BWV 852

The (BWV; ; ) is a catalogue of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was first published in 1950, edited by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue's second edition appeared in 1990. An abbreviated version of that second edition, known as BWV^2a, was published in 1998.

The catalogue groups compositions by genre. Even within a genre, compositions are not necessarily collated chronologically. For example, BWV 992 was composed many years before BWV 1. BWV numbers were assigned to 1,126 compositions in the 20th century, and more have been added to the catalogue in the 21st century. The Anhang (Anh.; Annex) of the BWV lists over 200 lost, doubtful and spurious compositions.

History

The first edition of the ''Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis'' was published in 1950. It allocated a unique number to every known composition by Bach. Wolfgang Schmieder, the editor of that catalogue, grouped the compositions by genre, largely following the 19th-century Bach Gesellschaft (BG) edition for the collation (e.g., BG cantata number = BWV number of the cantata):
# Kantaten (Cantatas), BWV 1–224
# Motetten (Motets), BWV 225–231
# Messen, Messensätze, Magnificat (Masses, Mass movements, Magnificat), BWV 232–243
# Passionen, Oratorien (Passions, Oratorios), BWV 244–249
# Vierstimmige Choräle (Four-part chorales), BWV 250–438
# Lieder, Arien, Quodlibet (Songs, Arias and Quodlibet), BWV 439–524
# Werke für Orgel (Works for organ), BWV 525–771
# Werke für Klavier (Keyboard compositions), BWV 772–994
# Werke für Laute (Lute compositions), BWV 995–1000
# Kammermusik (Chamber music), BWV 1001–1040
# Orchesterwerke (Works for orchestra), BWV 1041–1071, originally in two separate chapters: Concertos (BWV 1041–1065) and Overtures (BWV 1066–1071)
# Kanons (Canons), BWV 1072–1078
# Musikalisches Opfer, Kunst der Fuge (Musical Offering, Art of the Fugue), BWV 1079–1080

The of the BWV listed works that were not suitable for the main catalogue, in three sections:
* I – lost works, or works of which only a tiny fraction had survived (Anh. 1–23)
* II – works of dubious authenticity (Anh. 24–155)
* III – works that were once attributed to Bach, but for which it had been established they were not composed by him (Anh. 156–189)

Within each section of the the works are sorted by genre, following the same sequence of genres as the main catalogue.

Schmieder published the BWV's second edition in 1990, with some modifications regarding authenticity discriminations, and more works added to the main catalogue and the . Several compositions were repositioned in the over-all structure of chapters organised by genre and sections. In 1998 Alfred Dürr and Yoshitake Kobayashi published a small edition of the catalogue, based on the 1990 second edition. This edition, known as BWV^2a, contained a few further updates and collation rearrangements.

New additions () to BWV²/BWV^2a included:
* BWV 1081–1126
* BWV Anh. 190–213

Numbers above BWV 1126 were added in the 21st century. A new revised version of the ''Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis'' has been announced by the Bach Archive for publication in 2020.

List of compositions by BWV number

The numbers assigned to compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach and by others in the ''Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis'' are widely used for the unique identification of these compositions. Exceptionally BWV numbers are also indicated as Schmieder (S) numbers (e.g. S. 225 = BWV 225).

BWV 1–1126

BWV numbers 1 to 1126 appear in the 1998 edition of the ''Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis''.
* BWV 1 – ''Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern'' (cantata)
* BWV 2 – ''Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein'' (cantata)
* BWV 3 – ''Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid'' (cantata)
* BWV 4 – ''Christ lag in Todes Banden'' (cantata):
** BWV 4.1 BWV³ number according to Bach Digital website. – early version
** BWV 4.2 – Leipzig version
* BWV 5 – ''Wo soll ich fliehen hin'' (cantata)
* BWV 6 – ''Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden'' (cantata)
* BWV 7 – ''Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam'' (cantata)
* BWV 8 – ''Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben?'' (cantata):
** BWV 8.1 – first version
** BWV 8.2 – second version
** BWV 8/6 – "Herrscher über Tod und Leben" (closing chorale)
* BWV 9 – ''Es ist das Heil uns kommen her'' (cantata)
* BWV 10 – ''Meine Seel erhebt den Herren'' (cantata)
* BWV 11 – ''Lobet Gott in seinen Reichen'' ( oratorio)
* BWV 12 – ''Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen'' (cantata)
* BWV 13 – ''Meine Seufzer, meine Tränen'' (cantata)
* BWV 14 – ''Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit'' (cantata)
* BWV 15 – ''Denn du wirst meine Seele nicht in der Hölle lassen'' (cantata)
* BWV 16 – ''Herr Gott, dich loben wir'' (cantata)
* BWV 17 – ''Wer Dank opfert, der preiset mich'' (cantata)
* BWV 18 – ''Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt'' (cantata):
** BWV 18.1 – early version
** BWV 18.2 – Leipzig version
* BWV 19 – ''Es erhub sich ein Streit'' (cantata)
*