Sonata in E minor for flute and basso continuo by J. S. Bach (BWV 1034) is a

sonata In music a sonata (; pl. ''sonate'') literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cantare'', "to sing"), a piece ''sung''. The term evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms until th ...

in four movements: * ''Adagio ma non tanto'' * ''Allegro'' * ''Andante'' * ''Allegro'' The

basso continuo Basso continuo parts, almost universal in the Baroque era (1600–1750), provided the harmonic structure of the music by supplying a bassline and a chord progression. The phrase is often shortened to continuo, and the instrumentalists playing th ...

can be provided by a variety of instruments. For example, in complete Bach recordings, Stephen Preston on

Brilliant Classics Brilliant Classics is a classical music label based in the Dutch town of Leeuwarden. It is renowned for releasing super-budget-priced editions on CD of the complete works of J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and many other composers. The label also s ...

(originally recorded by CRD UK) is accompanied by harpsichord and viola da gamba while on Hänssler Classic

Jean-Claude Gérard Jean-Claude Gérard, a flutist born in Angers, he studied with Gaston Crunelle and Marcel Moyse at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris. He won several international competitions and began his career in Paris, playing wit ...

is accompanied by piano and bassoon. The piece is largely believed to have been written during Bach's

Köthen Köthen () is a town in Germany. It is the capital of the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt, about north of Halle. Köthen is the location of the main campus and the administrative centre of the regional university, Anhalt Univers ...

period (1717–23), when he was employed as ''

Kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...

'' for

Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen (29 November 1694 – 19 November 1728) was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Köthen. Today, he is best remembered for employing Johann Sebastian Bach as his Kapellmeister ...

. However, there is some evidence that this may have been written slightly later, after Bach's move to

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

."Piece details"
Los Angeles Philharmonic

References

External links

Flute Sonata in E minor, BWV 1034
performance by the

Netherlands Bach Society The Netherlands Bach Society () is the oldest ensemble for Baroque music in the Netherlands, and possibly in the world. The ensemble was founded in 1921 in Naarden to perform Bach's ''St Matthew Passion'' on Good Friday and has performed the work ...

(video and background information) * Flute sonatas by Johann Sebastian Bach Compositions in E minor {{chamber-composition-stub