The Well Tempered Clavier - Books I and II Complete | Advanced Piano Sheet Music Book for Students and Teachers | Complete 48 Preludes and Fugues | ... for Performance (Dover Classical Piano Music) - Softcover

Johann Sebastian Bach

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0486245322 ISBN 13: 9780486245324

Publisher: Dover, 2009

Synopsis

This advanced piano collection is ideal for dedicated students, teachers, and musicians seeking a complete edition of one of the most influential works in keyboard literature. Suitable for home study, lessons, recital preparation, and long-term musical growth, it provides a rich foundation for understanding Baroque style and advanced contrapuntal writing.

The volume includes all forty-eight preludes and fugues from Books I and II of The Well-Tempered Clavier, reproduced from the authoritative Bach-Gesellschaft edition. Players benefit from clear engraving, introductory notes, guidance on ornamentation, and tempo indications that support deeper stylistic awareness. The collection spans a wide range of technical levels within the advanced category, offering expressive works that challenge and inspire developing musicians.

These pieces help refine touch, clarity, independence of hands, and harmonic understanding. Students gain a strong grounding in polyphonic listening and interpretation, while teachers value the book as a comprehensive reference for structured study. The musical and historical significance of this repertoire continues to motivate pianists, making it an essential resource for serious learners and performers working toward mastery.

Complete set of all 48 preludes and fugues from Books I and II, presented in every major and minor key. This edition offers a full exploration of Bach’s keyboard writing and remains indispensable for advanced study and performance.

Trusted by teachers, loved by students. Ideal for lessons, auditions, recitals, scholarly study, or personal enrichment, this timeless collection brings depth and artistry to every practice session. A meaningful gift for musicians committed to advancing their technique and musical understanding.

About this title

About the Author

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was a prolific German composer and organist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments exemplify the heart and soul of the Baroque period. A revival of interest and performances of his music began early in the 19th century and continue to this day. He is now widely considered to be one of the greatest composers in the Western tradition.

From the Back Cover

"His art was of an encyclopedic nature, drawing together and surmounting the techniques, the styles, and the general achievements of his own and earlier generations and leading to a new perspective." -- Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians.
This informed assessment of the genius of Bach's works can be applied with greatest accuracy to The Well-Tempered Clavier. This highly influential work is monumental in the history of Western music. It represents not only the culmination of Bach's own maturation process, but also the galvanization of the emerging style and structure of modern keyboard music.
The grace and fecundity of The Well-Tempered Clavier have thrilled audiences, musicians, and composers for centuries. Mozart, when rapidly advancing to the height of his mastery, had but to read a manuscript copy of The Well-Tempered Clavier and his style developed a new polyphonic richness and depth of harmony. Beethoven studied all the accessible works of Bach profoundly (including The Well-Tempered Clavier) and frequently quoted them in his sketchbooks, often with direct bearing on his own works. Chopin is nowhere more characteristic than when he shows his love of The Well-Tempered Clavier in his Etudes and Preludes. It was Schumann who, in a series of maxims for young musicians, said "Make The Well-Tempered Clavier your daily bread."
This remarkable volume contains all 48 preludes and fugues, from Books I and II, in all major keys, reproduced directly from the authoritative Bach-Gesellschaft edition. The fine engraving is beautiful, clear, and easy to read. These elegant pieces, which vary in difficulty, are available complete in one low-cost, convenient Dover edition.

Edition details

• Publisher: Dover
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0486245322
• ISBN 13: 9780486245324
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 202