Wolfgang Rübsam chorale preludes for Lent and Easter

John Collins has been playing and researching early keyboard music for over 35 years, with special interests in the English, Italian, and Iberian repertoires. He has contributed many articles and reviews to several American and European journals, including The Diapason, and has been organist at St. George’s, Worthing, West Sussex, England for over 26 years.

In 2014 there are several composers whose anniversaries can be commemorated, albeit some of the dates are not known for certain. Some of the names need no introduction but there are also several lesser-known names listed here whose compositions are well worth exploring. No claim is made for completeness, and there is no guarantee that every edition is in print—there may well also be editions by other publishers.  

Giaches Brumel (ca. 1510–64).French composer who worked at the court in Ferrara from 1532. Ascribed to Brumel are two ricercars (one imitative and one chordal) and a Missa de la Dominica in the manuscripts at Castell Arquato, edited by Knud Jeppesen for Norsk Musikforlag, Oslo, in Die italienische Orgelmusik am Anfang des Cinquecento and more recently, albeit in halved note values, by H. Colin Slim for American Institute of Musicology Corpus of Early Keyboard Music 37, volume 3, which contains a wider selection from the manuscripts. It has been postulated that 14 of the set of 17 ricercars known as the Bourdeney Codex may also be by Brumel. These lengthy contrapuntal works have been edited by Anthony Newcomb for A–R Editions (R89).

Francisco de Peraza (1564–98).Organist in Seville, he left a Medio Registro alto de 1 Tono, the earliest known surviving example of this genre, which became popular in the Iberian repertoire. This has appeared in several anthologies, including American Institute of Musicology’s Corpus of Early Keyboard Music 14: Spanish Organ Music after Antonio de Cabezon, edited by Willi Apel. 

Gregor Aichinger (1564–1628).Organist in Augsburg to the Fuggers, six ricercars and four motet intabulations have been edited by Eberhard Kraus in Cantantibus organis, vol. 7, for Verlag Friedrich Pustet. A further motet intabulation is included in Altbaierische Orgelmusik, vol. 1, edited by Eberhard Kraus for Noetzel. 

Giovanni de Macque (ca. 1550–1614). Born in Flanders, he came to Naples ca. 1585, becoming head of the vice-regal chapel in 1599. He was the teacher of Ascanio Mayone and Giovanni Maria Trabaci, both of whom published two volumes of highly influential pieces. De Macque published copious amounts of madrigals but no keyboard works; however, almost 40 pieces survive in manuscripts. These include eight canzonas, four capriccios, two stravaganzes, a consonanze stravaganti, a durezze e ligature, an intrata, a toccata a modo di Trombetta and a set of variations on Ruggiero, which have been edited by Liuwe Tamminga (vol. 1), and 14 ricercars (the first book of 12 published ricercars set for keyboard together with a further two thought to be from the second book), edited by Armando Carideo (vol. 2); both volumes are published by Il Levante (available through La Stanza della Musica). The first set of 12 ricercars has also been edited by Christopher Stembridge for Zanibon. This edition includes a comprehensive discussion of the modes and their affects, along with the registration prescribed by Diruta. The ricercars are the first to present the different subjects at the beginning of the piece. The durezze and stravaganze are highly chromatic compositions. The older edition by Watelet and Piscaer for Monumenta Musica Belgae also contains Partite sopra Zefiro de Rinaldo attributed by the editor to de Macque; this, however, is almost certainly a set of partite on Zefiro composed by Rinaldo dell’Arpa. 

Hans Leo Hassler (1564–1612). Primarily known today for his vocal music, he studied organ in Venice with Andrea Gabrieli and became a leading player in Augsburg. He left a substantial corpus of keyboard works of considerable scope and length, most of it preserved in the Turin manuscripts, including eight toccatas, 18 ricercari, 18 canzone, fourteen Magnificats, an organ Mass, four fugues, and two sets of variations. Problems of attribution have occurred with pieces variously ascribed to Sweelinck, Christian Erbach, and Giovanni Gabrieli. A good selection, as well as the variations on Ich ging einmal spazieren, was edited by Georges Kiss for Schott and Sons. The toccatas were edited by S. Stribos for the American Institute of Musicology, and the Magnificats by A. Carpene for Il Levante Libreria. A few other pieces from other manuscript sources have been included in various anthologies, including 25 of the 39 intabulated songs from his Lustgarten of 1601, edited by M. Böcker for Breitkopf & Härtel. The complete works from the Turin manuscripts are available in two volumes, edited by W. Thein and U. Wethmüller for Breitkopf & Härtel. A further volume containing the complete remaining keyboard works from other sources has been in preparation for some time. These supersede the edition of a small selection of pieces by Hassler and Erbach, edited by Ernst von Werra ca. 1903 for Denkmäler der Tonkunst in Bayern, second series, vol. IV, no. 2. 

Franz Tunder (1614–67). Organist of the Marienkirche, Lübeck, he left about 17 compositions in manuscripts, including five praeludia exemplifying early use of the Stylus Phantasticus and a canzona, along with 11 chorale settings, of which six are fantasias. Auf meinen lieben Gott is set for two manuals without pedal, Jesus Christus, wahr Gottes Sohn is for single manual and pedals, and Jesus Christus, unser Heiland has three separate variations, of which the first includes much use of double pedal. Two further chorale settings in the Pelpin manuscripts originally attributed to Scheidemann have now been tentatively attributed to Tunder. All pieces have been edited by Klaus Beckmann for Breitkopf & Härtel.  

Benjamin Rogers (1614–98). Organist at Eton and Oxford, he left sacred and secular vocal music, consort music, and 17 keyboard works of which the great majority are dances better suited to stringed keyboard instruments. Two, however, are voluntaries and are more suited to performance on the organ. All pieces have been edited by Richard Rastall for Stainer & Bell. 

Charles Racquet (1597–1664). Organist in Paris, he left 12 versets de psaume en duo, which was printed in Mersenne’s Harmonie universelle, Paris, 1636–37, and a large–scale Fantasie in manuscript. All have been edited along with works by De Bourges, N. de la Grotte, and D. Gaultier by Jean Bonfils in L’Organiste Liturgique, xxix–xxx for Schola Cantorum et de la Procure générale de musique.

Georg Leyding (1664–1710). He had lessons with Buxtehude and became organist in Brunswick. Although Walther mentions his many keyboard pieces, only five organ compositions have survived in manuscripts, including three praeludia with demanding pedal parts (C, B-flat and E-flat), a set of variations on Von Gott will ich nicht lassen and a prelude on Wie schön leucht uns der Morgenstern. These have been edited by Klaus Beckmann for Breitkopf & Härtel.

Johann Speth (1664–1720). Organist in Augsburg, he published Ars Magna Consoni et Dissoni… in 1693, which contains ten toccatas, Magnificats on the eight tones that include a praeambulum, five verses, and a finale (some verses are actually by Poglietti, Kerll, and Froberger), and three sets of partitas for manuals only, each with six variations. Although the preface states that these pieces are all playable on the clavichord, the toccatas and Magnificats contain an obbligato pedal part, although this is either octave doubling or long held notes. All were edited (alas, without the original preface) by Traugott Fedke for Bärenreiter and there is a facsimile published by Early Music in Facsimile, Edition Helbling, Innsbruck, with a preface by Rupert Frieberger.  

Pablo Nassarre (1664–1724). Blind from infancy, he was organist in Zaragoza, and is best known today for his theoretical works, Fragmentos músicos and Escuela música, según la práctica moderna, which are available in facsimile. He also left five organ pieces, including three tocatas [sic] edited by José Llorens for Diputación Provincial de Barcelona and a tiento partido and two versos from a manuscript in Astorga, edited by José Alvarez in Colección de obras de órgano de organistas españoles del siglo XVII for Union Musical Española. 

Pierre Dandrieu (1664–1733). Organist and priest in Paris, he left a book of 36 noëls with variations, similar in style to those in Lebègue’s third book, and five other pieces including a carillon. Pierre’s book appeared in several editions from 1714 up to 1759, and 37 pieces were reworked by his nephew Jean-François for a publication that also included 11 of the latter’s noëls. Edited by Roger Hugon for La Sociéte Française de Musicologie and published by Heugel. A facsimile edition of the prints of 1729/59 has been published by Fuzeau.

Guillaume Gabriel Nivers (1632–1714). Organist of St. Sulpice, Paris, his Livre d’orgue contenant cent pieces de tous les tons de l’église of 1665 is the earliest known of such volumes presenting a group of pieces by tone (12 in this case, the first two having 10 verses, the rest eight), with highly individual and specific registrations. There is a comprehensive explanation of the tempi, registration, and ornament signs. He published two further volumes: 2e livre d’orgue contenant la messe et les hymnes de l’église in 1667, which contains a Mass and 25 hymn settings, and 3e livre d’orgue des huit tons de l’église in 1675. He also published some vocal and much liturgical music. The first two Livres d’orgue have been edited by Norbert Dufourcq for Editions Bornemann and the third Livre by him for Heugel. All three Livres are available in facsimile from Fuzeau. The third Livre is also published by Societé Française de Musicologie (EZ.SFM20). 

Franz Matthias Techelmann (ca. 1649–1714). Two sets of pieces (in A minor and C major) comprising Toccata, Canzona, Ricercar, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, and Gigue (or Minuet in C major set) survive in an autograph manuscript, of which the non-dance elements work well on the organ. Between the ricercar and the dances in the A minor set there is an aria (with 30 variations). The non-dance movements in A minor have been edited by Laura Cerutti for Edizione Carrara, and a complete edition by Herwig Knaus for Denkmäler Tonkunst Osterreich vol. 115 also includes 13 dance suites, which may be by Techelmann or possibly Kerll. 

Diego Xarava (1652–ca. 1714). Nephew of Pablo Bruna and organist of the Capilla Real, Madrid, he left two pieces in the extensive Martin y Coll Manuscript 1357: an Ydea Buena y fuga por a la mi re (the fuga occurs separately in the Jaca manuscript), and an Obra en lleno de 3 Tono. These have been edited by Carlo Stella and Vittorio Vinay for Zanibon, available through Armelin, and by Julián Sagasta in vol. 2 of Tonos de Palacio y Canciones Comunes for Union Musical Española.  

Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach (1714–88). Fifth child and second surviving son of Johann Sebastian, he is well known today for his many sonatas, fantasias, rondos, and miscellaneous pieces for stringed keyboard instruments, as well as his important treatise on playing keyboard instruments (Versuch über die wahre Art…). He left only a few pieces specifically for organ, including a set of six sonatas for Princess Amalie, edited by Peter Hauschild and Gerhard Weinberger and a Prelude in D, six fugues, a trio, two chorale preludes, and five chorale arrangements edited by Jochen Reutter and Gerhard Weinberger, both volumes published by Wiener Urtext. The edition of the organ works as part of the complete C. P. E. Bach edition has been edited by Annette Richards and David Yearsley as volume 1/9 for Packard Humanities Institute (this volume omits the sonata Wq 70/1). Four further fugues have been edited by Wilhelm Poot for Interlude Music Productions. 

