Product Description

Taking account of Bach scholarship of the past twenty-five years, the first two volumes of Peter Williams's classic study of Bach's organ works are fully revised. This work is a piece-by-piece commentary on this ever-popular repertoire, demonstrating the music's unique qualities and how we might hear and play it today. The book follows the order of the Bach catalog (BWV): beginning with the sonatas, followed by the "free works" and the chorales, and ending with the doubtful works, including the "newly discovered chorales" of 1985.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #117756 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-19
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 634 pages

Review
"This masterful revision of a book first published in 1980 confirms Peter Williams's towering status in the field. The book is a wonderful reference and guide for the performer and scholar alike." Times Literary Supplement, Martin J. Smith

"This work belongs in every organist's library. The analysis progresses in order of the BWV listings, and every work is thoroughly examined in light of the most recent and highest scholarship. The foundation of every organist's repertoire is Bach, and this work will shed some new light and perhaps provide new interpretive inspiration on many familiar works." - Music Educators Journal, "For Your Library"

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

About the Author
Peter Williams is an internationally renowned Bach scholar and performer. He was Professor of Performance Practice and the first Director of the Russell Collection of Harpsichords at the University of Edinburgh, Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor at Duke University N. C., and is currently John Bird Professor at the University of Wales, Cardiff. He has written numerous books on the organ, organ history and organ repertoire. The first edition of The Organ Music of J. S. Bach was published in 1980 (vols I and II) and 1984 (vol. III).

Customer Reviews

Everything you need to know about Bach's Organ Music
This book is fundamental for every organist! Very clear and full of relevant and difficult to find information about Bach sources. A must buy.