This is a completely revised 2003 edition of volumes I and II of The Organ Music of J. S. Bach (1980), a bestselling title, which has subsequently become a classic text. This edition takes account of Bach scholarship of the 25 years prior to publication. Peter Williams's piece-by-piece commentary puts the musical sources of the organ works in context, describing the form and content of each work and relating them to other music, German and non-German. He summarises the questions about the history, authenticity, chronology, function and performance of each piece, and points out important details of style and musical quality. The study follows the order of the Bach catalogue (BWV), beginning with the sonatas, then the 'free works', followed by chorales and ending with the doubtful works, including the 'newly discovered chorales' of 1985.

"Published in cooperation with the American Bach Society."

A top-selling organ music book. Edited and arranged by E. Power Biggs (1906-1977). Includes a biographical sketch of the very influential Mr. Biggs. Titles: Adagio (for the Glass Harmonica or Musical Glasses) (W. A. Mozart) * All Glory Be to God on High (Festival Prelude for Organ) (J. S. Bach) * Andante (from Concerto No. 3 in B-flat) (W. Felton) * Prelude on Ave Verum Corpus (W. A. Mozart) * A Christmas Pastorale (from The Christmas Concerto) (G. Valentini) * The Cuckoo (L. C. d'Aquin) * The Emperor's Fanfare (from Sixth Double Concerto) (A. Soler) * The Faithful Shepherd (Pastorale) (G. F. Handel) * The Fifers (F. Dandrieu) * Firework Music (Suite from the Music for the Royal Fireworks) (G. F. Handel) * Fugue in C Major (The "Fanfare" Fugue) (J. S. Bach) * God's Time Is the Best (Sinfonia to Cantata No. 106) (J. S. Bach) * I Stand at the Threshold (Sinfonia to Cantata No. 156) (J. S. Bach) * Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (from Cantata No. 147) (J. S. Bach) * The Musical Clocks (from a Suite of Twelve Pieces) (F. J. Haydn) * Offertoire for Easter (On the Melody "O Filii et Filiae") (F. Dandrieu) * Sheep May Safely Graze (In G) (from Cantata No. 208 -- The "Birthday Cantata") (J. S. Bach) * The Shepherds at the Manger (from the Piano Suite "The Christmas Tree") (F. Liszt) * Sinfonia, Chorale and Variation (from the Easter Cantata -- No. 4 -- "Christ Lay in Death's Dark Prison") (J. S. Bach) * Slow Movement (from Concerto in D Minor) (A. Vivaldi/J. S. Bach) * A Solemn Prelude (from Cantata No. 21 -- "Sighing, Weeping, Sorrow, Need") (J. S. Bach) * The Trophy (F. Couperin). "Minuet Finale from Firework Music," "Overture from Firework Music," and "Rejoicing from Firework Music" are Federation Festivals 2016-2020 selections.

" . . . a valuable book of scholarly yet highly readable studies . . . every organist and anyone interested in the music of J. S. Bach should have it." —Early Keyboard Journal " . . . a very perceptive and informative guide . . . " —Early Music " . . . this book is a must." —The American Organist " . . . invaluable and entertaining . . . " —American Music Teacher " . . . among the most important and accomplished studies on eighteenth-century performance. Its comprehensiveness, clarity, and scholarship make it indispensable." —Performance Practice Review In J. S. Bach as Organist, specialists from six countries explore Bach's relationship to his favorite instrument during all periods of his career. J. S. Bach as Organist is a book for scholars, performers, and students. Authoritative and wide-ranging.

Peter Williams approaches afresh the life and music of arguably the most studied of all composers, interpreting both Bach's life by deconstructing his original obituary in the light of more recent information and his music by evaluating his priorities and irrepressible creative energy. How, even though belonging to musical families on both his parents' sides, did he come to possess so bewitching a sense of rhythm and melody and a mastery of harmony that established nothing less than a norm in Western culture? In considering that the works of a composer are his biography, the book's title A Life in Music means both a life spent making music and one revealed in the music as we know it. A distinguished scholar and performer, Williams re-examines Bach's life as an orphan and family man, as an extraordinarily gifted composer and player and as an ambitious artist who never suffered fools gladly.

In this wide-ranging set of original essays, musicologist and organist Russell Stinson investigates Johann Sebastian Bach's compositions for the organ, opening up a wealth of perspectives on the stylistic orientation and historical context of these timeless masterpieces. With a sweeping hand, Stinson sheds light on the entire corpus of Bach's organ chorales, and considers the reception of particular pieces not only by various luminaries in the classical music world, but also those within such disparate contexts as film, literature, politics, and rock music. Stinson's investigations include a revealing focus on a previously unpublished fugue by Bach pupil J. G. Schübler, unexplored techniques found in over twenty of Bach's chorale preludes, and the diverse ways in which Bach's organ works have been received from the composer's own lifetime to the present day. Individual essays are also devoted to Felix Mendelssohn as a performer; to Robert Schumann as an editor and critic; to César Franck as a performer, pedagogue, and composer; and to Edward Elgar as a performer, critic, and transcriber. Rich in archival data and filled with fascinating anecdotes, J. S. Bach at His Royal Instrument is entirely up-to-date, meticulously annotated and indexed, and eminently readable. This book is essential reading for anyone at all interested in Bach and "the king of instruments."

"Stinson's book is completely up-to-date and presents a wealth of new material - particularly involving chronology and music style - never before available in English. An exhaustive bibliography is provided as well as copious musical examples and facsimile reproductions from the autograph. For even the most seasoned Bach aficionado, this study will open up fresh perspectives on some of the composer's greatest creations."--Jacket.

Bach's organ works--the best-known of all music ever written for the instrument--have been the subject of a great variety of interpretations, all too often based on subjective opinion and conjecture. What the author does in this piece-by-piece commentary is to combine a performer's insight and experience with the fruits of scholarly research. He is concerned throughout to reconstruct for the modern performer and listener the original context of the work: its sources and history; its place in the composer's development; the implications of contemporary instruments and performing practice, and of the musical and aesthetic theories of the time; and the background which shaped Bach's view of the original chorale melodies. Each of the collections of organ chorales is examined as an entity in a preliminary essay. Then for each piece the author discusses the important sources and their relationship; quotes the underlying chorale melody and one or more verses of the text (with a literal translation) and describes its importance in the life of Bach's church; and analyses the form and style of the organ setting, with many musical examples and frequent allusions to the views of other commentators.