Bach Well-Tempered Clavier: Book 2

Author: People's Music Publishing House
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1997-12-01
Features: This edition strives to eliminate the constraints placed on performers in all previous versions, allowing them to freely interpret and play the Well-Tempered Clavier 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 indicate that within Bach's artistic circle, significant effort was devoted to deeply studying this work. Some of these revisions and interpretations are confidently attributed to Bach himself, while others are believed to have been made by his students and son, and can also be considered as indirectly expressing the composer's intentions. During the editorial process, it is often encountered that when there is no reference or comparison, it is difficult to determine which version is better. In such cases, we use small dashes to indicate the differences between different versions. Brackets are used to denote markings that appear 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 discrepancies based on other sources according to the Volkmann version.