Volume I deals with the preludes and fugues WTC I, nos. 1-6 and WTC II, nos. 1-6, i.e. with the works in C major, c minor, C# major, c# minor, D major, and d minor.
This comprehensive, in-depth work book on Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier should be part of every pianist's, piano teacher's, and advanced piano amateur's library.
The book is part I of a four-volume work that consists of various elements. A general Introduction covers topics like the origins of the WTC, the "well-tempered" scale, the clavier at Bach's time, the history of the prelude and the background of fugue composition. This is followed by a catalogue of very specific Questions Regarding a Prelude and Questions Regarding a Fugue, which the reader is urged to answer for him- or herself with regard to a particular prelude and fugue. The scope of the questions, their possible implications and the terms used are explained step by step in a section entitled Additional Information. The main body of the book, under the heading "Model Answers," contains in-depth investigations into the structure, material, performance practice and interpretation of each of the 48 preludes and fugues. These individual chapters, dedicated to one prelude+fugue each, are illustrated with music excerpts, diagrams, and graphic representations.
About the Author
Siglind Bruhn, born in Hamburg, Germany, is a musicologist, concert pianist, and interdisciplinary researcher. Since 1993, having resigned from university teaching to devote herself fully to research and writing, she has lived in Ann Arbor, affiliated with the University of Michigan as a Life Research Associate at the Institute for the Humanities. Prior to coming to the United States, she was the Director of Studies for music in professional and continuing education at the University of Hong Kong (1987-1993) and the founding director at the Pianists' Academy in Ansbach, Germany (1984-1987). Internationally, she has been a Guest Professor for 20th-century music at the Central Conservatory in Beijing and a visiting artist and/or visiting lecturer to universities and conservatories in several European countries as well as in China, Taiwan, Australia, South Africa, Namibia, Lebanon, and Ecuador. She has served as Chair of the Commission for the Education of the Profess! ional Musician in the International Society for Music Education, as orgnizer of several international conferences, and is presently the Vice President of the International Association for Word and Music Studies. Her education includes three post-graduate degrees: a Master of Music degree in piano performance (Stuttgart), a Master of Arts degree in Romance literature and philosophy (Munich), and an interdisciplinary doctorate in music analysis, musicology, and psychology (Vienna). As a performing pianist, she has given solo and chamber music recitals in 22 countries on all 5 continents and recorded for most German and many international radio stations as well as for 2 LPs nd 4 CDs. As a researcher, she has published numerous scholarly articles as well as 9 monographs, edited and co-authored 3 collections of scholarly essays and 3 journal issues, and translated 1 music-theoretical book from English into German.
