. F. and/or J. S. Bach; in Klavierbüchlein WFB; = BWV 924a	Template:BDW
A45	Prelude in D major		by W. F. and/or J. S. Bach; in Klavierbüchlein WFB; = BWV 925	Template:BDW
A46	Prelude in E minor		by W. F. and/or J. S. Bach; in Klavierbüchlein WFB; = BWV 932	Template:BDW
A47	Prelude in A minor		by W. F. and/or J. S. Bach; in Klavierbüchlein WFB; = BWV 931	Template:BDW
A48	Minuet in G minor	025/1		Template:BDW
A49a	Presto in D minor	025/2	2 versions; A49b is variant of BWV 970 ("Toccatina" No. 6)	Template:BDW
A49b				Template:BDW
A49b var	Toccatina No. 6		variant of A49b; = BWV 970	Template:BDW
A50a	Minuet in F major with Trio in F minor	Add. 208	2 versions	Template:BDW
A50b				Template:BDW
A51a	Bourlesca in C major	026		Template:BDW
A51b	L'imitation de la chasse in C major		revision of A51a	Template:BDW
A51c	La Caccia in C major		revision of A51b; last version	Template:BDW
A52	La Reveille in C major	027		Template:BDW
A53a	Gigue in G major	028	earlier version	Template:BDW
A53b			later version; also final movement of flute duet B2	Template:BDW
A54a	keyboard Piece/Prelude in C minor	029	earlier version; incomplete	Template:BDW
A54b			later version; completion possibly by Johann Nikolaus Forkel	Template:BDW
A55	Scherzo in E minor	deest	not ascertained; also in "Toccatina"; = BWV 844a	Template:BDW
A56	March in E-flat major	030		Template:BDW
A57	March in F major	deest		Template:BDW
A58	Polonaise in C major with trio in C minor	013		Template:BDW
A59	Ouverture for harpsichord in E-flat major	deest	not before 1770	Template:BDW
A60	Andante for harpsichord in E minor	Add. 209	Berlin period; originally middle movement of A13	Template:BDW
A61	Allegro non troppo in G major	Add. 203	Berlin period 1775–1785; lost	Template:BDW
A62	Un poco allegro in C major	deest	Berlin period	Template:BDW
A63	Template:Ill	Add. 207	No. 1 in G major; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 133	Template:BDW
A64			No. 2 in G major; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 134	Template:BDW
A65			No. 3 in A minor; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 135	Template:BDW
A66			No. 4 in A minor; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 136	Template:BDW
A67			No. 5 in E-flat major; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 137	Template:BDW
A68			No. 6 in E-flat major; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 138	Template:BDW
A69			No. 7 in D major; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 139	Template:BDW
A70			No. 8 in D minor; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 140	Template:BDW
A71			No. 9 in F major; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 141	Template:BDW
A72			No. 10 in A minor; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 142	Template:BDW
A73			No. 11 in E minor; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 143	Template:BDW
A74			No. 12 in A minor; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 144	Template:BDW
A75			No. 13 in C major; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 145	Template:BDW
A76			No. 14 in F major; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 146	Template:BDW
A77			No. 15 in G major; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 147	Template:BDW
A78			No. 16 in G minor; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 148	Template:BDW
A79			No. 17 in G major; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 149	Template:BDW
A80			No. 18 in G minor; not before 1763; = BWV Anh. 150	Template:BDW
A81	Eight fugues	031	No. 1 in C major; Berlin period	Template:BDW
A82			No. 2 in C minor; Berlin period	Template:BDW
A83			No. 3 in D major; Berlin period	Template:BDW
A84			No. 4 in D minor; Berlin period	Template:BDW
A85			No. 5 in E-flat major; Berlin period	Template:BDW
A86			No. 6 in E minor; Berlin period	Template:BDW
A87			No. 7 in B-flat major; Berlin period	Template:BDW
A88			No. 8 in F minor; Berlin period	Template:BDW
A89	Fugue in C minor	032	probably late 1740s	Template:BDW
A90	Fugue in F major	033		Template:BDW
A91	Fugue for organ in F major	036	authenticity doubted	Template:BDW
A92	Fugue for organ in G minor	037	authenticity doubted	Template:BDW
A93	Seven chorale preludes for organ	038, 1	Nun komm der Heiden Heiland; authenticity doubted	Template:BDW
