About this eBook
This is a true Urtext edition of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, a project that stands apart in its meticulous preservation of the original manuscripts, down to the beaming, accidentals, and stem connections. This is a score designed for performers and serious students who wish to engage with Bach's music in its purest form.
I have developed an innovative approach to the WTC, centered on the concept "mental bass." This concept allows me to describe what I believe to be the mental process of the composer during the composition and performance of these works. The analytical system for this description is graphically implemented within the scores through a unique "gray notes" system.
Developed from my doctoral research, this unique system provides a visual overlay to the score, with black notes representing tones contained within a particular "mental bass"—a conceptual container for a fundamental note, a harmonic third, fifth, seventh, or ninth—and light or dark gray notes indicating non-mental-bass tones. Below each musical system, a series of colored circles connected by lines shows the underlying harmonic progressions. This non-intrusive method enriches the score without ever altering the Urtext.
This edition is a testament to the idea that for the music of Bach, true musical practice requires a deep analytical foundation. It is for those who are ready to explore these masterpieces not just with their fingers, but with their mind.
