Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier Book 2

Author: People's Music Publishing House
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-13
Features: This edition strives to eliminate the constraints placed on performers in all previous versions, allowing them to interpret and play the Well-Tempered Clavier freely in the style of the Baroque era. J.S. Bach rarely provided detailed specifications for tempo and dynamics in his works, leaving these aspects to the performer's understanding and grasp of the style. The manuscripts of the Well-Tempered Clavier in its first volume, as well as several other invaluable manuscripts, have fortunately been preserved. The numerous revisions and diverse interpretations found in these manuscripts demonstrate that within Bach's artistic circle, significant effort was devoted to deeply studying and refining this work. Some of these revisions and interpretations are confidently attributed to Bach himself, while others are believed to be by his students and son, also considered indirect expressions of the composer's intentions. During the editorial process, it is often encountered that, without reference or comparison, it is difficult to determine which version is superior. In such cases, we use small dashes to indicate differences between different versions. Parenthetical markings indicate variations found only in a few manuscripts. Additionally, new research on Bach has revealed that a manuscript known as the Volkmann manuscript is authoritative. This edition has revised many previous variations based on other sources in accordance with the Volkmann version.