J.S. Bach’s keyboard works: From performance to research

Abstract

Practiceled research in classical music has tended to deal with specific and limited case studies, examining in detail the ways in which one musician’s individual responses to a work or genre can lead to a new understanding of that object, and assessing the different forms of knowledge generated. This project discussion however deals with a complete corpus created over one composer’s lifetime, Bach’s works for clavier, and looks at the very many different aspects of musical understanding - including pedagogy, technique, compositional practice, performance practice, attribution studies and organology - that can be enriched by hands-on engagement with a substantial and high-quality repertoire.

Keywords

• j.s. bach
• keyboard music
• performance practice
• research
• pedagogy