The Organist's Upper Hand

Orgelchoräle Der Leipziger Handschrift. Par BACH JOHANN SEBASTIAN. Editorial Board: Werner Breig/ Pieter Dirksen/ Reinmar Emans music text faithful to the sources and reflecting the current status of Bach research developed for musical practice through the cooperation of scholars and performers contains all of Bach's keyboard works that require an independent pedal manual contains all authentic early versions and fragmentarily transmitted or dubious works that can be attributed to Bach with a fair amount of certainty features comprehensive introductions, extensive source descriptions and text-critical notes features supplementary material illustrated synoptically on CD-ROM (in printable quality) brochure, in large format (32 x 25 cm) and compact music engraving, clear, easy to read, with convenient page turns 'The Breitkopf edition is obviously preferable if you're buying new copies. The series so far has been most impressive.' (Clifford Bartlett, Early Music Review) Subscription Conditions A subscription is only possible for the complete collection. The subscription price of the volumes is 20% lower than the final sales price. A subscription can begin at any time. The subscription obliges the subscriber to purchase the entire collection. The New Edition of Bach's Complete Organ Works With repertoire works, musicians often have the choice between editions conceived for practical music-making and others that are more scholarly in concept. This also applies to the organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach, which are available today in various editions. Among them is that of Heinz Lohmann, which Breitkopf and Härtel began publishing in 1967 and whose concept strove for an amalgamation of practice and Urtext. Current Urtext status, historically informed, edited with performers in mind: More than 40 years later, the demands made on a new Urtext edition of Bach's organ works are as stringent as ever before. Next to the results of scholarly research on Bach and the sources, aspects of a historically informed performance practice are increasingly claiming our attention today. Also important for study, teaching and concert performance are, in addition to the above-mentioned demands, such external criteria as format, paper, convenient page turns and an easily legible layout that helps the user quickly grasp the musical context. The new edition, beginning in 2010, also contains all keyboard works with pedal and the 'dubious works' that are hardly dubious anymore The edition of Johann Sebastian Bach's organ works which Breitkopf and Härtel is beginning to publish in fall 2010 wants to do justice to these demands. Next to the core contents of the repertoire, it will also feature all of the master's 'clavier' works which require an independent pedal. Moreover, it will include all authentic early versions as well as the fragmentarily transmitted works. As to the dubious works, it will contain those which can be attributed to Bach today with considerable certainty. It offers incerta, early, and alternative versions on CD-ROM In this work group, the new edition uses for the first time the modern forms of editorial technique with which the synoptical depiction of various versions is made possible on CD-ROM. Thanks to the collaboration with the EDIROM project, which is a leader in the field of digital scientific editorial technique, the edition offers new types of solutions. Incerta, early, and alternative versions that cannot be included in the printed volumes for reasons of size or problems of authenticity, are published on CD-ROM, supplied with comments, and depicted synoptically. Thus, after comparing the versions, the player can decide upon a different version than the one printed in the volume, and can make a high-quality print-out of it. The texts and comments customary to the 'Breitkopf Urtext' editions comprehensive introductions, extensive source descriptions and text-critical observations can be found in the printed version of the volumes. Edited by a competent team: With Werner Breig (Erlangen), Pieter Dirksen (Culemborg/Netherlands) and Reinmar Emans (Bochum), a.o. we have brought together a team that guarantees the highest expertise in various domains. Further Bach experts such as Sven Hiemke (Hamburg), David Schulenberg (Boston) and Jean-Claude Zehnder (Basel) were also enlisted for the edition of single volumes. Werner Breig (* 1932) studied Evangelical church music in Berlin as well as musicology in Erlangen and Hamburg. He obtained his doctorate in 1962 and completed his habilitation (postdoctoral lecturing qualification) in 1973. He then devoted himself to musicology at the Universities of Freiburg i. Br, Karlsruhe, Wuppertal and Bochum. Since his retirement in 1997 he has been living in Erlangen. Between 1997 and 2007 Breig was appointed General Editor of the complete edition of Richard Wagners letters. He is the author of many publications and editions, particularly of early clavier and organ music by Heinrich Schütz and Johann Sebastian Bach, but also of Richard Wagner and Arnold Schoenberg. Furthermore he is the author of the Bach article in the dictionary Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart (MGG, 2nd edition). Pieter Dirksen (* 1961) studied organ, harpsichord and musicology. His 1996 doctoral thesis on Sweelinck's keyboard music was awarded the Praemium Erasmianum. Dirksen has since published many studies on, and editions of, several masters of the 17th century (Sweelinck, Bull, Cornet, Scheidt, Scheidemann, Buxtehude, Luebeck, Johann Christoph Bach) as well as Johann Sebastian Bach. In collaboration with Harald Vogel, he edited Sweelinck's Complete Works for Keyboard Instrument (4 volumes, Breitkopf and Härtel). Dirksen is a member of the academic board of the Bach-Jahrbuch as well as a sought-after harpsichordist, organist and continuo player in international ensembles. Dirksen issued a number of much-acclaimed solo recordings (Sweelinck, Scheidemann, Boehm, Louis Couperin, Bach-Vivaldi, Bachs Art of Fugue and Goldberg Variations). Edison Winner 2003. Reinmar Emans (* 1953) studied musicology in Bonn and wrote his doctoral thesis on the cantatas and canzonettas of Giovanni Legrenzi in 1982. From 1983 to 2008 he was an academic staff member of the Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Institut Göttingen, and temporarily deputy of the managing director. He has taught in Bochum, Marburg, Detmold, Cologne and Hamburg, and has been a freelance contributor to various music periodicals. In 2000 he was responsible for the conception and direction of the Thuringian state exhibition 'Der junge Bach: Weil er nicht aufzuhalten' in Erfurt. He has conducted research and produced publications on opera and the cantata in 17th-century Italy, on stylistic development in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, and on editorial philology./ Répertoire / Orgue

Composed by Jehan Alain  Trois Pièces is a set of upper intermediate / advanced works for Organ with pedal-use. The first piece “Variations sur un thème de Clément Jannequin” (Variations on a Clément Jannequin’s tune“ should be played “in the same way as Couperin’s Préludes: freshly and softly”. It contains four distinctive parts: Affetuoso Maggiore Fuggato and Grave.  The second piece is called “Le jardin suspendu” (The hanging garden) and features three different parts that can’t be played separately. Thelast piece “Litanies” is quite religious and consists of the repetition of lamentations. Its introduction in Vivo is played only by the right hand then followed by a “Lirico ma sempre vivo” part. These are followed by switches between the main tempo and some Vivacissimo parts sounding declamatory. This third piece ends really harmoniously. Jehan Alain is a French organist who became famous with his Suite for Organ. Student of Marcel Dupré and Roger Ducasse among others he kept composing all his life. One of his most famous international pieces is 'Litanies'.