Eighth Music Book

A SHORT HISTORY OF THE BASIC GRIEPENKERL EDITION OF BACH'S ORGAN WORKS
by Albert Riemenschneider and Hermann Keller

The Griepenkerl Urtext Edition of Bach's Organ Works:
The late Albert Riemenschneider pointed out shortly before his untimely death in 1950, in an essay on this celebrated Bach edition, that Friedrich Konrad Griepenkerl, its main editor, was years ahead of his time in deciding to present the Bach Organ Works in a 'pure-text (Urtext) edition', based on many MSS. now dispersed or lost. These were studied and very carefully collated. The preparation of this edition during the early part of the nineteenth century, comparatively near to the actual era of the composer, established an authenticity and authority which later editions cannot possibly achieve. In fact, it is impossible to produce a more authentic edition.

Albert Riemenschneider said further that this may be considered one of the main reasons why this edition has outworn a dozen or more others. The only instance in which Griepenkerl deviated from this principle is that in which he indicated a few Chorale Preludes in modern signature, where they originally were cast by Bach in the church-tone signatures. He maintained (in Volmne VI/VII of his edition) the few instances in which Bach uses the Alto and Tenor C clefs. This should give every organist an opportunity to learn these important clefs. Many organists are also choral conductors and should they be faced with a full vocal score which contains up to four of the old C clefs, it would present a trying situation if a thorough knowledge of these important clefs had not already been acquired.

Albert Riemenschneider's investigations into the history of Bach original-text editions:
Beethoven's letter to Peters at that time still known as "Bureau de Musique [Franz Anton] Hoffmeister [1754-1812] und [Ambrosius] Kuehnel" of 15th January, 1801, and many more written to the same address until 25.XI.1825, makes recognition of the very daring enterprise of the firm in publishing Bach's complete instrumental works, one of the first major projects of the newly organised firm. As Editor-in-Chief, Johann Nikolaus Forkel (1749-1818), the music historian and writer, was selected. Thanks to his friendship of many years' standing with Bach's two eldest sons, Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emanuel, he had come into possession of most valuable material. He was, as we now know, the greatest Bach enthusiast and expert of his time, having written in 1802 the famous Bach biography which forms the basis of all later biographies. It was also published by the Bureau de Musique. At that time. Bach was rather neglected.

A considerable amount of Bach's keyboard music was published in this first venture. Their edition of the Well-Tempered Clavier was one of the first three editions of this important work to be published almost simultaneously. These early editions have now become very valuable as incunabula, and libraries try their utmost to secure any copies which become available.

In 1814 Carl Friedrich Peters bought the "Bureau de Musique" from Hoffmeister and Kuehnel and greatly improved the business. About the year 1836 C. F. Peters decided to continue the publication of all Bach's instrumental works and for this purpose selected a committee of the greatest Bach authorities of the time, which included the Forkel pupil Friedrich Konrad Griepenkerl (1782-1849), Siegfried W. Dehn (1799-1858), Ferdinand A. Roitzsch (1805-1889), and others, among them also Carl Czerny (1791-1857). The project was designated by the somewhat ornate title: "Edition nouvelle, soigneusement revue, corrigée et doigtée, ainsi que pourvue de notifications sur l'execution et sur les mesures des temps (d'après le métronome de Maelzel) et accompagnée d'une préface par Un Comité d'artistes".

It seems that, at least at the start, Czerny was the leading force on this committee and it is probably due to him that many of the works of this particular edition have received fingering indications, phrasing marks, and other directions for interpretation. It is possible that Griepenkerl was thus influenced also by Czerny when he edited some of the keyboard works, such as the Short Preludes, Two- and Three-part Inventions, French Suites, English Suites, 18 miscellaneous Compositions, and a number of concertos, [All of these publications have since appeared, also at Peters, in up-to-date Urtext editions. The Editor].

One may well surmise that Griepenkerl, later in 1844, had his own way when he started collecting and editing the organ works, since the work produced under his editorship is far above the balance of the Bach publications of this project and lives undiminished in its value even to the present day. That it must have been recognised beyond the boundaries of Germany can be seen by the fact that the set was reprinted in Paris, by S. Richault, Editeur, Boulevart (sic !) Poissonière 26. When this was done, or whether permission was obtained from C. F. Peters, is not known, but it was probably completed after 1852, since Volume VIII, edited by F. A. Roitzsch in 1852, was included. The library of the Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory, Berea, Ohio, U.S.A., has Volumes III, IV and VIII of this Paris publication. The size is different, not oblong, and the music was printed from engraved plates. It is curious that, in spite of this pirate edition by a French publisher, the distinctive green Peters covers of the original Griepenkerl edition remained one of the distinguishing marks on almost every organ console in France. In the churches and cathedrals, at the Conservatoire, and in the private studios of the great French masters, such as Guilmant and Widor, the original Peters Edition, not the French reprint, was much in evidence.

Parenthetically it may be stated here that the Peters firm counterbalanced the highly personalized edition of the Well-Tempered Clavier by Czerny by engaging Franz Kroll to supply an "Urtext" edition of this work in 1850. This was an outstanding example of editing and later became the basis for the edition published by the Bachgesellschaft under the editorship of the same man. This work, revised a number of times during the last 100 years, is now again available. The Peters Edition Number is still 1a/b.

What sort of man was Griepenkerl and what did this editor do to establish such an excellent reputation? He was born in Peine, near Hanover, in 1782 and died in Brunswick (Germany) on April 6, 1849. His main activity was as Professor at the Carolinum College in Brunswick. Already (in 1819) he had edited the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue by Bach for clavier for C. F. Peters. He also wrote Lehrbuch der Aesthetik in 1842 in which he applied Herbart's philosophical theory to music. He was an avid collector of Bach manuscripts. It seems that C. F. Peters could not go wrong in selecting a musician and scholar with such a background to accomplish the tremendous task of assembling and critically reviewing the organ compositions of J. S. Bach which were scattered, mostly in manuscript form, far and wide throughout Germany and elsewhere.

That he accomphshed the task in a manner which, even today, in musicological circles receives highest commendation, is one of the marvels of musical editorship and one reason why his edition is still preferred to many others by our leading organists. Griepenkerl, in addition to being a highly trained scholar, must have been a musician of the fiirst rank and a critic without equal during his day. His Forewords contain the highest type of directions to the professional organist for the performance of Bach, philosophical reflections on the spirit of Bach's works, and similar instructions along other lines. They are not without humour, as is shown in the incident in the introduction to Volume I in which he refers to the current piano virtuosi and the greater noise which they could produce if ever they attached pedals to their instruments.

After Griepenkerl died in 1849, Roitzsch was engaged to compile a ftuther volume of free organ compositions by J. S. Bach, as Volume VIII, in 1852, and later a mixture of free compositions and chorales, as Volume IX, in 1881. This latter volume underwent a fairly complete revision by Max Seiffert in 1904 and a second complete revision, with the addition of newly discovered material, by Hermann Keller in 1940, thus bringing the complete set up to the present time and in accord with modern musicological research. Karl Straube furnished indexes to Volumes V, VI, and VII so that the original groups as planned by Bach might easily be recognised as entities and composite works.

Albert Riemenschneider on Hermann Keller's Bach Work.
Herman Keller is a recognised contemporary authority on the subject. In the Introduction to his new book The Organ Works of Bach (Peters, 1948), of which an English edition is in preparation. Professor Keller gives credit to the basic Griepenkerl-Peters edition of the Bach Organ Works as the first in value. He assigns the Bachgesellschaft edition second place, since numerous important manuscript copies of Bach's organ works, which were available to Griepenkerl, were lost soon afterwards. He also states that the basic Griepenkerl-Peters edition is still the edition which is used more frequently than any other. All references to the works of Bach in Keller's magnum opus are made to agree with the volumes and numbers of the basic Griepenkerl-Peters edition. As a very valuable adjunct to his book, Hermann Keller adds the compilation which follows:
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BACH'S ORGAN WORKS GRADED
by Hermann Keller

This classification may prove useful to practising organists, but especially to teachers of organ-playing. It offers, of course, only general suggestions, since many points of difficulty are naturally influenced by personal conceptions, which are especially noticeable in the selection of the tempi in which the various works are to be played. The figures in brackets refer to the numbers of the volumes (in Roman) and the individual pieces in them (in Arabian) of the basic Griepenkerl-Peters edition, under which they appear.

A. FREE ORGAN WORKS
Easy to moderately difficult.
Pastorale F 1st movement (I, 8), Prelude C (VIII, 7), Fantasia C (VIII, 9), Fantasia con imitazione B m. (IX, 1), Eight Short Preludes and Fugues (VIII, 5), Fugue C (VIII, 10), Prelude C (VIII, 8), Fugue G (IX, 7), Preludes and Fugues C m. (IV, 5), E m. (III, 10) and A m. (III, 9), Canzona D m. (IV, 10), Short harmonical Labyrinthus (IX, 9), Pedal-Exercitium G m. (IX, 11), Prelude G (VIII, 11), Fugues in B m. (IV, 8), G m. (IV, 12), and C m. (IV, 6), Allabreve D (VIII, 6), Prelude A m. (IV, 13).

Moderately difficult to difficult.
Fantasias C m. (IV, 12), and G (IX, 4), Trios D m. (IV, 14), C m. (IX, 10), F (IX, 5) and G (IX, 8), Fugue G m. (IV, 7), Fantasias and Fugues C m. (III, 6) and A m. (IX, 6), Preludes and Fugues F m. (II, 5), C (II, 1), and G m. (III, 5), Concertos G (VIII, 1), C (VIII, 3) and C (VIII, 4), Sonata D m. (I, 3), Fugue C m. (IV, 9), Fantasia G (IV, 11), Toccata E (III addenda and 7), Sonata E m. (I, 4), Trio G (IX, 3), Toccata Dm. (IV, 4), Preludes and Fugues A (II, 3), B m. (II, 10), C m. (II, 6), Dm. (III, 4) and G (IV, 2), Dorian Toccata and Fugue (III, 3), Concerto A m. (VIII, 2), Sonata Eb (I, 1), Fugue G (IX, 2).

Difficult to very difficult.
Preludes and Fugues C (II, 7), A m. (II, 8), and G (III, 2), Passacaglia C m. (I, 7), Fantasia and Fugue G m. (II, 4), Prelude and Fugue Eb (III, 1), Toccata and Fugue F (III, 2), Toccata C (III, 8), Preludes and Fugues D (IV, 3), and E m. (II, 9), Sonatas C m., C and G (I, 2, 5 and 6).

B. ORGAN WORKS BASED UPON CHORALES
Easy.
V: 2, 5, 9, 10, 20, 23, 27, 30-32, 36, 39, 43, 48, 52, 53; Partita 1 and 2. VI: 1, 11, 15, 16, 21, 25. VII: 53, 55. IX: 12, 15, 19, 20.

Moderately difficult.
V: 1, 3, 6-8, 11-19, 21, 22, 25, 26, 29, 33, 37, 38, 40, 41-47, 49, 51, 52, 55, 56; Partita 3; addenda 1, 2, 4-7. VI: 2, 4, 5, 8-10, 12b, 14, 17, 18, 23, 24, 26, 28, 29, 31-34. VII: 35, 37-40, 42, 45-50, 56-61, 63. IX: 13, 14, 16-18, 21-26.

Difficult.
V: 4, 8, 24, 28, 34, 35, 50, Canonic Variations, addenda 3. VI: 3, 6, 7, 12a, 13, 19, 20, 22, 27, 30. VII: 36, 41, 43, 44, 51, 52, 54, 62. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zurück zum Inhaltsverzeichnis

GRIEPENKERL'S OWN WRITINGS ON BACH
by Albert Riemensckneider

The decision to revive Griepenkerl's own words by republishing them and by adding them now to all volumes of the basic Griepenkerl-Peters edition, is a tribute to a distinguished editor and a great musicologist, perhaps one of the greatest of his time.

In the preparation of a suitable English translation of the "Forewords" and other notes by Griepenkerl, old prints (in English) of these annotations were located, which had evidently been prepared by Peters for distribution in English-speaking countries. Unfortunately, only notes to Volumes I, II, III, V and VI could be discovered. The English translations for the notes (in German) referring to Volumes IV, VII, and also those for VIII and IX have now been newly prepared in condensed versions by Anthony Bruno.

These old translations have the distinction of being very literal and therefore will, at times, seem quaint to the modern student. It was thought, however, that the historical value of these notes would far outweigh any weakness found therein. An interesting feature is the capitalisation, as in German, of important nouns. The very literalness of the translations might be of assistance to those who have some acquaintance with the German language, but who are not able to cope with the involved language which Griepenkerl sometimes uses in his philosophical reflections. Since the German and English texts of his edition parallel each other sentence by sentence and paragraph by paragraph, such expressions will be more easily grasped in their original medium. A few of the more definite cases, where a misunderstanding might arise because of the literal translation, have been corrected.
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[816-26] ON THE BASIC BACH ORGAN EDITION
by Friedrich Konrad Griepenkerl, Ferdinand A. Roitzsch, Hermann Keller and Karl Straube

[816] To Volume I, by F. K. Griepenkerl, written in 1844:
Passacaglia and Fugue C m.; Pastorale F; Six Trio Sonatas (P.E. No. 240)

Our age hails with delight the appearance of all that is great and excellent, to whatever sphere it may belong, and, with all its pride in the Present, willingly descends into the depths of the Past, to bring to light all that may there be found excellent for instruction and enjoyment. No one is so negligent as to throw away the jewels inherited from his ancestors; on the contrary, he avails himself of their value and preserves them carefully for the present and the future.

