bwv914

[Bradley P Lehman <bpl@umich.edu>]

At 02:19 PM 7/13/01 +0200, Juozas Rimas wrote:

>I have a specific performance question (maybe it's more suitable for a
>general Bach list so I asked there too:)
>
>Gould plays the ending of the the double (1st) fugue of the e-moll
>toccata (BWV914) with the high notes and a trill (some other performers
>too). But others stick to an "older version" - no elevation at the very
>end, no trill.
>
>Is there any informations which of the variants was originally written by
>the composer and which was invented by the editors? Thank you.

Heinz Lohmann's edition lists nine sources for this toccata (all or part).

Throughout that fugue all the trills are either in () or [].  He explains
that this means: (in some sources but not all) [added by the editor as
suggestions]

At the spot you asked about the trill is in (), so it is in some of the
sources.

I'm not sure what you're referring to as "high notes" and "elevation"
there.  Lohmann has no comment about significant textual differences among
the sources for those bars.

As for Gould: he played whatever he wanted to (sometimes recomposing
details of pieces) regardless of what any sources said.  He was primarily
a performer crafting a musical experience, not a scholar intent on
conveying facts.


Bradley Lehman, Dayton VA
home: http://i.am/bpl  or  http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bpl
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"Music must cause fire to flare up from the spirit - and not only sparks
from the clavier...." - Alfred Cortot