Gottfried Homilius (1714–85) studied with J. S. Bach and became organist in Dresden in 1742. In addition to Passions, a cantata cycle, Magnificat settings and motets, he left 41 chorale preludes, of which 38 have been edited by Christoph Albrecht and published by Breitkopf & Härtel, and five organ pieces from a privately owned manuscript in Dresden have been edited by Christoph Albrecht and published by Leutkirch: Pro Organo. Thirty-eight chorale preludes for organ and melody instrument have been edited by Ellen Exner and Uwe Wolf for Carus Verlag. 

Johann Anton Kobrich (1714–91).  Organist in Landsberg, in addition to vocal music he left several sets of Parthien better suited to stringed keyboard instruments, although the two sets of Der clavierspielende Schäfer are described as “Welche sowohl in der Kirche als auch zu Hause können producirt and gebraucht werden.” Of his organ collections unfortunately most, including 20 toccatas, six sonatas, and pieces suitable for Offertory, Elevation, and Communion, remain unpublished in modern editions. Selected pieces from these sets have been edited by A. Maisch and published by Albert J. Kunzelmann. Figuralische Choral–Zierde, his collection of preludes and versets in the eight church tones was edited by Rudolph Walter for Alfred Coppenrath, Alttötting and is now available from Carus Verlag. Several pastorales that were appended to the first set of Der clavierspielende Schäfer have been edited by Gerhard Weinberger and published by Anton Böhm & Sohn.

Johann Mattheson (1681–1764). Better known today for his numerous theoretical works, he left a small collection of keyboard works, mainly for stringed keyboard instruments, but Die wolhklingende Fingersprache (containing 12 fugues, some with dances) of 1735 and 1737 is also suited to the organ. Edited by Lothar Hoffman-Erbrecht for Breitkopf & Härtel. 

John Reading (ca. 1685–1764). Organist at Lincoln and various London churches and an influential teacher, he compiled several volumes of keyboard music for organ and harpsichord, in addition to vocal music, of which three containing organ pieces (voluntaries and psalm settings) are preserved at Dulwich College, one at Tokyo, and one at Manchester. They are unique sources for many pieces, including his own compositions. A comprehensive selection of the Dulwich volumes has been edited by Robin Langley as volume 3 of the ten-volume series of English organ music for Novello; it includes early versions of voluntaries by Stanley. 

Johann Xavier Nauss (ca. 1690–1764). Organist in Augsburg, he published several volumes of keyboard music, of which the two parts of Die spielende Muse—consisting of preludes, verses, finale, aria (1st to 6th tones) or pastorella (7th and 8th tones) and fugue on the 8 tones, plus a set in E major—have been edited in one volume by Rudolph Waters for Alfred Coppenrath, Alttötting, which is now available from Carus Verlag. 

Wilhelm Hieronymus Pachelbel (1686–1764). Son of Johann, and organist in Nuremberg, he left two Praeludia und Fugen, a toccata, and two chorale settings, which have been edited by Hans Möseler and Traugott Fedke for Bärenreiter. 

Charles Burney (1726–1814). Also better known today for his numerous writings on music including The Present State of Music in France and Italy, The Present State of Music in Germany, the Netherlands and the United Provinces, and his monumental General History of Music in four volumes, which just beat the similar publication by Sir John Hawkins. He also wrote articles for Rees’s Cyclopaedia. Burney left some vocal music, a set of concerti, and several sets of sonatas for harpsichord solo and duet, along with chamber pieces, and a set of VI Cornet Pieces and a Fugue (1751), which comprises an Introduction in E minor followed by six Cornet movements and concludes with a fugue in the still-rare key of F minor. Around 1787, Burney published Preludes, Interludes and Fugues Book I, which includes pieces in keys from A to C; no trace of the second book survives, if indeed it was ever printed. These two publications have been edited by David Patrick and published by Fitzjohn Music. 

Abbé Georg Vogler (1749–1814). Widely traveled with the electoral court, organ designer and teacher, he left theater productions, symphonies, and concerti, and several collections of organ music, which remain largely unpublished in modern editions. 112 Petites preludes pour l’orgue ou le clavecin, op. 16, has been edited by Joachim Dorfmüller for Rob Forberg. A collection of 32 preludes has been edited by Armin Kircher for Carus Verlag, and, together with his Pièces de clavecin of 1798, by Floyd Grave for A–R Editions (C24).

Nicolò Moretti (1764–1821) left some 29 organ works; 17 (including 13 sonatas, a pastorale, two rondos, and an adagio) have been edited by A. Aroma, the others (including four sonatas, a sinfonia, Elevazione, versets, concertino, rondo, marcia, pastorale, and polacca) by Aroma, S. Carmelos and G. Simionato. Both volumes were published by Paideia Brescia for Bärenreiter, and are now available from Armelin.

Matthew Camidge (1764–1844). After time as a chorister at the Chapel Royal under Nares, he returned to York, where he became organist of the Minster. He published mainly church music, a set of instructions for the pianoforte or harpsichord, and left a set of six multi-movement (including a fugue) concertos for the organ or pianoforte in (ca.) 1815, in which he endeavored to imitate the styles of Handel and Corelli. Edited by Greg Lewin and published by Greg Lewin Music. 

An increasing number of pieces, ranging from complete original publications/manuscripts (which present the usual problems of multiple clefs as well as original printer’s errors) to selected individual works, are to be found on various free download sites, most noticeably IMSLP; however, the accuracy of some modern typesettings is highly questionable, and all should be treated with caution before use. Publishers’ websites include: 

Schott Music: www.schott-music.com 

Breitkopf & Hartel: www.breitkopf.com

Bärenreiter: www.baerenreiter.com 

Armelin: www.armelin.it

Carus Verlag: www.carus-verlag.com 

Butz Verlag: www.butz-verlag.de 

Edizioni Carrara: www.edizionicarrara.it

American Institute of Musicology—Corpus of Early Keyboard Music series: www.corpusmusicae.com/cekm.htm 

Fitzjohn Music: www.impulse-music.co.uk/fitzjohnmusic.htm 

Wiener Urtext: www.wiener–urtext.com  

Denkmäler Tonkunst Osterreich: 

www.dtoe.at

C.P.E. Bach complete works (Packard): www.cpebach.org 

Interlude Publications: www.interlude.nl 

A–R Editions: www.areditions.com 

Editions Bornemann: 

www.alphonseleduc.com 

Fuzeau: www.editions-classique.com   

Société française de musicology: 

www.sfmusicologie.fr 

Verlag Friedrich Pustet: 

www.verlag-pustet.de 

Greg Lewin Music: www.greglewin.co.uk

Heinrichshofen Verlag and Noetzel: www.heinrichshofen.de  

Norsk Musikforlag: 

www.norskmusikforlag.no  

Stainer & Bell: www.stainer.co.uk 

Schola Cantorum: 

www.schola-editions.com

Helbling Verlag: 

www.helbling-verlag.de 

In 2016 the anniversaries of several composers can be commemorated, albeit some of their dates are not known for certain. Some names need no introduction but there are also several lesser-known names here whose compositions are well worth exploring. No claim is made for completeness. Some composers with only a small number of surviving pieces have not been included, and there is no guarantee that every edition is in print; there may also be editions by other publishers. A search of online booksellers for copies may be worthwhile. 

An increasing number of pieces, ranging from complete original publications or manuscripts (which present the usual problems of multiple clefs as well as original printing errors) to modern versions of works, can be found on various free download websites, most notably IMSLP. However, the accuracy of some modern typesettings is highly questionable, and all should be used with caution. 

Antonio de Cabezón (1510–66) was organist to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and one of the most important Spanish composers of the 16th century. Some 41 pieces of the 138 included in Venegas de Henestrosa’s 1557 anthology Libro de Cifra nueva were attributed to him, including 16 Tientos, six settings each of the Pange Lingua and the Ave Maris Stella, other hymn settings, and a few miscellaneous pieces. In 1578, his son Hernando published Obras de Musica, also in Spanish number tablature, a compilation of his father’s works plus five of his own and one by his uncle Juan (who also died in 1566). This large compendium includes nine Duos for beginners, hymn settings in two, three, and four voices, three Kyries in three voices, eight sets of four-voice Versos, Fabordones, Kyries, and Magnificats, 12 Tientos, 15 Canciones glosadas in four voices, 23 in five voices, six in six voices, two Fugas, and ten sets of Diferencias. The non-canción pieces have been edited by Higinio Anglés in three volumes for the Instituto Español de Musicología, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, with the Canciones edited by Maria Ester Sala for Unión Musical Ediciones (S.L. 21945). The Tientos and Fugas have been edited by M. S. Kastner for Schott (4948). A new edition in four volumes (a fifth volume will offer a facsimile and a sixth studies) edited by several eminent Spanish scholars was published in 2010 by the Institución Fernando el Católico. The Venegas print has been edited by Higinio Anglés as volume two of the series Monumentos de la Música Española for the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Barcelona, in two volumes. The first is a study of the music at the court; the second volume, containing a transcription of the pieces, has now been reprinted in four volumes by The Well-Tempered Press, Boca Raton, Florida (an imprint of Kalmus). An excellent anthology in four volumes containing pieces selected from the two prints has been edited by Gerhard Doderer and Miguel Bernal Ripoll for Bärenreiter (BA 9261–4). Charles Jacobs has edited the collected works in five volumes, for the Institute of Mediaeval Music, mixing pieces from the two prints in volumes 1–4, and in volume five including only the incipits of the Canciones as well as about 16 pieces from Portuguese sources, which he attributes to Cabezón instead of to Antonio Carreira. Numerous pieces have appeared in anthologies, the quality of editing being of a somewhat variable standard. 

Johann Steffens (1559 or 1560–1616), organist in Luneburg, published some instrumental pieces, and his son published some of his father’s vocal music. Steffens left three chorale settings and a lengthy Fantasia on the Fourth Tone that have survived in various manuscripts and have been edited by Klaus Beckmann, published by Schott as Volume IV of the series Masters of the North German School for Organ (ED9584). 