It is the well-grounded confidence in these sentiments which inspires both Publishers and Editor with hope and gives them courage to undertake a work like the present, without fear of failure in any respect. Not the Present alone. Posterity is likewise surety for success: for the Organ-Compositions of J. S. Bach by their high excellence lay claim to the interest of all times, that have not ceased to esteem pure religious feeling and high art. Even the more profound historian, to whom his science is something more than a relation of mere external events, who rather contemplates the form of the mental culture of his epochs and examines the pulsation of the times, will never imagine himself able thoroughly to comprehend the Century between the Thirty Years' War and the Seven Years' War without Bach and Handel, as the poetry of a great part of this epoch is beyond all proportion weak. In Bach and Handel the religious feeling of this time is especially concentrated and expresses itself nobly and distinctly in their works; but more particularly in J. S. Bach, whose office it was, during nearly fifty years, in the mother-country of the German Protestant church, to pour out, every Sunday, this religious feeling before thousands of pious hearers, on that mighty instrument, the organ.

Between that epoch and our times, through the first French Revolution of 1789 through the sentiments and tone of feeling which accompanied it, as well as through its consequences there is a great gulf fixed, which the spirit of the age in its peculiar manifoldness would not be able to comprehend, if general principles in human nature did not pervade all epochs of history and a religious longing were not common to all men. But both find in the Organ-Compositions of J. S. Bach their worthiest expression, and hence they are equally near to the more highly cultivated of all times, even if their forms did not possess that classic perfection of art which is in by far the greater number in so distinguished a degree peculiar to them.

The forms of double counterpoint which constantly return in the works of J. S. Bach and are never wanting, particularly in his Compositions for the Church except sometimes in the simple Chorale would seem indeed to be unfavourable to the general diffusion of his works. Even since the beginning of the highest period of German poetry, since 1770, that is, 20 years after J. S. Bach's death, it has often been asserted that Canon and Fugue and everything in connexion with them were antiquated pedantic forms. Complaints have been advanced of subtlety and unintelligibility and in this sense the noblest works of art have been rejected because they were inaccessible to shallow dilettantism. But he who so chooses and neglects, knows not the musical art; he knows not that double counterpoint is an aesthetically necessary consequence of the first fundamental doctrines of Harmony and Melody, and that, without it, the summit of art cannot be attained. Shall we then always move only in the lower regions of this art, and shall Music, even in its higher and nobler parts, only be a means of diversion for the great mass? Is the pretended unintelligibilty of the Compositions of J. S. Bach only to be ascribed to the nature of his works? Is it not rather a consequence of the shallow-mindedness, one-sidedness and want of susceptibility of a great part of the hearers? Let him, for whom the subject is too grand, raise his heart from the family circle to sympathy with the destinies of mankind. Let him, for whom the forms are too rich to be understood, study art, to comprehend as well the great many-voiced nation-chorus as the small one-voiced song. We begin now to listen to and understand the voices of the people in other respects why not in this? They are native sentiments and native works of art, beside which other countries can place nothing equal.

Unfortunately the Organ-Compositions of J. S. Bach exist only in a few dispersed copies. The autographs of many have been lost, and what has been printed is with the exception of the few which were engraved in copper during Bach's life-time and which are rare enough not treated with sufficient care and critical accuracy. Copies accidentally found have been printed off in the most arbitrary manner with all the mistakes without further comparison. The Editor, who strives to restore the genuine readings, thus finds himself in the midst between the arrogant alterations and errors of negligent copyists, in which, even after years of accurate study of Bach's style of writing, it is often difficult enough to find out the right. Whether this will still be possible, after some years, when the men will be wanting, who might draw the requisite knowledge from the real source, may reasonably be doubted. Hence it seems now to be the last moment, when a critically correct Edition of the Compositions of J. S. Bach can be undertaken with success, if the still living connoisseurs of these works do not disdain to express with indulgence and to modify their perhaps differing views of our performance.

But with the exact restoration of these compositions, all that is desirable is not accomplished: for they require a ministering art, the art of performance, without which they can be so spoiled as no longer to be recognised. How did these works sound under the hand of the Master of the Organ? Of what resources did he avail himself, to make them sound as he had conceived them? These are questions difficult to be answered, because no man living has heard these works played by the Composer himself, and Bach's organ-playing is the very subject, to the preservation, diffusion and maintenance of which the circumstances of the times were the most unfavourable. The pay of organists since 1750 has not been increased, but diminished. On the other hand the necessities of life have been doubled in price and no great artist becomes a candidate for such a place, except from inclination or an enthusiastic love of art. Even now the greater part of organists' places are filled by persons who are scarcely able to conduct in a worthy manner the choir service of the community. Under such circumstances it is indeed a wonder that even isolated rare traces of the old sublime organ-art have maintained themselves, so that at least the trial may be made to give something like an idea of it. We have, it is true, at present only space for a few intimations and must reserve for another place more complete explanations.

J. S. Bach's Compositions for the Organ require in performance the greatest possible distinctness, because in them several melodies are simultaneously connected with each other, which can neither be properly comprehended and understood singly nor in their connexion if an indistinct delivery throw any obstacles in the way. The highest distinctness is therefore the aim, and to attain this, four means present themselves.

1. A right separation of the single passages by incisions in the right places, and a careful binding together of all that is in closer connexion; both in all parts, but particularly in the middle ones.
2. An elastic touch which in the single passages of the parts hinders the clashing of the tones which follow each other, but yet does not tear them asunder.
3. Great consideration and care in registering.
4. A moderate tempo suited to the piece to be played and to the registers chosen.

As to the first means of distinctness in delivery it imposes on the player a previous and careful analysis of the piece to be played, an accurate division into principal and secondary passages, so that he can declaim it like a speech, with a correct observation of the punctuation, although not inserted. This is of great importance on the organ, because there is here no crescendo, diminuendo, and sforzato, nay in the great fugues not even forte and piano, and this kind of distinctness depends only on a right separation and connexion. To give such an analysis here would be superfluous, as certainly no organ-player will try to perform Bach's Compositions for the Organ, who cannot dissect them into principal and secondary passages, etc. We must only remark, that, in order to effect this object, he must very often not hold the tones as long as they are written, particularly every time at the conclusion of a period or a passage. It has been and still is the custom of composers of all nations, to write out fully the concluding notes of the principal and secondary passages in pieces for the organ, piano or the voice, where the player or singer should hold at the very most only three-fourths of the note. The fingering, which from reasons easily comprehended is more difficult on the Organ in Fugues in several Parts than on the Piano, is hereby facilitated. But the player would totally mistake the tendency of these well-founded and well-meant hints, if he thought to follow-them, by conveying to the hearers the principal and secondary passages as separate pieces, for he ought to deliver one connected whole.

The second means of attaining perfect distinctness, viz. the Bach touch, should indeed be generally known, as it has been described at very different times and always with increased perfection, first in 1780 in C. Ph. E. Bach's Essay on the true manner of playing the Piano (Versuch über die wahre Art, das Clavier zu spielen) Part I, page 104, then in 1802 in J. S. Bach's Life, Art and Works by Forkel (J. S. Bach's Leben, Kunst und Kunstwerke) pages 11 to 14, and lastly 1819 in my own Preface to the Edition of the Chromatic Phantasy with marks for playing. The passages quoted have indeed principally reference to the performance on the pianoforte; but on the organ this touch displays its advantages in a much higher degree, for on this instrument a really singing delivery can only be attained by it, but never by pushing and crowding. For this reason its essential peculiarities must be repeated here.
According to Bach's theory of touch, only the first finger, which begins the passage, is placed on the key; those which follow are not all placed on it, but as it were spring in, the preceding finger being always drawn back quickly. The finger which keeps down the key serves as a support of the suitable pressure of the lower arm, which was required for the keeping down of the key, but it is under the influence of the intention to continue this pressure to the following finger, and hence is like a spring, which would instantly fly back to the interior of the hand, if the pressure were diminished, though but a little. This is done at the moment that the following finger, which of course is kept prepared for this, shall serve as a support for the pressure of the lower arm. The finger in gliding from the key does not remain drawn back, but resumes immediately its natural position suspended quietly and prepared over the keys, until it is again wanted. The energy and elasticity of this touch is internal, but very little movement of the fingers is visible, and the rest of the body has no part in it. Even the hand does not look strained, the fingers are not bent claw-like, but are suspended in a natural curve above the keys.

What we have here slowly described, is executed as quickly as the player wishes or as the piece requires and spares the sudorific toil, which instead of making the art of organ-playing an object of admiration, makes many an organ-player an object of compassion.

Contemporaries of J. S. Bach have related that his performance even with the great organ and coupled claviers, did not look laborious, nor in its sound indicate exertion; everything was heard as if free-born of the air and without any bodily need. For this reason many ascribed to him extraordinary force, because he executed with ease what to others was difficult. But he was not stronger than any other man in health; he only adopted with ability the mechanism which we have described, and which was his own invention. The use of the feet on the pedal may be best learnt by a study of Kittel's great work, Chorales in Four Parts with Preludes, Altona 1803, Preface pp. 3 and 4. Three different methods are there given, the first with alternating toes; the second with the toe and the heel; the third is a mixture of the first two. It seems to us of little consequence; everyone may choose the method best applicable to his structure. The chief object is, to strive to attain with the feet on the pedal the same effect which can be produced by the above-described touch of the hands on the manuals, although nature does not allow the feet the same motion. If we could show this touch, instead of merely describing it, its advantages would be more easily manifest and ability of execution would be more quickly attained; for it is not possible to imagine a more natural mechanism of the hands for the successful attainment of its object.

Thirdly, the art of registering is a very important means towards a correct, beautiful and distinct performance of Bach's Compositions for the Organ. He who has not tried the effect of single stops and their connexions in twos, threes, etc. until he has exhausted all their combinations up to the so-called great organ, has no idea of the manifold variety of the effects possible on the organ. It is understood as a thing of course that, in playing, the combination of stops selected must harmonize with the pieces to be performed, otherwise the whole is theoretic trifling without scientific value. Nevertheless the trial should not be disdained; for it leads to a knowledge of many unknown means of delivery, which may perhaps once be of practical artistic value.

J. S. Bach has sometimes indicated, nay, annexed with his own hand, how he registered in the use of single stops and in changing claviers, from which much may be learned by comparison and meditation. We would particularly recommend a Concerto for the Organ by W. Friedemann Bach, which his father copied with his own hand and added the requisite registers and claviers. I possess the remarkable manuscript of this Concerto, and it is now being printed, under my editorship, with the necessary remarks, by the Publishers of the present work.

Only of the signification of the expression, "the full organ", (Organo pleno) J. S. Bach has nowhere given an explanation. Nothing is more natural than to understand by it the simultaneous use of all the sounding stops of an organ. But he who blindly adopts this interpretation will often be at a loss, when he finds this expression over organ-pieces of very different kinds and which cannot possibly be played with the same stops. Or he will indiscriminately use the great organ, not even forgetting the cymbals, etc., and then make the composer who wrote "organo pleno" over his work responsible for the nonsense which ensues. But here already Mattheson, the contemporary of Bach and Handel, warns us in his "Vollkommener Capellmeister", Page 467, in which he excludes the reeds from the manual in the great organ and only allows the sixteen-foot trombone for the pedal.

We can easily follow the train of thought, which gave rise to this remark of Mattheson's and obtain several useful results, particularly if we do not yield blindly to the opinion that, "all the sounding stops concur in the great organ." Draw out for instance all the registers of the pedal and depress one key; what shall we hear? If the pipes lie unfavourably and if the acoustic proportions of the church are not the very best, we hear singly, the Sub-bass and Trombone 32 ft., Principal and Trombone 16 ft., Octava and Trumpet 8 ft., Octava and Trumpet 4 ft., Hohl- or Rohrflöte flute 16, 8 and 4 ft., the Two-foot stops, the Mixtures, etc., and all the many tones do not blend together into one great tone for the ear which, however, they ought to do. Only imagine the effect of such a bass-tone on the connexion of the piece. If, besides the above-mentioned unfavourable circumstances, the four-foot and two-foot stops in the pedal are particularly strong, as is frequently the case, the four-foot stops overpower the middle ones and the two-foot stops the upper one in the manual and the finest and most effective organ fugue has become indistinct and, notwithstanding the great strength fails in effect, even if all do not become confused, the pipes of narrower calibre and softer tone, in such connexion, being apt to pitch too high. The player must therefore be on his guard and sacrifice strength to distinctness, for the former in itself and without an object has no value in art. Much moreover depends on the peculiar qualities of the organ, no two being in all respects perfectly alike.

The fourth means necessary for distinctness is a moderate tempo suited to the piece to be performed and to the stop selected. Great tones in a wide space do not die away quickly enough to be quickly connected together, without producing a flowing into each other, which destroys distinctness in the same manner as the injudicious use of the damper on the pianoforte. Quick passages in a composition for the organ are therefore already a sign that they should be played with stops of narrower calibre. If they are marked "Organo pleno," then you must play them the more slowly.

So much for the present on this important subject. We shall however often return to it in the single pieces.

As to the signs used for the manner and delivery of ornamental notes, they are to be understood as follows,
# NB #
indicates (tr) a shake, when the after-note is written at full, for instance
# NB #
Under other circumstances ### signifies a shake without after-note, whose last note however must be quicker than the preceding ones. But every shake on a pointed or dotted note must, if the after-note be not written at full, end on the point and the short note which comes immediately after the point or dot, retains its natural length (in respect to time), at least in all serious church-music. To execute the Bach-shake well, the player should never begin with the tone over which the sign stands, but with the one immediately above it, a half-tone or full-tone according to the key or mode. Bach considered the shake as a multiple repetition of the fore-touch (appoggiatura) and found the aesthetical charm of it in the frequent repetition of the fore-note appoggiatura (Vorhalt) and its solution; hence the after-note appoggiatura (Nachschlag), without which the last solution could not be brought to a satisfactory close, is explained. Modern composers and players would do well to consider the matter in the same light. If the auxiliary tone of the shake does not correspond to the mode or key of the piece, it is especially designated. On the organ we must not allow the two tones of the shake to flow into each other, or it will sound somewhat two-voiced, as loud again as it should and produce a very bad effect. The sign ### which also occurs, is thus explained by J. S. Bach in his Clavierbüchlein for W. F. Bach,
# NB #
The following manner of writing occurs a few times, for instance, in the third Sonata of the present volume;
# NB #
where we must bind or slur the first tone of the appoggiatura, which on account of the slur cannot be executed at full, thus,
# NB #
the object is thereby attained; and more notes are not necessary. If an arch (or slur) be drawn over a recurrence of the same note, as
# NB #
they are to be treated as if, according to our manner of writing notes, dots were placed under the arch, and bound or slurred as much as possible, which is best attained by a successive change of fingers, as
# NB #
in which the touch above-described is understood as a thing of course. The semiquaver-triplets are sometimes printed as real semiquavers
# NB #
sometimes as dotted semiquavers
# NB #
just as they happened to stand in the original manuscript.

