The Partita BWV 1013, Solo pour la
flûte traversière par J.S. Bach, has survived
only in one source: BB P 968 in
the Staatsbibliothek Preußischer Kulturbesitz,
Berlin. This is a manuscript
copy made by two anonymous copyists,
probably in the 1720s. J.S. Bach is expressly
named as the composer. Since,
as far as we know, Bach only became acquainted
with the transverse flute in
Cöthen, the Partita probably originated
during his Cöthen period (1717-23),
during which he wrote a good deal of
chamber music. Admittedly, it is unknown
whether the work was originally
intended for the flute, although there is
no evidence that the work has been arranged.
Measure 10 of the Sarabande is
probably in error and should be
changed to match M 12, 10 and 42. In
M 34 of the Bourrée Angloise the final
note lacks a sixteenth-note beam, but it
is not entirely impossible that the dot
following the preceding note is errored
and the passage should be rendered in
even eightnotes. Signs enclosed in parentheses
are lacking in the source.
