Yo Tomita's Critical Commentary Series of the Well-Tempered Clavier II aims to list all the errors, variant readings and amendments in the extant manuscripts of WTC II, so that the information can be utilised by a wider circle of scholars for further research.

(vol.2)

 Volume II (1995)

Size: A4 oblong, xxx + 1001 pages 
with numerous music examples. 

ISBN 0-9521516-7-7 
(OUT OF PRINT)

About Volume II

This volume carries an important mission: to become an ample resource in the assessment of the text-critical aspect of the Well-Tempered Clavier II sources, for there has never been available a comprehensive reference work for scholars to study the vast and complex source situation of this important work of Bach. It lists systematically all the variant readings and major errors attested to the sources with analytical remarks. In addition, it achieves the following aims:

  1. to group manuscripts according to their shared variant readings
  2. to establish genealogical relations within a group according to the generation of errors and amendments
  3. to identify later cross-linking (contamination) of groups by examining subsequent collation of distantly related sources
  4. to give data for reconstructing the missing set of autographs


Click the image below to have a closer look.

Since its publication, the author has carried out further studies on the sources, as many further sources have been resurfaced. Click here to download the update/errata issued in April 2000. A further updates is planned to be released on the internet in the near future.

Last modified: 02 April 2005