J S Bach: Orchestral Suite No 3 in D major, BWV 1068

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This work is best known for the second movement, Air, which was arranged later into Air on a G-string. However the whole thing is lovely.

Bach (1685-1750) wrote it in around 1730. In the original score, Bach wrote the first violin and continuo parts, his son C P E Bach wrote out the trumpet, oboe, and timpani parts, and J S Bach’s student Johann Ludwig Krebs wrote out the second violin and viola parts. This has led some musicologists to conclude that it was first written as a string piece with the other parts added later. So here are both versions. First the full orchestra (which I prefer):

And the strings-only version:

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