In an era when classical philology studies already boasted centuries of history, textual philology in the field of music was taking its first steps. In a Germany still fragmented and grappling with the definition of its national identity, some of the most illustrious figures of the time—such as Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, and Franz Liszt—celebrated Johann Sebastian Bach on the centenary of his death, initiating the first comprehensive critical edition of Bach’s works. This impressive collection spanned 61 volumes and was published over five decades. A century later, recognizing the need for a modernized approach, both West Germany and East Germany once again joined their efforts, leading to the creation of the “Neue Bach Ausgabe.” This second critical edition, shaped by meticulous investigations into manuscript nuances, ink compositions, watermarks, and contextual clues, aimed at restoring a reliable text concerning notation, instrumentation, attribution, and dating. However, the quest for convincing results has proven elusive at times.
Within this extensive repertoire, approximately fifty keyboard compositions pose significant challenges. Some have long been attributed to J. S. Bach, validated through recent critical source examinations, while others remain enigmatic or possess uncertain authorship. Further complexity arises from pieces once firmly embedded in the Bach repertoire but now associated with the composer’s legacy of sons, students, and colleagues. A notable repository of these compositions lies in the contentious manuscript P 804 by Johann Peter Kellner, housed at the Deutsches National Bibliothek in Berlin. This source, documenting early versions of many keyboard compositions, including renowned ones, adds controversy to the Bach corpus. All these lately attributed, and doubtful compositions have been deeply investigated by Ulrich Bartels and Frieder Rempp, who, in 2006 and 2008, edited two volumes of the NBA with the purpose of encouraging performers to delve into and reintroduce this captivating music to a wider audience.
This music collection encompasses a variety of forms, writing styles, and musical expressions. A notable example is the Suite B-Dur BWV 821, which is characterized by the typical movements of Allemande, Courante, and Sarabande, deviating from the conventional Gigue and instead opting for a unique Echo, reminiscent of the style found in Ouverture nach Französicher Art BWV 831. Conversely, the Italian stylistic influence is discernible in the Konzert und Fugue C-Moll BWV 909, where the first movement alternates between quasi-solistic, highly virtuosic sections and others reminiscent of Vivaldi’s tutti passages with their chordal progression. Could this be a testing ground for young Bach, who demonstrated his familiarity with the Italian concertante style in the transcriptions made in Cothen and his famous Concerto nach italiaenischen Gusto BWV 971?
Another recurring feature in this diverse collection is that of didactic compositions. Among them, a central role is played by the Präludium c-Moll BWV 919, which evokes the spirit of the Inventions with its simple two-voice counterpoint. Additionally, there are the Fantasie und Fughette B-Dur and D-Dur BWV 907 and 908. Notated on a single staff and partially figured as a basso continuo, these compositions serve as sources for the common Baroque practice of partimento. This practice taught performers to improvise an entire contrapuntal structure, showcasing a creative approach and responsiveness, which was required in the daily work life of professional musicians. Today, performers often lack these practical skills, and only in recent decades have concrete studies on seventeenth and eighteenth-century musical education emerged, aiming to “re-learn” the art of inventio.
Among Bartels’ and Rempp’s collection, most of the compositions are bipartite, featuring an initial section which recalls a fantastical style—intensely virtuosic and chromatic. A significant example is the Fantasie in g-Moll BWV 920, with its profusion of arpeggios and swift scales. These free sections are followed by three-voice fugues, which in certain cases respect the perfect contrapuntal style, while others eschew some occasionally unorthodox delights (as in the Konzert und Fugue in C-Moll). The bipartite form reappears in the Toccatina D-moll BWV 899-1, a witness to an intriguing textual tradition, revealing the almost ephemeral nature of this macroform, manifested in a single, late source from 1800. Certainly not by Bach is the Präludium und Fuge B-Dur über den Namen Bach BWV 989, which, with its choice of subject and the grandiosity of its almost organ-like finale, seems to pay homage, inaugurating the long tradition of compositions on the notes B-A-C-H with which generations of composers have honoured the eternal Johann Sebastian Bach. Due to the distinctly different nature of their writing, these compositions can be effectively performed on various instruments, including the harpsichord, organ, clavichord or fortepiano.
Sergio Gasparella’s approach to this music adheres to two principles of consistency: all pieces are performed on the harpsichord, a reproduction of a Ruckers instrument crafted by Willem Kroesbergen, and they are arranged in ascending order according to the Bach-Werke Verzeichnis (BWV) numbers. Recorded in the intimate setting of the Church of San Biagio di Grumolo Pedemonte (Vicenza), nestled at the base of the Asiago Plateau—one of the most significant locations on the Italian front during the First World War. This small church, built around 1000 A.D., still preserves frescoes from the Early Middle Ages and transforms into a small natural paradise in the summer, which sounds subtly resonate in the background.
Maria Borghesi © 2023