The Inventions and Sinfonias, BWV 772-801, also known as the Two and Three Part Inventions, are a collection of thirty short keyboard compositions composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, consisting of fifteen inventions (two-part fugues) and fifteen sinfonias (three-part fugues). They were originally written by Bach as exercises for the musical education of his students. It was given a title by Bach: "A faithful Guide, whereby admirers of the harpsichord are shown a plain Method of learning not only to play clean in two Parts, but likewise in further Progress to manage three obbligato Parts well and correctly, and at the same time not merely how to get good Inventions, but also how to develop the same well; but above all, to obtain a cantabile Style of playing, and together with this to get a strong Foretaste of Composition." The two groups of pieces are both arranged in order of ascending key, each group covering fifteen major and minor keys. The sequence of keys is
- C major
- C minor
- D major
- D minor
- E-flat major
- E major
- E minor
- F major
- F minor
- G major
- G minor
- A major
- A minor
- B-flat major
- B minor
The inventions were composed in Cöthen; the sinfonias, on the other hand, were probably not finished until the beginning of the Leipzig period.
Media
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Sinfonia No. 1 Image:Bach Sinfonien01.ogg Played on piano by Randolph Hokanson Sinfonia No. 2 Image:Bach Sinfonien02.ogg Played on piano by Randolph Hokanson Sinfonia No. 3 Image:Bach Sinfonien03.ogg Played on piano by Randolph Hokanson Sinfonia No. 4 Image:Bach Sinfonien04.ogg Played on piano by Randolph Hokanson Sinfonia No. 5 Image:Bach Sinfonien05.ogg Played on piano by Randolph Hokanson Sinfonia No. 6 Image:Bach Sinfonien06.ogg Played on piano by Randolph Hokanson Sinfonia No. 7 Image:Bach Sinfonien07.ogg Played on piano by Randolph Hokanson Sinfonia No. 8 Image:Bach Sinfonien08.ogg Played on piano by Randolph Hokanson Sinfonia No. 9 Image:Bach Sinfonien09.ogg Played on piano by Randolph Hokanson Sinfonia No. 10 Image:Bach Sinfonien10.ogg Played on piano by Randolph Hokanson Sinfonia No. 11 Image:Bach Sinfonien11.ogg Played on piano by Randolph Hokanson Sinfonia No. 12 Image:Bach Sinfonien12.ogg Played on piano by Randolph Hokanson Sinfonia No. 13 Image:Bach Sinfonien13.ogg Played on piano by Randolph Hokanson Sinfonia No. 14 Image:Bach Sinfonien14.ogg Played on piano by Randolph Hokanson Sinfonia No. 15 Image:Bach Sinfonien15.ogg Played on piano by Randolph Hokanson - Problems playing the files? See media help.
External links
- history and analysis of Bach's inventions
- overview of inventions from the Northern Arizona University Website
- Mutopia's editions of Bach's Inventions and Sinfonias
- Inventions and Sinfonias were available at the International Music Score Library Project.
