Harmonized Chorales for Keyboard Cover Image

Harmonized Chorales for Keyboard: Piano Book

$18.99 USD
$18.99 USD
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Harmonized Chorales for Keyboard Cover Image
Harmonized Chorales for Keyboard: Piano Book

Harmonized Chorales for Keyboard: Piano Book

By Johann Sebastian Bach

Item: 06-445496
$18.99
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Description
Long esteemed as counterpoint's greatest master, Johann Sebastian Bach created harmonizations of chorales that have served as voice-leading models for generations. This affordable volume features 371 of the composer's harmonized chorales, presented in closed score for easy study as well as play.

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Additional Details
Series: Dover Edition
Publisher: Dover Publications
ISBN10: 0-486-44549-6
ISBN13: 978-0-486-44549-6
UPC: 9780486445496
SKU: 06-445496

More about this title

About the Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685, 1750) stands as the undisputed master of contrapuntal writing, and his chorale harmonizations form the backbone of Western music pedagogy. Working primarily in Leipzig as a church musician, Bach harmonized hundreds of Lutheran hymn melodies, creating models of voice leading so economical and elegant that they remain the standard against which all subsequent harmonization is measured.

Why we love this

These 371 chorales represent the single most practical resource for teaching voice leading, part writing, and harmonic function. The closed-score format makes them immediately playable while remaining transparent enough for detailed study of Bach's decision-making in every measure. Your students will learn more about functional harmony from playing through a handful of these than from a semester of theory worksheets.

What to expect

Each chorale distills profound spiritual content into a few measures of crystalline harmony. The writing feels both inevitable and ingenious, with each voice moving with purpose and dignity while supporting the whole.

Who it's for

This collection serves theory teachers, keyboard instructors, and any musician serious about understanding harmony from the source. It's equally valuable for a college music major analyzing Bach's techniques and a high school organist preparing functional repertoire for worship services.

How to get the most out of it

  • Maintain evenness across all four voices when playing; resist the temptation to let the soprano dominate. Bach's inner voices contain the harmonic architecture.
  • Observe phrase structure and breathe naturally at cadences, even when playing alone. These chorales were written for singing, so phrasing matters as much in keyboard performance.
  • Explore registration thoughtfully if working on an organ. A simple principal chorus often reveals voice leading more effectively than heavy orchestration.

How to use it

Assign these systematically within a music theory curriculum, pairing performance with harmonic analysis to reinforce how function appears in actual composition. Organists can draw from this volume to build a sustainable library of serviceable repertoire for liturgical use without seeking permissions or licensing.

Skills your students will build

  • Four-part voice leading and smooth voice independence
  • Recognition and application of functional harmony in context
  • Phrasing and breathing in keyboard performance of vocal music
  • Analysis of cadential structures and harmonic rhythm
  • Piano sight-reading fluency across multiple clefs and textures

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