Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, “Kenner und Liebhaber” Collections I–II The Complete Works, Series I, Volumes 4.1–2

Abstract

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, und Liebhaber Collections I-II The Complete Works, Series I, Volumes 4.1-2Edited by Christopher Hogwood(Los Altos, California: Packard Humanities Institute, 2009)Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: The Complete Works (CPEB:CW) is an editorial and publishing project of the Packard Humanities Institute, in cooperation with the Bach-Archiv Leipzig, the Sachsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, and Harvard University. Its goal is to make available, in both printed and digital formats, a critical edition of the composer's works.CPEB:CW is a living edition. As new information or material relevant to the edition becomes available, we will report it. Substantive errors in the music or text of any volume will be reported (see Addenda & Corrigenda links in tables of contents on Organization page) and corrected in the online, digital edition. Any inquiries regarding errors may be directed to our editorial office (see below). Performing parts for chamber, orchestral, and choral volumes can be downloaded here.This up-to-date announcement can be read on the opening page of the website of the belated C. P. E. Bach Gesamtausgabe, a project that approaches completion in the tercente- nary year of the composer's birth. The handsome volumes, bound in royal blue, with gilded letters and decorations, make the oeuvre at last available for the profession, and the admirers of the art of Philipp Emanuel.A few words about the project in general, to start with. The structure of the series is logical; the background research is exemplary; the print of the score is clear, and comfortable to read. The fundamental principles of the edition, laid down in the General Preface by the Editorial Board (General Editors: Darrell M. Berg, Ulrich Leisinger, Peter Wollny; Chair: Christopher Hogwood), follow the consensus of today's critical editions. Beaming and stem direction are standardized according to modern convention, except where the original notation may have a bearing on performance, reads the familiar statement, among other issues. The decision is arguable in the case of C. P. E. Bach (in his keyboard writing in particular), where beaming and stem direction does influence the articulation of the music. More disputable is the exclusive use of the Wotquenne numbers for the identification of the compositions. The General Preface says:Alfred Wotquenne's Thematisches Verzeichnis der Werke von Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1905) has long been the standard catalogue of Bach's works, and the present edition employs Wotquenne numbers, abbreviated Wq, for primary references to Bach's works. ... Works not in Wotquenne are referred to by their numbers in E. Eugene Helm's Thematic Catalogue of the Works of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1989), abbreviated H. (p. viii)Concordances appear occasionally; the disregard of a recent, scholarly catalogue, nevertheless, seems unreasonable to me.It is wholly justifiable that The Complete Works should start with Keyboard Music (Series I, General Editor: Darrell M. Berg), the most important body of works by the composer. Thus far, seven of the planned ten volumes (some of them double volumes) are available in print: of these, Volumes 4.1 and 4.2 comprise the six remarkable collections fur Kenner und Liebhaber, in two installments, with three collections per volume.The editor, Christopher Hogwood offers an Introduction of generous length, and Critical Report to both volumes. The sub-sections of the former discuss Inception; the double term und Liebhaber; Method of Publication; Printing and Proofreading; Criticism and Reception; and Performance Considerations. There is a wealth of information on these pages about the genesis and the publication of the six collections of sonatas, rondos, and fantasias, printed between 1779 and 1787 by Breitkopf, im Verlage des Autors. Bach organized the advertising for subscriptions, and arranged them by Pranumeration (payment in advance). …