please explain BMV?

[Jimmy the kid]

Hello, i have just recently started listening to music by
celloists...that is music made up primarily of the cello..

'Bach's Cello Suites' has lots of different short tunes. I am listening
to Pablo Casals version. I don't know a whole lot about this type of
music, but I was wondering what the titles mean. Is it possible to
understand without being a musician?

eg:

Suite No 5 in C Minor, BMV 1011.

What does a suite mean? I assume C minor has something to do with the
string adjustments?? What about BMV as well. Can you explain this
please. Is it a historical thing to name music this way?

[j***@yahoo.com]

Post by Jimmy the kid
Hello, i have just recently started listening to music by
celloists...that is music made up primarily of the cello..
'Bach's Cello Suites' has lots of different short tunes. I am listening
to Pablo Casals version. I don't know a whole lot about this type of
music, but I was wondering what the titles mean. Is it possible to
understand without being a musician?
Suite No 5 in C Minor, BMV 1011.
What does a suite mean? I assume C minor has something to do with the
string adjustments?? What about BMV as well. Can you explain this
please. Is it a historical thing to name music this way?

A suite is a collection of several different musical pieces. They are
often referred to as "dance forms". For example the Allemande was a
French dance. However, the Allemandes which Bach wrote were more
formalized compositions rather than dance music.

The BWV are merely numbers assigned to Bach compositions like the Dewey
decimal system is used to categorize books. Usually composer's
compositions get Opus numbers. A composer's first composition is
called Opus 1 and then are sequenced numericall after that. However,
we don't know the order of Bach's compostions. Consequently, Schmeider
assigned number arbitrarily.

Jimmy Boy

[Thomas Wood]

Hello, i have just recently started listening to music by celloists...that
is music made up primarily of the cello..
'Bach's Cello Suites' has lots of different short tunes. I am listening to
Pablo Casals version. I don't know a whole lot about this type of music,
but I was wondering what the titles mean. Is it possible to understand
without being a musician?
Suite No 5 in C Minor, BMV 1011.
What does a suite mean? I assume C minor has something to do with the
string adjustments?? What about BMV as well. Can you explain this please.
Is it a historical thing to name music this way?

BWV = Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis -- a catalog of Bach's works. This is similar
to the Koechel (K.) catalog for Mozart's works, or the Deutsch (D.) catalog
for Schubert's works. Such numbers are used for composers whose works
weren't for the most part published in their own lifetimes -- published
works are typically designated with Opus numbers.

Wolfgang Schmieder (1901-1990) devised the BWV numbers, and his catalog was
first published in 1950. He grouped Bach's works in catagories rather than
by chronology, because the dates of many pieces are unclear (although most
of the cantatas have now been dated with reasonable certainty). For the
cantatas, he followed the sequence set by the Bach-Gesellschaft
Edition published 1850-1899 -- which was completely arbitrary.

Tom Wood

[Weird Beard]

Post by Jimmy the kid
Suite No 5 in C Minor, BMV 1011.
What does a suite mean? I assume C minor has something to do with the
string adjustments?? What about BMV as well. Can you explain this
please. Is it a historical thing to name music this way?

Since no one has yet addressed C minor, it means that the piece is built
(mostly) on a scale consisting of C D Eb F G Ab Bb C

[Lawrence]

Post by Weird Beard

Post by Jimmy the kid
Suite No 5 in C Minor, BMV 1011.
What does a suite mean? I assume C minor has something to do with the
string adjustments?? What about BMV as well. Can you explain this
please. Is it a historical thing to name music this way?

Since no one has yet addressed C minor, it means that the piece is built
(mostly) on a scale consisting of C D Eb F G Ab Bb C
--
"It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that certain je-ne-sais-quoi."
Peter Schickele

Also no one has yet mentioned that a suite is often based on a single
musical theme - a short melodic idea - which is stated and then varied
throughout the different dance-based movements. This gives a
demonstration of the composer's skill and inspiration in creating many
variants on the original theme. Sometimes, though not always, the
original theme will itself be based on the scale of the major or minor
key that it is in.