A94			Christe, der du bist Tag und Licht; authenticity doubted	Template:BDW
A95			Jesu, meine Freude; authenticity doubted	Template:BDW
A96			Durch Adams Fall ist ganz verderbt; authenticity doubted	Template:BDW
A97			Wir danken dir, Herr Jesu Christ; authenticity doubted	Template:BDW
A98			Was mein Gott will; authenticity doubted	Template:BDW
A99			Wir Christenleut; authenticity doubted	Template:BDW
A100	Trio for organ	038, 2	on "Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr"; lost	Template:BDW
A101	Four chorale preludes for organ	deest	Christus, der ist mein Leben	Template:BDW
A102			Die Seele Christi heilige mich	Template:BDW
A103			Sei Lob und Ehr dem höchsten Gut	Template:BDW
A104			Nun freut euch, lieben Christen	Template:BDW
A105	Two fantasias	deest	D minor	Template:BDW
A106			G major	Template:BDW
A107	Two keyboard pieces	deest	D major	Template:BDW
A108			D minor	Template:BDW
A109	Minuet in C major with Trio in C minor	deest		Template:BDW
A110	Minuet with 13 variations in G major	deest	Berlin period	Template:BDW
Chamber music
B1	Six duets for two flutes	054	No. 1 in E minor; 1740–1745; supplement by J. S. Bach (1745)	Template:BDW
B2		059	No. 2 in G major; 1740–1745; only one with four movements	Template:BDW
B3		055	No. 3 in E-flat major; 1740–1745	Template:BDW
B4		057	No. 4 in F major; 1740–1745	Template:BDW
B5		056	No. 5 in E-flat major; Berlin period	Template:BDW
B6		058	No. 6 in F minor; Berlin period	Template:BDW
B7	Three duets for two violas	060	No. 1 in C major; Berlin period (& older material)	Template:BDW
B8		061	No. 2 in G major; Berlin period (& older material)	Template:BDW
B9		062	No. 3 in G minor; Berlin period (& older material)	Template:BDW
B10	Three sonatas for flute and continuo	051	No. 1 in F major; likely Dresden period; lost	Template:BDW
B11		052	No. 2 in A minor; likely Dresden period; lost	Template:BDW
B12		053	No. 3 in D major; likely Dresden period; lost	Template:BDW
B13	Trio in D major	047	for two flutes and continuo; c. Template:Trim (Dresden)	Template:BDW
B14	Trio in D major	048	for two flutes and continuo; c. Template:Trim (Dresden)	Template:BDW
B15	Trio in A minor	049	for two flutes and continuo; c. Template:Trim (Dresden); unfinished	Template:BDW
B16	Trio in B-flat major	050	for two violins (or flute, violin) and continuo; probably Halle period	Template:BDW
B17	Sonata in E minor for flute and continuo	deest	probably Dresden period; middle movement also in A10	Template:BDW
B18	Sonata in F major for flute and continuo	deest	probably Dresden period; movements also in A11b, A2a and A11d	Template:BDW
B‑Inc.19	Trio in B major	unsicher	for violin and harpsichord; authorship unlikely	Template:BDW
Orchestral works
C1	Sinfonia in C major	063	likely before 1740	Template:BDW
C2	Sinfonia in F major	067	likely before 1740; Minuet also in A50a–b, A2b and A11c	Template:BDW
C3	Sinfonia in G major	068	likely before 1740	Template:BDW
C4	Sinfonia in G major	069	likely before 1740	Template:BDW
C5	Sinfonia in B-flat major	071	likely before 1740	Template:BDW
C6	Sinfonia in A major	070	likely before 1740; fragment	Template:BDW
C7	Sinfonia in D minor	065	likely for liturgical use, written in Dresden around or after 1740	Template:BDW
C8	Sinfonia in D major	064	c. Template:Trim (Halle); used as overture to F13 (and to G1, BWV 205a?)	Template:BDW
C9	Harpsichord Concerto in D major	041	two versions: likely c. Template:Trim (Dresden), and copy from c. Template:Trim	Template:BDW
C10	Harpsichord Concerto in E-flat major	042	unfinished; reused in F14	Template:BDW
C11	Concerto for two harpsichords	046	in E-flat major; likely c. Template:Trim	Template:BDW
C12	Harpsichord Concerto in E minor	043	probably around 1767	Template:BDW
C13	Harpsichord Concerto in F major	044	probably around 1740	Template:BDW
C14	Harpsichord Concerto in A minor	045	before 1740	Template:BDW
C15	Concerto for flute and orchestra in D major	unecht	probably made in Berlin after 1775	Template:BDW
C‑Inc.16	Sinfonia in D major	deest	authenticity doubtful; 1730s?	Template:BDW
C17	Harpsichord Concerto in G minor	unsicher	by C. P. E. Bach?; probably late Dresden period	Template:BDW
Liturgical works
