The KEYBOARD MUSIC Of J. S. BACH.

by David Schulenberg

Johann Sebastian Bach's keyboard works form one of the most significant repertories of Western music. Continuously performed since their creation in the eighteenth century, they are an integral part of the training of every serious musician. Writing for performers, listeners and scholars David Schulenberg provides a unique and comprehensive guide to Bach's entire output of music originally played on harpsichord and other keyboard instruments. Every aspect of the music is treated in a balanced discussion that integrates recent discoveries and ongoing debates with illuminating insights into the history and interpretation of each work. The book is divided into 18 chapters. Chapter 1 is a concise introduction to the entire repertory, its sources, catalogues and editions. Chapter 2 provides an overview of Bach performance practice, including the choice of instrument and questions of articulation. rhythm, and ornamentation. Chapter 3 traces Bach's stylistic development in the keyboard works. The remaining 15 chapters supply expert commentary on more than 200 individual keyboard works from the early suites, fuges and toccatas, the concerto transcriptions and the Clavier-Buchlein vor Wilhelm Friedmann Bach to such famous later works as the Well-Tempered Clavier, the English and French Suites the partitas, the Goldberg Variations, the Musical Offering and the Art of Fugue. Over 100 musical examples illustrate intriguing early versions of familiar works, solutions to interpretive and analytical problems and completions for works left in fragmentary form. The book also includes two appendixes, notes and extensive bibliography.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

496 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1992

About the author

professor

Reviews

[Richard Marney]

An unfinished journey.

A well-written and informed study. As expected, the greater the reader's familiarity with the body of Bach's keyboard music the more that can be taken away. I started this book almost 10 months ago. Given my rudimentary knowledge, my progress was slow and relied on Apple Music a lot! For advanced musicologists or Bach devotees, the book can be navigated more quickly and delivers more. In the case of readers like me, who are still climbing the hill, it might be seen more as a reference book, to which the reader returns when combining (vastly enjoyable) listening and reading.

The book is on my library shelf and will be reopened.

[Robert]

Indispensable as reference material

Only recently have I begun to think of music as a subject worthy of critical study (as opposed to mere entertainment), concurrent with my own desire to compose more frequently. For a crash course in Bach, this book and BACH: MUSIC IN THE CASTLE OF HEAVEN have proven to be invaluable resources that deepened my understanding of Bach as a person and consummate musician. In particular, this book was helpful by providing some analysis that will be important in preparation for my senior recital next year, but it also contains some useful information on performance practice. It's very well organized and thorough, although the Kindle edition has some awkward word-spacing issues, and there was one passage that was mistakenly repeated in the middle of another word. In other words, there are some minor editing problems. Beyond that, though, I see no reason why this shouldn't be in a musician's library, even if only as a reference volume.