Air on the G String

Bach’s original#

Bach’s third Orchestral Suite in D major, composed in the first half of the 18th century, has an “Air” as second movement, following its French overture opening movement. The suite is composed for three trumpets, timpani, two oboes, strings (two violin parts and a viola part), and basso continuo. In the second movement of the suite however only the strings and the continuo play. This is the only movement of the suite where all other instruments are silent. The music of the “Air” is written on four staves, for first and second violins, viola(s), and continuo. The interweaving melody lines of the high strings contrast with the pronounced rhythmic drive in the bass.

Wilhelmj’s arrangement#

In 1871, violinist August Wilhelmj arranged the second movement of Bach’s third Orchestral Suite for violin and an accompaniment of strings, piano or organ (harmonium). On the score he wrote (on the G string) above the staff for the solo violin, which gave the arrangement its nickname. In Wilhelmj’s version the piece is transposed down from its original key (D major) to C major. Then the part of the first violins is transposed further down an octave and given to a solo violin that can play the entire melody on its lowest string, the G string. Later, a spurious story circulated that the melody was always intended to be played on the G string alone. The solo violin part of Wilhelmj’s arrangement is sometimes played on the counter-tenor violoncello. Wilhelmj’s arrangement greatly popularized the piece and although his version is rarely played anymore, his original title on the G string or Air on the G string has been retained as the commonly used name of various arrangements whether or not a string instrument playing on its G string is involved. Most of these versions have in common that the original melody of the first violins is played in the low register of a solo instrument, accompanied by a reduction of the material of the other parts of Bach’s piece, although occasionally versions that stay more in line with Bach’s original can go by the same name.

Further arrangements of Wilhelmj’s arrangement#

This arranged piece was itself arranged countless times, in key or instrumentation, for orchestra, saxophone, accordion, synthesizer, recorder ensemble … paralleling and overlapping other arrangements of the same original.

Reception#

In a period that stretched over three decades, and started in 1905, Henry Wood regularly programmed Wilhelmj’s arrangement at the London Proms. Wood recorded his orchestral rendering (i.e., the G string part performed by a group of violins) of the Bach/Wilhelmj “Air” in the early 1930s.

Early recordings#

Recordings of Wilhelmj’s “Air on the G String” arrangement, from the era preceding the Second World War, include: Soldat-Roeger’s recorded performance of the “Air on the G String” was the subject of scholarly analysis.

Appreciation of Wilhelmj’s arrangement#

In the early 20th century, Joseph Joachim called Wilhelmj’s arrangement “a shameless falsification of a work by Bach”. In ’s XYZ der Muziek (1936, here quoted from the 1939 edition): British musicologist Donald Francis Tovey likewise criticized Wihelmj’s arrangement, stating that “At my concerts the Air will be heard as Bach wrote it, in its original D major as an angelic soprano strain, not in C major as a display of contralto depths.”

In popular music#

Source: * The 1967 song “A Whiter Shade of Pale” by Procol Harum used a bar or two of “Air on the G String” as its starting point according to its writer Gary Brooker. * The Dutch group Ekseption recorded a jazz-fusion version titled “Air” which reached No. 1 on the Dutch chart in 1969. * The German group Sweetbox recorded a rap song “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” backed with music from “Air on the G String” in 1997, which became a world-wide hit. * Swedish heavy metal band Sabaton used “Air on the G String” as the guitar solo for the song “Hearts of Iron”, the tenth track on their 2014 album Heroes. * The South Korean girl group Red Velvet uses its sample for their song “Feel My Rhythm” taken from their 2022 EP The ReVe Festival 2022 – Feel My Rhythm. * The Japanese girl group Hinatazaka46 sampled the opening of “Air on the G String” for their 15th single, titled “Onegai Bach!” * The London electronic duo Bassvictim named the opening track on their 2024 EP Basspunk “Air on the G String”.

In popular culture#

From 1966 to 1991, a jazz rendition of the piece appeared on British TV in the ad campaign Happiness is a cigar called Hamlet. In the 1977 James Bond film, The Spy Who Loved Me, the piece is used as villain Karl Stromberg feeds his assistant to a shark. In the 1995 film Se7en, the piece is used as Detective Mills and Somerset look through crime photographs. The piece is used in the 1997 Japanese anime apocalyptic science fiction film The End of Evangelion, towards the end of the movie’s first half. The piece is heard in the 3rd Baby Einstein video, “Baby Bach”. The 2000 Japanese action film Battle Royale features the piece in its soundtrack. In the 7th episode of the 2008 TV anime adaptation of Golgo 13, “Sharp Shoot on the G String”, Duke Togo is contacted by a prestigious violinist of the London Symphony Orchestra, who was humiliated while playing the piece due to his violin’s G string snapping. Duke is hired to shoot the G string on his rival’s violin in order to humiliate him as he plays same piece at a concert in front of a large audience. In 2022, episode 17 released of the anime Komi Can’t Communicate, adapted from the manga’s Chapters 89-93 95, Najimi proposes to have a snowball fight “to the death” with some friends. Komi, a highschooler, whom has trouble with interactions, was placed on the elementary team. Michisato gets hit and Shouta runs over as if Michisato had been shot, which is when the song plays as she slowly “dies”. Shouta then hits 2 opponents, gets hit himself, and the viewer see the fallen. Yamai, obsessed over Komi, attacks her own teammates to win the snowball fight for Komi. The 2022 anime adaptation of the manga Record of Ragnarok, which depicts famous mythological and historical human figures fighting against the gods of various cultures and religions, used a rendition of this song, referred to as “massacre in the g battlefield” as the entrance theme for Zeus, one of the fighters. The 2024 horror/sci-fi film It’s What’s Inside features a rendition of the piece during the second act, called “It’s Way More Fun Not Knowing in D Major”.

External links#

• The Story Behind Bach’s Orchestra Suite No. 3
• “Air on the G String” sheet music on MuseScore.com
• , cellist Julian Lloyd Webber