E1	Kyrie–Gloria Mass in G minor	100	Gloria in German; early Halle period; = BWV Anh. 168	Template:BDW
E2	Kyrie–Gloria Mass in D minor	098	partially in German	Template:BDW
E3	Heilig ist Gott, der Herr Zebaoth	078a	chorus; probably c. Template:Trim; adapted to F24	Template:BDW
E4	Agnus Dei in D minor	098b	parody of E2, movement 5	Template:BDW
E5	Amen and Alleluja	099	chorus; parody of E2, movement 5; probably Halle period	Template:BDW
E6			chorus; parody of F6, movement 1b; probably Halle period	Template:BDW
Sacred cantatas
F1		080	cantata for 1st Sunday of Advent (30 November 1749)	Template:BDW
F2		092	cantata for 1st Christmas Day; c. Template:Trim?; mvt. 6 = F11, mvt. 6	Template:BDW
F3		093	cantata for 1st Christmas Day; probably after 1755; variant: F15	Template:BDW
F4		Add. 250	cantata for 1st Christmas Day; c. Template:Trim?	Template:BDW
F5		073	cantata for New Year/Circumcision; probably c. Template:Trim or earlier	Template:BDW
F6		074	cantata for 2nd Sunday of Epiphany; parody of F8	Template:BDW
F7		082	cantata for 6th Sunday of Epiphany (12 Feb 1764?); ↔ F6, F17, E6	Template:BDW
F8	Cantata	074a	cantata for Palm Sunday; lost; adapted to F6	Template:BDW
F9		083	cantata for 1st Easter Day	Template:BDW
F10		075	cantata for Ascension Day	Template:BDW
F11		091	cantata for Ascension Day	Template:BDW
F12		072	cantata for 1st Day of Pentecost	Template:BDW
F13		085	cantata for 1st Day of Pentecost	Template:BDW
F14		088	cantata for 1st Day of Pentecost	Template:BDW
F15		093	cantata for 1st Day of Pentecost; parody of F3	Template:BDW
F16		089	cantata for St. John's Day (24 June)	Template:BDW
F17		081	cantata for Visitation (2 July)	Template:BDW
F18		096	cantata for 10th Sunday after Trinity	Template:BDW
F19		076	cantata for unknown purpose	Template:BDW
F20	Introduction to a catechism sermon	077	pasticcio, partially based on BWV 170/1 and 147.1/1	Template:BDW
F21		086	cantata for leave-taking of pastor Herrnschmidt (3 October 1756)	Template:BDW
F22		087	cantata for 7th Sunday after Trinity (24 Juli 1757)	Template:BDW
F23		095	cantata for the end of the Seven Years' War (1762 or 1763)	Template:BDW
F24		078b	chorus; after c. Template:Trim; parody of E3	Template:BDW
F25		084	chorus; likely 1755	Template:BDW
F26	Der Trost gehöret nur für Kinder	089/3	aria; after F16, mvt. 3	Template:BDW
F27	Zerbrecht, zerreist, ihr schnöden Banden	094	song	Template:BDW
F28	Laß dein Wehen in mir spielen	096/4	song; after F18, mvt. 4	Template:BDW
F29	aria "... Gnaden ein, ..."	079	fragment	Template:BDW
F30		095	cantata for unknown purpose; after F23	Template:BDW
Secular Cantata and Opera
G1		090	cantata for Frederick II's birthday (24 January 1758); mostly parody	Template:BDW
G2		106	opera; c. Template:Trim; lost (likely unfinished)	Template:BDW
Song
H1		097	; wedding; after 1774; reuses keyboard music	Template:BDW
Miscellaneous works
I1	Canons and contrapuntal studies	039	by W. F. and J. S. Bach; c. Template:Trim	Template:BDW
I2	Four Triple Canons for 6 voices	deest	published by J. P. Kirnberger in 1777 ( II/2)	Template:BDW
I3				Template:BDW
I4				Template:BDW
I5				Template:BDW
I6	Fugal exposition for organ in C major	035	1771	Template:BDW
I7	Fugue exposition on B-A-C-H for organ	deest	1773	Template:BDW
I8		deest	Music theory (Treatise on the harmonic triad); 1750s; lost	Template:BDW
I9	Rechtmäßige Vertheidigung	deest	Defense against Template:Ill; 1750	Template:BDW
Doubtful and spurious works
YA21	Arioso con Variazioni in G minor		for keyboard; doubtful	Template:BDW
YA149	Three fugues for organ	Add. 211	No. 1 in C minor; doubtful	Template:BDW
YA150			No. 2 in B-flat major; doubtful	Template:BDW
YA151			No. 2 in A minor; doubtful	Template:BDW
YB1	Trio in G major	unecht	for two traversos and viola; also attributed to W. F. E. Bach	Template:BDW
YB2	Trio in C major	unecht	for two traversos and continuo; also attributed to W. F. E. Bach	Template:BDW
YB3	Sonata or Trio in F major	unsicher	for flute/violin and harpsichord/continuo; attr. to several Bachs	Template:BDW
YB5	Sextet in E-flat major		for winds and strings; also attributed to W. F. E. Bach	Template:BDW
YB6	Sonata in E-flat major		for violin and harpsichord; doubtful	Template:BDW
YC1	Harpsichord Concerto in C minor	unecht	attributed to C. Schaffrath	Template:BDW