Paul Siefert (1586–1666), a pupil of Sweelinck, became organist in Danzig (Gdansk), with spells at Konigsberg and Warsaw. He published vocal and theoretical works as well as a few keyboard compositions that have survived in manuscripts, including a setting of John Dowland’s Paduana La mia Barbara, which is included in Dowland keyboard music edited by Christopher Hogwood for Edition HH and also in Lied und Tanz variationen der Sweelinck-Schule, edited by Werner Breig for Edition Schott (6030), and sets of variations on Nun komm der Heiden Heiland and Puer Natus in Bethlehem, a setting of the motet Benedicat Dominum by Lassus, a Fantasia a 5 and 13 Fantasias a 3 (tentatively ascribed to Siefert by Max Seiffert), all of which have been edited by Klaus Beckmann as Volume XX in the series Masters of the North German School for Organ (ED20518). The two chorale variation sets have been edited by Hans Moser and Traugott Fedtke in Choralbearbeitungen und freie Orgelstücke der deutschen Sweelinck-Schule aus der Lübbenauer Tabulatur, Band 1, published by Bärenreiter (BA2815).

Johann Erasmus Kindermann (1616–55) was an organist in Nuremberg; he published vocal and instrumental works, including Harmonia Organica in 1645. One of the last two prints in German organ tablature (the other being Christian Michael’s Tabulatura also printed in 1645), its 25 pieces comprise 14 praeambula in the church tones (which are also included in the Brasov Tablature) arranged in six pairs (each praeambulum serving two tones), then repeated transposed up a fourth, followed by two more transposed praeambula, five chorale preludes (four of which are fugal including one based on three Passiontide/Easter chorales), four fugues, and two Magnificat settings, one of which is an intonation with one verse, the other on the eighth tone having five verses (one is in echo format requiring two manuals). A modern edition by Rudolf Walter was published as Volume IX of the series Süddeutsche Orgelmeister des Barock by Musikverlag Alfred Coppenrath. A set of 30 dances has survived in manuscript, edited by Felix Schreiber and Bertha Wallner and included in Denkmäler der Tonkunst in Bayern XXI-XXIV, vol.30, published by Gesellschaft für Bäyerische Musikgeschichte.

Johann Jakob Froberger (1616–67). Froberger spent much time as court organist in Vienna and can be regarded as the most influential keyboard composer of the second half of the 17th century. His travels took him to France, England, and Italy. His large output comprises free-form and contrapuntal pieces as well as over 50 dance suites, surviving in many sources including four autograph volumes (a recently discovered one is not accessible, and two have been lost). The three surviving autographs of 1649, 1656, and 1658 contain 12 toccatas, 12 ricercars, 12 capricci, six fantasias, six canzonas, and 12 suites of dance movements, with several more pieces in each category as well as single dances, tombeaux, and lamentations from other manuscripts being reliably attributed to the canon. Pieces were included in publications from 1693 onwards, but many contain a corrupt and unreliable presentation of the text. Siegbert Rampe has edited the keyboard pieces in six volumes, of which the first is devoted to the 1649 autograph, the second to the 1656 and 1658 autographs, volumes 3 and 4 to partitas (suites) from copied sources, volume 5 to toccatas and polyphonic works from copied sources, and volume 6 to new readings and new pieces from newly discovered sources (volumes 3–6 are each in two parts) for Bärenreiter. A seventh volume includes the vocal music and a catalogue of Froberger’s output. 

Matthias Weckmann (1616–74)studied with Heinrich Schütz in Dresden and with Jacob Praetorius and Heinrich Scheidemann in Hamburg, where he became organist. His surviving works include much vocal, some chamber, and some keyboard music. He left eight sets of chorale variations ranging from three to seven verses each and a Magnificat on the 2nd Tone with four verses, which have been edited by Werner Breig and published by Bärenreiter (BA6211). His free-form pieces comprise a Praeambulum a 5, a fantasia, and a Fuga on the 1st Tone, each of which has a pedal part, and six toccatas and five variation canzonas (one in C minor), for manuals. Preserved in manuscripts are six partitas of dance movements and one set of variations. It is now accepted that Weckmann compiled the Hintze manuscript, which contains a further 28 dance movements, 16 of which are anonymous. Composers represented in this manuscript include Tresure, Chambonnières, Froberger, La Barre, Erben, and Cousteaux. A set of variations on Lucidor hat einst ein Schaf included as an appendix is of dubious attribution. The free-form pieces have all been edited by Siegbert Rampe as Sämtliche Freie Orgel- und Clavierwerke and published by Bärenreiter (BA8189). Hans Davidsson edited the free works as A practical edition of the free organ works for Gehrmans Musikförlag, which included a doubtfully attributed Praeluium a 5 in G.

Sebastian Durón (1660–1716), a pupil of Andrés de Sola and organist at Seville, Burgo de Osma, and the Chapel Royal at Madrid, composed much sacred and secular music, but left only three organ pieces, all for divided keyboard. Two treat the same subject, one with the solo in the left hand, one in the right hand; the third piece, Gaitilla, has lively writing in the left hand. All have been edited by Lothar Siemens-Hernandez and published by Scola Cantorum as volume 74 in the series Orgue et Liturgie, which also contains the three tientos composed by his teacher Andrés de Sola. Gaitilla has been edited by Gerhard Doderer and included in the volume dedicated to Spain in the Vox Humana series, published by Bärenreiter (BA8233). 

Johann Heinrich Buttstedt (1666–1727) was an organist in Erfurt and, according to Walther’s Lexicon, published three sets of pieces, of which the 1705 and 1706 sets of chorale variations have not survived; however, manuscript copies by Walther have come down to us. Fortunately copies of the far more extensive Musicalische Clavier-Kunst und Vorraths-Kammer of 1713 have survived. This collection contains seven groups of pieces including four praeludia. The groups are coupled with, respectively, a capriccio, a ricercar in three stanzas, a fuga, and a canzona in six parts followed by two minuets, an aria with 12 variations, and two suites of dances in D major and F major. Attributed to Buttstedt in manuscript sources are four fugues in C, D, E minor, and G minor, and a Praeludium et Fuga in G. Two fugues in G minor are tentatively ascribed to him by Beckmann, one of which is generally accepted as being by Jan Adam Reincken. An extensive collection of some 28 chorale preludes and variations specifically marked with Buttstedt’s name has survived, and an additional 16 chorale-based pieces have tentatively been ascribed to him by Klaus Beckmann, whose modern edition has been published by Schott as volumes 3 (non-chorale-based works) and 4 (chorale-based works) of the series Middle German Organ Masters (ED9923/4).

Nicolaus Vetter (1666–1734) was an organist in Erfurt and Rudolandstadt after studying with Georg Wecker and Johann Pachelbel. Some 28 pieces have been definitely attributed to him in the modern edition, with a further eight chorale preludes and variation sets tentatively assigned to him from anonymously transmitted works. His pieces comprise 13 chorale preludes and variations including a set of 17 variations on Allein Gott in der Höh’ sei Ehr’ and seven variations on Jesu, meine Freude. Nine fugues and a parthie, which is actually a set of six alternating praeludia and fugues in B-flat (including one fugue by Wecker and one by Pachelbel), complete the contents. A modern edition by Klaus Beckmann has been published by Schott as volume 5 of the series Middle German Organ Masters (ED9925). 

Thomas Roseingrave (1690–1766), organist of St. George’s, Hanover Square, London, from 1725, was rendered incapable of playing by an unfortunate love affair (John Keeble was appointed in 1744). In the 1750s he went to live with his family in Dublin. He published 12 Solos for the Flute, and his keyboard pieces include Eight Suits of Lessons for the harpsichord or spinnet (1725), a Celebrated Concerto for solo organ published in 1770, a set of Voluntarys and Fugues made on purpose for the organ or harpsichord (1728), which show the influence of his friend Scarlatti (whom he met in Rome), and six Double Fugues to which is added Sig. Domenico Scarlatti’s Celebrated Lesson, hpd, with addns by Roseingrave (1750), which show Handel’s influence. The complete keyboard music, edited by H. Diack Johnstone and Richard Platt, has been published as volume 84 in the Stainer & Bell series Musica Britannica. Individual editions include the Concerto edited by Laura Cerutti, published by Armelin (CM038), the Voluntarys and Fugues edited by Greg Lewin for Greg Lewin Music (OM117), and the Double Fugues (omitting the Scarlatti lesson) edited by David Patrick for Fitzjohn Music. There are facsimiles by Broude Europa in the Performers’ Facsimiles series of the Voluntaries (PF5) and Double Fugues (PF105).

Giovanni Battista Pescetti (1704–66) was born in Venice and collaborated with Galuppi in writing operas. In 1736 he became director of Covent Garden and King’s Theatre in London where he published a set of 10 Sonate per gravicembalo in 1739 in two to four movements; its final piece was an arrangement of the overture to his opera La Conquista del vello d’oro. The complete volume has been published in facsimile by Arnaldo Forni, and the nine sonatas have been edited by Francesco Dilaghi and published in the series Maestri italiani della tastiera by Ricordi (133412). Dilaghi has also edited a further six sonatas from manuscript sources also published by Ricordi (133083). Many of the movements, especially the loosely fugal forms, sound well on the organ. Four sonatas specifically marked da Organo are included in the extensive anthology Musiche per gli organi della Serenissima edited by Maurizio Machella and published by Armelin AMMXCII, and have also been edited by David Patrick for Fitzjohn Music. 

Josef Norbert Seger (1716–82) studied organ with B. M. Černohorský and counterpoint with Jan Zach and František Tůma. He was appointed organist of the Týn Church (c. 1741) and the Crusaders’ Church (1745) in Prague. The most prolific Czech composer of keyboard music of his time (one manuscript’s title is 148 Praeludien, Fantasien und Fugen, though at least 28 are by other authors), none of his many preludes, toccatas, and fugues were published in his lifetime.  Some manuscripts and 19th-century printed editions ascribe the same piece to different composers, rendering a reliable list of his compositions even more difficult. Available modern editions include two volumes edited by Vratislav Belsky for the series Musica Antiqua Bohemica, Editio Supraphon, Prague. Volume 51 contains 34 pieces including the eight toccatas and fugues published by Türk in 1793, 20 preambulae and six fugas, volume 56 contains a further 21 pieces (16 preludes and fugues, three preambulae, and two chant settings). Three fugues and two praeambulae are included in volume 12 of this series alongside pieces by other Czech composers. These editions have arbitrarily consigned the bass voice to a third stave. Nicolas Gorenstein has edited 47 pieces in two volumes for Editions Chanvrelin, Paris. A scholarly modern edition of this excellent music in which all sources have been fully evaluated and the music restored to two staves, while indicating the pedal as the source does, is very much needed.

Rafael Anglés (1730–1816) succeeded Vicente Rodriguez as organist of the cathedral of Valencia. A complete edition of his surviving keyboard works is still lacking, but his Salmodia, a collection of 33 versos (four are on Tones 1–7 and five on Tone 8), has been edited by Dionisio Preciado for Unión Musical Española (22320). A set of five pasos has been edited by Jose Climent, published as Serie B: Musica de Camera, 12 by the Instituto Español de Musicología Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; a collection of 20 one-movement, binary-form sonatas has been edited by Climent and published by the Real Academia de Cultura Valenciana Seccion de Musicologia as volume 3. Two one-movement sonatas in E minor and F have been edited by Climent and published by Unión Musical Española. A further nine sonatas and a pastorela have been edited by Dionisio Preciado and included in his excellent anthology Doce Compositores Aragoneses de tecla (s. XVIII) published by Editora Nacional, Madrid. 

