Lot 9: BACH, JOHANN SEBASTIAN.

Zweyter Theil der Clavier Ubung bestehend in einem Concerto nach Italienischen Gusto und einer Overture nach Französischer Art vor ein Clavicymbel mit zweyen Manualen...verfertiget von Johann Sebastian Bach, [Nuremberg:] In Verlegung Christoph Weigel Junioris, [1736]

Condition Note: first edition, second issue, of the Italian Concerto BWV 971 and the French Overture [Partita in B minor] BWV 831, upright 4to (c.32.6 x 22cm), 27 pages, engraved music, a few later pencil annotations, early nineteenth-century gilt papered boards, title supplied in an early nineteenth-century manuscript facsimile, damp-staining, small tear to lower right-hand corner of p.17, slightly affecting engraved surface, last leaf torn and laid down

We are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described in our catalogue. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSION CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

LITERATURE AND REFERENCES

Hoboken 93; BWV, p.634; RISM B 487 and BB 487; G. Kinsky, Die Originalausgaben der Werke Johann Sebastian Bachs (Vienna, etc., 1937), pp.29-33; Neue Bach Ausgabe, V /ii, 'Kritischer Bericht' (1981) by W. Emery & C. Wolff, pp. 13ff. G. Herz, Bach-Quellen in Amerika/Bach Sources in America (1984)
CATALOGUE NOTE

we have no record of the second part of the clavier-übung, containing some of bach's greatest works for keyboard, being offered for sale at auction during the last thirty years. Editions of Bach's works published during his lifetime are, in any event, of the greatest rarity; only some nine or ten were published at all. Clavier-Übung II is considerably rarer than Clavier-Übung I: of the fifteen copies located by the Neue Bach Ausgabe, only one is in America (Yale University) and there are none there in private hands.

No autographs survive for either the Italian Concerto or the French Overture.

Taken as a whole, the four parts of the Clavier-Übung represent the apogee of Bach's writing for the keyboard, whether for harpsichord, as in the case of Clavier-Übung I (1731), II (1735) and IV (1741-2), or for organ, as in Clavier-Übung III (1739). With the Concerto in the Italian Style, BWV 971, from the second part of the Clavier-Übung, Bach provided an example of the most up-to-date and fashionable style of writing in music. As Christoph Wolff in TNG observes, 'it embodies the ultimate stage in the process of transcribing instrumental concertos for keyboard, and stands in contrast to [the] Overture in the French Manner BWV 831 which, more markedly than the partitas, represents what was specifically French in harmony, rhythm, ornamentation and melodic invention'.

In order to correct the very large number of errors contained in the first edition, a second issue was prepared which, according to Walter Emery, appeared before November 1736. The main differences concern the correction of the word 'verferdiget' (to 'verfertiget') in the title-page, and the re-engraving of pages 20-22, containing the courante, the two gavottes and the two passepieds. An indication that these alterations were made at Bach's instigation is provided by a copy of the first issue with Bach's manuscript corrections in the British Library.