The ''Capriccio on the departure of a beloved brother'' (Italian: ''Capriccio sopra la lontananza del suo fratello dilettissimo''),

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 ...

992, is an early work 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 ...

, possibly modeled on the Biblical Sonatas of

Johann Kuhnau Johann Kuhnau (; 6 April 16605 June 1722) was a German polymath, known primarily as a composer today. He was also active as a novelist, translator, lawyer, and music theorist, and was able to combine these activities with his duties in his offici ...

. The story that Bach performed it at age nineteen when his brother Johann Jacob left to become an

oboist An oboist (formerly hautboist) is a musician who plays the oboe or any oboe family instrument, including the oboe d'amore, cor anglais or English horn, bass oboe and piccolo oboe or oboe musette. The following is a list of notable past and pres ...

in the army of Charles XII in Sweden is questionable.The New Bach Reader: a Life of Johann Sebastian Bach in Letters and Documents, 2nd ed., edited by Hans T. David and Arthur Mendel, revised and enlarged by Christoph Wolff (New York: W.W. Norton, 1998), p. 42. But the chosen tonality of B-flat major seems to be a deliberate reference to the family's name ("B" in German is B-flat in English).

Structure

# Arioso: Adagio – 'Friends Gather & Try to Dissuade Him from departing' # (Andante) – 'They Picture the Dangers Which May Befall Him' # Adagiosissimo (or Adagissimo) – 'The Friends' Lament' # (Andante con moto) – 'Since He Cannot Be Dissuaded, They Say Farewell' # Allegro poco – 'Aria of the Postilion' (''Aria di postiglione'') # 'Fugue in Imitation of the Postilion's Horn' (''Fuga all'imitazione della cornetta di postiglione'')

References

{{Authority control Compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach Compositions for harpsichord Compositions for solo piano