Praise for Did Bach really mean that?
“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
For pianists: “The author’s research is overwhelming. Provided
the reader is prepared to roll up his or her sleeves, this book gives the performer a wealth of information in a
practical and non-didactic way, which will benefit all
keyboard-players — pianists included.”
Stephen Kovacevich
For organists: “This book is a ‘must read’ for all musicians.
Booth writes with a rare combination of learning and
intuitiveness, practical insight and a clarity of reasoned
argument that can only inspire. His elegant prose and
apposite illustration make it a joy to read.”
David Titterington
For harpsichordists: “Colin Booth’s guide to deceptive notation will be
invaluable. The book’s countless musical examples,
drawn from an unexpectedly wide range of sources, are
examined step by step for any vital message they may hide
beneath their bland surface. This is a book that will tidily
fill an almost unnoticed gap between ordinary, moderately
informed teaching of Baroque music, and those studies aimed
at the already expert.”
Colin Tilney
“I thought that I might find it too academic for me but I am enjoying it
and am enthralled by all the fascinating examples. What a huge amount
of research he has put into it.”
K. Williams
“Colin Booth has come up with a magnificent text,
illuminated by a multitude of useful musical examples...
Booth’s book is ...massively useful, and what I like
about his writing is his all-embracing and non-dogmatic
approach to this subject and its individual aspects. Take
any point of contention with the piece you are studying,
look up the easily found relevant section in this book, and
your mind will be opened to the fluid nature of notation,
introduced to references and statements which provide clues
towards interpretation, and offered intelligent ways in
which such music can be performed in a way defensible
against criticisms of lack of authenticity.”
Dominy Clements, MusicWeb-International.com
Those who know Booth’s playing will also know that
it is exuberant, and that he is capable of
extracting considerable emotion from even the most
unpromising material; not for him the academic
playing of a Ralph Kirkpatrick. He is not unusual
in that now (though he would have been regarded as
cavalier forty years ago) but he is unusual in
being able to articulate his rationale for it.
His approach, as set out in this book, is based on
two constructs: first, that in the baroque
period, notation of music was still undeveloped
and like seventeenth century spelling,
inconsistent; secondly that most composers were
driven by expediency, and in particular by the
need to simplify and shorten the labour of
notation and of the subsequent task of the
engraver. Developing those contexts, Booth takes
us through eight chapters of detailed, beginning
with the way in which the sound of a single note
might be notated, through the problems inherent in
notating triplets and ‘swung’ rhythms, and on to
the notation and playing of ornaments. As Booth
shows us, all is not as it seems. But better than
that, all is not as complicated as it seems, with
the consequence that much of this music emerges as
technically easier than might at first be thought.
The book is attractively produced between hard
covers and is physically robust enough to last a
lifetime. The text is annotated, but only
lightly, making it accessible to the general
reader as well as providing a valuable resource
for the serious scholar or practitioner.
Peter Mole, British Clavichord Society
“Did Bach really mean that?” It is a catchy title.
The subtitle is “Deceptive Notation in Baroque
Keyboard Music.”
It is an extensive investigation and commentary on
the meaning behind the written conventions that a
composer employs to convey the lengths of notes.
Via symbols upon the page, the player alchemically
communicates music. A difficult enough task at any
time, and one that has promoted some innovative
experiments in notation in the twentieth century
involving intricate, graphic scores, but Colin
Booth has set out to extrapolate the meanings
behind notation as it was used nearly 3 centuries
ago. He writes in his introduction, “...just as the
meanings of many words and phrases (particularly
in the spoken word) change over time, in the same
way a different cultural context has altered the
meanings, or removed the underlying significance
of, some musical notation.”
No less than two hundred and eighty-one musical
examples illustrate his desire to encourage the
player to become more flexible and, in fact, more
musical. Here he has the enormous advantage of
being a harpsichordist worth listening to on the
concert platform, and therefore one who literally
practises what he preaches; for this reason, I
would encourage the reader to buy some of his
recordings as well as his book.
Penelope Cave, Sounding Board