==> Die obigen Notenbeispiele (# NB #) können in einer kleinen pdf-Datei angesehen werden (Download)

Both, however, signify the same thing, that is, two notes of the triplet should be played to the first semiquaver and one to the second. If these passages be played exactly as they are written, they would produce a jerking manner of playing which, here at least, would be contrary to the character of the piece. We must bear in mind these signs for the graces were not used with great exactness in the old copies, not even in those of J. S. Bach's own writing. At that time every one knew what he had to play in such passages and therefore the manner was but generally indicated. To this circumstance is to be ascribed that the appoggiaturas (Prall-triller) in the first part of the third Sonata and in the second part of the fourth Sonata of the present volume, as they stand over several successive notes and are expressed by a more lengthened sign, were considered as shake-chains. On the other hand there are in the first part of the second Sonata real shake-chains both for the right, and for the left hand, which must be executed very neatly.

The words which indicate the degree of quicker or slower motion: Largo, Adagio, Andante, Allegro, Vivace, etc., must be taken in the old, not the recent, acceptation, and besides the difference between the organ and the pianoforte must be borne in mind. Allegro means only cheerful and Vivace lively, without any exaggeration. The old Adagio is mostly not so slow as ours. The crotchet in the Andante is about the same value as in the old Minuet, only the Largo is very slow. When organ pieces are played on the pianoforte with three hands, which is very convenient, agreeable and instructive, the tempo must be taken quicker than on the organ, otherwise we remain too far from the real effect.

The Compositions of J. S. Bach for the Organ, contained in the present first volume, were really intended for Exercises, with the exception of the Pastorale at the conclusion, but which, as a very easy organ-piece, is convenientiy annexed to the Exercises.
Of the six Sonatas or Trios (in E flat. C m., D m., E m., C, G) we know that the Master wrote them for his eldest son W. Friedemann Bach in Leipzig after 1723; at least he began then to arrange for this object the elements which he perhaps had already at hand, which cannot well have been done earlier, as Friedemann Bach was only 13 years old in 1723. But that single elements of these Sonatas were already in existence at an earlier period, is proved by the first piece of the third Sonata which is in the collection of Mr. Hauser in Vienna, among the Variations to the Well-tempered Clavier.

The six Sonatas and the Passacaille are really written for the Clavichord with two Manuals and the Pedal, an instrument at that time in the possession of every student of the organ, to exercise hands and feet at home and to prepare facility in a free use of them on the organ; for in the opinion of that time everything on the organ itself should be free invention. It would be desirable to re-introduce similar instruments, as they are really indispensable to every one who will become an organist, and it would be very unsuitable to practise these exercises on the organ itself. Our virtuosi on the pianoforte will indeed not rest until they have introduced on this instrument two sets of keys and the pedal, because they will only then be able in some measure to attain their object, of imitating on the pianoforte the noise of the whole orchestra; but such instruments are too dear for our young organists, as they can only hope to acquire through their instrument a place worth from 100 to 300 Thalers (At the time this was written 12.10.0 to 37.10.0) a year. These sonatas can, besides, be played on one pianoforte, if the bass be played by a third hand and the upper part be taken an octave higher. The bass must then, indeed, be sometimes played an octave lower, but the disproportion in the distance of the parts, which arises from this, is compensated for by the great advantages which such treatment offers, especially in teaching.

It would be very instructive, if the composer himself had marked the registers with which these Trios should be played on the organ. As he has not done this, we can only advance conjectures, from the spirit and form of the pieces, as to what he probably intended. Strong stops, or manifoldly combined registers, will nowhere be suitable; we may rather arrange them as Trios on a Choral Melody are usually registered. The last piece of a Sonata must mostly be taken stronger than the first, and the second the weakest. We should recommend nowhere to increase the strength of the manuals, beyond Principal 8 ft. with Octava 4 ft. Hohl- or Rohrflöte 8 and 4 ft. in the manuals which will produce a good effect in many pieces. In the first case take for the pedal: Principal 16ft., with Octave 8 ft., in the second, Sub-bass 16 ft., with Hohlflöte 8 ft. The greatest difficulty will consist in weighing the strength and equality of both manuals, as organs seldom have equal strength in two claviers. But perfect equality is only requisite with respect to the strength, not to the colouring of the tone, which, as with singers of a duet, may be different. Friends of the organ may try all kinds of combinations; they will not mistake the meaning of the Master, if they do not thereby lose sight of the spirit and form of the pieces to be performed.

Our present Edition of the Six Sonatas or Trios is based upon a careful collation of two autograph copies, one of which is in the Royal Library in Berlin, the other in my collection. These two copies in the handwriting of the Master complement each other in a remarkable manner. They mutually correct each other's few and easily recognizable slips of the pen the Berlin manuscript contains the marks for the tempo, which are wanting in mine and mine has, particularly in the last piece, marks for playing, which are not in the Berlin manuscript. Only the first piece of the first Sonata is in both manuscripts without any marks for the tempo. It must be played Allegro moderato. From these favourable circumstances we are enabled to give a perfectly correct Edition, which it is not probable that future editors will be able in any respect to improve.

For the Passacaglia in C minor we could avail ourselves of a number of copies; I myself possess two: one older, the other more recent. The older one might induce us to suppose that the piece was already composed in Cöthen, but this from the high excellence of the work we cannot admit. The time of its origin must be somewhere near that of the composition of the well-known 30 variations, because it displays the same art of developing genial forms on the same often recurring bass. All these copies, moreover, must give way to one, copied at our request by Mr. Gleichauf in Frankfurt-on-the-Main from the autograph in the possession of Kapellmeister Guhr. Another copy (probably from the same autograph) belonging to Mr. Hauser in Vienna, confirms the correctness of the former; and our Edition is based on this highest authority.

The tempo of the Passacaille must be taken Andante, perhaps somewhat quicker than the old Minuet, without change from beginning to end. Even the so-called Thema fugatum in the autograph must not be played quicker. On the pianoforte, three-handed, where the pedal must be mostly taken an octave lower, it produces an excellent effect. Nor does it fail in this on the organ itself, if rightly registered and played with great distinctness. In the Part before the Fugue we must abstain from the use of the reeds even in the pedal, we should even change here with differently registered claviers in passages easily to be recognized, in order to attain greater variety, which is always desirable on account of the constant sameness of the bass. From the beginning of the Fugue the principal clavier must be used, a little strengthened and adding the 16ft. trombone to the pedal. The full organ is never brought into play.

The pieces of the Pastorale in F major at the end of this volume exist singly in several copies and they are only united in one whole in mine, which Forkel possessed. We do not hesitate to follow it, as it bears the most evident signs of correctedness. The first piece begins in F major and closes in A minor, the second continues in C major, the third attaches itself in C minor and ends in C major, on which the last piece, like the first, begins in F major and so closes the circle of kindred modes. In my manuscript only the first piece has a name; it is called Pastorella; the following are without a superscription, and we would not repeat the very arbitrary names which they bear in the other single copies. Besides the whole comes nearest in form to a Suite, in which we may consider the Pastorella as a Prelude, the second piece as an Allemande, the third as an Aria, and the last as a Gigue. The names however are immaterial.

The full organ can never be brought into play in the performance of these pieces on the organ, for everything which they design occurs in quiet pastorale style, without storm or tempest. For the Pastorella, in the Manual, the Hohl- or Rohrflöte 16, 8 and 4 ft. and in the Pedal the sub-bass (sub-bourdon, Untersatz) 32 ft. and the Hohlflöte 16 and 8 ft. would in our opinion produce a very good effect. If such a 32 ft. stop is wanting in the Pedal, the 16ft. stop in the Manual must likewise be omitted. For the second piece Hohlflöte 8 and 4 produce a by no means bad effect. In the third we are obliged to take the Melody forte and the Accompaniment piano, which perhaps may be attained with Principal 8 ft, in the Great Organ (Hauptwerk) and the stopped 8 ft. in the Rückpositiv, as in many organs the Principal 8 ft., if it stands alone, produces the effect of the violin. The last piece might be effective with Principal 16, 8 and 4ft. on the chief clavier. These, however, are only suggestions; the organist has many other combinations of registers at his command, through which he might perhaps with other tone-colour better attain the same objects.

Respecting the tempo of the four pieces, which belong to the Pastorale, we would not take the first piece quicker than M. M. (punktiertes Viertel) = 66, the second somewhat slower than an Allemande, the third (Achtel) = 72, and the last (Achtel) = 104.

Finally we take the Liberty of earnestly begging all friends of Bach's Art to support most generously the honourable exertions of our publishers by word and deed. They will thereby acquire the merit of having furthered the interests of German Musical Art and of having contributed to the diffusion and utility of its worthiest monuments. More especially we request the possessors of autographs and of authentic copies of J. S. Bach's Compositions for the Organ, with which we may perhaps be unacquainted, to have the goodness to forward information to our publishers and by such friendly assistance to further the completeness and critical correctness of our edition. We can before-hand assure them, as we do all who have hitherto assisted us in a similar manner, of our gratitude and of that of the public.
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To Volume II, by F. K. Griepenkerl, written in 1844:
Fantasia and Fugue G m. (Great); 9 Preludes and Fugues: C (Weimar), G (Great), A, F m., C m. (Great), C (Leipzig), A m. (Great), E m. (Wedge or Scissors), B m. (Great) (P.E. No. 241).

The following remarks on the Compositions for the Organ by J. S. Bach, which are contained in this second volume will, if the preface to the first volume be borne in mind, suffice.

Prelude and Fugue in C major ('Weimar') No. 1. Of this there are two different arrangements, of which it is scarcely doubtful which contained the last corrections of the Master. Forkel had, however, in his work "Life, Art and Works of J. S. Bach" (Leben, Kunst und Kunstwerke J. S. Bachs) given the beginning of the prelude in the other form, and it seemed safer, before engraving the manuscript selected, to compare it with the autograph in the possession of Ignaz Moscheles. It was therefore sent to London and Moscheles has with the most obliging kindness undertaken its collation with the autograph and thereby confirmed our edition in all points. It is therefore just as good as if it were printed from the autograph. But that no error may arise from the beginning of the prelude, as given by Forkel, the prelude is printed apart at the end of the preface, as a various reading, from Forkel's copy in the possession of the publishers, which will besides afford the means of an interesting comparison.

Prelude and Fugue in G major ('Great') No. 2. They are engraved after the original manuscript, which was bought by the publishers from Dr. Naue in Halle. This autograph was formerly in Forkel's possession, and W. F. Bach has attested its authenticity by the words "per manum Autoris." The discovery of this original manuscript is a peculiarly favourable circumstance, for all the other copies are more or less defective, so that the complete restoration of this excellent work, by a mere critical collation of the manuscripts, would not have been possible without it. Even the copy, after which the former edition of this piece was published by C. F. Peters, is now proved to be unsatisfactory.

Prelude and Fugue in A major. No. 3. This piece is now printed for the first time, after three copies, the first two from the collections of Messrs. Schelble and Hauser, the third from that of J. P. Kellner. The autograph in the possession of Kapellmeister Guhr, seemed to us to be an earlier, less complete production of the Master's, for which reason we annex it to this preface only as another reading for comparison.

Fantasia and Fugue in G minor ('Great'), No. 4. Both are here connected for the first time, as they otherwise only occur singly. We have been induced to adopt this connexion by an old copy of the Fantasia in my collection, at the end of which the theme of the Fugue is indicated as belonging to it. Mattheson says in his "Organisten-Probe," Preparation, page 33, "the theme of the Fugue was formerly committed to paper by an able hand, and in the year 1725 laid before the candidates for an organist's place." Hence it may be concluded that the Fugue was composed before 1723, consequently not in Leipzig. The Fugue alone, without the Fantasia, occurs also in F minor; but we can see clearly that it was not originally composed in this key, but transposed by another hand, as some pedal passages which go as far as the great bass Octave C, had to be changed for F minor, where they are less flowing and natural. It seemed therefore advisable, to print the Fantasia and Fugue after my very old copy, avoiding the errors of the copyist and we may hope that the comparison with other copies and editions will convince connoisseurs that our selection is the right one.

Prelude and Fugue in F minor, No. 5. This interesting work is printed for the first time, after a manuscript by Dröbs, a scholar of Kittel's, in the possession of Mr. C. F. Becker, Organist in Leipzig. Forkel did not possess, nor was he acquainted with this work, and we have made enquiries after a second copy of other living collectors, but in vain. The public is therefore the more obliged to Mr. Becker for his friendly communication of this rare and valuable piece for the organ.

The Preludes and Fugues, No. 6 in C minor ('Great'), 7 in C major ('Leipzig'), 8 in A minor ('Great'), 9 in E minor ( Wedge' or ' Scissors') [838a], and 10 in B minor ('Great') are pretty well known through Haslinger's edition and, in justification of our numerous deviations from it, we name only the manuscripts, the collation of which has guided us in our edition. These were, firstly, the copies of the above-named Dröbs, who again transcribed Kittel's copies, and which we owe to the kindness of Mr. Becker; then those from the collection of Mr. Hauser in Vienna; lastly the copies in Forkel's possession at his death, which are now in my collection, in double and even triple copies, older and more recent, but none of them less than 50 years old. For No. 7 the publishers possess besides a very trustworthy copy by Penzel, and for No. 10 there is in my collection a copy in Forkel's own hand, which leaves nothing to be desired. As these collective copies date from such different localities, that one can scarcely be a copy of the others, it was possible to succeed in correcting and restoring these five incomparable compositions for the organ with an accuracy that, without these circumstances, would have been unnattainable.

