Sinfonias (complete), BWV 787-801 by J.S. Bach

Bach Sinfonias (complete), BWV 787-801
Composed 1720-1723 (Bach 35-38 yrs. old)
0:00 Sinfonia No. 1 in C Major, BWV 787
1:15 Sinfonia No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 788
3:14 Sinfonia No. 3 in D Major, BWV 789
4:25 Sinfonia No. 4 in D Minor, BWV 790
6:11 Sinfonia No. 5 in E-flat Major, BWV 791
8:26 Sinfonia No. 6 in E Major, BWV 792
9:42 Sinfonia No. 7 in E Minor, BWV 793
12:03 Sinfonia No. 8 in F Major, BWV 794
13:11 Sinfonia No. 9 in F Minor, BWV 795
16:13 Sinfonia No. 10 in G Major, BWV 796
17:15 Sinfonia No. 11 in G Minor, BWV 797
19:29 Sinfonia No. 12 in A Major, BWV 798
20:48 Sinfonia No. 13 in A Minor, BWV 799
22:40 Sinfonia No. 14 in B-flat Major, BWV 800
23:52 Sinfonia no. 15 in B Minor, BWV 801
Bach the Music Educator
Bach took music education seriously, both for his own children as well as for students at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig. Bach states that his goals are to provide “Straightforward Instruction”:
1) To learn to play clearly
2) To learn to play in a cantabile (singing) manner, while at the same time acquiring a knowledge of compositional technique
Many of these short compositions first appeared in an instructional notebook compiled for his second child (eldest son), Wilhelm Friedemann. They were organized according to compositional considerations, not necessarily keyboard technical difficulty. The notebook starts in 1720, at which time Bach would have been 35 years old and living in Köthen. His son would have been 9 years old.
I highly recommend memorizing all of these short gems. Committing them to memory will further internalize the understanding and appreciation of the musical and structural elements. I also recommend listening to Bach’s vocal works, particularly the Cantatas, to develop a sense of vocal style (cantabile) that Bach refers to in his goals.