Benjamin Shute: miscellaneous resources

Recordings

Monograph

Sei Solo: Symbolum? The Theology of J. S. Bach's Solo Violin Works (Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2016).
More information can be found here.

"...one of the most rewarding books that I have read on music"—American Record Guide

Read David Stancliffe's review in the UK's Early Music Review here.

Critical editions

Critical reconstruction of J. S. Bach's lost D-minor violin concerto (BWV 1052R), available from PRB Productions. J.S. Bach's D-minor harpsichord concerto, BWV 1052, was the composer's latest arrangement of material also found in BWV 1052a and Cantatas 146 and 188. The solo instrument's range and figuration in these sources persuasively indicate they were adapted from a violin concerto that no longer survives. This edition reconstructs the lost concerto, correcting errors of previous reconstructions and presenting some new readings of source material.

Critical completion of J. S. Bach's incompletely surviving D-major sinfonia, BWV 1045, available from PRB Productions. This Sinfonia is his most lavishly scored work featuring a solo violin. Though it survives only as a fragment, clues from the surviving portion indicate the probable form of its intended conclusion. Moreover, penmanship clues in the autograph suggest the Sinfonia may likely be an adaptation of a work for strings only, for which this edition makes allowance in the form of ossias corresponding to the putative earlier material. Included is a continuo realization by Anastasia Abu Bakar informed by Bach and other contemporary German sources.

Critical edition of J. S. Bach's youthful G-minor fugue for violin and continuo, made in collaboration with Anastasia Abu Bakar, that corrects several errors in the NBA. Historical and performance-practice notes are included, as is a basso continuo realization by Anastasia (crafted for harpsichord but viable on other keyboard instruments) that is grounded in the observation that patterns of dialogue between the violin and bass line seem at times to invite the unwritten right hand of the continuo keyboard to participate in the imitative dialogue, much as one finds in the later sonatas for melody instrument and obbligato harpsichord (where, too, at times one finds obbligato and continuo practice fused together).