We must leave the choice of the registers to the players; for organs are so different, that the same precepts could not suit all. We only beg our reader to examine carefully the general views contained in the Preface to the First Volume and, with reference to the highest degree of distinctness there required, to bear in mind the Public, to whom the true understanding of these sublime works is still to be revealed.
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[see also for Clavieruebung 823, 829, 841 and 740]
To Volume III, by F. K. Griepenkerl, written in 1845:
Fantasia and Fugue C m. (Great); 6 Preludes and Fugues; Eb St. Anne or Trinity), D m. (Fiddle Fugue), G m., C, A m., E m. (Short, Cathedral, or Nightwatchman); 3 Toccatas and Fugues; F, D m, (Dorian), C (P. E. No. 242).

The old Edition of the Third Part of the so-called Keyboard Practice (Clavieruebung) engraved in copper, by J. S. Bach himself and his sons, contains, with the exception of four Duets, only Compositions for the Organ, and it probably received the somewhat unsuitable title to harmonise with the two former parts, and because the organ is likewise a clavier-instrument. As it seemed desirable in this new Edition of J. S. Bach's Works to separate completely the Compositions for the Pianoforte from those for the Organ, we were obliged to abandon the arrangement of the pieces in the old edition and have reserved the four Duets for the Works for the Pianoforte. We deemed it advisable moreover to bring together the Organ-Compositions of J. S. Bach, which were independent of Choral-Melodies, and thus Prelude and Fugue at the beginning and at the close of the "Keyboard Practice" could not remain in their old connexion. From them we have obtained for the present volume.

No. 1 Prelude and Fugue (St. Anne Fugue or Trinity), E flat major. We have printed these together, not arbitrarily, but following an old tradition, which Forkel communicated forty years ago, as the two pieces are so nearly allied in spirit and form that every connoisseur, even without this tradition, will immediately recognise them as one Whole.

The comparison with later or earlier copies of this excellent work gave no useful result; it was moreover superfluous, as the old text in copper has the authority of an autograph. The origin of both, as well as of the whole contents of the Third Part of the Clavieruebung belongs to the time of the greatest excellence in art of the Master. We may with tolerable certainty affirm that they were completed before 1740, as the first part was finished in 1731, the second followed soon after, and the third will have followed at no great distance of time; although no date fixes the precise limits.

Bach himself has written over the Prelude (as well as over the Fugue) "Organo pleno", and here we learn to attach a different meaning to this expression, from that which was discussed in the Preface to the first Volume. The organ is here to be used with its three rows of keys and with the pedal, but not all the stops at the same time, which opinion, if it were at any time affirmed, would be refuted by the terms forte and piano in pages 3 and 6, This is still more clearly indicated by the intermediate passages of the Prelude and by the three parts of the Fugue, which in form and spirit deviate so far from each other as to justify the use of alternating claviers and different registers. How frequently J. S. Bach availed himself of this alternation on suitable occasions in the performance of his Organ-Compositions may be seen from the Prelude in No. 3 of the present volume, where, in conformity with old manuscripts, they are inserted, passage for passage. We by no means wish to dictate to virtuosi on the organ the choice of the registers and claviers for the performance of this noble work, but a suggestive proposal may not be unwelcome to those friends of the organ, who are less faimliar with the Compositions of J. S. Bach for this instrument.

We might arrange the Upper-Work (Oberwerk), to proceed in the most simple manner, with 8 ft. and 4 ft. stops of narrow calibre, the Rückpositiv with several and more powerful 8 ft. and 4 ft. stops and the Great Organ (Hauptwerk) with all 16 ft., 8 ft. and 4 ft. strong stops of great calibre, but without the reeds and mixtures. The pedal too admits all 32 ft., 16 ft. and 8 ft. stops, the 16ft. trombone, nay, even the 32 ft. one if it is good, but no 8 ft. trumpet and no mixtures. The longer passages of the Prelude in dotted notes are played on the Great Organ, the piano p. 3 and 6 on the Oberwerk and the forte on the Rückpositiv. The intermediate passages, principally in sixteenth and without pedal, are taken on the Rückpositiv, only page 7, from the last bar of the first system where the Pedal is added, is played to the end on the Main-clavier (Haupt-clavier). For the first division of the Fugue take the Great Organ, for the second, which is without Pedal, the Rückpositiv, and for the third, couple the Rückpositiv with the Great Organ, on which it is played, if the playing does not thereby become too difficult, so that it loses in distinctness, for this last quality is more essential than a slight strengthening. We hope however that no one will adopt these proposals without comparing them with the peculiar capabilities of his organ, by which they might indeed become unsuitable. On the organ which I had in mind, this excellent work would, by the adoption of the above suggestion, be heard in all the magnificence and glory which probably pervaded the thought of the Master in composing it.

No. 2. Toccata and Fugue in F major. As the autograph of this noble work, which belongs to the time of Bach's highest excellence in art, could not be found, we were reduced to a collation of seven manuscripts, which without doubt contain all the important variations of the text. The solo passages for the pedal in the Toccata display the greatest difference. They are found most consistently and completely in two manuscripts in my collection, one of which is by J. P. Kellner. They are abbreviated in an old book by J. L. Krebs, in the possession of Mr. Reichardt, Court-Organist in Altenburg, and in a copy, for which we are indebted to the kindness of Mr. Dehn in Berlin and which is probably closely connected with the book above-named. The reason of the change is easily perceived. The pedals of the organ reach at most to D (first treble octave), those of Altenburg only to C of the same octave, and J. S. Bach wrote in these passages to F (same octave), which is not on the pedal of a single old organ (See Dr. Sumner's Table of Keyboard Compasses [807]). He was therefore obliged, in playing, either to take the tones which exceeded the compass of the pedals, an octave lower, whereby the melodic connection is in some measure broken, or play them on the manual, which last was not then possible without a striking disturbance, unless the sound of the tones in the manual and pedal could be made nearly equal, which can in many organs be effected by registering. In order to avoid these artificial resources, which are impossible on many organs, and to preserve an equal tone-colour, Krebs probably first altered these passages himself, and made them applicable for his pedal in Altenburg. But as we consider their richer and more flowing form as the original one, we have inserted this in the text and we give here the change by Krebs for comparison and ad libitum use. In the first Solo, p. 17, Krebs omits the fourth and fifth bars, without making any other alteration. In the second Solo, p. 19, he retains the first eighteen bars and leaves the four last bars of the Solo unaltered. He has made all the other pedal passages applicable by taking the tones which exceed the compass of the pedal, an octave lower, and remaining in this lower octave, as far as the melodic connection reaches. Those who possess the old edition, published by the Bureau de Musique, C. F. Peters, Leipzig, may easily convince themselves more accurately of the truth of these remarks.

If we take on the Manual the Principal 8 and 4 ft., and on the Pedal 16 and 8 ft., we can without any observable disturbance retain the richer form of the Pedal Solos, by playing on the Manual the tones which exceed the compass of the Pedal, an octave lower. Hereby we can imitate a musical trick of the old musicians, who liked to give riddles in Art: for the half-connoisseurs of the present time, like their predecessors, will be astonished that we can draw from the Pedal tones which really are not on it. The Fugue requires the so-called Great Organ, and we must be quick in registering, unless we prefer to take the Prelude on the Rückpositiv, which is less suited to it. Moreover many other inconveniences might be avoided by extending the Pedal in new organs to F (first treble octave) and the claviers to F (third treble octave).

No. 3. Toccata and Fugue in D minor ('Dorian'). Of all the Organ pieces contained in this third volume the restoration of correct readings in this Toccata was attended with the greatest difficulties. The autograph was wanting and all the copies had different readings. To this was added that by far the greater number of the various readings could not be considered as errors and in some we could even recognize the correcting hand of the Master himself. The last available was the old edition (Bureau de Musique, C. F. Peters) on account of the many false notes, misprinted ornaments and the want of indication in changing the claviers. After a careful examination of the sources at hand, we could avail ourselves only of three manuscripts which mutually corrected each other, viz. two in my collection, one of them by J. P. Kellner and one in the book, already named, in the possession of J. L. Krebs at the time of his death, for which we are indebted to the kindness of Mr. Reichardt, Court-Organist, and of which we must say more below in No. 6. Interesting as the communication merely of the more important deviations would be for the connoisseur, we must for the present suspend this design on account of their number and can only express a hope that we have discovered the correct reading. We have spared no exertions to obtain accuracy; for the object to be attained was the restoration of one of the most splendid Organ-compositions in existence.

In the Toccata the alternation between Upper-Work (Oberwerk) and Rückpositiv has been fixed by the Master himself and from the particular manner of this change we can deduce with certainty how we must register for both claviers, that we may not make
Organo pleno in our meaning of this term.

No. 4. Prelude and Fugue in D minor ('Fiddle' Fugue). To the known sources for the restoration of this beautiful composition was added an old and good manuscript in my collection, by the help of which some doubtful passages could be corrected, so that now there is probably little left to be desired, until by a lucky chance the autograph be discovered.

It is very remarkable that the Fugue was likewise arranged for the violin by J. S. Bach himself. It is found in this form in the first
of the well-known six Sonatas for Violin alone and is transposed into G minor, as it could not be played on the Violin in D minor. The Prelude is a quite different one, and in the Fugue all passages are altered which were not applicable for the Violin; but, with the exception of these deviations the agreement of the two works is extremely great. Besides there are probably but few themes to be found, which admit of arrangement for two instruments so different as are the organ and the violin. For more convenient collation, which is very interesting and instructive, we add this arrangement of the Fugue for the Violin as an appendix to this volume.

No. 5. Prelude and Fugue in G minor. Among the manuscripts used for collation, two in my collection (one of them by J. P. Kellner) and a third by Kittel were the best. The former edition (Bureau de Musique, C. F. Peters) proved less usable. To judge by the Prelude, the copy by J. P. Kellner is probably an earlier arrangement of the Master's, which he afterwards improved in the manner shown by my second copy. The older edition and the manuscript by Kittel have the third bar (p. 50 of our present edition) double, giving twice each of the four figures contained in it, which seemed to us not so good, wherefore we here likewise followed my second manuscript.

No. 6. Fantasia and Fugue in C minor (Great). This composition, hitherto almost wholly unknown, which is one of the most excellent of J. S. Bach's works that we possess, is in the often mentioned book of J. L. Krebs, the celebrated scholar of J. S. Bach, and but for the intervention of Mr. Reichardt, Court-Organist in Altenburg, to whose kindness we are indebted for it, would have fallen into the hands of a petty shopkeeper and been used as waste-paper. Under the very careful copy is written "Soli Deo Gloria, den 10. Januarii 1751." It was consequently made scarcely half a year after the death of the Master, which adds extremely to its value. The copyist has worked with fidelity and pious care, so that the correctness of the manuscript leaves nothing to be desired, and it must be considered as an extremely fortunate circumstance, since no attempts at correction could be made by the criticism of collation, inasmuch as this seems to be the only copy of the work. The Public, as well as ourselves, is hence the more indebted to Mr. Reichardt for his friendly communication of this composition.

No. 7. Prelude and Fugue in C major. The copies of this work which we had an opportunity of collating, seven in number, show the greatest variety. The mode is sometimes C major, sometimes E major; sometimes the first Prelude is connected with the first Fugue in C time, sometimes the second Prelude with the second Fugue in 3/4 time. Only two copies, and those the most to be relied on, give the piece in C major and are at the same time complete: one from the collection of Mr. Hauser in Vienna and the other in the often mentioned book of J. L. Krebs. They vary but little from each other, and after their collation our present edition, which with respect to completeness and mode is now the first, was for the most part executed.

As to the reasons of the remarkable differences of so many copies, we can only entertain conjectures, which however do not place the matter in a clear light. It is moreover probable that the completion and arrangement in C major is the work of the last revision, for we can the less adopt the supposition here of a blending of two independent works, inasmuch as the connexion is found in two manuscripts which can with difficulty have any relation to each other and the book by Krebs has the most decisive claims to authenticity.

In the manuscript in the collection of Mr. Hauser the word "concertato" is written in the superscription together with Preludio, in which is contained a hint for the comprehension and use of this work. Virtuosi on the organ, who may wish to perform it in their concerts, will find an opportunity to display their instrument on its most brilliant side, as a rich alternation of stops and claviers is justified by the spirit of the piece as well as by its external composition. An incomplete variant in E major is printed at the end of this volume, edited principally after a manuscript by Kittel; thence a few differences in comparison with the C major version.

No. 8. Toccata and Fugue in C major. This little known and yet very interesting organ-piece could not have been printed but for a very old, and almost faultless, copy in the often-mentioned book of Krebs. The only manuscript to which we had previously had access, from the collection of Mr. Gleichauf, was too imperfect; it has however been of use to us in the discovery of some errors in writing and has given rise to the conjecture that it contains an earlier and less perfect arrangement of the Master. Hence we give to the Public the best form extant of this piece in a faultless impression.
In the choice of the registers and claviers we must constantly study the character of the Fugue in order to gain decisive reasons and a suitable proportion.

No. 9. Prelude and Fugue in A minor. Besides the old edition of this piece (Bureau de Musique, C. F. Peters), we had a very defective copy by Dröbs, from the collation of which we gained but little. Notwithstanding all our exertions we could discover no other copies and it must be left to chance whether we shall in future be able to indicate better readings.

