“The book is absolutely first class: Very learned yet imaginative and totally approachable. So much to learn from it, and so much to admire. Congratulations. I have already recommended it to several keyboard players.” Sir Roger Norrington
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Did Bach Really Mean That? is a book which explores musical notation and the way in which composers of Baroque keyboard music used it. It is an entertaining and practical guide — not a dry work of scholarship. Scholarship is its basis, certainly, but the aim is to help all those who love Baroque music — particularly those who play it, and even more so (but not exclusively) those who play a keyboard instrument — to a deeper understanding of the music they play, and of the mindset of the composers who wrote it.
The subject is notation: the way the music is written down.
In crucial areas, like rhythm and ornamentation,
Baroque music depended for its appropriate realisation, on a
mutual understanding between composer and performer, of
certain features of the score which might in many cases mean
something different today. Recovering this understanding can
make the music more alive and meaningful for today’s
players, and, paradoxically, give them greater freedom than
they had when their performance was based just on a literal
reading of the notes.
Use the menu to browse through information about the book, and its author, Colin Booth, and to see the introductions for each of the chapters. Take advantage of the introductory special offer to buy the book online. | |
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Early keyboard specialist Colin Booth is
internationally known as a recitalist, continuo player and teacher
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