Bach: Capriccio in B-flat major, BWV 992

Introduction

The Capriccio on the departure of a beloved brother (Italian: Capriccio sopra la lontananza del suo fratello dilettissimo), BWV 992, is an early work by Johann Sebastian Bach, possibly modeled on the Biblical Sonatas of Johann Kuhnau. The story that Bach performed it at age nineteen when his brother Johann Jacob left to become an oboist in the army of Charles XII in Sweden is questionable.

Structure

1. Arioso: Adagio — 'Friends Gather & Try to Dissuade Him…'
2. (Andante) – 'They Picture the Dangers Which May Befall Him'
3. Adagiosissimo (or Adagissimo) – 'The Friends' Lament'
4. (Andante con moto) – 'Since He Cannot Be Dissuaded, They Say Farewell'
5. Allegro pocco – 'Aria of the Postilion' (Aria di postiglione)
6. 'Fugue in Imitation of the Postilion's Horn' (Fuga all'imitazione della cornetta di postiglione)