No. 10 Prelude and Fugue in E minor ('Short", 'Cathedral", or 'Nightwatchman'). For this piece three copies of the whole and one of the Fugue alone were collated. Among these the two formerly in the possession of Forkel and Kittel were most to be relied on and varied also but little from each other, for which reason they have served as the basis of this new edition. The bar in the Prelude, formerly wanting, is here restored after these two copies.

Forkel has written on his copy of this organ-piece the word "old", which may probably likewise be affirmed of each of the three last pieces of the present volume, so that we may assume them to have been composed before 1720, for it is in this sense that Forkel used this word with respect to the compositions of J. S. Bach. This conjecture is likewise confirmed by certain forms, which occur more frequently in Froberger, who died at the end of the 17th century, and was highly esteemed by J. S. Bach in his youth.

The expression, "critically correct Edition", which we have ventured to insert on the Title Page of this Collection of the Compositions for the Organ by J. S. Bach, is, we hope, partly justified by quoting the Autographs, the use of which was placed at our disposal, and the numerous other manuscripts which we have carefully collated and of which the result is now submitted to the judgment of the Public in three large volumes. This justification would have been more complete and better grounded, if we could have printed at length the lists of various readings with our double and even triple judgments with the reasons in support of them, but we were obliged to forego this design, as it would immeasurably have increased the price of the work, and as these preparatory labours would have benefited but the very few, more profound judges. Nor would even these communications, which we do not intend altogether to withhold from the knowledge of the Public, have brought to view all the reasons of the selection which we have made; it is therefore necessary to allude here in a few words to at least one fundamental principle which has guided us in our criticism.

We are not ignorant of the fact that for a hundred years a difference of opinion has prevailed among musicians respecting certain peculiarities of the Compositions in several Parts by J. S. Bach. Bach is to these men what Shakespeare was to many critics in the third quarter of the last century; from the other great beauties of this poet, they thought, "we must bear with much from him. We could produce many proofs of this from the Past and the Present, but a single instance may here suffice, which is taken from the middle of the period between 1750 and the present time and from which we can judge forwards and backwards. Gerber in his new Lexicon of Musicians (Tonkünsterlexikon), Part 2, p. 86, says that Fasch, the founder of the Berlin Singakademie and himself a very great master in part-singing, had expressed to him his opinion "that J. S. Bach's parts sang indeed each by itself, but that their connexions among each other remained unsingable, that is, were indeed beautiful parts but not joined together to one beautiful Whole, etc." The following sentence revokes, it is true, half of the blame; but we see clearly, it is the same opinion which so many old and modern musicians share with Fasch and according to which they sometimes even altered their copies of J. S. Bach's Compositions, a proceeding whereby they became unavailable for our purpose.

We cannot deny, that, at the coincidence of several melodies, which Bach unites to a Whole, harsh harmonies occur at many points; nay, on such occasions in some rare cases he allows himself even consecutive octaves and fifths in equal parts. Every one of the finer and greater works of J. S. Bach may serve as an instance, at least for the harsher harmonies, and particular quotations are not necessary. But are these really then faults or negligences, which we may unconditiondly blame or even arrogantly correct? Must we then dwell on such passages and interrupt the progress of the Composition, or do they not rather serve for a quicker press forwards? A change of the kind, considered as a correction, is firstly a sin against art; for we cannot make this correction without doing violence to the melodies, in which musical art has its chief seat. It would be such a crime as if we would classically "frenchify" a Drama of Shakespeare's, whereby we must inevitably strike at the roots of the characters and situations and destroy its like, as a work of art. Of course, the musically uncultivated mass may amuse themselves with what they like, but in concerns of higher art they have no voice. How unpleasantly may at first the single passing notes which, after the invention of harmony and florid song, musicians timidly ventured upon in earlier centuries, have struck such hearers, as they were previously only accustomed to the simultaneous meeting of all parts and to mere consonant intervals.

This is the needy beginning of that, which J. S. Bach applied in greatest extension and first thereby exalted music to a perfectly independent art. His works contain not only single passing notes, but whole melody-passages pass; in him not only single tones and chords, but whole melodic series of tones are suspended. He gave the so-called organ-point (Orgelpunkt) a wide extent, so that it may be used not only at the close of a piece, but also in the middle of it and everywhere, to gain for the melodies the freest and finest motion; nay the holding note is found in his works not only in the bass, but according to circumstances in all parts and is often wanting altogether. Of all these and several similar means J. S. Bach made use, to give his compositions an independent inward life and to make nothing but the beginning dependent upon an outward impulse; for motion, progress in time, is the essence of the musical art. A continually sounding (third, fifth) chord is no music. The incitement to this motion must press forth from the interior of the Work of Art, so that the progress becomes aesthetically necessary, and the Preceding, without that which follows until the close, would highly displease.

If the musical Work of Art has no independent life from within, if it at all points requires an impulse from without, then an essential quality is wanting, it sinks down to the dead. Palestrina's highly praised works do not in this respect stand on the summit of Art, because they mostly advance in (third, fifth) chords, in whose positions the incitement to progress is not sufficiently strong to bring forth an inward necessity of motion. Who could compare with the conditions of a pleasing repose and, hence, judge such Works of Art as J. S. Bach composed? Not even the harmony gives occasions to do so, for by far less reposing positions of the consonant intervals, by the changes of the same and of their positions and by the dissonant chords it incites to progress in time, to melody. But to wish to base melody and above all the connexion of several melodies on harmony alone, is a one-sidedness; for melody likewise admits of an independent beginning, which we must not miss, if we will trace the true reasons of dissonant harmonies, passing notes, etc., inasmuch as these last will never evolve from pure harmonic beginnings.

Who would make it a subject of reproach to a Master, like J. S. Bach, that he would in his works heighten to the highest degree inward life, the essence of his Art, and that he thereby opens new paths, untrodden before? Who would blame him, if he principally cultivates melody and in the meeting of several melodies pays more respect to the purity of the same and to the incitement to motion than to the harmonies arising from the meeting, according to the needy elements of art? We at least have not been frightened at harsh melodies or at so-called faults in the progression, if they were only justified by the melodic texture and have very often, guided by them, found the true reading.

Lack of space forbids us to say more on this subject and above all to fix decisively the limits beyond which this striving after incitement to motion should however not pass; but the connoisseur will now in this respect be able perfectly to survey the fundamental position of our criticism in the collation of the manuscripts.
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To Volume IV, by F. K. Griepenkerl, written in 1845:
Canzona D m.; 2 Fantasias: G, C m.; 4 Fugues: C m. (Legrenzi or Double Fugue), G m. (Little or Folksong), B m. (on a theme by Corelli), C m.; Praeludium A m.; 4 Preludes and Fugues: C (Trumpet), G, D, C m. (Arnstadt); Toccata and Fugue D m.; Trio D m. (P.E. No. 243).

It has been our aim in the preparation of this series to furnish as many of Bach's mature organ works as are available. To this end, even some whose authenticity is uncertain have been included in the interests of the broader historical picture. We also plan to include a supplementary volume; to cover the most important youthful works.

But to achieve the complete historical picture, it is necessary for us to make certain conceptual differentiations. With regard to the organ works of Bach's time, one must distinguish between the concepts (1) sacred; (2) religious; and (3) organistic.

(1) Under the heading, "sacred", one must place pieces designed for use in the actual church service preludes, postludes, and hymn-accompaniments.
(2) On the other hand, Bach's chorale-variations, and similar works, are not "sacred" in the same sense, since they cannot be used in the actual church service. It is these we designate as "religious".
(3) The third category does not necessarily exclude the other two, but describes the intrinsic characteristics of works not specifically "sacred" or "religious" in intent. Bach's chorale-variations are at the same time "religious" and "organistic". The six sonatas, the passacaglia, and the pastorale in Volume I; some of the preludes and fugues; and the organ concertos, must all fall into the third category.

A description of a few leading features of the concept "organistic", as it pertained to Bach's time, may be advisable here. The organ stands apart from all other instruments in power and size. Everything that is played upon it should differentiate itself from all other music in spirit, melody, harmony, and rhythm. It sets down its chords like columns, its melodies like bas-reliefs. Since its dynamics are limited to forte and piano, its melodies must have the intrinsic value and proportion to do without modifying transitions. The harmonies must contain strong, provocative progressions. The organ demands polyphony; each voice must be a melody, even the pedal for the most part. The melodies must have breadth. The harmonies must be rich but not over-loaded. The rhythm must not dally, etc. In spirit, the music, however joyful, should be noble and stately.

If one were to examine even the weakest of Bach's organ compositions in the light of these criteria, one would find very few that could be categorically banned from his collected works.

No. 1 Prelude and Fugue in C major ('Trumpet'). This piece, previously imprinted, is taken from the autograph in my collection, and from two copies in the Gleichauf collection. In the autograph, the prelude is complete. In the fugue, quite a few bars are missing from the middle, and the closing is omitted entirely, but we are able to fill these in from the Gleichauf copies.

No. 2 Prelude and Fugue in G major. The autograph of this piece is missing. This edition is based on a comparison of two copies: one by J. P. Kellner incomplete in my collection; the other in a book belonging to the organist, Nicolai, loaned by Johann Schneider of Dresden.

No. 3 Prelude and Fugue in D major. These pieces are usually separate; but since they are placed together in the aforementioned book from the estate of Nicolai, we have followed the same course here. For the prelude, an old manuscript in my collection was also available for comparison. In the appendix, we include a variant of the fugue, taken from a very good manuscript. Unfortunately, it is impossible to ascertain whether the divergences originated with Bach.

No. 4. Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Since all later copies of this piece point to a common source a copy by Kittel we used a copy by Dröbs. This copy, loaned by Mr. Becker, agrees with the others. The tempo marks in brackets were inserted by the editor; the others appear in the manuscript.

No. 5. Prelude and Fugue in C minor ('Arnstadt'). This piece, previously unprinted, is taken from a copy by Kittel. A manuscript, by Kellner, of the fugue alone, in D minor, did not contain divergences of sufficient importance to warrant inclusion here as a variant. The same is true of another copy in D minor, which, although it contains both sections, is extremely defective.

No. 6 Fugue in C minor ('Legrenzi' or 'Double Fugue'). This piece is taken from the autograph in the Guhr collection. A copy by J. P. Kellner and another in the Hauser collection were available for comparison. This latter agreed for the most part with the autograph, but Kellner's does not contain the coda on p. 45. We did not want to omit it, since it appears in the autograph. Since it is possible, however, that the Master himself later discarded it, one is free to close the fugue with page 44. Many manuscripts bear the additional designation, "Thema Legrenzianium elaboratum cum subjecto pedaliter ab J. S. Bach." It is not implausible that the theme is by Giovanni Legrenzi.

No. 7 Fugue in G minor ('Little' or 'Folksong'). This piece is taken from copies by Krebs (in the Reichardt collection) and Kellner (in my collection). Other copies available for comparison included one by Kittel, another from my collection, and one from the Guhr collection.

No. 8. Fugue in B minor ('Corelli'). This piece, previously unprinted is taken from a copy in my collection, probably in W. Friedemann Bach's hand. It contains a legion of grace notes which were naturally omitted, since they certainly did not originate with the composer. A copy by J. P. Kellner was unusable, but another from Kassel corroborated the first. According to the heading, the theme is by Corelli.

No. 9. Fugue in C minor. This piece is taken from two manuscripts, one in the Gleichauf collection, and another in mine. According to the third, very old manuscript, this fugue is a product of Bach's Weimar period.

No. 10. Canzona in D minor. This piece, previously unprinted, is taken from manuscripts from various sources, including Kittel, Dröbs, Nicolai (loaned by Schneider), Gleichauf, and Hauser. The autograph is missing. In one of the copies the word "adagio" appears at the beginning of the penultimate bar.

No. 11. Fantasia in G major. This piece is taken from two copies, one in the Hauser collection and another in mine. Manuscripts by Kittel, Krebs (in the Reichardt collection) were available for comparison.

No. 12. Fantasia in C minor. This piece is taken from an old manuscript in my collection. Other copies, one by Kittel, were available for comparison. This fantasia should also appear with the fugue of No. 6 in Volume II. It is not impossible that, until Bach replaced it with the prelude in that volume, the fantasia was played with that fugue.

No. 13. Prelude in A minor. This piece is taken from two virtually identical manuscripts one in the Hauser collection, the other in mine. These were compared with copies by Krebs (in the Reichardt collection), and Kittel.

No. 14. Trio in D minor. This piece is taken from two manuscripts one in the Reichardt collection, the other in mine. We could not omit the large number of ornaments since they do appear in the manuscript, but it is suggested they be used selectively. (For further particulars see Schmieder BWV 583.)
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To Volume V: a) by Karl Straube, written in 1928:
56 Short Chorale Preludes; 5 Canonic Vars. on "Vom Himmel hoch"; 7 Chorale Preludes; Chorale Vars.: on "Christ, der du bist der helle Tag" (7 Partitas), on "O Gott, du frommer Gott" (9 Partitas), on "Sei gegruesset Jesu guetig" (11 Vars.) (easy) (P.E. No. 244).

Approximately 150 of Bach's Chorale arrangements for the organ have survived. In part they are contained in collections which the Master himself compiled, others have come to us as individual pieces in accidental order, some just as they were found in autograph collections, or, more frequently, in some of the collected MS. copies of Bach's contemporaneous copies.

Volume V of Bach's Organ Works includes, among other compositions, a complete collection of Chorale Preludes, mainly from Bach's Weimar and Cöthen days the so-called "Little Organ Book". Instead of using the order of the autograph, Griepenkerl put all the Chorale Preludes in alphabetical order they are contained in Volumes V, VI and VII to allow the practising organist to find easily any particular Prelude. (This complete alphabetical Index is included in the BWV-Griepenkerl Concordance [829]).

The Little Organ Book itself contains 45 Chorale Preludes. These Preludes also in the Griepenkerl revision are being issued together in one volume (P.E. No. 3946) in the order of the autograph, that is in the order of the Festivals of the Church Year (Christmas, Passion, etc.). According to Albert Schweitzer, a certain clear, though not entirely completed, plan forms the basis of The Little Organ Book.

