Lute Suite in E minor, BWV 996

Suite in E minor, BWV 996, is a musical composition written by Johann Sebastian Bach (between 1708 and 1717). It is probable that this suite was intended for lute-harpsichord. This piece is often performed on the guitar because of the rarity of the instrument. The movements in this piece are:

1. Präludium: Presto
2. Allemande
3. Courante
4. (Sarabande)
5. Bourrée
6. (Gigue)

Instrumentation

Bach wrote his lute pieces in a traditional score rather than in lute tablature, and some believe that Bach played his lute pieces on the keyboard. No original script of the Suite in E minor for Lute by Bach is known to exist. However, in the collection of one of Bach's pupils, Johann Ludwig Krebs, there is one piece ("Praeludio – con la Suite da Gio: Bast. Bach") that has written "aufs Lauten Werck" ("for the lute-harpsichord") in unidentified handwriting.

Some argue that despite the annotation about the lute-harpsichord, the piece was meant to be played on the lute as demonstrated by the texture. Others argue that since the piece was written in E minor, it would be incompatible with the baroque lute which was tuned to D minor. Nevertheless, it may be played with other string instruments, such as the guitar, mandola or mandocello, and keyboard instruments, and the fifth movement (the bourrée) is especially well-known among guitarists.