Bach digital -

Canons, The Musical Offering, The Art of Fugue

Genre

Scoring

unknown

Date of origin, Work history

before 1747

Taken from BWV 1087/13 with minor, mainly rhythmic deviations.
The original publication from around 1747 (two passed down copies in A-Wn) has the following title: Canon triplex á 6 Voc: [followed by canon in riddle form] per J. S. Bach. Printing (engraver J. H. Schübler?) for the Mizlersche „Correspondierende Societät der musicalischen Wissenschaften“, in which annual circulars containing members' contributions were sent out; only the copy owned by M. Spieß has so far been assigned to a member with certainty (A-Wn: MS 64460).
Further sources are two dated portraits of Bach by the Leipzig painter Elias Gottlob Haußmann (pinxit 1746). They show the canon in riddle form in Bachs right hand: 1. 1746 (D-LEsm: o. Sign.); 2. 1748 (D-LEb: BS 12).

relation to other works:

is adaptation of BWV 1087

Comment

Resolution (by C. G. Schröter) in a letter from Lorenz Christoph Mizler to M. Spieß vom 29. Juni 1748 (D-Asar: Kloster Irsee, MüB 167/2), see Dok. V Nr. 569a.
Resolution by Johann Philipp Kirnberger, Berlin approx. 1760–1770 (D-Bsa: SA 3287).
Early print in: Mizler 1754 (without resolution, see below).
There are more copies and early print from 19th century (also of the portrait of Bach), see NBA VIII/1 KB S. 23.

Original sources: A-Wn MS 64460 [Originaldruck BWV 1076] [Score]
A-Wn SH J. S. Bach 99 [Originaldruck BWV 1076] [Score]
Verschollen Originaldruck BWV 1076, C. P. E. Bach [Score]
edition essential source: D-Bsa SA 3287 [unknown]
Additional sources: D-LEb BS 12 (Haußmann-Portrait J. S. Bachs 1748 mit BWV 1076) [Score]
D-LEb Go. S. 80, Faszikel 2 [Score]
D-LEsm (o. Sign.) Haußmann-Portrait J. S. Bachs 1746 (mit BWV 1076) [Score]
Verschollen BWV 1076, H. G. Nägeli [Score]

Edition

NBA VIII/1, S. 3 (Christoph Wolff, 1974) – Critical report (1976), S. 20

Literature

persistent ID: BachDigitalWork_work_00001262
Static URL: https://www.bachdigital.de/receive/BachDigitalWork_work_00001262
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Last changed: 2025-05-14 02:31:54