The order of the autograph is as follows:

CHRISTMAS
1. Nun komm' der Heiden Heiland
2. Gott, durch deine Güte
3. Herr Christ, der ein'ge Gottes-Sohn
4. Lob sei dem allmächtigen Gott
5. Puer natus in Bethlehem
6. Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ
7. Der Tag, der ist so freudenreich
8. Vom Himmel hoch da komm' ich her
9. Vom Himmel kam der Engel Schar
10. In dulci jubilo
11. Lobt Gott, ihr Christen, allzugleich
12. Jesu meine Freude
13. Christum wir sollen loben schon
14. Wir Christenleut'
15. Helft mir Gottes Güte preisen
16. Das alte Jahr vergangen ist
17. In dir ist Freude
18. Mit Fried' und Freud' ich fahr' dahin
19. Herr Gott, nun schleuss den Himmel auf
PASSION-TIDE
20. O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig
21. Christe, du Lamm Gottes
22. Christus, der uns selig macht
23. Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund
24. O Mensch, bewein' dein' Sünde gross
25. Wir danken dir, Herr Jesu Christ
26. Hilf Gott, dass mir's gelinge
EASTER
27. Christ lag in Todesbanden
28. Jesus Christus, unser Heiland
29. Christ ist erstanden
30. Erstanden ist der heil'ge Christ
31. Erschienen ist der herrliche Tag
32. Heut triumphieret Gottes Sohn
33. Komm, Gott, Schöpfer, heiliger Geist
34. Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend'!
35. Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier
36. Dies sind die heil'gen zehn Gebot'
37. Vater unser im Himmelreich
38. Durch Adams Fall ist ganz verderbt
39. Es ist das Heil uns kommen her
40. Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ
41. In dich hab' ich gehoffet, Herr
42. Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein
43. Wer nur den lieben Gott lasst walten
44. Alle Menschen müssen sterben
45. Ach wie nichtig, ach wie flüchtig
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To Volume V: b) by F. K. Griepenkerl written in 1846:
In this fifth Volume of the Organ-Compositions of J. S. Bach begin those Works of this great Master that are based upon chorale-melodies. Their authenticity is placed beyond all doubt by Autographs still extant and by old original editions engraved on copper.

The order in which these numerous works were to be arranged might cause some difficulty; but we should not forget that the convenience of those who wished to use them as studies, as well as their historical place and artistic contents, was to be considered. Accordingly we place first the smaller Chorale Preludes composed in Cöthen, which the Master himself designed as exercises, then the Partitas and Chorale variations and conclude with the longer and more artistic Chorale Preludes of the same Master. For the convenience of reference we have arranged each of these three divisions according to the alphabet, and, in order to facilitate the survey of the whole collection, we shall at the conclusion publish an alphabetical catalogue of all.

The short Chorale arrangements which form the beginning, are mostly taken from the so-called "Orgelbüchlein", of which the only authentic Autograph is in the Royal Library in Berlin (Manuscript, autograph B.26, in quarto). Its title is "Orgelbüchlein, worinne einem anfahenden Organisten Anleitung gegeben wird, auff allerhand Arth einen Choral durchzuführen, anbey auch sich im Pedalstudio zu habilitiren, indem in solchen darinne befindlichen Chorälen das Pedal gantz obligat tractiret wird" (Little book for the Organ wherein a beginning Organist may derive instruction how to execute a Chorale in all sorts of ways, thereby also exercise himself in the Study of the Pedal as in die Chorales contained herein the Pedal is treated quite Obligato).
"Den höchsten Gott allein zu Ehren
Dem Nächsten, draus sich zu belehren."
(In honour of the highest God alone. For the Instruction of our Neighbour.)
"Autore Joanne Sebast. Bach. p. t. Capellae Magistro S. P. R. Anhaltini Cotheniensis".

Mr. S. W. Dehn gives the following description of this book in Cäcilia, Vol. 22, Part 87, pp. 166 etc.
"From the manner in which Bach has written these Works together, it is clear that a considerable number of Chorales were to be added to those which it contains. At the top of each page is written the first line of the text of a Chorale, the ruled paper however is left empty for the musical arrangement and some sheets are written, some empty. The arrangements which it contains were probably filled up by degrees after the contents of the whole book were already selected and indicated by the initial lines, whenever a particular occasion offered itself to the Master. No calculated progressive difficulty for the beginning Organist can be traced in the whole succession of the Chorales, whence we may conclude that Bach did not intend the "Büchlein" for publication in its present form, although it may have been for his intention to put into the hands of his scholars a Practical Course of Instruction."

After inspecting the Autograph we must in all points confirm this description by Mr. S. W. Dehn and only add that the Chorale-arrangements in it, including the one only begun, amount to forty-six.

The Master himself will certainly not have written this work which is only begun, a second time, as he indeed did his completed Works often enough for the gratification of his contemporaries and friends, of which many proofs exist. On the other hand many of his scholars seem to have taken copies of it and such copies from the Library of Krebs, in the possession of Mr. Reichardt, Court-Organist, by Dröbs (Kittel), by Oley and Penzel in the Collection of Mr. Hauser, also quite complete in the Collection of Mr. Gleichauf, lay before us for critical collation. Mr. Ferdinand Roitzsch has himself compared our arrangement grounded on this collation note for note with the Autograph in the Royal Library in Berlin, so that our present Edition with the exception of some completed graces, a few superscriptions, forgotten ligatures and pauses and the alphabetical arrangement agrees more exactly with the Autograph than all other Copies or Editions, which are sometimes defective and contain unfounded alterations.

Of these 46 Chorale-arrangements of the "Orgelbüchlein", we omit in the regular order 1) O Traurigkeit, o Herzeleid (Oh! sorrow, oh, woe of heart), 2) the Canon on: "Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier u. s. w." ("Dearest Jesus, we are here" etc.) on two systems, which immediately afterwards is brought "distinctius" on three systems and which, on account of some deviations, we add at the close of the Preface as another reading. Lastly 3) Bach has afterwards very much extended the Chorale: "Komm, Gott, Schöpfer u. s. w." (Come, God, Creator etc.) and we preferred to omit that first shorter form here, to bring it in proximity to the more extended form, as more convenient for comparison.

As Bach himself attached no value to the order of succession, we considered it allowable to change it for the alphabetical, for the convenience of reference, and as the Autograph in no wise lays claim to indissoluble connexion and completeness, it was permitted to insert here other short Chorale arrangements similar in form, but which stood in no other connexion, although they were likewise partly without obligato Pedal. Besides we could hardly have found a fitter place for them. They are the Numbers 7, 18, 20, 23, 26, 27, 36, 39, 43, 47, 52 and 53, which, to render them immediately distinguishable, we have marked with an asterisk.

This seems to be the place, to say much respecting the Church modes, in which many Chorales with their arrangements are written. But the space of a preface does not permit this. Besides we should not do it in order to write in their favour: for they are an unsuccessful attempt in the infancy of Art they have not, with the exception of the Ionic (our C major) and the Aeolian (our descending A minor) the necessary qualities of the scales their system, including the difference of authentic and plagal, is false, for four scales occur twice under other denominations and their Greek names are a folly. On the other hand, the manner in which J. S. Bach above all other composers has drawn out of them by harmonic treatment a high artistic value and deep religious expression, is in the highest degree remarkable and of such great significance that those in themselves unsuccessful scales must thereby be held in memory forever. But the complete development of this subject far exceeds the space of a preface. We therefore reserve it for a separate work on the art of Bach and shall only make a few remarks here, which mostly refer to the writing adopted by us. We have completed the signs of transposition in Numbers 1, 28, 29, 30, 31, 43, 46, 50, and 55 according to the modern manner, and corrected them in the transpositions into other intervals. In the Numbers 19, 35, and 44, where the Pedal lies in the middle part, we have set it, for the convenience of the player on the third system, instead of on the second. Many peculiarities of time, for instance in No. 35, where there are quaver-triplets, instead of crotchet-triplets, we would not change, because Bach wrote them so, to make the triplets more easily distinguishable, etc.

The pauses in the course of a Chorale do not signify full stops, but they only indicate the close of a verse or strophe and we should not dwell upon them, for these Chorale-arrangements are not used to accompany the singing of the congregation. At first sight it might seem as if No. 4, "Christ ist erstanden" (Christ has arisen) etc. belongs to the chorale-variations and that the word versus was only used for partita or variatio. But this hymn of Luther's has three verses, to which those three variations correspond, for we must not imagine that Bach paid but little respect to the text, for many examples prove the contrary.

Of the Chorale-arrangements which are not in the "Orgelbüchlein", and which, for the reasons above-mentioned we have admitted, Nos. 7, 20, and 53 are corrected from manuscripts in the possession of Messrs. Hauser and Gleichauf (Schelble). We would not omit the Chorale with figured bass to No. 53, because it is in both manuscripts. We only found in Mr. Hauser's collection good copies for Nos. 18 and 23. No. 26 was restored after three manuscripts Oley, Penzel and Dröbs (Kittel) of which the latter contains many deviations. We corrected No. 27 after copies formerly in the possession of Krebs and Rotschau; I found No. 36 in a book that formerly belonged to Krebs. No. 47 is printed after the original edition of the third part of the Clavieruebung. No. 52 after the Autograph in the "Clavierbüchlein" for W. F. Bach, formerly in the possession of Mr. Kötschau; from the same book we have printed at the end of the Preface the fragments of an arrangement of the melody "Jesu, meine Freude" u.s.w. (Jesus, my joy, etc.) after the Autograph.

Besides those already mentioned, we have printed at the end of the Preface three other various readings, viz. to No. 8. "Christus, der uns selig macht" u.s.w. (Christ, who makes us blessed, etc.) from the Collection of Gleichauf (Schelble), to No. 47 "Vater unser im Himmelreich" u.s.w. (Our Father in Heaven, etc.) and to No. 52 "Wer nur den lieben Gott lasst walten" u.s.w. (He, who lets God reign alone, etc.) both after two manuscripts in the possession of Hauser and Gleichauf. As the two latter generally occur as independent pieces, it may not be uninteresting to learn that they are only variations of other arrangements.

To the second section belong four Collections of Partitas and Chorale-variations, the authenticity of which is indisputable.
(1) Partite diverse sopra: "Christ, der du bist der helle Tag" (Oh Christ! who art the cheerful day).
(2) Partite diverse sopra: "O Gott, du frommer Gott," (Oh God! thou pious God).
(3) Eleven variations on: "Sei gegrüsset, Jesu gütig" (All hail, thou goodly Jesus).
(4) Some canonic changes on the Christmas song "Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her" (From heaven high, thence do I come).

The first two are taken from a very old copy from Forkel's library now in my possession and No. 1 was collated with two other copies in the collections of Hauser and Gleichauf; No. 2 with a copy from the library of Krebs now in the possession of Reichardt and with another in that of Dehn. No. 3 is without doubt more recent than the first two, which were probably already composed in Arnstadt; for it possesses a greater richness of form and the Pedal is treated obligato. We found them in the books formerly belonging to Krebs, now to Reichardt, with only four variations, but complete in a very good copy in the possession of Mr. C. F. Becker. Bach published the canonic variations under No. 4 at Balt. Schmidt's in Nürnberg for his reception into the Mitzler Society of the Musical Sciences, founded in 1738. But that they were not composed for this object is proved by the Autograph of them in the Royal Library (More correctly "former Prussian State Library") in Berlin, which somewhat deviates from the old original edition. Firstly the succession of the changes is there different: but the fifth is there the third, and the fourth the fifth; besides the Canones in the three first changes are written out in full, whilst in the Original Edition only the entrance to the second Part was indicated with a few notes; lastly, the change which, in the old edition, is on four systems, is in the Autograph on three. The old Edition contains without doubt the last correction of the Master; we have however used from the Autograph all that could tend to greater correctness and to the convenience of the player, as the complete writing out of the canones and the representation of the fourth change on three systems, with the pedal on the third, although the Chorale-melody lies in the tenor.

In conclusion it is desirable that nobody should judge the effect of all these Chorale-arrangements, until he has found the right stops with which they should be played.
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To Volumes VI and VII, by Karl Straube, written in 1928:
J. S. Bach's Chorale Preludes have been handed down to us partly in the form of collections put up by the master's own hand, partly in single autographs and contemporary copies. The 'Little Organ Book' in the edition of Griepenkerl and Roitzsch is part of Volume V. With the exception of a few which have been discovered only recently, all the other Preludes have been compiled in Volumes VI and VII, in alphabetical order. Whether a composition originally appertained to a collection or has come down to us as a single composition has not been taken into account here. The order established by Bach himself is of great and lasting interest with respect to his liturgical views and notions and can be seen in the table below (for more detailed information about this see the thirteenth chapter of Schweitzer's Bach biography).

Tabelle "Orgelbüchlein 18 Choralvorspiele / Schübler Choräle / Clavierübung III" als pdf zum Download

To Volume VI, by F. K. Griepenkerl, written in 1847:
Chorale Preludes (Chorales A to J), incl. from Schuebler Chorales: No. 5; from 18 Great Chorales: Nos. 3, 5, 12, 13 to 16; from Clavieruebung, Part III: Nos. 7 to 11, 16 to 21 (P.E. No. 245).

The Chorale-arrangements, which we reserved for the third Part of our Work "grössere und kunstreichere Choralvorspiele" ("greater and more artistic Chorale Preludes") belong to the finest musical creations of J. S. Bach, although the expression "greater", if it be understood only of the number of bars, is not always applicable. Their number was too considerable to be contained in one volume of the convenient ordinary size; we have therefore distributed them into two volumes, the sixth and seventh of our Edition, both of which appear together.
The sources, from which we have taken the contents of these two volumes, are:

1. Eighteen Chorale Preludes, in the Royal Library at Berlin (Manuscript, autograph B. 4. in folio). Sixteen are written by J. S. Bach himself and two by Altnikol, his son-in-law. The eighteenth and last number contains the canonic changes already used in the fifth Voltune on the Christmas-song, "Vom Himmel hoch da komm' ich her."

