Bach J. S. Clavierübung. Part 2. Italian Concerto BWV 971. Overture in the French Style BWV 831. Urtext

It is well known that J. S. Bach wrote his clavier Concertos as a transcription of the Concertos by the Italian masters of violin. But the Concerto, named Italian (1735) with its two lively F major outer movements, in ritornello style, frame a florid arioso-style movement in D minor, the relative minor is an original work that uses the principle of the Italian concertos of the time.

An Italian style concerto relies upon the contrasting roles of different groups of instruments in an ensemble; Bach imitates this effect by creating contrasts using the forte and piano manuals of a two-manual harpsichord throughout the piece. In fact, along with the French Overture and some of the Goldberg Variations, this is one of the few works by Bach which specifically require a 2-manual harpsichord.

This edition is based on research conducted on original copies of the first editions of this work, that are stored in archives in Great Britain, Austria and Germany. Some of the copies contain remarks, comments and corrections made by J.S. Bach himself (in one case – more than a hundred). All performing instructions are given in the precise accordance with the lifetime print and handwritten remarks. It is the first edition in Russia that can claim such depths of analysis.

The complexity level corresponds to music colleges, conservatoires, concert performers.

Gift edition.

The present Urtext is prepared and researched by the prominent musicologist Tatiana Shabalina, PhD, Professor of the St. Petersburg conservatory. She is also the author of the introductory article and comments.   

Tatiana Shabalina belongs to the musicological elite of Bach researchers. She is a member of Bach Society (Germany) George Bell International Institution, and Bach Network UK society. Her articles and essays are published on a regular basis in the leading magazines dedicated to Bach’s heritage. Since 1998 she has been working with Bach archives all around the globe Tatiana Shabalina is the author of a treatise on Bach manuscripts — Manuscripts by Bach: keys to the core of the mystery, J. S. Bach Life and Work Chronicles. Many textological discoveries of international scale related to dating of his works were made by her.