Bach, J.S. (1685-1750)
Johann Sebastian Bachs Vierstimmige Choralgesange
Leipzig: Johann Gottlob Immanuel Breitkopp. 1784, 1785, 1786, 1787. Four parts in 1 vol. 4to, contemporary marbled boards, rebacked, spine in later gilt-stamped brown morocco. With 4 title pages, 218 pp. Some pages lightly browned, occasional foxing and light mildew stains. Overall a fine and crisp copy.The first authorized complete edition of Bach's Choral Songs, with a Foreword by his son, C.P. E. Bach. A rare 18th-Century Bach publication, one of only nine works by J.S. Bach to reach print before 1802, and the most comprehensive Bach printing of the 18th century.
An incomplete and often spurious edition of the Chorals was published in 1765 and 1766. In his foreword to this edition, containing 371 chorals, C.P.E. Bach states, "This collection of chorals has been looked through once again by me with great care after the earlier edition, and cleansed of the mistakes that had crept into it... In this new printing, the spurious chorals... have been omitted,..." [translated from the German]. The present publication includes 175 Chorales appearing as first editions and is considered as valuable as an "original edition" (Kinsky) and as a "primary source" (MGG) for Bach studies. Kinsky (Originalausgaben Bachs), p. 82; MGG (new) II, 1, Sp. 1450; New Grove, 1: 827; Schmieder 399; Hirsch, III: 43; RISM B 449. (9507)
Printed Music Classical Music