2. Third Part of the Clavieruebung-Exercise, consisting of several preludes on the Catechism and other songs, for the Organ. Composed for amateurs and connoisseurs of such works for the recreation of the mind by Johann Sebastian Bach etc. etc. [818, 824, 829, 841 and 740]

3. Six Chorales of different kinds to preludes on the Organ with 2 Claviers and Pedal composed by Johann Sebastian Bach etc. etc.

4. Single Copies from several Collections the use of which was kindly permitted. Mr. Roitzsch has carefully compared our Copies with the Autograph No. 1 in Berlin.

Nos. 2 and 3 are original Editions in the possession of Forkel at the time of his death and now in mine. In this Copy J. S. Bach has corrected the six Chorales throughout with his own hand and sometimes annexed the Hands, Parts and Claviers, with and on which they should be played.

The present Volume contains
(1) from the Autograph:
No. 7. Allein Gott in der Höh" sei Ehr! Trio A major. (Honour to God on high alone).
With the variant reading after the Autograph in the possession of Dr. C. Schiller in Brunswick. Two Copies, one belonging to Krebs, at his death, now in the possession of Mr. Reichardt, Court-Organist, and other by Penzel of the year 1753, agree almost exactly with this autograph. Strictly speaking, we can distinctly recognize three different arrangements of this Trio by the Master himself; the third, however, exhibits but little deviation.
No. 8. The Same Melody. G major. Fughetta.
With a variation after two identical copies in the possession of Krebs at his death (now of Reichardt).
From the word "Andante" after the short "Adagio" we can judge in what tempo this Chorale Prelude should be played. In general in similar works, which contain a Chorale-melody, it is safest to take the tempo, as the Chorale is usually sung. The exceptions from this rule are easily to be distinguished.
No. 9. The Same Melody. A major. Fuga.
The ornaments in this piece are printed exactly after the Autograph. We may learn their significance from the Clavierbüchlein in J. S. Bach's own handwriting for his eldest son, W. Friedemann Bach, where they are indicated.
No. 12b. An Wasserflüssen Babylon. (By the Waters of Babylon). The first arrangement in No. 12 is not included in the Autograph.
With a Variation from the book once belonging to Krebs (now to Reichardt) after which this prelude appears very much improved. In Krebs's book both are distinguished by the following superscription: Vers 1, a 5 con 2 Clav. e dopp. Ped. (double Pedal), Vers 2 alio modo a 4 con 2 Clav. e simp. Ped. Both have great resemblance to each other and are therefore brought under one number.
No. 27. Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend'. Trio. (Lord Jesus Christ, unto us turn).
With two variant readings. The first is in Gleichauf's (Schelble's) Collection and in that of Mr. Hauser. It is a fragment of the great Trio after the Autograph in the Text. The second was formerly in the possession of Krebs and is from the Manuscript Collection of Dehn.
No. 31. Jesus Christus, unser Heiland. (Jesus Christ, our Saviour).
With another reading after the copies belonging to C F. Becker and Reichardt. It affords a proof that J. S. Bach carefully corrected his own works.
No. 32. The Same Melody. Alio Modo.
This arrangement is in the same Autograph-Collection; it is not, however, written by J. S. Bach, but very carefully by his son-in-law Altnikol.

(2) from the Clavieruebung, Part III:
No. 5. Allein Gott in der Hoh' sei Ehr'. F major. (Honour to God; on high alone).
No. 6. The same Melody. G major.
With another reading from Schelble's Collection, communicated by Gleichauf.
No. 10. The same Melody. Fughetta. A major.
No. 13. Aus tiefer Noth schrei' ich zu dir. In six parts. (In deepest need I cry to Thee).
No. 14. The same Melody. Manualiter.
No. 17. Christ, unser Herr, zum Jordan kam. (Christ our Lord to Jordan came).
No. 18. The same Melody. Manualiter.
No. 19. Dies sind heil'gen zehn Gebot. (These are the Holy Ten Commands).
No. 20. The same Melody. Fughetta.
No. 30. Jesus Christus, unser Heiland. (Jesus Christ our Saviour).
No. 33. The same Melody. Fuga.

(3) from the six Chorales:
No. 2. Ach bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ. (Ah! stay with us, Lord Jesus Christ).

(4) after single Copies from Private Collections:
No. 1. Ach Gott und Herr. (Ah God and Lord!).
From Oley's and Gleichauf's Collections.
No. 3. Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr'. In two parts. G major.
After a Copy by Schelble, communicated by Gleichauf.
No. 4. The same Melody. In Three Parts for the Manual. G major.
After a faultless copy belonging to (Krebs) Reichardt.
No. 11. The same Melody. Fuga. G major.
From (Oley's) Hauser's Collection.
No. 12a. An Wasserflüssen Babylon.
From (Krebs's) Reichardt's Copy.
No. 15 Christ lag in Todesbanden. E minor (Christ lay in bonds of death).
After two Copies in my Collection and one in the Royal Library in Berlin. All three contain some slight mistakes, but not in the same places, so that the restoration was easy.
No. 16 The same Melody. Fantasia. Cantus firmus in Alt.
From Hauser's Collection. With another reading from Gleichauf's (Schelble's) Collection, where the cantus firmus is given to the Pedal besides some other alterations. Whether this arrangement proceeds from J. S. Bach, may be doubted.
No. 21. Durch Adams Fall is ganz verderbt: (By Adam's Fall is quite corrupt).
After two Copies belonging to Oley and Müller, Organists in Magdeburg.
No. 22. Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott. (A mighty fortress is our God).
From Krebs's (now Reichardt's) book.
No. 23. Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ (Oh! praised be Thou, Jesus Christ).
The copy was written by Cantor Kegel.
No 24. Gott der Vater, wohn' uns bei. (God the Father, dwell with us).
From Oley's Collection. With another reading from Gleichauf's Collection. We have printed it principally for the first five bars, which however are probably not by Bach himself.
No. 25. Gottes Sohn ist kommen. (God's Son is come).
Communicated by C. F. Becker.
No. 26. Herr Gott, dich loben wir. (Lord God, Thee do we praise).
After a Copy in Forkel's handwriting in my Collection.
No. 28. Ich hab' mein' Sach' Gott heimgestellt. (I place my trust in God alone).
After two Copies in the Collections of Oley and Gleichauf (Schelble).
No. 29. Jesu, meine Freude. (Jesus, my joy).
After two Copies belonging to Mr. Hauser in one of them the Appendix in 3/8 time is wanting and after one belonging to Oley, which contains also the Chorale with figured bass. With another reading, or rather arrangement from Gleichauf"s (Schelble's) Collection. This and the reading subjoined to "Christ lag in Todesbanden" (Christ lay in bonds of death) show how many Chorale Preludes which are superscribed only for the Manual, can also be arranged for Manual and Pedal, without acting quite contrary to the opinion of the Master.
No. 34. In dich hab' ich gehoffet, Herr. Fughetta. (In Thee have I hoped, oh Lord!)
After three Copies in the Collections of Gleichauf, Hauser and Oley.
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To Volume VII, by F. K. Griepenkerl, written in 1847:
Chorale Preludes (Chorales K to Z), incl. No. 60: "Wir glauben all' an einen Gott" (The Giant Fugue or The Credo); Schuebler Chorales, Nos. 1 to 4, 6; 18 Great Chorales, Nos. 1, 2, 4, 6 to 11, 17, 18; Clavieruebung, Part III, Nos. 1 to 6, 12 to 15 (P.E. No. 246).

The seventh volume contains compositions taken from several sources, including
(1) the autograph in the former Prussian State Library; (2) the Clavieruebung, Part III; (3) the six chorales (corrected and provided with directions for execution by Bach himself); (4) single manuscripts from several private collections. The appendix contains variants to Nos. 35, 36, 37, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 50, and 56.

(1) from the Autograph
No. 35. Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire. (Komm, Gott, Schöpfer, heiliger Geist). The manuscript of this piece is not in Bach's hand, but in Altnikol's. The variant is taken from the autograph of the "Orgelbüchlein": (a) in the original setting; (b) in the improved form in Bach's own hand. (Facsimile of Fantasia Super Veni sancte spiritus, with portrait and critical analysis by Peter Wackernagel (in German). H.E. No. D117.)
No. 36. Come, Holy Spirit, God and Lord. (Komm, heil'ger Geist, Herre Gott). Fantasia. The variant, six measures shorter than the original, is taken from the Reichardt collection of Krebs manuscripts.
No. 43. Now thank we all our God. (Nun danket alle Gott).
No. 45. Come, Redeemer of our race. (Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland).
The variant is taken from the Reichardt collection of Krebs manuscripts and from my collection.
No. 46. The same Melody. Trio. Of the two variants, the first is taken from the Berlin Royal Library and from the Krebs manuscripts. The second, in which the cantus firmus is allotted to the pedal, appears only in the Krebs manuscripts. It is possible that the placing of the cantus firmus in the pedal did not originate with Bach.
No. 47. The same Melody. The variant is taken from the Krebs manuscripts.
No. 48. O Lamb of God, pure, spotless. (O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig).
The variant is taken from the Krebs manuscripts. A striking feature of the variant is the simultaneous use, in the third verse, of 9/8 time (rather than 9/4) and 3/2 time.
No. 49. O my soul, prepare to meet Him. (Schmücke dich, O liebe Seele).
No. 56. From God shall naught divide me. (Von Gott will ich nicht lassen).
The variant is taken from the Krebs manuscripts. The Oley manuscript remarks "Ped. 4 Fuss".

(2) from the Clavieruebung, Part III
No. 39a. O Lord our Father for evermore (Kyrie, Gott Vater). (Stanza 1)
No. 39b. O Christ, our Hope alone (Christe, aller Welt Trost). (Stanza 2)
No. 39c. Holy Lord God, the Holy Ghost. (Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist). (Stanza 3)
No. 40a. God Father. (Kyrie, Gott Vater). Manualiter.
No. 40b. Christ, the World's Salvation. (Christe, aller Welt Trost). The same.
No. 40c. God Holy Spirit. (Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist). The same.
No. 52. Our Father Who Art in Heaven. (Vater unser im Himmelreich).
No. 60. We believe in but one true God. (Credo in strutum Deitum. Wir glauben all' an einen Gott). ("Giant" Fugue) [830a].
No. 61. The same melody. Fughetta.

(3) from the Six Chorales
No. 38. Come now, Jesus, from Heaven above us. (Kommst du nun, Jesu, vom Himmel herunter). Trio.
No. 42. My soul doth magnify the Lord. (Meine Seele erhebt den Herren).
No. 57. Wake from sleep! Hark, sounds are falling. (Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme).
No. 59. He who will suffer God to guide him. (Wer nur den lieben Gott lasst walten).
No. 63. O whither shall I fly. (Wo soll ich fliehen hin).
No. 58. When in the hour of utmost need. (Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein).
The original place of this last work of Bach's, dictated only a few days before his death, was at the close of the "Kunst der Fuge". It was also made part of this collection since it can best be executed on the organ.

(4) from Private Collections
No. 41. Magnificat. (Meine Seele erhebt den Herren). Fugue.
This piece is taken from my collection. A few errors in copying, barely noticeable, have been corrected.
No. 44. Dear Christians, let us now rejoice. (Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g'mein) or, Be sure that awful time will come. (Es ist gewisslich an der Zeit).
This piece, in which the prelude appears on two systems, under the title "Nun freut euch, etc.", with the addition "manualiter", is taken from the Hauser collection of Oley manuscripts. The variant is taken from the Hauser and Gleichauf collections (Schelble). It bears the superscription, "Es ist gewisslich an der Zeit, a 2 Clav. e Ped., canto firmo in Tenore." In the C. F. E. Bach edition of his father's four-part chorales, the melody appears under the title, "Es ist gewisslich an der Zeit, etc." (p. 151, in B flat major; and p. 208, in G major).
No. 50. I give to thee farewell (Valet will ich dir geben). Fantasia.
From two concurring manuscripts in the Hauser and Gleichauf (Schelble) collections. They apparently agree with the Guhr autograph. The variant is taken from three manuscripts: one in the Berlin Royal Library, one from the Kötschau manuscripts, now in the possession of the publisher, and the third in my collection. The improvements in the treatment are unmistakably Bach's.
No. 51. The same melody. (From the Hauser collection of Dröbs' manuscripts).
No. 53. Our Father Who art in Heaven. (Vater unser im Himmelreich).
From the Kötschau manuscripts, in the possession of the publisher. It is apparently very rare.
No. 54. From heaven high, thence do I come. (Vom Himmel hoch da komm' ich her). Fughetta. From the Gleichauf collection (Schelble).
No. 55. The same melody. Fugue. From the Hauser collection.
No. 62. We believe in but one true God. (Wir glauben all' an einen Gott). From the Gleichauf collection (Schelble).

The ALPHABETICAL INDEX of the Chorale Preludes of the Vth, VIth, VIIth and IXth Volumes is included in BWV-Griepenkerl Concordance [829].
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To Volume VIII, by F. A. Roitzsch, written in 1852:
Allabreve D; 4 Concertos: G, A m. (Vivaldi), C (Vivaldi) C; Fantasia C; 2 Fugues: C (Hexachord), G m.; 3 Preludes: C, C, G; 8 Short Preludes and Fugues: C, D m., E m., F, G, G m., A m., Bb (P.E. No. 247).

