In yesterday’s post, I mentioned Bach’s use of the gigue dance form in many of his works. Another fine example is the final movement of the Sonata for Two Violins and Keyboard in C Major, BWV 1037.
When Breitkopf & Härtel published the trio sonata in 1761, it was attributed to Johann Gottlieb Goldberg (yes, that Goldberg). Three years later, however, it was reissued as a work by J.S. Bach. Nearly two centuries later, in 1953, a noted scholar found the work to be (conclusively?) that of Goldberg.
It doesn’t matter to me to whom the work is attributed. Bach/Goldberg ends this church sonata with a gigue (a folk dance)! This frolicking dance is in joyous contrast to the earlier movements. The clever emphasis on the nonexistent downbeat causes me to believe this is, in fact, a work by Bach.
Enjoy listening to this lively rendition by the London Baroque under the direction of Charles Medlam.