Bach “Arioso” from Cantata BWV 156: For Cello and Simple Accompaniment

This divine aria is the opening number of Bach’s early Cantata “I Stand With One Foot In The Grave” BWV 156. This aria (actually titled “Sinfonia”) is scored for oboe and strings, but he reuses the same piece many years later as the slow movement of his Keyboard Concerto in F Minor BWV 1056, where it is the keyboard that plays the (more ornamented) melody. It is offered here in a version for cello and simple accompaniment (keyboard/guitar/harp).

The cellofun version uses as its sources Bach’s two original versions but also the Sam Franko and Merle Isaac transcriptions for violin. We have tried to make a synthesis (take the best from) of all of these versions.

1.  Cello Part: EDITED
2.       Cello Part: CLEAN
3.      Accompaniment Score (Piano)

1. Engraving Files (XML)

Here is a play-along audio accompaniment with a one-bar introduction:

And here is a home recording of the cello part with the above accompaniment: