J. S. Bach is arguably the most celebrated composer of the Baroque era, perhaps even of all time. Nearly a decade ago, I embarked on a long-term project: to transcribe Bach’s violin and keyboard concertos for cello. My goal was to create arrangements that remain authentic to Baroque performance practice. Specifically, in the tutti sections, the cello assumes its proper role within the basso continuo, rather than doubling the first violin line, a modern tendency among some cellists that I chose to avoid.

The orchestral parts have been preserved as closely as possible to the originals. To date, this project contains transcriptions of the following concertos: BWV 1041/1058, 1042/1054, 1053, 1055, and 1056. I have also arranged the Triple Violin Concerto, BWV 1064, for three cellos. In this version, I used straightforward octave transpositions for the solo parts, maintaining the tutti passages intact due to the work’s concerto grosso character.

Looking ahead, I plan to create transcriptions of BWV 1052, the third viola da gamba sonata (BWV 1029), and the Italian Concerto, all in this historically informed style. In addition to these orchestral transcriptions, I’ve also explored a sonata-style approach. For example, I’ve reimagined the Concerto for Two Keyboards, BWV 1060, as a sonata for cello (or viola) and keyboard, modeled after Bach’s sonatas for keyboard with violin and viola da gamba. I hope to produce a similar treatment of the beloved Double Violin Concerto (BWV 1043).

I'm particularly pleased with how the BWV 1060 arrangement turned out, and I look forward to sharing more from this evolving project.

Below, you will find the links to the completed concertos in this project.

Violin/Keyboard Concerto in A (G) minor, BWV 1041/1058

This arrangement was transposed to G minor, using the key of the keyboard version of the concerto, BWV 1058.

Violin/Keyboard Concerto in E (D) major, BWV 1042/1054

Bach himself transcribed this work for keyboard in D major (BWV 1054). Our arrangement is D major.

Keyboard Concerto in E major, BWV 1053

Overall, this work is one of Bach's more harmonically adventuresome pieces, especially the slow movement. This cello version, transposed to D major, is based on the oboe version reconstruction from the Cantatas BWV 169 (movements 1 and 2) and 49 (movement 3).

Keyboard Concerto in A major, BWV 1055

The slow movement is based on a basso lamento.

Keyboard/Violin Concerto in F (G) minor, BWV 1056

It has been transposed to G minor for ease of playing. G minor is the key of the purported violin concerto. The slow movement is the same as the famous Arioso (aka Sinfonia) from Cantata No. 156.

Sonata after Concerto in C minor, BWV 1060

This arrangement of the concerto for two harpsichords, BWV 1060, was made in the spirit of the viola da gamba sonatas. This set includes a keyboard score, a cello part, and a viola part (same as the cello part but in alto clef).

Triple Concerto, BWV 1064 (orchestra version; piano version)

The orchestra version contains the string parts, and the piano version includes a piano reduction.