ESSAY ON THE TRUE ART OF PLAYING KEYBOARD INSTRUMENTS By Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)

This is the second post dedicated to the Art of Interpretation/Performance, but this time from the perspective of the  keyboard which has a lot of similarities with the classic guitar. I previously posted Casals and the Art of Interpretation http://christianlaremont.blogspot.com/2015/05/casals-and-art-of-interpretation.html on May, 15, 2015. This treatise was written by C.P.E. BACH and was translated and edited by W. J. Mitchell under the editorial Norton & Co., 1949.

The Essay's main goal, according to Mitchell, is to raise "the art of performance, through teaching and practice to its perfection." Even though this was J.S. Bach's second son only extended theoretical work,the translator and editor states, "The most notable feature of this book is the attention given to artistic accompaniment, and it differs from all previous manuals on thorough bass."

Mitchell points out, "C.P.E. Bach was a musician's musician... His work is a compendium of the entire practice of music in the times of Frederick the Great (1740-1786)." Also noteworthy is the fact that, "This treatise is indispensable for every well informed musician..., pianist, singer or conductor." It's very impressive the list of accomplished musicians who have benefitted greatly from this mid eighteenth manual: Hayden, Mozart, Beethoven, Clementi, Czerny, etc.