Samuel Wesley (1766–1837) composed a large amount of sacred and secular vocal music and also chamber and orchestral pieces, in addition to a large corpus of keyboard music for organ, and for pianoforte or harpsichord. Very little of the latter has been made available in other modern editions. A great admirer of J. S. Bach, Wesley made arrangements for piano or harpsichord of the Well-Tempered Clavier as well as organ works. His organ works from both published and manuscript sources have been edited by Geoffrey Atkinson and published by Fagus Music in 12 volumes. Volumes 1 and 2 contain the 12 published voluntaries of op. 6, volumes 3–8 include sets of voluntaries in manuscripts, apart from the six fugues in volume 5, volume 9 contains the 12 short pieces with a full voluntary and three sets of variations, volume 10 contains 34 short pieces, volume 11 contains 12 miscellaneous longer voluntaries, and volume 12 contains the Grand Duet. 

Basilio de Sesse (1756–1816), the son of Juan de Sesse y Balaguer (whose 1773 set of fugues were the first keyboard pieces published in Spain after Correa’s Facultad Organica), served as organist of the cathedral of Toledo. He left 12 pieces in manuscripts, including two pasos, seven intentos with a length of a mere 82 bars up to 346 bars (the fourth is an extended treatment of the hymn Ave Maris Stella, the fifth and seventh open with a preludio, the seventh has two subjects worked separately and then combined), and three piezas (the second is a light rondo and the third is a shorter sonata with passages for crossed hands), which have been edited by Patricia Rejas Suarez and published as volume XIII of the series Tecla Aragonesa by the Institución Fernando el Católico.

Publishers’ websites 

Associated Board of the Royal School of Music:

http://gb.abrsm.org/en/home

American Institute of Musicology—CEKM series:
www.corpusmusicae.com/cekm.htm 

Armelin Musica: www.armelin.it

Bärenreiter: www.baerenreiter.com  

Broude Bros: www.broude.us 

Carus Verlag: www.carus-verlag.com 

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas:

www.csic.es

Doblinger Verlag: www.doblinger-verlag.at

Fitzjohn: www.impulse-music.co.uk/fitzjohnmusic

Greg Lewin Music: www.greglewin.co.uk

IMSLP: www.imslp.org

Institute of Medieval Music: http://medievalmusic.ca/english/index.htm

Institución Fernando el Católico: http://ifc.dpz.es/ 

Institute Medieval Music: http://medievalmusic.ca/english/index.htm

Kalmus: www.efkalmus.com

Real Academia de Cultura Valenciana:

www.racv.es

Schott Music: www.schott-music.com 

Stainer & Bell: www.stainer.co.uk 

Unión Musical Española: www.musicsalesclassical.com/companies/unionmusicalediciones

Part 1 was published in the October issue of The Diapason, pp. 22–25.

Wir glauben all’ an einen Gott
[We all believe in one God]
(BWV 680–681)
The arrangement of the chorale Wir glauben all’ an einen Gott, the Protestant version of the Credo, opens a series of dramatic chorale preludes in the Clavierübung III. Their themes are built on the minor keys and gravitate around the interval of the fifth.
In this piece the fugal upper voices are contrasted against a melodic line in the bass that occurs seven times. (Example 9) This melody is based on a leap of a fourth followed by a downward move within the octave and displays a structural similarity to the theme of the so-called Dorian Fugue (BWV 538).55 The ostinato motif appears altogether six times in the pedal; once (the sixth appearance) in modified form on the manuals: there only the beginning of the motif appears, repeated three times.
Not just the relationship (6 + 1) in the use of this striking melody is important, but also the fact that its form is changed in the one time it is used on the manuals. Naturally, this begs the question as to the purpose of this change. We have here possibly an allusion to the Old Testament injunction: Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but one day must be reserved for prayer and spiritual needs. From here stem the characteristics of one of the developments: an elevation of the tessitura, the use of only upward leaps, the softening of the harshness of the harmonic minor, and finally the heterolepsis figure used in the upper voices.
The manual voices are developed out of the beginning of the melody of the chorale Wir glauben all’ an einen Gott. The first four notes of this motif in a tonal answer form a musical rhetorical figure, often encountered in the works of Bach, which Boleslav Javorsky called the predestination motif.56 The origin of this motif lies in the chorale melody Was mein Gott will, das g’scheh’ allzeit [What my God wills may always happen] and is usually used by the composer as a culminant, dramatic or recapitulating figure (Fugue in G Minor, BWV 542, Fugue in A Minor, BWV 543, etc.). The whole musical fabric of this chorale prelude is shot through with this predestination motif.
Towards the end of the composition, Bach quotes in the tenor, first in its entirety, the first line of the cantus firmus (bars 89–98). Typically, the subsequent figure in the pedal that accompanies the chorale melody is enlarged, not only in its range (two octaves), but also in the number of notes (to 43—CREDO). One can also hardly describe it as a coincidence that the work has 100 bars: Bach could not have found a better numerological symbol to underscore the idea of “We all believe in one God.”
If we had the task of finding within Bach’s output a work for organ where the dramatic element was more pronounced, we could, paradoxically, hardly do better than choose the small 15-bar manualiter fughetta on the chorale melody Wir glauben all’ an einen Gott in the Clavierübung III. Written in Handelian style,57 it is very chromatic. The traditional double dotting, the richly ornamented musical fabric, the use of characteristic rhetorical figures—tiratas—all combine to sharpen up the harmonic impact of this three-voice fughetta to the highest degree.
The high point of the piece comes in the 12th bar, which results in the interesting proportions of 4:5.58 The density of chords in this bar is a rare example in Bach’s organ works. (Example 10) The diminished seventh on the strong beat contains seven notes. The following diminished seventh from D sharp–C contains six notes, which together makes 13 notes—most certainly another numerological symbol and one that needs no explanation. The impact of the intensive harmonies is strengthened by “talking pauses” and the declamatory answers on the “weak” beats of the bars. The intonations from the introduction (viola da gamba solo) of the aria Es ist vollbracht from the St. John Passion (BWV 245) can be heard in the music. (Example 11)
The descending seconds in Lombardic rhythm, with articulation marks written out in full by the composer (bar 11), the key role of the striking diminished seventh from D sharp–C at the high point of the work, and the key chosen—this is by no means a complete list of the methods the composer has used to create a smooth transition to the subsequent part of the composition.

Vater unser im Himmelreich
[Our Father in Heaven]
(BWV 682–683)
In the extensive arrangement of the chorale melody Vater unser im Himmelreich we encounter an example of a trio that is from time to time expanded to five voices by means of the cantus firmus in canon. This is one of the rare works of Bach full of articulation marks. Thoroughness of articulation shows how important this aspect of organ playing was for the Leipzig cantor.
Already, the choice of key says a great deal about the associative structure of this music. E minor is the key of the opening chorus of the St. Matthew Passion (BWV 244), the Crucifixus from the Mass in B Minor (BWV 232), the Prelude and Fugue for organ (BWV 548), the chorale prelude Da Jesus an dem Kreuze stund (BWV 621) from the Orgelbüchlein, and many other works in which Bach created an atmosphere of grief, sorrow, and misfortune.
The narrative flow of the music in the greater chorale Vater unser im Himmelreich creates an atmosphere of stillness and calm, and invites the hearer to intense prayer. The movement in seconds in Lombardic rhythm59 is akin to the sighs of a humble soul turned towards God. Time moves gently, so as not to disturb the state of intimate prayer.
This composition is literally suffused with thematic symbolism. Allow me to name just a few (following B. Javorsky): the descending third – a symbol of grief; a smooth chromatic movement of 5 to 7 notes – pain; a progression in triplets – fatigue, weariness; a movement along the notes of a first inversion – a symbol of inevitable realization; and so on.
The musical fabric of the composition resembles the tenor aria Wo wird in diesem Jammertale für meinen Geist die Zuflucht sein? [Where will my spirit find its refuge in this vale of tears?] from the cantata Ach, lieben Christen, seid getrost [Ah dear Christians, be comforted] (BWV 114), which Bach completed in Leipzig in 1724. Without a doubt there is an inner connection between the two works. The text of the aria, especially the treatment of the key word “Jammertal” [“vale of tears“ in German] can give the performer the right feeling for the interpretation of the greater chorale prelude Vater unser im Himmelreich.
Another interesting detail of the work is the movement in seconds in Lombardic rhythm in the pedal. This occurs only once in the whole work, at bar 41
(JSBACH), an allusion to the composer’s unseen participation in the prayer to God the Father. (Example 12)
The intricately crafted rhythms of the greater chorale prelude Vater unser im Himmelreich give way in the manual version to flowing linear movement in sextuplets. This sharp contrast has not gone unnoticed by scholars. “As complicated as the rhythms in the large Our-Father prelude may be, so simple is the calm flow of the 16th notes in the manuals version . . .” wrote Christoph Albrecht.60 An interesting explanation for this contrast has been put forward by Albert Clement, who connects the greater chorale prelude with the text of the fourth verse of Luther’s chorale Vater unser im Himmelreich,61 and the smaller prelude with the following verses (5–8). The fourth verse appeals to God’s patience in a time of sorrow, while verses 5–8 speak of trust in His compassion and assistance.62
The placid wave motion of the accompanying voices in the manuals version of the chorale prelude Vater unser im Himmelreich gently prepares us for the stormy motion of the 16th notes in the greater chorale prelude Christ, unser Herr, zum Jordan kam [Christ, our Lord, to Jordan came] as the following section of the Clavierübung III.