[Bullwinkle]

Post by Lawrence

Post by Weird Beard

Post by Jimmy the kid
Suite No 5 in C Minor, BMV 1011.
What does a suite mean? I assume C minor has something to do with the
string adjustments?? What about BMV as well. Can you explain this
please. Is it a historical thing to name music this way?

Since no one has yet addressed C minor, it means that the piece is built
(mostly) on a scale consisting of C D Eb F G Ab Bb C
--
"It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that certain je-ne-sais-quoi."
Peter Schickele

Also no one has yet mentioned that a suite is often based on a single
musical theme - a short melodic idea - which is stated and then varied
throughout the different dance-based movements. This gives a
demonstration of the composer's skill and inspiration in creating many
variants on the original theme. Sometimes, though not always, the
original theme will itself be based on the scale of the major or minor
key that it is in.

Bravo. Well said.

BMV is a cataloging system used in J.S. Bach's opuses. They list an
publication order from 1 to the final opus.

I don't know the exact breakdown of the abbreviation. I'm sure someone will
have the answer to that.

Hope these 3 replies help you.

Regards,

[John Briggs]

Post by Bullwinkle

Post by Lawrence

Post by Weird Beard

Post by Jimmy the kid
Suite No 5 in C Minor, BMV 1011.
What does a suite mean? I assume C minor has something to do with
the string adjustments?? What about BMV as well. Can you explain
this please. Is it a historical thing to name music this way?

Since no one has yet addressed C minor, it means that the piece is
built (mostly) on a scale consisting of C D Eb F G Ab Bb C
--
"It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that certain
je-ne-sais-quoi." Peter Schickele

Also no one has yet mentioned that a suite is often based on a single
musical theme - a short melodic idea - which is stated and then
varied throughout the different dance-based movements. This gives a
demonstration of the composer's skill and inspiration in creating
many variants on the original theme. Sometimes, though not always,
the original theme will itself be based on the scale of the major or
minor key that it is in.

Bravo. Well said.
BMV is a cataloging system used in J.S. Bach's opuses. They list an
publication order from 1 to the final opus.
I don't know the exact breakdown of the abbreviation. I'm sure
someone will have the answer to that.

BWV, peut-être? Or were you thinking of BMW? You might wish to reconsider
"They list an publication order from 1 to the final opus."

[Ben Crick]

Post by Bullwinkle
BMV is a cataloging system used in J.S. Bach's opuses. They list an
publication order from 1 to the final opus.
I don't know the exact breakdown of the abbreviation. I'm sure someone
will have the answer to that.

Erm, it's BWV not BMV. Bach Werke Verzeichnis aka Index of Bach's
Works. It was compiled by Wolfgang Schmieder in 1950. Compare the
Köchel Verzeichnis of Mozart's works (the "K Numbers").

The works are not actually listed in any particular order. Blocks
of BWV numbers were assigned arbitrarily to various categories:

Sacred and Secular Cantatas BWV 1 to 222
Large Choral works BWV 225 to 248
Chorales and sacred songs BWV 250 to 524
Organ works BWV 525 to 748
Other Keyboard works BWV 772 to 994
Lute music BWV 995 to 1000
Chamber music BWV 1001 to 1040
Orchestral music BWV 1040 to 1071
Canons and Contrapuntal works BWV 1072 to 1080
Recently discovered works BWV 1081 to 1120
(e.g. the Neumeister Sammlung of Chorale Preludes BWV 1090 to 1120,
including the previously-catalogued BWV 714, 719, 742, and 957).

Also there are three Anhänge or Appendices:

Fragmentary and Lost works Anhang 1 to 23
Doubtful works Anhang 24 to 155
Falsely Attributed works Anhang 156 to 189

Further details at
www.unpronounceable.com/bach/catalog/index.html
www.jsbach.org

Happy New Year - Fröhliches neues Jahr!

Ben