The Quodlibet or ''Wedding Quodlibet'',

BWV 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 BWV2 ...

524, is a lighthearted composition by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

which today exists only in fragmentary form. The line "In diesem Jahre haben wir zwei Sonnenfinsternissen" (In this year we have eentwo solar eclipses) places the composition of the piece in or shortly after 1707, when central Germany was witness to two such celestial events. The extant source—a fair-copy autograph manuscript on three large, folded sheets—was not discovered until 1932. The work itself is a loosely structured

quodlibet A quodlibet (; Latin for "whatever you wish" from '' quod'', "what" and '' libet'', "pleases") is a musical composition that combines several different melodies—usually popular tunes—in counterpoint, and often in a light-hearted, humorous m ...

for

SATB SATB is an initialism that describes the scoring of compositions for choirs, and also choirs (or consorts) of instruments. The initials are for the voice types: S for soprano, A for alto, T for tenor and B for bass. Choral music Four-part harm ...

and continuo. Bach likely did not write the text, which some attribute to the Leipzig poet

Johann Christoph Gottsched Johann Christoph Gottsched (2 February 1700 – 12 December 1766) was a German philosopher, author and critic of the Enlightenment. Biography Early life He was born at Juditten (Mendeleyevo) near Königsberg (Kaliningrad), Brandenburg-Pr ...

. Though the cover sheet has been lost, the libretto of the remaining portion indicates that the quodlibet was to be performed at a wedding, possibly that of the composer himself to

Maria Barbara Bach Maria Barbara Bach ( – buried 7 July 1720) was the first wife of composer Johann Sebastian Bach. She was also the daughter of his father's cousin Johann Michael Bach. Life Maria Barbara Bach was born at Gehren, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, to ...

References

*Bratz, Thomas.
BWV 524 Quodlibet (Fragment) 'Was seind das vor grosse Schlösser'
. Retrieved 19 August 2007 * Bomba, Andreas. "O ye thoughts, why torment ye my spirit". Program Notes to ''Bach: The Complete Works, Vol. 16''.

Hänssler Hänssler-Verlag is a German music publishing house founded in 1919 as Musikverlag Hänssler by Friedrich Hänssler Senior (died 1972) to publish church music. The company is now based in Holzgerlingen. Since 1972 Hänssler Verlag has also publis ...

External links

Quodlibet, BWV 524
performance by the

Netherlands Bach Society The Netherlands Bach Society ( nl, Nederlandse Bachvereniging) 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 Frid ...

(video and background information) {{authority control Compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach Choral compositions Wedding music by Johann Sebastian Bach