Inventions and Sinfonias (Bach)

The Inventions and Sinfonias, BWV 772–801, also known as the Two- and Three-Part Inventions, are a collection of thirty short keyboard compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750): 15 inventions, which are two-part contrapuntal pieces, and 15 sinfonias, which are three-part contrapuntal pieces. They were originally written as musical exercises for his students.

Bach titled the collection:

Honest method, by which the amateurs of the keyboard – especially, however, those desirous of learning – are shown a clear way not only (1) to learn to play cleanly in two parts, but also, after further progress, (2) to handle three obligate parts correctly and well; and along with this not only to obtain good inventions (ideas) but to develop the same well; above all, however, to achieve a cantabile style in playing and at the same time acquire a strong foretaste of composition.

The two groups of pieces are both arranged in order of ascending key, each group covering eight major and seven minor keys.

The inventions were composed in Köthen; the sinfonias, on the other hand, were probably not finished until the beginning of the Leipzig period.

Media

Key	Invention		Sinfonia
C major	280px		280px	No. 1, BWV 787 noicon
C minor	280px		280px	No. 2, BWV 788 noicon
D major	280px		280px	No. 3, BWV 789 noicon
D minor	280px		280px	No. 4, BWV 790 noicon
E-flat major	280px		280px	No. 5, BWV 791 noicon
E major	280px		280px	No. 6, BWV 792 noicon
E minor	280px		280px	No. 7, BWV 793 noicon
F major	280px		280px	No. 8, BWV 794 noicon
F minor	280px		280px	No. 9, BWV 795 noicon
G major	280px		280px	No. 10, BWV 796 noicon
G minor	280px		280px	No. 11, BWV 797 noicon
A major	280px		280px	No. 12, BWV 798 noicon
A minor	280px		280px	No. 13, BWV 799 noicon
B-flat major	280px		280px	No. 14, BWV 800 noicon
B minor	280px		280px	No. 15, BWV 801 noicon
	To play the MIDI files (Inventions), click their titles. For information on the MIDI files, click the speaker icon. These are computer-generated representations of Bach's music, and do not convey how a human pianist would perform them.		All Sinfonia performances above were played by Randolph Hokanson. Additionally, here is another version of Sinfonia No. 8 (BWV 794), for clarinet, violin and cello: here and, another version of Sinfonia No. 15 (BWV 801) is

External links

• Inventions, Sinfonias: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Mutopia's editions of Bach's Inventions and Sinfonias
• History and analysis of Bach's inventions
• Bach – Inventions (20px 43:26 minutes) at BBC's Discovering Music: Listening Library
• Graphical Motif Extraction of the Inventions and Sinfonias