From Bach’s study
A prestigious facsimile of the “Well-Tempered Klavier”
”The ‘Well-Tempered Clavier’ is the Old Testament, Beethoven's sonatas the New. We must believe in both.” wrote
the conductor Hans von Bülow. The preludes and fugues
of “The Well-Tempered Clavier” embrace an entire cosmos of compositional devices and musical characters.
Here Bach not only presented the sum total of keyboard
artistry in his day but foresaw its future evolution. His
treatment of the keys marked a turning point in music history.
Bärenreiter-Verlag has just published an exquisite facsimile of Bach’s manuscript. The autograph score, originally a
fair copy, contains later revisions and alterations reflecting
the composer at work. This facsimile edition presents the
manuscript in high-quality four-colour reproduction. Bach
authority Christoph Wolff provides a Commentary to the
work’s genesis and the characteristics of Bach’s handwriting.
Martina
Rebmann
(Staatsbibliothek
zu
Berlin)
describes the subsequent history of the autograph. This
exceptionally fine edition will be of immense value to pianists, music-lovers and the great community of Bach enthusiasts throughout the world.
Johann Sebastian Bach: Das Wohltemperierte Klavier,
Part 1. BWV 846–869. Autograph Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz. Commentary by Christoph
Wolff and Martina Rebmann. Bärenreiter Facsimile / Faksimile-Reihe Bachscher Werke und Schriftstücke, Neue
Folge, Vol. VIII. Hrsg. vom Bach-Archiv Leipzig / Documenta musicologica, Zweite Reihe: HandschriftenFaksimiles, Vol. L. ISBN 978-3-1678-2368-2. BärenreiterVerlag 2015. 90 pages Facsimile + 28 pages Commentary
(English/German). € 275,–.
[26.8.2015]