The Langloz Manuscript: Fugal Improvisation through Figured Bass (Oxford Early Music Series) [Hardcover]

William Renwick (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0198167296 | ISBN-13: 978-0198167297 | Publication Date: May 17, 2001

What sorts of processes were going through the mind of J.S. Bach as he improvised a fugue in three, four, or even six parts? And what sort of training equipped an organist of the early eighteenth century to practice the art of accompaniment and improvisation successfully? The practical method which linked keyboard technique, improvisation, performance, and composition in a continuum was the thoroughbass, the center of the Baroque musicians art. The Langloz Manuscript, originating in the era and proximity of Bach's region of activity, and containing the largest extant collection of figured bass fugues, provides a window into this very process, and demonstrates more clearly than any words can the method by which the art of thoroughbass provided a foundation for extemporised fugue. The present edition is the first publication of this manuscript.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"If one of your goals is to learn to improvise fugues in the common-practice-period idiom, this book could well be the one to get you started. Renwick's editorial work and scholarship are meticulous."--The Diapason

"William Renwick has edited these pieces as scrupulously as one could wish, and supplied them with very sensible commentary."--Music & Letters

About the Author

William Renwick is at McMaster University, Ontario.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (May 17, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198167296
• ISBN-13: 978-0198167297
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,310,051 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learning how to write, improvise fugues like a baroque composer, August 2, 2005

By 

ROBERT BRUCE AMMONS III "classical geetareest" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Langloz Manuscript: Fugal Improvisation through Figured Bass (Oxford Early Music Series) (Hardcover)

This is a beautiful book from Oxford Press, with tons of illustrations of partimento fugues. This is the method by which many Baroque composers taught students composition and improvisation, and these are a set of pieces to do this with. This was the only method that Bach used, according to his sons. The book is expensive, but then it probably doesn't have a huge audience. I am currently working through it and have found it very useful and fun.