Christ, unser Herr, zum Jordan kam [Christ, our Lord, to Jordan came] (BWV 684–685)
The greater chorale prelude Christ, unser Herr, zum Jordan kam presents us once again with something quite out of the ordinary. This is the first occurrence in the whole work of the cantus firmus being transferred to the pedal in a high register. The composer indulges here in musical picture painting: the 16th-note runs produce a sort of perpetuum mobile and create the impression of waves on the Jordan. The music is dominated by an atmosphere of waiting for the miracle of God’s appearance and with it, the forgiveness of sins through the ritual of baptism. (Example 13)
Attempts have been made by various authors to see in the upper voices a dialogue between the Savior and St. John the Baptist,63 a view that I personally do not find very convincing. Built on the symbolic motifs of the Cross and Willingness to Sacrifice,64 the dialogue in the upper voices is often syncopated or transformed into a typical Bachian motion. It does not seem in the least to be associated with the dialogue between God’s Incarnation and His forerunner, but rather serves, as does the stormy motion of the bass, to create a state of what I would call “joyful excitement”—an atmosphere that is typical of many iconographic depictions of the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.
The appearance of the Holy Trinity—as the Spirit in the form of a dove descending from heaven and as the supernatural light surrounding Christ at His baptism in the waters of the Jordan—is present in this prelude at the deeper level of mystical numerological symbolism. The cantus firmus appears nine times against the three-voiced accompaniment (9×3 = 27), while the total number of bars in the prelude is 81 (27×3).
Each appearance of the cantus firmus is built on a particular number of notes: in four cases it is nine notes, in the other five cases it is eight. And they occur in a strict sequence: 9 + 8 + 9 + 8; 8 + 9 + 8 + 9 + 8. The symbolism of the numbers 3, 9, 27, 81 focuses our attention on the picture of the Holy Trinity, while the number 8 is associated with the heavenly chronos or with the Coming of the Messiah.65
The legitimacy of the numerical proportions in the greater chorale prelude is borne out by the numerological symbolism of the manual fugato in three voices on Christ, unser Herr, zum Jordan kam. The fugato is written in simple triple time and has 27 bars (27×3 = 81). The main theme—the first line of the chorale—occurs three times in the original and three times in the inversion, and each time it is accompanied by a counter-melody based on thematic material in diminution, which forms a kind of canon. (Example 14)
In the opinion of Christoph Albrecht, this is a musical representation of the Gospel words of St. John the Baptist: “He [Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).66 It is worth mentioning that the bridges in the fugato (bars 8–10 and 18–20) have an evident three-part structure containing the countersubject (= the diminished theme).
All in all, the composer introduces the theme a total of 14 times (three times the original theme, three times inverted, and eight times diminished).67 The concluding development of the theme in its original form (bass in bar 20) has been slightly altered through the introduction of the Willingness to Sacrifice motif as an anacrusis. This results in interesting proportions for the presentation of the thematic material: 2 + 1 + 3 + 8. It is not difficult to see that these numbers represent a numerical version of the name of the composer (BACH).

Aus tiefer Not schrei’ ich zu dir
[Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee] (BWV 686–687)
The only organ work of Bach written in true six parts with double pedal is the chorale prelude on Psalm 130 (129) Aus tiefer Not schrei’ ich zu dir—a further example of the stile antico in his work. Each verse of this monumental penitential chorale,68 welling up out of the depths of the heart, is introduced in the fugal-like exposition that concludes each time with the cantus firmus in the upper pedal voice. This gives the work, written in the best tradition of J. Pachelbel, the form of an unbroken chain of seven fugues, corresponding to the number of verses of the chorale.
Albert Schweitzer’s attention had already been drawn to the “motif (rhythm) of joy” that first greets one in the initial phrases of the countersubject. As the music develops, this symbolic motif is further elaborated and at the end totally dominates the musical fabric. (Example 15) Schweitzer proposed a dogmatic interpretation for its presence: “Bach . . . is trying to represent the Lutheran doctrine of repentance, according to which all true repentance leads of itself to the joyful certainty of salvation.”69
Schweitzer’s observation is, of course, interesting and not without subtlety, but in my opinion one is dealing here less with joy, but rather with the cleansing power of repentance and the resulting confidence of the penitent in his own future. The motif under consideration conveys just this feeling of confidence.
What motives led Bach to introduce the chorale prelude Aus tiefer Not schrei’ ich zu dir into the Clavierübung III at all? Penance was not a component of the Ordinary of the old Mass, although it had been included in the liturgy in Saxony since 1601. Neither was penance dealt with by Luther in his Great Catechism, although he sometimes mentioned it along with Baptism and the Eucharist as one of the Sacraments. This was apparently the decisive argument for Bach to place two fantasies on Aus tiefer Not schrei’ ich zu dir between the parts relating to Baptism and the Eucharist.
Numerological symbolism plays an important role in both works. As has already been said, the seven fugues that make up this work correspond to each of the seven verses of the chorale. The cantus firmus that crowns each fugue always consists of nine notes, whereas it is interesting to note that it first occurs in the ninth bar. In addition, the length of the cantus firmus from its first to last note always has the same length of eight half-bars.
This changelessness of the cantus firmus, with its connection to the numbers nine, eight, and seven is obviously meant to signify the objective, almost unearthly quality of the beneficial cleansing power that flows over the penitent sinner. An additional indication can be found in the fact that at each occurrence the cantus firmus is first woven into the musical structure only after the completion of the exposition with its five voices. (We recall that the number five symbolizes “sensual Mankind.”)
Our attention is also drawn to the relationship between the number seven (seven verses of the chorale and the seven fugues) and the number five (the five-part musical structure70). These two numbers have an interesting internal proportion: 7:5 = 1.4 (BACH). One could probably regard this as pure chance, were it not that these two numbers occur again within this work. The chorale prelude has 75 bars, where the number 75 is the numerological expression of the word ELEISON (5 + 11 + 5 + 9 + 18 + 14 + 13). The relevance of this cry for mercy in a work dealing with remorse can hardly be doubted.
It is characteristic that the manualiter version of the chorale Aus tiefer Not schrei’ ich zu dir displays the same numerological symbolism as the greater version. A slight change in the rhythmical structure makes the initial motif of the theme correspond to the eighth fugue of the Ariadne Musica Neo-Organoedum Per Viginti by Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer (ca. 1660–1746).
Bach’s work impresses us by its architecture. Just as in the first chorale prelude, we encounter an unbroken chain of fugues that treat the seven verses of the chorale one after the other, both in its tonic form and its inversion, where each is brought to a close by the statement of the cantus firmus in the soprano. This results in seven fugues. Six of them are of the same length. The cantus firmus occurs after the fifth bar and lasts for eight bars. But here we encounter an interesting new development: after the cantus firmus has run its course, Bach does not immediately begin with the following fugato, but each time inserts an extra bar as a sort of résumé. Thus the six units have the following structure: 5 + 8 + 1. It is not difficult to see that the résumé thus occurs in the 14th (BACH) bar of the appropriate unit.71
The last and seventh unit differs in its structure from the preceding six, and introduces a proportion that we have already encountered in the greater choral prelude on Credo (6+1). After it has started as all the preceding units (five bars of fugato without the cantus firmus, followed by eight bars with the cantus firmus), this seventh unit has instead of the “Bach résumé” an extension of the second cantus part for a further five bars, resulting in the new proportion of 5 + (8 + 5). It is not difficult to see that this new proportion brings us close to the Golden Rule: 8:5 = 1.6 whereas 13:8 = 1.625. This is not altogether surprising. Thus when the composer understood the combination 6 + 1 as the biblical command to labor for six days, but to keep the seventh as a Sabbath for your God, then it was appropriate that this “special” seventh day be not simply adorned with ordinary music, but be bejewelled with golden tones!

Jesus Christus unser Heiland
[Jesus Christ our Savior]
(BWV 688–689)
The last two chorale preludes in the Clavierübung III deal with the events surrounding the Last Supper. Viewed from a cultural perspective, the iconography of this subject centers around two key moments. The first is the Transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. The second moment concerns the circumstances of Judas’s betrayal.
The greater chorale prelude Jesus Christus unser Heiland is woven out of three voices. The cantus firmus, based on an intonation of fifth, is written out in long notes and appears in the pedal. The lively duet in the upper voices simultaneously spins out the three-note stepwise motif (according to Javorsky, a motif of reconciliation), both in its tonic form and its inversion. (Example 16)
We have already encountered this characteristic method in the Clavierübung III: in the greater chorale prelude on Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist. Its use with quickened tempi produces a mood of agitation and worried concern. A special feature of the musical language is the frequent use of unprepared dissonances that heighten the sense of drama. Speaking personally, this music always conjures up for me Leonardo da Vinci’s famous Milanese fresco of the Last Supper, where the disciples of Christ, unsettled by his prophecy of betrayal, turn to the Savior with just one question “Surely not I, Lord?” (St. Matthew 26:22).
The cantus firmus appears altogether four times in the pedal as the embodiment of Christ’s serenity and his willingness to drink the Cup of his Passion. Its 44 notes are arranged as a pattern of 10 + 12 + 10 + 12. It would appear that the composer has applied this numerical pattern to emphasize the union of the Old Testament (the Law) and the New Testament (the Testament of Christ). Obviously, it is appropriate to remember at this point that St. Augustine considered the number twelve to be a symbol of the Church of Christ. The universal, catholic character of the Church is portrayed by the numerical symbol 144 (= 12×12). Note that the three-note motif of reconciliation in the manuals occurs exactly this many times in the musical texture of this composition.72
Another mysterious symbol is embedded in the score. When one connects the first and the sixth notes of the first bar, and the second and fifth notes, and the third and fourth notes (d1-d2, f2-f1, e1-e2) with a straight line, one produces a graphic figure which resembles the Greek letters X (Chi) and I (Iota) superimposed on each other. (Example 17)
This figure is the emblem of God made Man (Ιησυ Χριστ – Iesus Christos), and one must assume that the composer intentionally built this motif into the structure of the chorale prelude, a chorale that begins with the words “Jesus Christus unser Heiland” [Jesus Christ our Savior]. Typically this emblem occurs 72 times within the work, something that can hardly be attributed to chance. In accordance with tradition, this symbolic number corresponds to the 72 biblical names of the Lord, 72 biblical angels, the 72 nations of the ancient world, and the 72 disciples that Jesus sent out to preach his gospel. The Old Testament book of Numbers tells of 72 elders who received the gift of prophecy from God (Numbers 11:24, 26).73
The manualiter version of Jesus Christus unser Heiland (an extensive fugal composition in four voices) displays a very interesting feature—the placement of the theme does not match the metrical structure. The use of such a technique in the final chorale work of the Clavierübung III undoubtedly has good reasons. Perhaps Bach wanted to underline that the teachings of Christ have an eternal relevance that is not bound by the confines of physical time.
The theme of this fugue displays a striking structure. It consists of 13 notes74 and is based on two elements, which have a significant structural function in the whole cycle: a leap over a fifth and a stepwise motif over a third. The first notes of the tonal answer replicate exactly the final cadence of the chorale Was mein Gott will, das g’scheh’ allzeit, which (following Javorsky) we have interpreted as a predestination motif. (Example 18)
The countersubject is worked out with a circulatio figure that represents the Cup of Sorrows. The theme occurs 17 times altogether, with the final statement in augmentation. Bach undoubtedly considers the number 17 to be the union of ten and seven, especially as the eleventh statement is introduced by a longer bridge passage. The number ten is associated with the Law of the Old Testament (The Decalogue), while according to Werckmeister, the number seven is the symbol for purity and peace.
Thus one can summarize the conjunction of all these symbols as follows: The predestination from above (predestination motif) and the reconciliation prophesied in the Old Testament (reconciliation motif) through the suffering of Christ on the Cross (the Cup of Sorrows motif) purifies the fallen world (13) and gives it eternal peace and bliss (7).

