Prince Johann Ernst of Saxe-Weimar

Johann Ernst of Saxe-Weimar (25 December 1696 – 1 August 1715) was a German prince, son by his second marriage of Johann Ernst III, Duke of Saxe-Weimar. Despite his early death he is remembered as a collector and commissioner of music and as a composer, some of whose concertos were arranged for harpsichord or organ by Johann Sebastian Bach, who was court organist in Weimar at the time.

Life Johann Ernst was born in Weimar, the fourth son and sixth child of Johann Ernst III, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and second child of the Duke's second wife, Charlotte Dorothea Sophia of Hesse-Homburg. As a young child the prince took violin lessons from G.C. Eilenstein, who was a court musician.

He studied at the University of Utrecht between February 1711 and July 1713. It is thought that Johann Ernst furthered his understanding of music at this time. From Utrecht, he could visit such centres as Amsterdam and Düsseldorf and it is known that he had copies of Italian music sent back to Weimar. (Household bills for the year from 1 June following his return record the cost of copying, binding and shelving music.

On his return from university, Johann Ernst took lessons in composition with a focus on concertos from the local church organist Johann Gottfried Walther, a cousin of Bach. Walther had previously given the prince keyboard lessons and had given him his Praecepta der musicalischen Composition (Precepts of Musical Composition) as a twelfth birthday present.

As well as influencing Bach, Johann Ernst completed at least nineteen instrumental works of his own before his death at age eighteen. These works show the influence of Italian music more than that of German models such as Bach. A period of mourning was declared in Weimar from 11 August to 9 November 1715. Music was banned, including in church, resulting in an interruption in Bach's attempt to build an annual cycle of cantatas.

Following his death, six of the prince's concertos were sent to Telemann, who edited and published them in 1718. He himself had already started to have them set before his death. Telemann's own first publication, a 1715 set of six violin sonatas, had been dedicated to Johann Ernst. Eight violin concertos are extant in their original instrumentation. Bach transcribed three of these: Op. 1 Nos. 1 and 4 and the Concerto a 8 in G major. Another concerto by Johann Ernst is only known through Bach's transcriptions in C major. No original has been identified for BWV 983: it was possibly transcribed by Bach from a concerto by Johann Ernst. The model for BWV 977 is equally lost: also in this case a possible attribution of the lost original to Johann Ernst is uncertain.

Violin Concerto Op. 1 No. 1 in B-flat major Violin Concerto in B-flat major, Op. 1 No. 1, for violino principale and strings (violin I & II, viola, harpsichord): Allegro Adagio – Allegro Un Poco Presto

Printed editions: Telemann 1718; Bergmann 2013 (Vol. 1) Recordings: l'Oiseau-Lyre 1989; Thorofon 1997; cpo 2015

Adaptations: Concerto in B-flat major for unaccompanied harpsichord, BWV 982, transcribed by Johann Sebastian Bach Manuscripts: D-B Mus. ms. Bach P 280 Printed editions: Naumann 1894 (p. 135) Recordings: Thorofon 1997; cpo 2015

Violin Concerto Op. 1 No. 2 in A minor Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 1 No. 2, for violino principale and strings (violin I & II, viola, harpsichord or cello): Allegro Largo Andante

Printed editions: Telemann 1718; Hortschansky 2001; Bergmann 2013 (Vol. 1) Recordings: cpo 2015

Violin Concerto Op. 1 No. 3 in E minor Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 1 No. 3, for violino principale and strings (violin I & II, viola, harpsichord or cello): Vivace Pastorella Presto

Printed editions: Telemann 1718; Bergmann 2013 (Vol. 1) Recordings: cpo 2015

Violin Concerto Op. 1 No. 4 in D minor Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 1 No. 4, for violino principale and strings (violin I & II, viola, harpsichord or cello): Adagio – Presto – Adagio – Presto – Adagio Allegro Adagio – Vivace

