The Bach Library at Berea, Ohio

Abstract

The Bach library which has been assembled by Albert Riemenschneider at Berea, Ohio during the past thirty years has been and remains at present a special section of the personal library of Dr. and Mrs. Riemenschneider, who are in charge of the Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music. When the new library building, which is part of the plan of the Centenary Campaign Program at BaldwinWallace, has been realized and completed, the Bach library is to find a place in a specially constructed fire-proof room where it will remain as an entity and become the property of the BaldwinWallace College. It is to be used as a special reference and research room pertaining to the works and music of Johann Sebastian Bach. At the present time it is not housed in the main College library but occupies a room on the third floor of the new fireproof Kulas Musical Arts Building, the home of the Conservatory of Music. At this place frequent visitors have had access for the purpose of research, and among the visitors have been a number of persons from the larger universities and libraries who have been doing special research work on Bach. Of various editions of Bach's music there are approximately 750 bound volumes. Covering the literature, including biography, scientific, analytical and critical.treatises and other articles there are approximately 600 volumes. Of the works which were published during Bachts life time the following are present: a splendid copy of the Partitas, published in 1731; a copy of the canonic variations for organ on Von Hinmel hoch which belonged to George Polschau and which contains some notations on the blank pages in his hand-writing; a good copy