Description
The earliest manuscript of J.S. Bach’s Harpsichord Concerto No. 1 in D minor BWV 1052 was made by his son, C.P.E. Bach in 1734. In 1738 Bach (senior) produced a definitive version – along with all eight of his harpsichord concertos. The first concerto’s origins stem from works Bach had written in the 1720s. It was previously thought it may have been first written as a violin concerto, although modern scholars now believe it to have been conceived as an organ concerto. It is scored for solo harpsichord with accompanying strings.
In the 19th century Ignaz Moscheles (Mendelssohn’s friend and teacher) produced a version of the concerto with added parts for flute, clarinets, bassoons and horns. Schumann later declared Moscheles’ version to be ‘very beautiful’. Although I have been unable to lay my hands on Moscheles’ score it is his idea that inspired me to create this arrangement of the first movement with wind quintet accompanying the solo keyboard part. I think it works very well and the different timbres of the instruments serve to define the contrapuntal lines very effectively.