Printed editions: Telemann 1718; Bergmann 2013 (Vol. 2) Recordings: cpo 2015

Adaptations: Concerto in D minor for unaccompanied harpsichord, BWV 987, transcribed by Johann Sebastian Bach Manuscripts: D-B Mus. ms. Bach P 804 (Fascicle 34) Printed editions: Naumann 1894 (p. 165) Recordings: cpo 2015

Violin Concerto Op. 1 No. 5 in E major Violin Concerto in E major, Op. 1 No. 5, for violino principale and strings (violin I & II, viola, harpsichord or cello): [without tempo indication] Siciliana Allegro

Printed editions: Telemann 1718; Bergmann 2013 (Vol. 2) Recordings: cpo 2015

Violin Concerto Op. 1 No. 6 in G minor Violin Concerto in G minor, Op. 1 No. 6, for violino principale and strings (violin I & II, viola, harpsichord or cello): Vivace Recitativo Allegro

Printed editions: Telemann 1718; Bergmann 2013 (Vol. 2) Recordings: cpo 2015

Violin Concerto a 8 in G major Violin Concerto in G major for violino principale, violin I & II obligato, violin I & II ripieno, viola, cello and harpsichord: Allegro assai Adagio Presto e staccato

Manuscripts: D-ROu Mus.Saec.XVIII:66|3|9; D-WRz Mus IVf:19 Printed editions: Hérengt & Kimura 2016 Recordings: Thorofon 1997; cpo 2015

Adaptations: Organ Concerto in G major, BWV 592, transcribed by Johann Sebastian Bach Manuscripts: D-B Mus. ms. Bach P 280; D-B Mus. ms. Bach P 400a; D-B Mus. ms. Bach P 804 (Fascicle 31); D-LEb Peters Ms. 11 Printed editions: Naumann 1891 (p. 149) Recordings: Thorofon 1997 Concerto in G major for unaccompanied harpsichord, BWV 592a, transcribed by Johann Sebastian Bach Manuscripts: D-LEm Poel. mus. Ms. 29 Printed editions: Naumann 1894 (p. 282) Recordings: cpo 2015

Violin Concerto a 6 in G major Violin Concerto in G major for violino principale, violin I & II, viola, bass and continuo, a.k.a. RV Anh. 12: Adagio Allegro Adagio Allegro

Manuscripts: D-ROu Mus.Saec.XVIII:61|7|b Printed editions: Hérengt & Kimura 2016 Recordings: cpo 2015

Original of Concerto in C major, BWV 984 and 595 Instrumentation and key of the model for BWV 984 and 595 are unknown.

Adaptations: Concerto in C major for unaccompanied harpsichord, BWV 984, transcribed by Johann Sebastian Bach: [no tempo indication] Adagio e affettoso Allegro assai Manuscripts: D-B Mus. ms. Bach P 804 (Fascicle 52); D-LEb Peters Ms. 8 (Fascicle 28); D-LEm Poel. mus. Ms. 29 Printed editions: Naumann 1894 (p. 148) Organ Concerto in C major, BWV 595, transcribed by Johann Sebastian Bach: [no tempo indication] (first movement only) Manuscripts: D-B Mus. ms. Bach P 286 Printed editions: Naumann 1891 (p. 196) Concerto in C major for 2 Violins (reconstructed from BWV 595 and 984) Recordings: Haenssler 2007

Trumpet Sonata in D major Sonata in D major for trumpet, two violins and continuo (attribution uncertain): Vivace Largo Allegro Adagio Menuet Recordings: Edel 1998; Kamprad 1999

