Piano Masters Series: The Baroque Masters: Piano Book

This collection cuts straight to the heart of Baroque keyboard writing without filler or simplification. The variety across composers and forms keeps students engaged with authentic repertoire while building technical foundation and stylistic awareness in a single 36-page volume.

You move through centuries of keyboard thinking in 36 pages: Bach's intellectual counterpoint and rigorous invention, French composers' ornamental grace and dance character, Scarlatti's virtuosic keyboard writing, and German elegance. Each piece breathes its own air while sitting comfortably under intermediate hands.

Late intermediate pianists ready to engage with genuine Baroque keyboard literature rather than simplified arrangements. Students building recital repertoire or exploring foundational keyboard styles will find substantial, performable works at this collection's core.

• Observe the articulation and phrasing implied by each composer's texture. Bach's two-part writing benefits from clarity between voices; Scarlatti's sonatas reward a more singing approach to repeated figures.
• Approach the dance forms (Allemande, Sarabande, Bourrée) with rhythmic steadiness but without metronomic stiffness. The pulse should support the ornamentation rather than interrupt it.
• Use the harpsichord as your mental reference for tone and touch across these pieces. Even on modern piano, the clarity and articulation of a harpsichord player informs authentic interpretation.

Feature individual selections in student recitals to show stylistic range and historical depth. A Bach prelude and a Scarlatti sonata pairing on the same program creates a natural dialogue between German and Italian approaches; a Couperin or Rameau piece bridges them gracefully. The collection works equally well as a semester's worth of repertoire study.

• Contrapuntal clarity and voice independence (Bach inventions and two-part writing)
• Baroque ornamentation and articulation across different national schools
• Stylistic differentiation between French, Italian, German, and English Baroque keyboard music
• Double-hand independence in dance forms and fast-passage work
• Interpretive choices within the bounds of period style (tempo, articulation, phrasing)