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This is the first of the six great organ sonatas da chiesa composed by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) that I played in my recital series at the University of Massachusetts back in the 1970's. At the time, I was content to play the highest voice on the oboe and give the remaining two voices to the harpsichord. In the present version, the cor anglais carries the second voice, while the bottom part has been transformed into a fully realized continuo for organ supported by bassoon.

All three movements of this fifth Sonata in C Major are laid out as well-developed ritornello forms, the second and third being fugues. Bach omits the usual slow opening of the sonata da chiesa in this work; actually, only the fourth sonata in the set has it.

The initial movement contains an expansive ritornello. This is followed by an equally engaging episode which is interrupted twice by references to the first four bars of the ritornello. After that, the opening ritornello returns intact.

The slow fugue, set in the relative minor, includes a fascinating counter subject. There are three presentations of the fugal ritornello separated by two episodes. A surprise occurs at the end when Bach includes a recapitulation of the opening half of the first episode. The diminution and chromaticism of this movement are remarkable, as are the plethora of appoggiaturas and intricate suspensions included within it.

Although the fugue finale is constructed in ritornello form like the second movement, it contains a much more extensive recapitulation of materials. In fact, all of Episode I, Ritornello II, and Episode II return, transposed up a 4th in order that the movement will end on the tonic.  The ritornello itself is composed of three distinct sections, and when Bach utilizes the second or third for later ritornelli, it is difficult at first to realize just what is happening.

In comparison to the sonatas da chiesa by Arcangelo Corelli and Henry Purcell presented earlier in this volume, Bach's C Major sonata is architecturally very complex. Also, its harmonic rhythm is a bit slower; but, to be sure, Bach maintains the same dense harmonic vocabulary utilized by the earlier composers.