View source for Orchestral Suite in G minor, BWV 1070

{{short description|Classical music work by an unknown composer}}
The '''Orchestral Suite in G minor, BWV 1070''' is a work by an unknown composer. It is part of the [[Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis]] catalogue (BWV catalogue) of the works of [[Johann Sebastian Bach]], and sometimes called the "Orchestral Suite No. 5", but was almost certainly not composed by him. It is more likely that the composer was his son [[Wilhelm Friedemann Bach]]. It is a French suite with an overture and several dances, which has a similar structure to the [[Orchestral suites (Bach)|4 orchestral suites known to have been written by J. S. Bach]]. Evidence for its not being by the older composer includes the form of the opening movement, which differs from that used in the suites known to be by him, and the fact that the third movement is in a different key to the rest of the work, whereas J. S. Bach's suites are [[homotonal]].
==History==
Modern publications of the suite derive from a collection of manuscript parts prepared by [[Christian Friedrich Penzel]], one of J. S. Bach's last pupils, in 1753. The suite was first published by the [[Bach Gesellschaft]] in 1897, in volume 45 of their publication of J. S. Bach's complete works. In 1950, [[Wolfgang Schmieder]] assigned to the suite the number 1070 in the [[Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis]] (BWV) catalogue.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Schulenberg|first1=David|title=An Enigmatic Legacy: Two Instrumental Works Attributed to Wilhelm Friedemann Bach|journal=Bach|date=2010|volume=41|issue=2|page=46}}</ref>
==Identity of the composer==
Despite the inclusion of the suite in the BWV catalogue, the suite's composer is not known. The British musicologist [[Nicholas Kenyon]] writes that the suite is "certainly not by [[J. S. Bach]]", and that it is "likely to be by an unknown composer or possibly [[W. F. Bach]]".<ref>{{cite book|title=The Faber Pocket Guide to Bach|date=2011|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=978-0571272006|page=352}}</ref> The American musicologist David Schulenberg, who published a detailed study of the suite in 2010, also considers that W. F. Bach is "the most likely candidate" among the suite's possible composers, citing Wilhelm Friedemann's close relationship with Penzel, the copyist, and stylistic similarities between the suite and Wilhelm Friedemann's other compositions.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Schulenberg|first1=David|title=An Enigmatic Legacy: Two Instrumental Works Attributed to Wilhelm Friedemann Bach|journal=Bach|date=2010|volume=41|issue=2|page=54}}</ref>
==Instrumentation==
This suite is scored for [[string instrument|strings]] and [[basso continuo]].
==Structure==
This suite consists of five movements.
#Larghetto - Un poco allegro ([[G minor]], prelude and double fugue)
#[[Torneo]] ([[G minor]], [[binary form]])
#[[Aria]] (Adagio) ([[E-flat major]], binary form with possible allusions to sonata form)
#[[Minuet|Menuetto]] alternativo - [[Ternary form|Trio]] ([[G minor]], minuet and trio form, trio in [[G major]])
#[[Capriccio (music)|Capriccio]] ([[G minor]], double fugue)
==See also==
*[[Orchestral Suites (Bach)|J. S. Bach: Orchestral Suites Nos. 1-4, BWV 1066-1069]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* {{IMSLP2|work=Overture in G minor, BWV 1070 (Bach, Johann Sebastian)|cname=Orchestral Suite in G minor, BWV 1070}}
{{Bach violin concertos}}
[[Category:Bach: spurious and doubtful works]]
[[Category:Orchestral suites|BWV 1070]]