Notebook for Wilhelm Friedemann Bach 1720 (Premium Edition) Cover Image

Notebook for Wilhelm Friedemann Bach 1720 (Premium Edition): Piano Book

$90.00 USD
$90.00 USD
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Notebook for Wilhelm Friedemann Bach 1720 (Premium Edition) Cover Image
Notebook for Wilhelm Friedemann Bach 1720 (Premium Edition): Piano Book

Notebook for Wilhelm Friedemann Bach 1720 (Premium Edition): Piano Book

By Johann Sebastian Bach / ed. Christoph Wolff

Item: 98-EP11502
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Description

Following the acclaimed, award-winning publication of The Notebooks for Anna Magdalena Bach 1722 & 1725 (Best Edition 2020, German Music Publishers Association), Edition Peters is proud to present the Notebook for Wilhelm Friedemann Bach 1720 in a new premium Urtext edition by world-renowned Bach scholar Christoph Wolff.

Bach's 'notebooks' provide a fascinating glimpse into the domestic music academy of the Bach family home. They contain original compositions, exercises, and model examples by other composers, all collected with a view to providing a rounded musical education to family members. The Notebook for Wilhelm Friedemann Bach was compiled for Johann Sebastian's eldest son, who himself went on to become one of the leading organists, improvisers and composers of his day. The book contains systematic exercises, first or early versions of three of Bach's most important keyboard cycles (some of the preludes from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Preambulums for the Two-part Inventions and Fantasias for the Three-part Sinfonias) and suites by Richter, Telemann and Stölzel among other items.

This luxury linen-bound edition with gold-embossed cover lettering is in line with the quality of the production of the much-praised Notebooks for Anna Magdalena Bach. It is produced in the original landscape format, ideal for use on a keyboard stand, and contains illustrations, premium-quality new engravings and full critical commentary.

This edition is the first new Urtext edition of the notebook in 60 years. It presents cutting-edge scholarship from the world's leading Bach authority Professor Christoph Wolff including the most up to date research regarding attributions of authors and writers, new fragments brought to light by recently rediscovered manuscripts and the latest dating of sources.

  • New Urtext Edition of the Notebook for Wilhelm Friedemann Bach 1720 by Christoph Wolff
  • First new Urtext Edition for 60 years
  • Highest possible level of scholarship
  • Follows acclaimed publication of The Notebooks for Anna Magdalena Bach 1722 & 1725
  • Landscape format, optimal for piano and keyboard players
  • Premium linen binding
  • Bibliophile edition

Praise for The Notebooks for Anna Magdalena Bach:

"Every aspect of this edition screams quality; it is quite simply a thing of great beauty!" - Pianodao.com

"There are countless editions of the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach. Edition Peters has now published a complete edition for the first time, containing the complete material from Bach's 1722 and 1725 notebooks. Christoph Wolff, renowned Bach specialist, professor at Harvard University and long-time director of the Bach Archive in Leipzig, is the editor of this bibliophile Urtext edition.

Bibliophile is the right term here [...] the publication shows the company's deep connection to Bach in several ways. In addition to a foreword, the inside pages contain all piano pieces from Bach's books in a clean, very well-placed typesetting. Reproductions of Bach's original manuscript make the bridge between the past and the present easy to understand. Close to the original and very beautifully realised, this Notebook is worthy of distinction." - Deutsche Musikverleger-Verband (Best Edition 2020)



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Additional Details
Series: Edition Peters
Publisher: Edition Peters
Page Count: 148
ISBN10: 0-01-412707-5
ISBN13: 979-0-01-412707-7
SKU: 98-EP11502

More about this title

About the Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) stands as the cornerstone of Western keyboard music. His systematic approach to composition, combined with his pedagogical insight, shaped how musicians have learned and thought about music for nearly three centuries. Bach composed the Notebook for Wilhelm Friedemann Bach as both a gift to his eldest son and a deliberate educational roadmap, embedding technical mastery within works of genuine musical substance.

Bach's legacy in music education extends far beyond his famous Well-Tempered Clavier and the Anna Magdalena Notebooks. He believed that learning music required exposure to multiple compositional styles, contrapuntal techniques, and the works of his contemporaries. This notebook exemplifies that philosophy: it blends his own compositions with excerpts from other masters, creating a complete musical education in a single volume.

Why we love this

This edition gives pianists direct access to Bach's own pedagogical thinking at a level rarely seen in modern repertoire. Christoph Wolff's scholarship ensures that every page reflects what Wilhelm Friedemann Bach actually studied, including early versions of keyboard masterworks that evolved into the final Well-Tempered Clavier. The landscape format and premium binding make this both a serious study tool and an object worthy of a musician's personal library.

What to expect

These pages pulse with purpose and discipline. Each exercise builds logically on the last; each piece from Bach's pen reveals the mind of a working composer shaping his son's musical voice. The inclusion of other composers' works adds texture and context, reminding you that Bach's education was never insular. You feel the presence of a father systematically transmitting his art across the keyboard.

Who it's for

This edition serves pianists preparing for conservatory study, advanced amateurs seeking scholarly depth, and music teachers building a comprehensive Bach library. It appeals especially to those studying the Well-Tempered Clavier who want to understand the compositional journey from these early sketches to the final published work.

How to get the most out of it

  • Treat the exercises and systematic studies as musical works rather than technical drills; Bach's writing even in pedagogical material contains voice-leading logic worth honoring in performance.
  • Pay close attention to the critical commentary and editorial notes, which illuminate Bach's compositional choices and the differences between these versions and their later published forms.
  • Use the landscape format intentionally by securing the book on a keyboard stand; this positioning naturally encourages better hand positioning and reduces neck strain during longer study sessions.
  • Approach the mixture of original Bach compositions with works by Richter, Telemann, and Stölzel as a curated survey of keyboard writing; contrasting their styles deepens your understanding of what makes Bach's language distinctive.

How to use it

This notebook works best in a recital sequence as historical programming that pairs with mature performances of the Well-Tempered Clavier or a complete Bach keyboard cycle. Advanced students might extract specific pieces for lecture-recitals exploring Bach's evolution as a composer, using the early versions to frame a discussion of compositional revision and artistic growth.

Skills your students will build

  • Reading Bach's contrapuntal voice-leading in early keyboard forms
  • Understanding the relationship between pedagogical exercises and finished compositions
  • Interpreting Baroque articulation, phrasing, and ornamentation across multiple keyboard genres
  • Recognizing stylistic characteristics of Bach and his contemporaries (Telemann, Richter, Stölzel) through direct comparison
  • Navigating early versions of canons, inventions, and sinfonias that became core Bach repertoire

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