Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

The Versuch über die wahre Art das Clavier zu spielen, or Essay on the true art of playing keyboard instruments (but in particular the harpsichord and clavichord), goes back to C. P. E. Bach's Berlin period and consists of two parts which appeared in Berlin in 1753 and 1762 respectively. The first part of the work is devoted mainly to problems of fingering and the realization of ornaments, the second to harmony, chords and the technique of accompaniment. The following extract is taken from the third chapter of the first part, entitled ‘Performance’, and reveals the importance of an emotional element in the performer as a significant virtue opposed to mere professionalism or superficial virtuosity. The importance given to the interpreter's autonomy, then, was not to disappear, but remained in a position to reveal ideas in the music being performed that were even beyond the composer's intentions. This translation is reprinted from Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, translated and edited by William J. Mitchell, by permission of Ernst Eulenburg Ltd and by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Copyright 1949 by W. W. Norton & Company Inc. Copyright renewed 1977 by Alice L. Mitchell.