Bach's concertos for solo instruments were so often rearranged by his own hand for other instruments that only* three concertos for violin have come down to the present day in their original form. This one in E Major is not only much the most popular of the three, but quite easily one of the favourites among all his instrumental music. The other two are in A Minor and in G. All three have slow movements which are among the most beautiful of Bach's instrumental pieces, and while the other movements in the A Minor are perhaps a little more stern than some of his purely orchestral pieces, the whole of this E Major one is joyous and in the brightest of spirits.