This is the first book-length study of the Orgelbuchlein, the masterly collection of organ chorales by Johann Sebastian Bach. This 'Little Organ Book' is regarded by Bach scholars as one of the composer's most important achievements and by organ scholars as a milestone in the development of the chorale. In this lucid and absorbing book Russell Stinson, himself an organist, examines the collection from a range of historical and analytical perspectives in a way that will resonate with not only organists and scholars but the average concert-goer or CD-buyer with an interest in the instrument and its music. The book begins with a discussion of Bach's reasons for compiling the collection and his original plans to create a comprehensive set of 164 chorales. Stinson then examines the composer's compositional process in the collection and considers the music in its historical context with attention to each of the three types of chorale: the melody chorale, the ornamental chorale, and the chorale canon. In the next chapters the author looks at each of the forty-six individual compositions, illuminating the structure of each and tracing the evolution through the set of Bach's concept of chorale. The book concludes with a discussion of the Orgelbuchlein's reception from the eighteenth century to the present. The appendix includes a complete score of the chorale 'Ich ruf zu dir' as arranged by C.P.E. Bach and a list of published transcriptions of the chorales for other instruments.

About the Author
Russell Stinson is Associate Professor of Music and College Organist at Lyon College in Batesville, Arkansas. He is the author of The Bach Manuscripts of Johann Peter Kellner and His Circle and his articles on Bach's music have appeared in Early Music, The Musical Quarterly, the Bach-Jahrbuch, and other scholarly journals. elsewhere. He has performed selections from the Orgelbuchlein in organ recitals from coast to coast.

Reviews
This fine study shows many original insights and valuably summarizes the huge body of recent thinking in Bach scholarship * Early Music *
A valuable handbook which should be required reading for any organist whose commitment to Bach is at all serious * Early Music *



Book Information
ISBN 9780193862142
Author Russell Stinson
Format Paperback
Page Count 224
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 318g
Dimensions(mm) 156mm * 234mm * 17mm