Concerto for Two Harpsichords in C minor, BWV 1060 [composer's arrangement of a lost Concerto for Violin and Oboe]: String Orchestra, Solo Keyboard with Ensemble, Keyboard 2

This concerto offers string orchestras an opportunity to explore Bach's chamber music idiom with the added textural richness of two harpsichords. The work balances solo keyboard writing with ensemble textures, giving harpsichordists meaningful material while maintaining the clarity that defines Bach's counterpoint. The gently-flowing Adagio alone justifies programming this piece; it sits comfortably alongside other Baroque concertos yet stands apart for its particular voice-leading elegance.

The music unfolds with transparent elegance, the two harpsichords weaving around and through the string textures like dancers in a courtly exchange. There is no virtuosic display here; instead, Bach guides the ear through clean contrapuntal writing that reveals its craft without demanding it be noticed. The result feels both intimate and formally satisfying, as if overhearing a conversation between instruments that know each other well.

String orchestras with access to two capable harpsichordists or fortepiano players who can handle both solo and continuo responsibilities. This piece suits advanced high school orchestras, college ensembles, and community orchestras looking to add Baroque chamber music of genuine musical substance to their repertoire. It works equally well for directors seeking an alternative to the well-worn double violin concerto.

• Balance the two harpsichord lines carefully in rehearsal. Each harpsichord carries independent contrapuntal material, so clarity between them matters more than volume matching the full string section.
• Allow the string orchestra to settle into a dance-like pulse rather than pushing for a metronomic steady beat. Baroque phrasing benefits from gentle, organic give-and-take across phrase boundaries.
• Work the string parts sectionally to ensure inner voices support rather than obscure the harpsichord soloists. The violas and second violins often carry essential harmonic or motivic ideas that shouldn't disappear.

Pair this with other Bach instrumental works (the Brandenburg Concertos, other harpsichord concertos) to build a Baroque program with strong keyboard focus. It also sits well in a concert mixing Baroque and early Classical concertos, where its harmonic language and orchestration can provide context for what came after. Consider programming it as the centerpiece of a concert devoted to Bach's Köthen years, alongside sonatas and partitas.

• Playing Baroque counterpoint with clarity and independence (harpsichord soloists)
• Balancing solo keyboard parts against ensemble textures (all players)
• Executing ornamentation and phrasing appropriate to early 18th-century style (strings)
• Maintaining transparent voice-leading in four or more independent lines (strings and continuo)
• Coordinating keyboard realization with string ensemble during ritornello and solo sections (harpsichordists)