The eighth volume contains organ works by Bach, printed here for the first time.
No. 1 Concerto in G major (Johann Ernst v. Sachsen-Weimar).
This work is taken from the autograph of the collection of Vivaldi violin concertos arranged by Bach (No. 10). In the sixth and eighth bars of the first section, I have changed the four F sharps and the four G's that occur in the treble of the 'original', to F sharp-F sharp-F sharp-D and G-G-G-E, since this manner of reading agrees with all analogous places in the concerto. The many additional copies available for comparison were so full of errors, gaps and arbitrary ornamentation that, without the help of the original, correct editing was practically impossible. Even a copy by Kittel was defective.

No. 2. Concerto in A minor ( Vivaldi', Op. 3, No. 8).
This work is taken from the autograph of the collection of Vivaldi violin concertos arranged by Bach (No. 13). The two additional old copies available for comparison one by J. P. Kellner in my possession, the other from the Westphalian collection were somewhat incorrert. Although Kellner's title page credits Telemann as the original composer of this work, the autograph bears the title: "Concerto del Signore Antonio Vivaldi accommodato ... dal Signore Giovanni Sebastiano Bach".

No. 3. Concerto in C major ('Vivaldi', Op. 7, No. 11).
This work is taken from the collection of Vivaldi violin concertos arranged by Bach (No. 14). The manuscript is not an autograph and is, in fact, written in an unidentified hand. A manuscript from Kassel, available for comparison, agreed with the Berlin copy almost completely.

No. 4. Concerto in C major (Johann Ernst v. Sachsen-Weimar).
This piece is taken from two old manuscripts, one of which, by J. P. Kellner, is in my collection. Its title "Concerto dell' illustrissimo Principe Giovanni Ernesto Duca di Sassonia appropriato ... da Giovanni Sebastiano Bach" posits Johann Ernst, Duke of Saxony, as the original composer. The piece, however, also appears as the first movement of one of the clavier concertos that are considered arrangements of Vivaldi concertos. Whether the original of this movement is by Johann Ernst or by Vivaldi is therefore still undecided.

No. 5. Eight Short Preludes and Fugues in C major, D minor, E minor, F major, G major, G minor, A minor and B flat major, respectively.
For this edition of these youthful works of Bach, an old copy from the Forkel collection was compared with another from the Berlin Royal Library. Taking into account minor errors in copying, which occur here and there, both manuscripts agree remarkably well. It may be assumed, therefore, that both stem from the same source an assumption confirmed by the missing thirteenth bar in the E minor Fugue, restored here on the basis of the musical context.

No. 6. Allabreve in D major.
This piece is taken from a transcript, by A. Fuchs of Vienna, of an old but defective copy. It was necessary to fill in ties missing from the manuscript.

No. 7. Prelude in C major.
This piece is taken from an old copy by J. P. Kellner, in my collection, with which a later manuscript was compared.

No. 8. Prelude in C major.
This piece is taken from a comparatively new copy in my collection.

No. 9. Fantasia in C major (Andreas Bach Book).
This piece is taken from two very old copies, one in the collections of J. P. Kellner, the other in the possession of Mr. C. F. Becker.

No. 10. Fugue in C major ('Hexachord').
This piece is taken from three copies available for comparison, one comparatively old and two somewhat new. One of the latter is in the Gleichauf collection of Schelble manuscripts. Another rather late copy available for comparison was helpful in improving the defective first copy.

No. 11. Prelude in G major.

No. 12. Fugue in G minor (from Cantata BWV 131).
This piece is taken from a copy by Kittel, with which a second by Dröbs agreed almost entirely. I have not encountered the piece in any other collection.
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To Volume IX, by Hermann Keller, written in 1950:
Aria F; 14 Chorale Preludes; Partita: Chorale Variations on "Ach, was soll ich Suender machen"; Fantasia G (5th Concerto); Fantasia con imitazione B m.; Fantasia and Fugue A m.; 2 Fugues: G (Fugue à la Gigue), G; A Short Harmonical Labyrinthus C m.; Pedal-Exercitium G m.; 3 Trios: G (from Gamba Sonata No. 1), G (Telemann), C m. (Krebs ?). (P.E. No. 2067).

Griepenkerl and Roitzsch originally planned their 1844 edition to consist of seven volumes: Volumes I-IV to contain the free works (Preludes, Fugues, Sonatas, etc.); Volumes V-VII the Chorale-treatments. But by 1852 an eighth volume had to be added to supplement volumes I-IV. What was missing from this collected edition was the transcription of the Vivaldi Concerto in D minor which, since it was previously attributed to Friedemann Bach, appeared as a separate publication. Later research also proved the two Chorale Preludes "Ach Gott und Herr" and "Gott der Vater" in Volume VI to be the work of J. G. Walther and cast serious doubt on the authenticity of the Eight Little Preludes and Fugues, and the Prelude in C major (Nos. 5 and 8 of Volume VIII).

In 1881, Roitzsch had collected enough new material to warrant the appearance of a ninth volume. This, however, did not achieve the stature of the other volumes, partly because of the relative slightness of the music, and partly because the authenticity of some of it was questionable. Reorganised and expanded in 1904 by Max Seiffert, three spurious Chorale Preludes were omitted and, in their place, ten new Chorale Preludes, two Trios, and a Concerto (in E flat major) were added. Since then, no new authenticating manuscripts have been discovered, and a great many of Professor Seiffert's additions have come to be considered, even by himself, doubtful.

In my essay Spurious Organ Works of Bach, in the German Bach Jahrbuch for 1937, I stated the principles of my critique, which I present here in brief. A work shall be considered doubtful (1) when no original by the composer is extant, and a stylistic analysis does not prove Bach to be the composer; (2) when, having come down in one single manuscript bearing only the name Bach (not J.S.B.), it contains either no characteristics of Sebastian Bach's art or characteristics in direct contradiction to it. These principles necessitated the rejection of the following pieces. from Seiffert's edition: Chorale Preludes Nos. 3, 4, 5, 13, 14, 15, and 18; the Concerto in E flat major, and the Fugue in D major.

In their place I have added in my edition of Volume IX other organ works which had already appeared in the Bach Society Edition. This latest, the third, entirely re-arranged Volume IX therefore contains eleven new works (six authentic, or almost certainly authentic, and five doubtful) and fifteen Chorale-treatments. Complete authentication depends on the discovery of new manuscripts, which seems unlikely. This volume differs, however, from both earlier editions with regard to the higher quality of the music, for it contains hardly anything unworthy of Bach, and a few pieces that are on a par with the works in Volumes IV and VIII.

No. 1. Fantasia con imitazione in B minor.
This piece, available through many copies, has been published by Peters among the clavier works, but, according to Roitzsch's foreword (Peters Edition No. 216), it is "more organistic than pianistic and I would ... gladly have included this piece among the organ compositions of Bach".

No. 2. Fugue in G major ('Gigue' or Jig'). [832]
"From the collection of F. W. Rust confirmed through another old copy with the explicit designation: 'da J. S. Bach'." (Roitzsch). Bach's authorship is not to be doubted. It seems better for the pedal to enter with the theme (p. 6, system 3, fifth bar) rather than without it, seven bars later.

No. 3. Trio in G major.
This trio, taken by Seiffert from a copy by Mempell, was originally the last section of a sonata for two flutes and figured bass, which Bach himself turned into a sonata for viola da gamba and harpsichord obligato. The further revision into an organ trio can only stem from Bach himself. Bars 115-125 of the original form were deleted in the organ arrangement. The tempo mark in the flute version is presto; in the gamba version, allegro moderato.

No. 4. Fantasia in G major ('Concerto').
"From a very old manuscript in the F. K. Griepenkerl collection" (Roitzsch), with the designation 'concerto'. The title 'Fantasia', in another manuscript, which was the basis for the Bach Society Edition, seemed to me to be the more correct. The piece belongs to Bach's Arnstadt years, and is considered to be a student work after Buxtehude.

No. 5. Aria in F major.
According to H. Schouten of Rotterdam, Couperin is the original composer of this piece. It appears among the trio sonatas for two violins, 'cello, and continuo which Couperin issued in 1726 under the title "Les Nations, Sonades et Suites de Simphonies en trio" in the collected works of Couperin (Paris 1932-33), Volume IX, pp. 153-61. The tempo mark is "légérement". In transcribing the piece for the organ. Bach omitted most of the ornaments.

No. 6. Fantasia & Fugue in A minor.
"From the Gleichauf collection of Schelble manuscripts", (Roitzsch). A second manuscript, at the disposal of the Bach Society, bears the designation "da Giovanni Sebast. Bach". The exposition of the fugue is so similar to that of the great A minor Fugue that, if Bach were not specifically named as composer, one might rather think it the work of a Bach student.

No. 7. Fugue in G major.
"From a copy in F. Hauser's collection under 'Fugue con pedale'" (Roitzsch). That manuscript, which has since disappeared, was the sole basis for the 1881 edition. Positive authentication now seems highly unlikely.

No. 8. Trio in G major ( Telemann").
This was added by Seiffert in 1904 "from a copy by Mempell." On the basis of style, the piece can well have been the work of Bach.

No. 9. A Short Harmonical Labyrinthus in C major (Heinichen ?).
This work has come down to us in three manuscripts, one of which bears the designation "von Joh. Seb, Bach." Here, too, Bach's authorship is very possible, but it could be Heinichen's.

No. 10. Trio in C minor.
"In a notebook from the Griepenkerl collection and in a copy by Mempell. Therefore the piece improperly appears in Johann Ludwig Krebs' collected works" (Seiffert). On the other hand, the Bach Society edition notes, "This piece is not completely guaranteed to be a Bach composition and is also ascribed to L. Krebs." As I have stated in my aforementioned essay, the weight of probability seems to favour Krebs.

No. 11. Pedal-Ezercitium in G minor.
"This remarkable piece is available in the autograph. Incomplete, it perhaps originated as an exercise and was hastily written down. In bar 17 the second quarter, missing in the original, was filled in. (The Bach Society edition repeats the first quarter for it). Similarly, a closing in small notes was added by the editor.

Fourteen Chorale Preludes:
No. 12. Alas! My God (Ach Gott und Herr) (per canonem).
"From the Krebs collection with the initials 'J.S.B.'" (Roitzsch). Bach's authorship is therefore sufficiently authenticated.

No. 13. Ah, God, from heaven, look down and view. (Ach Gott vom Himmel sieh darein).
This piece appears in several old copies. I agree with Naumann's conjecture (in his foreword to Bach's works. No. 40) that this is indeed a work of Bach's but an early one marred by copyists.

No. 14. All glory be to God on high. (Allein Gott in der Höh" sei Ehr').
One of the ingeniously harmonized "Arnstadt congregational Hymns". (Compare Peters Edition, Vol. V, supplement "Gelobet seist Du, Jesu Christ" and others.) Its authenticity is beyond all doubt.

No. 15. In God, my beloved God. (Auf meinen lieben Gott).
"Written in Krebs' own hand but without the name of the composer. Its acceptance here is due to the fact that the piece was printed in Herzog's 'Practical Organist' under the name of J. S. Bach" (Roitzsch). This piece is so strikingly like No. 12 that it seems doubtful that Bach could have repeated himself in this manner. It is more likely that Krebs as he so often did attempted to imitate his teacher. But since the possibility remains that the piece is really Bach's, it has been retained.

No. 16. From the depths to Thee I call. (Aus der Tiefe rufe ich).
From "copies in the Hauser and Gleichauf collections of Schelble manuscripts, as well as one in the von Voss collection" (Roitzsch). The piece clearly displays characteristics of Bach's youthful style. (Compare "Christ lag in Todesbanden", Peters, Vol. VI, No. 15.)

No. 17. The Christ-child shall be still my hope. (Das Jesulein soll doch mein Trost).
This piece appears in the Kimberger collection of Bach's Chorale Preludes a collection which contains much that is spurious and is also available in other manuscripts. In my opinion, it is probably not authentic.

No. 18. Lord Jesus Christ, be with us now. (Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend).
This piece, a new addition, has come down to us in only one manuscript, but is indubitably authentic.

No. 19. In dulci jubilo (Trio).
Seiffert included this piece in his 1904 edition, taking it from a manuscript by Preller. It has been retained because of its popularity, and several disturbing errors have been corrected, but Bach's authorship is nonetheless very uncertain.

No. 20. Dear Christians, let us now rejoice. (Nun freut euch, liebe Christen g"mein).
"From a copy (end of the eighteenth century) from the neighbourhood of Weimar" (Seiffert). A neatly worked piece that would be a credit to Bach's contemporaries, it is without distinct characteristics of Bach.

No. 21. Our Father Who art in Heaven. (Vater unser im Himmelreich).
This piece was added by Seiffert from a copy by Mempell. The piece is if authentic a student work.

No. 22. How brightly shines the Morning Star! (Wie schon leuchtet der Morgenstern).
(Fantasia).
The sole extant manuscript, from which this new edition is taken, seems to the editor to be the autograph. It bears the designation "J.S.B." The piece, which clearly shows the influence of Buxtehude, would seem to be an early work.

No. 23. Come, Christian folk. (Wir Christenleut).
As in the case of No. 10, there is some controversy as to whether Bach or J. L. Krebs is the composer. I am inclined to accept the piece as Bach's.

No. 24. We believe in but one true God. (Wir glauben all" an einen Gott).
"This chorale-treatment is to be found among other known works of Bach in the ... Krebs collection" (Roitzsch). ...the first half under the name Seb. Bach, in a copy by Preller" (Seiffert). Since the composition itself also shows clear characteristics of Bach, there is no reason to doubt its authenticity.

No. 25. O whither shall I fly. (Wo soil ich fliehen hin).
There is little reason to doubt the authenticity of this piece, which is substantiated by six manuscripts.

No. 26. What shall I, a sinner, do. Lord. (Ach, was soll ich Sünder machen). (Chorale Variations).
This new addition is supported by two manuscripts. One, found in Switzerland in 1873, was for a time even considered the autograph. It bears the title, "Partite diverse sopra il chorale Ach, was soll ich Sünder machen' J. S. Bach". The other, by Krebs, begins with Partita III, since the first page is missing. The piece is apparently authentic.
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