Four Duets: E minor, F major,
G major, A minor
Scholars agree that the four duets of the Clavierübung III are very difficult indeed to interpret. As Hermann Keller remarked, the duets are “so unique and in part so difficult to understand that one must almost be led to believe that Bach wished to express something very special, but no one has yet found the key to them.”75 And in fact the opinions of the experts concerning both the content and the meaning of these works are indeed very contradictory. Some of them are of the opinion that they should be played during the Eucharist, while others see them as symbolic representation of the four Gospels.76 Albert Schweitzer is most probably the furthest removed from the truth with his opinion that they have only found their way into the Clavierübung III by mistake. He thus underestimates the significance of numerical symbolism within this work. Above all he did not “notice” that with the addition of the four duets the total number of works in the Clavierübung III reached the “cosmic” number of 27.
How does this music present itself?
All four pieces are highly individual and represent the highest achievement within the development of the genre of keyboard music for two voices known as inventions. They display no direct connection to the church chorales, but one is aware that while they have an element of tone painting it would not be illogical to interpret them as representations of the four material elements of this world: fire, air, water, and earth. Indeed, just this sort of interpretation was first suggested by Rudolf Steglich.77
Let us now look at the musical design of the duets.
The duet in E minor (BWV 802) is pure energy. Whole rivers of fire flow in the rapid succession of 32nd notes and the broken line of the syncopated motif recalls tongues of fire. The jagged melisma, the semitone movement within the range of diminished thirds: all reinforce a pervading feeling of tension. An almost pagan cult of fire dominates this music. (Example 19)
The F major duet (BWV 803) is built on the idea of contrast. The sphere of air is represented as a contrast of light and dark elements. The main theme, the embodiment of light, occurs in a major key in both the exposition and the recapitulation. The central part gives the impression of sudden twilight, which shrouds all life and transforms everything into a ghostly world of shadows. The contrast of major and minor suggests conflict—the elements of light struggle to free themselves from the chains of the mythological shadow world. (Example 20)
The G major duet (BWV 804) paints a picture of a body of water sparkling in the rays of the morning sun. Murmuring and iridescent flowing passages stirred by a light breeze create the impression of an unending stream of flowing water, magically calling to us by its freshness and purity. (Example 21) The musical texture of this work shows a high degree of similarity to the aria Von der Welt verlang ich nichts [From the world I nought desire] as the seventh part of the cantata Sehet, welch eine Liebe hat uns der Vater erzeiget [See what love the Father has bestowed on us], 1 John 3:1 (BWV 64). (Example 22)

The duet in A minor (BWV 805) has a different character. Behind the slow unfolding of its ideas, behind the gravity of its utterances one can discern an unbending internal force that holds everything in its thrall and directs all things. The extended, epically expanding theme strives to embrace all earthly things. The rocklike solidity of this musical picture calls to mind the immovable foundation of the earth. (Example 23)
Unlike Rudolf Steglich, Albert Clement suggested another approach. He sees in the duets a connection to the tradition of home prayer.78 In the opinion of this expert, the four duets serve as a musical illustration of the 194th chapter of the book Geistliche Erquick-Stunden Oder Dreyhundert Haus- und Tisch-Andachten79 [Hours of Spiritual Refreshments, or 300 Prayers for Home and Table] by the renowned theologian Heinrich Müller (1631–1675). Entitled “Von vier süßen Dingen” [On Four Sweet Things], this part of Müller’s monograph is devoted to the interpretation of the religious essentials: the Word of God, the Cross, Death and heavenly Bliss.
Let us now look at the structure of the duets in detail (Figure 1). One’s attention is immediately drawn to the emphasized strictness in the handling of the meter and the thematic material in all four duets. This is especially apparent in the first and second duets.
In the third duet, the length of the bridge-passages creates an interesting relationship (Figure 2).
The theme of the fourth duet is exceptionally long (48 notes) and consists of two parts: the first part has 11 notes, while the second contains 37 notes. All three numbers have clear sacred connotations: 11 is the symbol for sin, 37 for the monogram of Christ, and 48 is the numerical equivalent of the abbreviation INRI (Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum).80
The first duets contain not only the numbers 11 and 37 but also other numbers that are relevant to the theme of Golgotha: 13 (death), 17 (symbol of spirituality), 31 (the numerical equivalent of PNC as the abbreviation of Pro Nobis Crucifixus). It is remarkable that these are simply different combinations of just three numbers—one, three, and seven—and that 137 is itself the numerical equivalent of DOMINUS DEUS.
It is also noteworthy that the sum of 22 + 15 (first duet) and 18 + 13 (second duet) lead us again to the symbols 37 and 31. Moreover, the combination of the pairs 17 (first duet) and 31 (second duet), as well as the pairs 11 (first duet) and 37 (second duet) both lead to the above-mentioned key number 48. The same number results from the addition of 11, 31 (third duet), and 6 (fourth duet).
It is clear that Bach wove the numerical symbolism into the duets to illustrate the content of these works. The numerology leaves no doubt as to the subject of these works: the music of the duets revolves around the theme of the Passion.
The idea that the four duets in the Clavierübung III symbolize the Cross was first suggested by Gerhard Friedemann.81 His work contained a number of highly original ideas about numerical significance within these pieces, but also many valuable observations concerning the biblical symbolism present in the other sections of the Clavierübung III.
Unfortunately it would be beyond the scope of this article to discuss further in depth the many other interesting details that are to be found in the four duets. So I would like to confine myself to bringing just a few salient points to the attention of the reader. The total number of bars in all four pieces is 369, which is in itself an indication of the association of these works with the Passion.82 The number 16 (4×4), which forms the basis of the A minor duet, is a numerical representation of the Cross. 112 (the sum of the numbers of bars in the E minor and G major duets) is the equivalent of CHRISTUS (3 + 8 + 17 + 9 + 18 + 19 + 20 + 18), and 149 (the number of bars in the F major duet) represents RESURREXIT (17 + 5 + 18 + 20 + 17 + 17 + 5 + 22 + 9 + 19).83
It is difficult to deny the validity of Gerhard Friedmann’s conclusions, based as they are on the analysis of the numerical structure of the duets. But this raises a further question: Is there a connection between, on the one hand, the hidden numerological references to the Cross in the four duets of the Clavierübung III and on the other hand the obvious descriptive character of the music?
Yes, one can indeed find such a connection! It is well known that in earlier times the cross was used as a symbolic representation of the four elements. But with the coming of Christendom, it became an object of adoration and so lost the association with the pagan worship of fire, air, water, and earth.
So now we wish to put ourselves in the shoes of the composer and try to answer the following question: How is it possible to portray musically a Cross, the product of human hands, soaked with the divine Blood of the Savior and transformed by the divine Will into an object of salvation? The answer is obvious. The best way to accomplish this is that chosen by Bach in the four duets of the Clavierübung III.

Prelude and Fugue in E-flat Major
The Prelude and Fugue in E-flat Major forms an overreaching arch that encloses the whole cycle. It is a work on a truly symphonic scale and is in this respect without parallel in the world’s organ literature. Its epic stature is complemented by the vividness and the passion of the musical language.
In both the prelude and the fugue the composer introduces three different musical spheres nevertheless bound together by such characteristics as common key and thematic material. The work is most commonly thought of as being an expression of the Holy Trinity. But no one to date has been able to produce a truly convincing proof for this view. As a result a number of unresolved controversies exist: which part of the fugue, the second or the third part, represents the Holy Spirit, and which Jesus Christ?
The very existence of these controversies should suggest to us that the work has not yet been sufficiently examined. To say nothing of the “echoes” episodes of the prelude, which most experts have associated with the Son of Man. How should we understand this embellished fluttering “in the spirit of the Rococo” to be a picture of the Savior?
In my opinion one should not view this music as one would a picture on a wall.
It is indeed Bach’s purpose to sing the praises of the Triune God, but it is not his intention to paint a musical picture of God. Three parts that are characterized through changes in the musical texture—in both the prelude and the fugue—are always the same God, the One, the Indivisible, the Holy and Consubstantial Trinity.
With what means does the composer accomplish this task? Let us first examine the prelude.

This article will be continued.

In 2015 there are several composers whose anniversaries can be commemorated, albeit some of the dates are not known for certain; some of the names need no introduction but there are also several lesser-known names listed here whose compositions are well worth exploring. No claim is made for completeness and there is no guarantee that every edition is in print—there may well also be editions by other publishers.

Christopher Gibbons (1615–76).Eldest surviving son of Orlando Gibbons, he was organist of the Chapel Royal and Westminster Abbey; only a few compositions for keyboard survive in various manuscripts, comprising two short pieces (corrente and saraband) for harpsichord, four verses or voluntaries and three verses or double voluntaries (i.e. requiring two manuals for their execution), with passages for solos on Cornet, Sesquialtera, and Trumpet. Some versions of these double voluntaries seem to have been considerably amended and elongated by the scribe. All nine pieces have been re-edited by John Caldwell for American Institute of Musicology’s Corpus of Early Keyboard Music series (CEKM 18). 

Spiridionis a Monte Carmelo (1615–85). German organist, who traveled widely in Belgium, Germany, and Prague before taking a position in Bamberg in 1664. He composed sacred music and also published a two-volume keyboard tutor, Nova instructio pro pulsandis organis, spinettis, manuchordiis, in Bamberg, of which the first part, which appeared in 1670, contained a very large number of cadences, 35 canzonas, and 15 dances including corrente, and the second part, which appeared the following year, contains mainly cadenzas, as well as ten canzonettas, seven toccatinas, two gagliardas, and four corrente. Part three contains more formulas for cadentiae followed by ligaturae and trilli; part four contains the actuarium for parts one and two, an aria, allemanda, sarabanda, and modus variandi. A modern edition by Edoardo Bellotti of parts one and two has been published by Andromeda. Parts three and four have also been edited by Bellotti and published by Il Levante, obtainable via La Stanza della Musica, Rome (www.lastanzadellamusica.com).

Gregorio Strozzi (ca. 1615–after 1687). Organist in Naples and doctor in both civil and canon law, in addition to sacred works he left a Capricci da sonare cembali et organi, published in open score in Naples in 1687, which is indebted to Trabaci, Mayone, and Frescobaldi, its 31 pieces covering the main compositional genres of the time including three capriccios, three ricercatas, three sonatas, four toccatas, two balletti, three gagliardas, three sets of variations, eight correntes, a mascara, and a Toccata de passacagli. This important print has been re-edited by Barton Hudson for American Institute of Musicology in the Corpus of Early Keyboard Music series (CEKM 11).

