Bach Cello Suites are some of the most frequently performed and recognizable solo compositions ever written for cello. The suites have been transcribed for numerous instruments, including the violin, viola, double bass, viola da gamba, mandolin, piano, marimba, classical guitar, recorder, electric bass, horn, saxophone, bass clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, euphonium, tuba, ukulele,. PDF - Guitar solo (standard notation) - Classical. License: Public domain.
Free and premium sheet music by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) for classical guitar. Although Bach never specifically wrote for the classical guitar there is plenty of evidence that he regularly interacted with lute players including Sylvius Leopold Weiss. The ‘Lute Suites’ most likely written on a Lute-Harpsichord hybrid nevertheless exist in period lute tablature and it is well documented that Bach regularly rearranged his music for various instruments.
Free and Premium Editions from this site:
- Bach: Air ‘On the G String’ for Easy Guitar, Gr.4, Baroque, Notes & TAB
- Bach: Bouree from BWV 996, Gr. 6, Baroque, Free Notation or TAB
- Bach: Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, Gr.4, Baroque, Free Notation or TAB
- Bach / Petzold: Minuet in G, Anh.114, Gr.4, Baroque, Notation or TAB
- Bach: Prelude in D minor, BWV 999, Gr.7, Baroque, Free Notation or TAB
- Bach: Prelude from Cello Suite BWV 1007, Gr.7, Baroque, Editorial Free Notation or TAB
- Bach: Cello Suite No. 1 BWV 1007, Baroque, Notation, Free non-editorial edition
- Bach: Prelude in E Major, Lute Suite BWV1006a – Free Unfingered, Fingered Notation, or Tab edition.
Video of Bach on Guitar
Recommended Editions from Others (Amazon)
- Bach Lute Suites (Koonce) – Koonce – A standard, has facsimiles at the end.
- Bach Cello Suite No.1, BWV 1007 – Koonce (I-A)
- 6 Sonatas And Partitas For Violin BWV1001-1006 – Tadashi Sasaki
- 3 Sonatas for Guitar Solo – Manuel Barrueco, BWV 1001, 1003 and 1005
- Bach Cello Suites Arranged for Guitar – Stanley Yates
- Violin Sonatas and Partitas, I prefer to read off the violin score Urtext edition.
Keep in mind that:
- BWV 995 – Suite in G minor is a transcription of Cello Suite No. 5, BWV 1011
- BWV 1000 – Fugue in G minor is a transcription from Violin Sonata No. 1, BWV 1001
- BWV 1006a is a transcription from Partita No. 3 in E major BWV 1006 for solo violin
Videos Featured on the Site
- Adagio BWV 1001 by Bach – Video, Sheet Music (Stephanie Jones)
- Violin Partita II in D Minor, BWV 1004 (Suite & Chaconne) – Video, Sheet Music (Sanel Redžić)
- Prelude – Cello Suite No. 1 BWV 1007 by Bach – Video, Free Sheet Music (Ana Vidovic)
- Sarabande – Cello Suite No. 1 BWV 1007 by Bach – Video, Free Sheet Music (Ana Vidovic)
- Prelude in D minor, BWV 999 – Video, Lesson, Free Sheet Music (Uro Baric/Bradford Werner)
- Prelude, Fugue, and Allegro BWV 998 – Video, Sheet Music (Rosie Bennet)
Lute Suites Arranged by Jean-François Delcamp (delcamp.net)
Suites & Partitas – Arranged by Eythor Thorlaksson (classical-guitar-school.com)
Free Hans Bruger: J.S. Bach: Compositionen für die Laute (1921) – Copyright/Notes: Public Domain. Beware of mistakes and old-school keys! I would not recommend this edition but could still be useful.