Manuscripts D-B Mus. ms. Bach P 280 at Berlin State Library (BWV 592 and 973–982; ; D-B Mus. ms. Bach P 280 at Bach Digital website) D-B Mus. ms. Bach P 286 at Berlin State Library : Fascicle 6 (BWV 595) at Bach Digital website D-B Mus. ms. Bach P 400a at Berlin State Library (BWV 592; ; D-B Mus. ms. Bach P 400a at Bach Digital website) D-B Mus. ms. Bach P 804 at Berlin State Library : Fascicles 31 (BWV 592), 34 (BWV 987), 35 (BWV 983), 52 (BWV 984) and 56 (BWV 977) at Bach Digital website D-LEb Peters Ms. 8 at /Bach Archive: Fascicle 28 (BWV 984) at Bach Digital website D-LEb Peters Ms. 11 at /Bach Archive: (BWV 592; D-LEb Peters Ms. 11 at Bach Digital website) D-LEm Poel. mus. Ms. 29 at (BWV 592a and 983–984; D-LEm Poel. mus. Ms. 29 at Bach Digital website) D-ROu Mus.Saec.XVII:51|3|9|a at Rostock university library (Concerto for two violins in B-flat major; ) D-ROu Mus.Saec.XVII:51|4|1 at Rostock university library (Violin Concerto in D minor; ) D-ROu Mus.Saec.XVII:51|4|2 at Rostock university library (Concerto in A minor; ) D-ROu Mus.Saec.XVIII:61|7|a at Rostock university library (Violin Concerto in E minor, RV Anh. 11, attributed to Johann Ernst; ) D-ROu Mus.Saec.XVIII:61|7|b at Rostock university library (Violin Concerto a 6 in G major, RV Anh. 12, attributed to Johann Ernst; ) D-ROu Mus.Saec.XVIII:66|3|9 at Rostock university library (Violin Concerto a 8 in G major; ) D-WRz Mus IVf:19 at Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek (Violin Concerto a 8 in G major; )

Printed editions (Telemann 1718) Georg Philipp Telemann, editor. Six | CONCERTS | à | Un Violon concertant, | deux Violons, une Taille, et | Clavecin ou Basse de Viole, | de feu | SAS Monseigneur le Prince | JEAN ERNESTE | Duc de Saxe-Weimar, | Opera Ima. M. Kloss et M. Sellius, 1718 (Naumann 1891) Ernst Naumann, editor. Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe, Vol. 38: Orgelwerke, Band 3. Breitkopf & Härtel, 1891 (Naumann 1894) Ernst Naumann, editor. Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe, Vol. 42: Clavierwerke, Band 5. Breitkopf & Härtel, 1894 (Hortschansky 2001) Klaus Hortschansky, editor. Musik in der Residenzstadt Weimar. Leipzig: Hofmeister, 2001 (Bergmann 2013) Hans Bergmann, editor. Johann Ernst Prinz von Sachsen-Weimar: 6 Violinkonzerte Op. 1, Vol. 1 (Concerto I-III) and Vol. 2 (Concerto IV-VI). Offenburg, 2013 (Hérengt & Kimura 2016) Hélène Hérengt and Mihoko Kimura, editors. Johann Ernst Prinz von Sachsen-Weimar: Zwei Violinkonzerte. Offenburg, 2016

Recordings Apart from several performances of the Bach transcriptions, recordings featuring music by Johann Ernst include:

(l'Oiseau-Lyre 1989) Stanley Ritchie, violin; The Bach Ensemble; Joshua Rifkin, conductor. Violin concertos at the court of Weimar. L'Oiseau-Lyre 421 442-2, 1989 (Thorofon 1997) Simon Standage, violin; Ludger Rémy, harpsichord; Sebastian Knebel, organ; Weimar Baroque Ensemble. Weimarer Transkriptionen. Thorofon CTH2371-72, 1997 (Edel 1998) Ludwig Güttler, trumpet; Virtuosi Saxoniae; Friedrich Kircheis, harpsichord. Ludwig Güttler in Weimar. Edel, 1998. (Kamprad 1999) Felix Friedrich, Organ; Mathias Schmutzler, Trumpet. Festive concert for trumpet and organ. Altenburg: Klaus-Jürgen Kamprad publishing house, 1999 (Haenssler 2007) Freiburg Musica Poetica Ensemble; Hans Bergmann, conductor. Cantata, Concerto & Sonata. Haenssler Classic CD98.408, 2007 (cpo 2015) Anne Schumann, violin; Ensemble "Fürsten-Musik"; Sebastian Knebel, harpsichord. Johann Ernst von Sachsen-Weimar: The Complete Violin Concertos; J. S. Bach: Harpsichord Transcriptions. cpo 777 998-2, 2015

Ancestors