Organization of <em>Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: The Complete Works</em>

Abstract

Organization of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: The Complete Works Cliff Eisen (bio) I. Keyboard Music (18 vols.) 1. “Prussian” and “Württemberg” Sonatas 2. Sonatas with Varied Reprises 3. “Probestücke,” “Leichte” and “Damen” Sonatas 4. “Kenner und Liebhaber” Collections (2 parts) 5. Miscellaneous Sonatas from Prints (2 parts) 6. Sonatas from Manuscript Sources (5 parts) 7. Variations 8. Miscellaneous Keyboard Works (2 parts) 9. Organ Works 10. Arrangements of Orchestral Works (2 parts) II. Chamber Music (7 vols.) 1. Solo Sonatas 2. Trio Sonatas (2 parts) 3. Keyboard Trios (2 parts) 4. Accompanied Sonatas 5. Quartets and Miscellaneous Chamber Music III. Orchestral Music (29 vols.) 1. Berlin Symphonies 2. Six Symphonies for Baron van Swieten 3. Orchester-Sinfonien mit zwölf obligaten Stimmen 4. Flute Concertos (2 parts) 5. Oboe Concertos 6. Violoncello Concertos 7. Keyboard Concertos from Prints 8. Sei concerti per il cembalo concertato 9. Keyboard Concertos from Manuscript Sources (15 parts) 10. Concertos for Two Keyboards 11. Keyboard Sonatinas from Prints 12. Keyboard Sonatinas from Manuscript Sources (2 parts) 13. Sonatinas for Two Keyboards [End Page 80] IV. Oratorios and Passions (24 vols.) 1. Die Israeliten in der Wüste 2. Die Auferstehung und Himmelfahrt Jesu 3. Passions-Cantate 4. Passions according to St. Matthew (6 parts) 5. Passions according to St. Mark (5 parts) 6. Passions according to St. Luke (5 parts) 7. Passions according to St. John (5 parts) V. Choral Music (20 vols.) 1. Magnificat (2 parts) 2. Quartalstücke (6 parts) 3. Einführungsmusiken (5 parts) 4. Bürgercapitainsmusiken 5. Works for Special Occasions (2 parts) 6. Miscellaneous Sacred Works (4 parts) VI. Songs and Vocal Chamber Music (4 vols.) 1. Gellert Songs 2. Cramer and Sturm Songs 3. Miscellaneous Songs 4. Arias and Chamber Cantatas VII. Theoretical Works (3 vols.) 1. Versuch über die wahre Art das Clavier zu spielen I 2. Versuch über die wahre Art das Clavier zu spielen II 3. Commentary to the Versuch VIII. Supplement (10 vols.) 1. Miscellanea Musica 2. The Polyhymnia Portfolio 3. Librettos (3 parts) 4. Portrait Collection (2 parts) 5. Historical Catalogues 6. Sources and Scribes 7. Indices Total estimated volumes: 115 Detailed contents of individual volumes, plus the introductions of published volumes and librettos for vocal works, can be found at www.cpebach.org. [End Page 81] Reviews Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: The Complete Works (Los Altos, CA: Packard Humanities Institute, 2005–). If any collected works edition of a composer deserves the description “monumental,” it is surely Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: The Complete Works, a joint undertaking of Harvard University, the Bach-Archiv Leipzig, and the Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, sponsored by the Packard Humanities Institute. Begun in 1998, the edition includes not only Bach’s music, but also facsimiles; free downloads of parts and ancillary material not always included in complete editions, such as a fascinating catalogue of Bach’s portrait collection, reconstructed by Annette Richards; and an excellent new edition of Bach’s Versuch über die wahre Art das Clavier zu spielen, edited and with commentary by Tobias Plebuch. To be sure, the C. P. E. Bach edition stands on the shoulders of other eighteenth-century monumental editions, including the Joseph Haydn Werke and the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe. But it surpasses these in its rigorous view of the sources, its thoughtful editorial philosophy and policies, the quality of the editing and the volumes’ forewords, and its broad view of Bach as a composer working within the context of particular locales at particular times or for particular—and sometimes diverse—audiences. It has the advantage, too, of having been undertaken only after many of the philological basics for dealing with eighteenth-century music have been more or less settled through the work of scholars like Wolfgang Plath, Alan Tyson, and Georg Feder, and after some vigorous debates concerning performance practice as well as the importance of the cultural context to a composer’s life and works. Finally, unlike the Mozart edition in particular, it has benefited from the recent recovery of sources previously thought to have been lost, especially, in 1999, the archives of the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin, which includes some unique copies of Bach’s...