Selections from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach

In 1725, J.S. Bach gave his second wife, Anna Magdalena, a “Notenbüchlein”—a collection of solo keyboard pieces and arias. Most of the keyboard pieces were composed by friends, colleagues, and his son, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. The easier keyboard works were probably used to instruct their children, while the arias would have been performed by Anna Magdalena, who was a singer. For this edition, Edwin McLean has chosen and expertly edited the most popular and easier keyboard pieces. Originally, the pieces contained no dynamics and virtually no phrasing, which is typical of baroque harpsichord music and even early 18th-century fortepiano music. Sectional dynamics have been added editorially and may be changed at the discretion of the performer. A minimal amount of phrasing and articulation has also been added for clarity. This edition preserves the original notation for appoggiaturas, where small eighth or quarter notes resolve to the principal note. Ossias have been included to show how to play them; ossias also appear when needed for ornaments such as trills and mordents.