J.S. Bach

Arias - Opening Ritornelli

In the course of one of my page-flipping tours of the cantatas, I realized that a lot of the instrumental introductions are not only beautiful but also eminently singable (at least by yours truly, or by a more advanced student). Naturally, the sources are mainly those arias with a single obbligato instrument, although in a few cases I couldn’t resist a three-voice texture. In all, there are 142 of these little masterpieces of melodic and harmonic invention, collected and edited by me, and offered here for the delection of my fellow musicians, especially the Holy Horde of Bach-ites. The last seven are trios. To give you an idea of the range and difficulty of these pieces, here is the opening violin ritornello for Cantata 108, 2nd mov't, mov’t 2 (difficult!), and Cantata 18, 4th mov't (not as difficult!). Well, it’s not for your average singer, that’s true, but if you’re into the challenge, you’ve certainly come to the right place.