Heinrich Bach (1615–92). Great uncle of Johann Sebastian and organist in Arnstadt, almost all of his compositions in various genres have unfortunately been lost. He was the father of Johann Christoph and Johann Michael Bach, who also became composers. For keyboard he left a Chaconne in A, edited by Laura Cerutti for Armelin, and two chorale preludes, on Erbarm dich mein and Da Jesu an dem Kreuze stund, included in Organ Works by the Bach Family, edited by Diethard Hellmann for Edition Peters.

Tarquinio Merula (ca. 1594–1665). Organist and violinist active mainly in Cremona, he published a number of sacred concertos, Mass and psalm settings, as well as madrigals and ensemble canzonas. Fourteen keyboard works have survived in manuscripts, including a chromatic Capriccio and Sonata, the former based on the chromatic tetrachord, the latter on a figure covering a major ninth by semitone (!), although many subsequent entries are limited to the tetrachord. There are three intonazioni cromatiche (which may well be incorrectly attributed), a toccata (which contains a fugal section sandwiched between sections akin to Merula’s toccatas but lacking his inventiveness), a capriccio with an insistent rhythmic figure and much sequential writing, and five canzonas, of which the first, an arrangement of his ensemble piece La Loda, has basic similarities to the capriccio, and the second is based on an intriguing sequence of four descending broken triads. The next three canzone have been attributed tentatively to Merula, no. 3 being a version of his ensemble Canzona La Marca. All of these pieces together with a cromatica by Soncino and a  canzona by Fasolo have been edited by Alan Curtis and published by L’Organo, Brescia, as Monumenti di Musica Italiana Series 1, Organo e Cembalo, vol. 1, available from Armelin. There is also a reprint by Kalmus, which lacks the introduction. 

Wolfgang Ebner (1612–1665). Organist of St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna, and court organist, contemporary with Froberger. Three works certainly by him include three toccatas, a courante, a Capriccio sopra L’aria Pergamasco, the Partite sopra l’Aria Favorita with seven variations, and the 36 variations divided into three groups of 12 (the second and third groups being in the form of a courante and sarabande) on an Aria in A Minor composed by Ferdinand III. Works of uncertain authenticity include 56 versets encompassing various forms (i.e. toccata, capriccio, fugue in the eight church modes), eight of which are variants of pieces by Froberger and one by Frescobaldi, two preludes, a partita in A, and eight individual dance movements. Published by Bärenreiter in 2 volumes, edited by Siegbert Rampe, the publication also includes keyboard works by Georg Muffat. 

Nikolaus Bruhns (1665–97). Pupil of Buxtehude, he became organist in Husum in 1689. Comparatively well known to players today, particularly for his preludes in E minor, Bruhns was also a highly skilled violinist who, according to undoubtedly reliable contemporary accounts, accompanied his violin playing at the organ by a bass played with great dexterity on the pedals. None of his organ works were printed in his lifetime, and no autograph manuscripts have survived. His small opus survived in a virtually unbroken transmission in both manuscripts of the 18th century and printed editions from the 19th forward. He wrote chamber music, which regrettably has not survived, and 12 cantatas, and left four brilliant praeludia for organ in manuscripts—multi-sectional, and clearly showing the influence of his teacher as well as echo devices. A highly ornamented Chorale Fantasia on Nun komm der Heiden Heiland also shows continuation of the North German tradition of Scheidemann, Reincken, and Tunder. Modern editions, which also include an adagio and a praeludium, of which only fragments survive, have been prepared by Klaus Beckmann, published by Schott in the series Masters of the North German School vol. 13, and also edited by Harald Vogel for Breitkopf & Hartel.

Johann Hanff (1665–1712). Organist in Hamburg and Schleswig, only three of his cantatas and six chorale preludes survive in manuscripts. Five of the preludes are in a similar style to Buxtehude’s, with highly ornamented melodies in the right hand, but in Erbarm dich mein two verses are set, the second verse opening with a fugue based on the descending chromatic fourth before reverting to a right hand solo of the ornamented melody. They have been edited by Ewald Kooiman for Harmonia Uitgave, Incognita Organo Part 7. 

Johann Fischer (ca. 1665–1746). Kapellmeister to Ludwig Wilhelm of Baden, he published chamber and vocal music. His keyboard works include four sets of pieces, comprising two sets of suites for harpsichord/clavichord in 1696 and 1738, which show the French influence, and two sets of pieces for the organ, which show a more Italianate influence. Musikalischer Blumenstrauss of 1732 is a collection of pieces on the eight tones comprising a praeludium, six fugues, and finale for each tone. Ariadne Musica, of 1702 and 1715, contains 20 short preludes and fugues, each in a different key (including B, E-flat, and A-flat major, B, F#, and C# minor), which were known to J. S. Bach, who used some of the subjects in his Well-Tempered Clavier, and five ricercars on hymns for Advent, Christmas, Quadragesima, Passiontide, and Easter. 

The complete keyboard music has been edited by Ernst von Werra for Breitopf & Hartel. The Ariadne has been edited by Ernst Kaller for Schott as Liber Organi vol. 7 and the Musikalischer Blumenstrauss by Rudolph Walter for Musikverlag Alfred Coppenrath, Altötting as Süddeutsche Orgelmeister des Barock vol. 1, available through Carus Verlag. Facsimile editions have been published by Broude Bros in the Performers’ Facsimiles series nos. 197 (Ariadne) and 199 (Musikalischer Blumenstrauss). 

Johann Molter (1696–1765). German organist in Eisenach and Karlsruhe whose comprehensive works embrace all genres. Six chorale arrangements have been edited by Siegbert Rampe for Bärenreiter in German Organ and Keyboard Music from Bach’s Period.

Xarava y Bruna (ca. 1640–1715).Nephew of Pablo Bruna. Two pieces by him, an Ydea Vuena por a la mi re and fuga, and an Obra en lleno de 3 Tono (a tiento accidental found in the Jaca manuscript is a short version of the fuga), are to be found in one of the Martín y Coll manuscripts, and have been edited by Julian Sagasta for Union Musical Española in Tonos de Palacio y Canciones Communes vol. 2, and by Carlo Stella and Vittorio Vinay for Zanibon in Composizioni Inedite dal ‘Flores de Musica’ di Antonio Martin y Coll. 

Georg Wagenseil (1715–77). Organist and composer to the court in Vienna, he composed operas, chamber music, concerti, and organ and harpsichord music. Although considered as one of the most important Viennese composers of the 18th century, very few of his many keyboard works have been published, and conspicuous by their absence are the organ works, including 97 versets in various tones, a cycle of Praeambula and Versets on the Eight Tones, and numerous other individual pieces. Five pieces have been edited by Erich Benedikt and included in Viennese Organ Music from around 1750 published by Doblinger as DM1335 in the Diletto Musicale series, including a praeludium on the 1st and on the 2nd tones, a Fuga in D Minor, a piece titled Das Glockengeläut zu Rom dem Vatican (in C minor), and an Andante in D minor taken from the third Divertimento of opus 1, better perhaps suited to stringed keyboard instruments. 

James Nares (1715–83). Became organist of York Minster in 1735. In addition to much sacred music including services and secular vocal music, he left several publications for keyboard including two sets of lessons for harpsichord and a set of six fugues with introductory voluntaries for organ or harpsichord, which are available in a modern edition by Greg Lewin as well as in facsimile from Oxford University Press. Only nos. 1, 3, and 5 are preceded by an introduction. Also available in facsimile from Oxford University Press is Il Principio, or A Regular Introduction to Playing on the harpsichord or Organ, which gives basic information on ornamentation and fingering followed by a graduated series of pieces.

Georg Reichardt (1715–89). Pupil of Jakob Adlung. His Sechs fugierte Orgeltrios have been edited by Rudolph Walter for Hänssler Verlag and are available from Carus Verlag. 

Charles-Joseph van Helmont (1715–90). Organist in Brussels, he composed a large quantity of sacred vocal music including Masses and motets and a much smaller amount of secular vocal music. His keyboard works comprise the Pièces de clavecin of 1737, which include two suites, the pieces of which have French titles. The first suite and four fugues have been edited by J. Watelet and published by Vereniging voor Muziekgeschiedenis te Antwerpen in 1948 as Monumenta Musicae Belgicae vol. 6 (also contains pieces by Dieudonné Raick), with the second set edited by Laura Cerutti for Armelin, with a facsimile edition published by Anne Fuzeau. The complete set of Six Fugues has been edited by Jan Vanmol for Calcant.

Johann Doles (1715–97). Pupil of Bach in Leipzig, where he became Kantor, he composed much sacred and secular vocal music, harpsichord sonatas, and some chorale preludes, of which four pieces from the fifth volume of Singbare und leichte Choralvorspiele has been edited by Eberhard Hofmann for Musica Rinata in Orgelpräludien vom Barock zur Klassik. 

John Alcock Sr. (1715–1806). Organist at Lichfield Cathedral from 1750 until 1765, and thereafter at Sutton Coldfield and Tamworth, he composed sacred choral music, numerous secular vocal works, Six Suites of Easy Lessons and a Trumpet Tune for the harpsichord, which has been edited by Richard Jones and published by the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, as Easier Piano Pieces (vol. 15), and a set of Ten Voluntaries for the Organ or Harpsichord, a new edition of which has been edited and published by Greg Lewin.

Carlmann Kolb (1703–65). Organist of the community of Asbach and priest, he left a sinfonia for harpsichord and strings and the Certamen aonium published in 1733, a set of pieces on the eight tones, including a fairly expansive prelude, 3 fugal verses in a variety of styles and meters, and a toccata-like cadenza. Some of the preludes, particularly the third, are almost extravagantly eccentric in their modulations and dramatic rests. Modern editions by Rudolf Walter for Musikverlag Alfred Coppenrath, Altötting as Süddeutsche Orgelmeister des Barock vol. 5, available through Carus Verlag, and by Gregor Klaus for Willy Müller Süddeutscher Musikverlag, available from Bärenreiter.

Jose Ferrer (1745–1815). Organist in various Spanish cathedrals, including Oviedo, he composed mainly secular and chamber music. Seven sonatas for keyboard by him are preserved in a manuscript now in Zaragoza, and a further six have been attributed to him on stylistic grounds, although as no. 8 is by Domenico Scarlatti, it may well be that further pieces are by other composers. Many of the sonatas are far better suited to stringed keyboard instruments but nos. 9–11 sound well on the organ. All 13 sonatas have been edited as Sonatas para Clave by Dionisio Preciado and published by Real Musical, Madrid, as Teclado Espanol Siglo XVIII, vol. 1. No. 2 in G minor and a further Sonata in C Minor, both taken from MS 1665 at Montserrat, are included in Early Spanish keyboard music: an anthology—Vol. 3, The eighteenth century, edited by Barry Ife and Roy Truby for Oxford University Press.

