ABSTRACT
As with virtually all aspects of Bach’s life and works, the literature dealing with the instrumental music is so extensive and rich that I can do no more here than single out some general themes and points of contention, provide brief notes on individual work groups, and suggest further avenues of investigation. The expansion of Bach research in the later twentieth century dates from the initiation of the Neue Bach Ausgabe in 1950. A useful selection of foundation articles for the first twenty years of this period was published by Walter Blankenburg in 1970.1 Blankenburg has also provided an excellent survey of literature and associated debates, covering the period from around 1960-1982.2 A full and detailed survey of literature up to the Bach year 2000 is included as part of the compendium on the ensemble music by Siegbert Rampe and Dominik Sackmann.3