More lost, doubtful and spurious works

• Fk. 34 – Fugue in B-flat major: not by any Bach family member
• Fk. 66 – Sinfonia in D minor: spurious
• Fk. 101–105 – lost cantatas
• Orchestral Suite in G Minor, BWV 1070 (possibly spurious)
• Scherzo in D minor, BWV 844, attributed to both W. F. and J. S. Bach.

Reception

Use by later composers

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's set of six Preludes and Fugues for string trio, K. 404a, contains five fugues transcribed from The Well-Tempered Clavier by Johann Sebastian Bach while the sixth fugue in F minor, is a transcription of one of the Eight Fugues (Falck 31) of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. The preludes in K. 404a are Mozart's own,Template:Efn except for 4 (from BWV 527) and 5 (second movement from BWV 526).

Film

Friedemann Bach is a 1941 German historical drama film directed by Traugott Müller and starring Gustaf Gründgens, Leny Marenbach and Johannes Riemann. The film depicts the life of Johann Sebastian Bach's son Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. It is based on Albert Emil Brachvogel's novel Friedemann Bach. Wilhelm Friedemann Bach is shown as a gifted son trying to escape his father's shadow.

Sources

• Applegate, Celia, Bach in Berlin: Nation and Culture in Mendelssohn's Revival of the St. Mathew Passion, Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London, 2005, Template:ISBN
• The New Grove Dictionary served as a source for revision.
• Schulenberg, David: entry on Wilhelm Friedemann Bach in The Oxford Composer Companion: J.S.Bach (ed. Malcolm Boyd, 1999: Template:ISBN)
• The harpsichord concertos of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
• Template:Cite CEM

Further reading

• Borysenko, Elena. The Cantatas of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. Thesis (Ph.D.) Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, 1981. In 2 volumes. ("Vol. II ... consists primarily of selected movements from the cantatas of W.F. Bach, followed by translations of the texts of these movements and a critical commentary.")
• Falck, Martin. Wilhelm Friedemann Bach; Sein Leben und seine Werke, mit thematischem Verzeichnis seiner Kompositionen und zwei Bildern. Leipzig: C. F. Kahnt, 1919.
• Helm, Eugene. "Wilhelm Friedemann Bach", in Christoph Wolff et al., The New Grove Bach Family. NY: Norton, 1983 (Template:ISBN), pp. 238–50.
• Kahmann, Ulrich. Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. Der unterschätzte Sohn. Bielefeld: Aisthesis, 2010.
• WF Bach – the neglected son Biography, major works and recommended recordings. Gramophone, April 2010
• Schulenberg, David. The Music of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 2010.
• Daniel Hensel: Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. Epigone oder Originalgenie, verquere Erscheinung oder großer Komponist?; Stuttgart: ibidem, April 2011, Template:ISBN

External links

• Free scores by Wilhelm Friedemann Bach at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
• Concertos, harpsichords (2), orchestra, F. 46, E♭ major, arranged for two pianos (from the Sibley Music Library Digital Score Collection)