It is not difficult to distinguish with exactitude those of Bach’s early compositions which are of the first excellence; for he has been at pains to give us the clue. As he did not publish his first work until he was about forty years old (223) we are justified in assuming the merit of what, at so mature an age, he thought worthy to put into print, and in concluding generally that all his engraved works are of first-rate merit.(224)
With respect to his unpublished compositions, and they are by far the most numerous, we must in order to distinguish their merit rely partly on a critical examination of their texts, partly on Bach’s own judgment. Like all great composers, he was continually working on his compositions with a view to making them still more finished. Indeed, he actually attempted to improve some of them that were already perfect. Any that were susceptible of improvement he improved, even those already engraved. Such is the origin of the variant readings of his works found in older and more recent texts. By constantly retouching his compositions Bach aimed at making them indisputable masterpieces. In this category I place most of what he wrote before the year 1725, as I show in detail in the following catalogue. A great many compositions subsequent to 1725, which for reasons easily understood are still in MS., bear too evidently the stamp of perfection to leave us in doubt whether to class them as early essays or as the finished work of an accomplished master.
The following are those of Bach’s works which have been engraved:
1. _Clavierübung_, or “Exercises for the Clavier, consisting of Preludes, Allemandes, Courantes, Sarabandes, Gigues, Minuets, etc., for the Diversion of Amateurs. Opus I. Published by the Composer, 1731.” This was Bach’s first published work and contains six Suites. The first of them came out in 1726;(225) the others followed in successive years until all were engraved together in 1731.(226) The work was much noticed at the time. Such compositions for the Clavier had not been seen or heard before, and the man who could play them was sure of a success. Our young players to-day would profit by the study of them, so brilliant, agreeable, expressive, and original are they. In the new edition(227) they are entitled, “Exercises for the Clavier.” 2. _Clavierübung_, or “Exercises for the Clavier, Part II., consisting of a Concerto in the Italian style and an Overture in the French manner(228) for a Clavier with two manuals. Published by Christopher Weigel, Junior, in Nürnberg.”(229) 3. _Clavierübung_, or “Exercises for the Clavier, Part III., consisting of various Organ Preludes to the Catechism and other Hymns, composed for the diversion of amateurs and particularly of competent judges of such works. Published by the Composer.” Besides the Preludes and Fugues for the Organ, all of which are masterly, the book contains four Duetti for the Clavier,(230) models of their kind. 4. _Sechs Choräle_, or “Six Choral Melodies of different kinds, for an Organ with two manuals and pedal. Zella, in the Thuringian Forest. Published by Johann G. Schübler.”(231) They are full of dignity and religious feeling. In some of them, too, we have instances of Bach’s original management of the stops.(232) Thus, in the second Choral, _Wo soll ich fliehen hin,_ he gives to the first manual an 8 foot, to the second a 16 foot, and to the pedal a 4 foot stop. The pedal has the cantus firmus.(233) 5. _Clavierübung_, or “Exercises for the Clavier, consisting of an Aria with several Variations, for a Clavier with two manuals. Published by Balthasar Schmidt at Nürnberg.”(234) This admirable work consists of thirty Variations, some in canon, in a variety of movements and at all intervals from the unison to the ninth, with easy flowing melody. It includes a regular fourpart Fugue,(235) several extremely brillant Variations for two Claviers,(236) and concludes with a Quodlibet, as it is called, which alone would render its composer immortal, though it is not the best thing in the volume.(237)