Pietro Morandi (1745–1815). After studying with Padre Martini in Bologna he worked in Pergola and Senigallia cathedrals. He composed sacred and secular vocal and damatic music and also left 12 Concerti per L’Organo solo, with instructions for registration, and twenty sonatas and sinfonias, all of which have been edited in four volumes by Maurizio Machella for Armelin. 

Giuseppe Gherardeschi (1759–1815). Organist in Pistoia, first of S. Maria dell Umiltà and then the cathedral, he composed much sacred vocal music and several sonatas for harpsichord or fortepiano plus violin and also concerti. His numerous organ compositions, which include versetti, offertorios, elevazioni, sonatas, and rondos, contain precise instructions for registration, including drum pedals and toy stops such as the Uccello. Many have been edited by Umberto Pineschi in Musiche pistoiesi per organo (Biblioteca Classica dell’Organista, vol. M05 and M06), Antologia del Settecento organistico pistoiese (Biblioteca Classica dell’Organista, vol. 19), Musiche d’organo a Pistoia (Biblioteca Classica dell’Organista, vol. 30); Letteratura organistica toscana dal XVII al XIX secolo (Accademia di musica italiana per organo, Pistoia). Some twenty pieces have been edited by Maurizio Machella in two volumes for Armelin as L’organo Italiano nell’Ottocento (OIO 222 and OIO 223). An official download of Gherardeschi’s complete organ works, together with many other pieces from the Pistoia cathedral archives, is available from www.accademiagherardeschi.it/eng-partiture.php?id_sezione=6 for a payment of 10 Euros.

Domenico Puccini (1772–1815). organist in Lucca and grandfather of the famous opera composer, he composed both sacred and secular vocal music, as well as operas. He left 42 one-movement sonatas for organ in manuscripts, which have been edited in four volumes by Maurizio Machella for Armelin. A further volume contains sonatas for violin with accompaniment for organ or fortepiano. 

An increasing number of pieces, ranging from complete original publications/manuscripts (which present the usual problems of multiple clefs as well as original printer’s errors) to modern versions of complete or individual works, are to be found on various free download sites, most noticeably IMSLP; however, the accuracy of some modern typesettings is highly questionable, and all should be treated with caution before use. 

Publishers’ websites 

American Institute of Musicology—CEKM series:
www.corpusmusicae.com/cekm.htm 

Armelin: www.armelin.it

Associated Board: shop.abrsm.org

Bärenreiter: www.baerenreiter.com  

Breitkopf & Hartel:  www.breitkopf.com  

Broude Bros: www.broude.us 

Calcant: www.janvanmol.be 

Carus Verlag: www.carus-verlag.com 

Doblinger Verlag: www.doblinger-verlag.at

Fuzeau: www.editions-classique.com     

Greg Lewin Music: www.greglewin.co.uk

Monumenta Musicae Belgicae: www.dbnl.org 

Musica Rinata: www.berliner-chormusik-verlag.de

OUP: ukcatalogue.oup.com/category/music.do 

Schott Music: www.schott-music.com 

In 2013 there are several composers whose anniversaries can be commemorated, albeit some of the dates are not known for certain; there are a few lesser-known names here whose compositions are well worth exploring. 

John Bull (ca. 1563–1628). Organist of Hereford Cathedral, Chapel Royal, and, after fleeing the country in 1613 when charged with adultery, Brussels and Antwerp, he composed a large amount of keyboard music, much of which poses extreme difficulties for the player, including fast runs in thirds and sixths for both hands. There are doubts over ascriptions in some manuscripts, and there is also the possibility that some unascribed works may in fact be by him. A few pieces were included in Parthenia in 1612–13. Some 18 fantasias, as well as ostinati, liturgical pieces (over 30, including 12 In Nomine settings), and five Dutch carol settings have been edited by John Steele and Francis Cameron, revised by Alan Brown for Musica Britannica, Vol. 14 (although in some pieces the note values have been halved) and, more suitable for stringed keyboard instruments, many dances, variations, and character pieces have been edited by Thurston Dart in Vol. 19. A good selection is included in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book (modern edition by J. Fuller Maitland and
W. Barclay Squire for Dover). An excellent book on the keyboard works is The Keyboard Music of John Bull by Walker Cunningham (1984). 

Giles Farnaby (ca. 1563–1640) composed vocal music and over 50 pieces for keyboard, including 11 highly individual fantasias, pavans, variations, other dances (including an alman for two virginals), and descriptive character pieces, almost all of which are included in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. Modern complete edition of Farnaby’s Keyboard Music, edited by Richard Marlow, in Musica Britannica, Vol. 24. 

Heinrich Scheidemann (ca. 1595–1663). Pupil of Sweelinck and organist of the Katharinenkirche, Hamburg, he left a large corpus of keyboard music in manuscript, including over 30 chorale preludes. These range from short single-verse settings to lengthy fantasias and multi-verse settings, and 12 motet intabulations (most of which require pedals), Magnificat settings on the eight tones, unusually with only four verses, and one additional fantasia-like one-verse setting on the eighth tone, all of which require pedals, and some 20 praeambulae, fugues, fantasias, canzonas, and toccatas, most of which are for manuals only. Three of the latter, along with another 27 variations and dances, all manuals only, and particularly suited to stringed keyboard instruments, have been edited by Pieter Dirksen for Breitkopf & Härtel (EB8688). The keyboard works have been edited by Klaus Beckmann (vols. 1–3) and Claudia Schumacher (vol. 4, motets) for Schott Music. The earlier edition (in three volumes, omitting the motets) by Gustav Fock for Bärenreiter does contain several pieces that have recently been excised from the canon but are nevertheless attractive, including some chorale preludes. An invaluable book on the keyboard works is Heinrich Scheidemann’s Keyboard Music by Pieter Dirksen (2007). 

Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow (1663–1712). Organist in Halle and teacher of Handel, he left some 53 chorale preludes (including a splendid set of 12 variations on Jesu meine Freude), the great majority of which are playable on one manual and do not require pedals, and 13 secular pieces that are also suitable for the clavichord, including preludes, fugues, fantasia, capriccio, and a Suite in B Minor. There are modern editions by Heinz Lohmann for Breitkopf & Härtel, and Klaus Beckmann for Schott, which omits the suite. 

Franz Xaver Murschhauser (1663–1738). Organist in Munich, where he studied with Kerll, he published three volumes for organ, of which the first in 1696 included sets of a preambulum, five fugues, and a finale on the eight tones, followed by four sets of variations for the Christmas season, including one with cuckoo imitations, and a suite. The second volume (published in two parts in 1703 and 1707) includes praeambulae, toccatas, canzonas, and fugues on the first to third, seventh, eighth, and tenth to twelfth tones, many of which do not require pedals; a set of eight arias with variations and three Weihnachts-lieder with variations was published as op. 7. All three volumes are edited by Rudolph Walter for Alfred Coppenrath, obtainable from Carus Verlag. The suite is found only in the Denkmäler der Tonkunst in Bayern edition of ca. 1904. 

Giuseppe Paganelli (1710–63) worked in Venice, Bayreuth, Munich, and Madrid, where he may have succeeded Domenico Scarlatti. In 1756 he published XXX Ariae Pro Organo et Cembalo, a collection of short one-movement binary-form pieces intended for the Elevation. Modern edition by M. Machella for Armelin AMM163. He also published sonatas and sonatinas for stringed keyboard instruments.

Johann Ludwig Krebs (1713–82), pupil of J. S. Bach, organist at Altenburg, left a large corpus of organ works in manuscript. Edited in four volumes by G. Weinberger for Breitkopf & Härtel, the secular works comprise seven preludes and fugues, two toccatas and fugues in volume one, with seven praeludia, three fantasias, two fantasias and fugues, twelve fugues, and 17 trios in volume two. Volume three includes some 34 chorale preludes and volume four contains the Clavierübung erste Lieferung, or 13 chorales in three movements (praeambulum, chorale with melody and figured bass, and a chorale alio modo in the form of a prelude). There are also some 20 pieces for organ and obbligato solo instrument. Krebs published numerous works for stringed keyboard instruments, including sonatas, sonatinas, and suites. Some of the sonatas and sonatinas work well on the organ and are available from Carus Verlag, which also publishes Six Fugues; some of these require pedals for sustaining long notes rather than for the performance of one of the voices. A set of six newly discovered sonatas has been published by Dr. J. Butz Musikverlag and was reviewed in The Organ, no. 358.  

William Russell (1777–1813). Organist of St. Anne’s, Limehouse, he published two sets of Twelve Voluntaries for organ or pianoforte in 1804 and 1812; the 1804 set concludes with a three-movement voluntary in C minor followed by two movements in C major, which can be considered as two separate voluntaries. These voluntaries contain writing that is technically advanced, using the galant language of Haydn and Mozart, with several pieces containing an independent pedal part on a third stave as well as indications for its use in the two-stave layout.  There are several occurrences of the figure 8 beneath bass passages, which refers either to playing them in octaves or in employing the pedals. Dialogues between Cremona and Hautboy, as well as Trumpet movements in E-flat, C minor and E minor are included, and the Cornet movements conclude with a passage for the Diapasons, following contemporary treatises. Voluntaries VII–XII in the first set, and VIII–XII in the second conclude with extended fugues. Modern editions of both sets by Geoffrey Atkinson for Fagus Music and Greg Lewin for Greg Lewin music. The Atkinson edition of the 1812 set contains an extra voluntary in G edited by Gillian Ward Russell.  

A composer who left no works for solo keyboard but whose works for other instruments have been extensively transcribed for keyboard is Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1713). Although many of his chamber sonatas and concerti were arranged during the 18th century, only a few are available in modern editions. Those that are available include Edward Miller’s adaptations of opp. 1 and 3, edited by Jörg Jacobi for Edition Baroque (eba4001/12), and Thomas Billington’s adaptations of the Celebrated 12 Concertos available in Performers’ Facsimiles PF94.

An increasing number of pieces, ranging from complete original publications/manuscripts (which present the usual problems of multiple clefs as well as original printer’s errors) to selected individual works, are to be found on various free download sites, most noticeably IMSLP.org; however, the accuracy of some modern typesettings is highly questionable, and all should be treated with caution before use. Publishers’ websites include: 

Schott Music: www.schott-music.com 

Breitkopf & Härtel: www.breitkopf.com  

Bärenreiter: www.baerenreiter.com  

Armelin: www.armelin.it

Cornetto Verlag: www.cornetto-music.de 

Stainer & Bell: www.stainer.co.uk 

Carus Verlag: www.carus-verlag.com 

Dover: www.doverbooks.co.uk  

Edition Baroque: www.edition-baroque.de 

Butz Verlag: www.butz-verlag.de