Inventions and Sinfonias (Bach) facts for kids
The Inventions and Sinfonias (1720; revised 1723) are 30 pieces of keyboard music composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. They are sometimes known as the Two and Three Part Inventions. Bach arranged the two groups of pieces in order of ascending key. Each group covers the eight major and seven minor keys. Bach wrote them as exercises and study pieces for his 12 year old son, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. The 1720 versions are found in the boy's Little Keyboard Book of 1722. The invention and sinfonias are often used as preparation for two volumes of Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier.
Bach wrote in the preface to the printed edition of the Inventions and Sinfonias: "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."
(In that year, there wasn’t piano. So, J.S.Bach used harpsichord as a keyboard instrument.)
Media
All of these sinfonias are played by Randolph Hokanson.
| Key | Invention | Sinfonia | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C major |  |
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No. 1, BWV 787 |
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| C minor |  |
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No. 2, BWV 788 |
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| D major |  |
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No. 3, BWV 789 |
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| D minor |  |
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No. 4, BWV 790 |
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| E-flat major |  |
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No. 5, BWV 791 |
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| E major |  |
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No. 6, BWV 792 |
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| E minor |  |
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No. 7, BWV 793 |
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| F major |  |
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No. 8, BWV 794 |
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| F minor |  |
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No. 9, BWV 795 |
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| G major |  |
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No. 10, BWV 796 |
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| G minor |  |
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No. 11, BWV 797 |
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| A major |  |
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No. 12, BWV 798 |
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| A minor |  |
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No. 13, BWV 799 |
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| B-flat major |  |
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No. 14, BWV 800 |
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| B minor |  |
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No. 15, BWV 801 |
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| To play the Musical Instrument Digital Interface (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 Sinfonias played by Randolph Hokanson | |||
- Woodstra, Chris (Ed.) and others. 2005. Blair Johnston in All music guide to classical music. All Media Guide. ISBN: 0-87930-865-6.
See also
In Spanish: Invenciones y sinfonías, BWV 772-801 para niños
