Selections from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach: Keyboard/Piano Book

This collection captures Bach's genius in digestible form without diluting it. Edwin McLean's editorial choices—adding minimal dynamics and phrasing while preserving the original notation for ornaments and appoggiaturas—give students an authentic gateway into how Baroque keyboard music actually worked. The variety of pieces and composers represented means pianists encounter real stylistic depth while building secure technique.

These pieces carry the intimate warmth of music composed within a family circle, yet display the harmonic sophistication and structural logic that define the Baroque. You'll encounter elegant dance forms, vocal arias reimagined for keyboard, and instructional gems that feel small in scope but spacious in musical thought. There's a directness here—no Romantic excess, no dramatic gesturing—just clear melody, intelligent harmony, and the satisfaction of playing music exactly as composers of the era would have conceived it.

Intermediate pianists ready to engage with Baroque idiom and formal structures. This collection works equally well for students building recital repertoire and for teachers seeking pieces that develop both technique and musical understanding through exposure to authentic 18th-century keyboard writing.

• Observe the editorial dynamics as suggestions, not gospel. The original pieces contained none, so feel free to adjust based on harmonic content and phrase shape; this encourages thoughtful interpretation rather than mechanical playing.
• Study the ossias closely before performing. They demonstrate practical solutions for appoggiaturas and ornaments; working through them clarifies execution even if you choose an alternative interpretation.
• Shape phrases through careful voice leading rather than pedal. These pieces often contain independent melodic lines in different registers; let the contrapuntal writing guide your phrasing and articulation.
• Approach tempo from a structural perspective. Baroque keyboard music benefits from proportional tempos between sections; a brisk opening often means a proportionally faster courante or gigue, not independent speed.

Program these as elegant contrasts to Romantic or contemporary works on a recital. A Bach piece or two from this collection provides structural clarity and compositional integrity that can frame a more ambitious program. They also work beautifully in student recitals where multiple pianists perform, since the pieces are substantial enough to stand alone but concise enough to accommodate variety.

• Ornamentation execution (appoggiaturas, trills, mordents) with authentic Baroque notation
• Voice independence and contrapuntal listening within keyboard texture
• Baroque phrasing and articulation without relying on pedal
• Harmonic analysis of Classical-era keyboard forms (minuet, courante, gigue)
• Interpretation decisions when faced with minimal original performance markings