Bach's Well-tempered Clavier (or the 48 Preludes and Fugues) stands at the core of baroque keyboard music and has been a model and inspiration for performers and composers ever since it was written. This invaluable guide to the 96 pieces explains Bach's various purposes in compiling the music, describes the rich traditions on which he drew, and provides commentaries for each prelude and fugue. In his text, David Ledbetter addresses the main focal points mentioned by Bach in his original 1722 title page. Drawing on Bach literature over the past three hundred years, he explores German traditions of composition types and Bach's novel expansion of them; explains Bach's instruments and innovations in keyboard technique in the general context of early eighteenth-century developments; reviews instructive and theoretical literature relating to keyboard temperaments from 1680 to 1750; and discusses Bach's pedagogical intent when composing the Well-tempered Clavier. Ledbetter's commentaries on individual preludes and fugues equip readers with the concepts necessary to make their own assessment and include information about the sources when details of notation, ornaments, and fingerings have a bearing on performance.

"An outstanding piece of work---illuminating, attractively written, and stimulating. It is a book that will be welcomed by scholars of Russian music, readers interested in the cultural life of the Soviet Union, and interested listeners to a remarkable body of repertory." Michael Steinberg --Book Jacket.

This edition of Volume I of Bach's highly influential keyboard work features Sir Donald Francis Tovey's classic analyses of 24 preludes and 24 fugues, including suggestions for performance. A scholarly reference by a world-famous musicologist and Bach expert, this legendary, long-out-of-print version also contains Harold Samuel's fingerings for all pieces.

A monument in the history of Western music, The Well-Tempered Clavier represents not only the culmination of J. S. Bach's own maturation process but also the impetus for the emerging style and structure of modern keyboard music. Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin were influenced by its polyphonic richness and depth of harmony, and Schumann counseled young musicians to "make The Well-Tempered Clavier your daily bread." Modern pianists can follow Schumann's advice with this new edition of an authoritative and long-out-of-print score that offers illuminating perspectives from a pair of eminent musical interpreters. Book II of this two-volume set features Sir Donald Francis Tovey's analyses of 24 preludes and fugues, including suggestions for performance. In addition to commentaries by Tovey, a lauded Bach scholar and world-famous musicologist, the pieces are complemented by fingerings devised by Harold Samuel, a major Bach interpreter. Students, teachers, and professionals will appreciate this finely engraved and modestly priced version of Bach's enduring works.

Different musicians perform various parts of Bach's "Forthy-Eight Preludes And Fugues", part of the 1962 Adelaide Festival of Arts, musicians listed are: Ronald Farren Price, Max Cooke and Mack Jost.

A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press’s new open access publishing program for monographs. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. Fugue for J. S. Bach was a natural language; he wrote fugues in organ toccatas and voluntaries, in masses and motets, in orchestral and chamber music, and even in his sonatas for violin solo. The more intimate fugues he wrote for keyboard are among the greatest, most influential, and best-loved works in all of Western music. They have long been the foundation of the keyboard repertory, played by beginning students and world-famous virtuosi alike. In a series of elegantly written essays, eminent musicologist Joseph Kerman discusses his favorite Bach keyboard fugues—some of them among the best-known fugues and others much less familiar. Kerman skillfully, at times playfully, reveals the inner workings of these pieces, linking the form of the fugues with their many different characters and expressive qualities, and illuminating what makes them particularly beautiful, powerful, and moving. These witty, insightful pieces, addressed to musical amateurs as well as to specialists and students, are beautifully augmented by performances made specially for this volume: Karen Rosenak, piano, playing two preludes and fugues fromTheWell-Tempered Clavier—C Major, book 1; and B Major, book 2--and Davitt Moroney playing the Fughetta in C Major, BWV 952, on clavichord; the Fugue on "Jesus Christus unser Heiland," BWV 689, on organ; and the Fantasy and Fugue in A Minor, BWV 904, on harpsichord.

This collection, edited by Dr. Hans Bischoff, consists of the "Six Little Preludes," BWV 933-938, along with twelve preludes taken from "The Little Piano Book" (Clavierbuchlein) of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. Titles: * Prelude No. 1 in C Major (BWV 933) * Prelude No. 2 in C Minor (BWV 934) * Prelude No. 3 in D Minor (BWV 935) * Prelude No.4 in D Major (BWV 936) * Prelude No. 5 in E Major (BWV 937) * Prelude No. 6 in E Minor (BWV 938) * Prelude No. 7 in C Major * Prelude No. 8 in C Major * Prelude No. 9 in C Minor * Prelude No. 10 in D Major * Prelude No. 11 in D Minor * Prelude No. 12 in D Minor * Prelude No. 13 in E Minor * Prelude No. 14 in F Major * Prelude No. 15 in F Major * Prelude No. 16 in G Minor * Prelude No. 17 in G Minor * Prelude No. 18 in A Minor

"The book examines the significance of key and the emotional dimension Bach discerned in each tonality; the symbolism of melodic and rhythmic motifs; and the symbolism of numbers. It also includes reference to other instrumental works by Bach in the same key and melodic patterns"--Provided by publisher.

inch....this work is likely to become a standart work very quickly and is to be recommended to all schools where recorder studies are undertaken inch. (Oliver James,Contact Magazine) A novel and comprehensive approach to transferring from the C to F instrument. 430 music examples include folk and national songs (some in two parts), country dance tunes and excerpts from the standard treble repertoire of•Bach, Barsanti, Corelli, Handel, Telemann, etc. An outstanding feature of the book has proved to be Brian Bonsor's brilliantly simple but highly effective practice circles and recognition squares designed to give, in only a few minutes, concentrated practice on the more usual leaps to and from each new note and instant recognition of random notes. Quickly emulating the outstanding success of the descant tutors, these books are very popular even with those who normally use tutors other than the Enjoy the Recorder series.