The diagram above attempts to depict a much generalised picture of the
complex WTC II genealogical system. The grey line in the middle separates
two sets of autograph manuscripts (L and S), from which each
tradition of manuscripts derives. Immediately to the right of this line
is provided a rough yearly scale by which all the sources are chronologically
placed. The distance from the middle line in a horizontal direction indicates
the degree of authenticity of the source. The box around the source indicates
the time span of the source being revised and edited, which is attested
by the presence of layers of readings.
| E |
Early model, originating in the pieces written in the 1720s. Eleven
pre-WTC II pieces are known to have existed, namely PrFg.C, C#, d, G, Fg.c,
Eb, Ab. |
| B |
Bach Tradition, stemming from the London Autograph (L). |
| A |
Altnickol Tradition, stemming from another set of Bachs autograph (S)
which is no longer extant, but is attested exclusively in Altnickols two
surviving manuscripts. |
| K |
Kirnberger circle manuscripts, formed from assembled copies deriving
from various stages of L (not illustrated above, but will be given
a link to further details in near future). |
| E |
Early models, P804, P1089, P595, P226,
etc.: Copies from the source Bach originally composed in ca. 1720-1738.
Where applicable, they are divided into several subgroups according to
their textual chronology. |
| L |
London Autograph, Add. MS 35 021: Compiled in ca. 1739-1742.
PrFg.c#, D and f are missing from the collection. |
| V |
Vienna manuscripts of 24 Fugues only, Q 10728, Q 11731,
Stockholm and Berea: Their common model originates in ca.
1741. Its text is heavily corrupt and thought to have gone through systematic
revision in many layers. |
| H |
The model which became the basis for H1 = Hamburg with
its copy, P206, and H2 consisting of P209 and Dresden
(= Mus.2405-T-7), originated in ca. 1741. Apart from PrFg.C
and Ab, it is derived fairly faithfully from L. Except P 209,
they all have their origin in Dresden. In many instances, H2
gives an earlier text, suggesting an independent path. Apart from P
209, each source contains a complete set. |
| F |
Direct copy made from L in 1742, now consists of Fürstenau
(lost), P 416, Add. MS 38 068 and Chicago: They
are referred to as F1 when they are distinguished from their derivants.
Their text is characterised by giving reading newer than H but,
at the same time, the scribe of careless nature often interprets the amended
symbols in a different way from what Bach intended. From it stems a group
F2 (Go.S.312 and P210) which inherits an all the more
confused state of reading. Someone made later amendments to the text of
F based on A. |
| Bn |
Berlin Autograph, P 274: Made in ca. 1742. Fg.Ab only. |
| S |
A complete autograph manuscript of WTC II, thought to have existed
but now lost. It first existed as a sketch on which Bach worked on up to
1739 and used as an exemplar to make L. The other evidence in the
copies of S also indicates that it was a collection of revision
scores. When L was completed in 1742, Bach came back to S
to fill in the missing movements. |
| A1 |
Altnickol's first copy, P430
and the copies stemming from it, consisting of StAndrews, P 204,
Konwischny, P1076, P207 and others: P 430 is
made under Bach's instruction in 1744. Bach is thought to have made later
amendments directly onto this copy. There are other later amendments of
spurious origin by several hands. One of these is F. A. Grasnick (ca. 1800
- 1877) who compared A1 with K1, edited A1, and subsequently
wrote P1146, in which he listed down the noteworthy variant readings he
found in K1. |
| A2 |
Altnickol's second copy, P 402,
made in 1755: It contains some later as well as earlier readings than A1.
Altnickol did not use P 430 itself for A2, but used a common
source with his earlier copy. RCM 743
also belong to this group. |
| A3 |
Poel.33,2 and PM
5697: A branch stemming from S independently of A1 or A2.
It contains valuable information that is not found in Altnickol's sources.
The former is of particular interest, for it was copied in 1767 (?) by
Johann Christoph Georg Bach (1747-1814), Bachs distant cousin in Ohrdruf.
The credibility of the information suffers much from careless copying practices,
however. |
| K1 |
Am.B.57, so-called "Kirnbergers Handexemplar", Weyse,
Am.B.49 and P211: Main-stream manuscripts of Kirnberger,
stemming from various stages of L from the earliest to the latest. This
group of MSS is thought to have been compared with L in Berlin. The most
probable date is 1774 or soon after when W. F. Bach, in whose possession
it was, moved to Berlin. |
| K2 |
P814, P 1182, P513, RCM 26 and Cambridge:
Originated in the model for K1, partly being attested by its more
faithful nature to the original, and partly chara- cterised by unique variant
readings that are perhaps not derived from Bach. |
| K3 |
Ms.30386, P 414: Stemming from the earliest branch of
K, characterised by containing fewer variants and errors than K1
but having its own unique ones. |
| K4 |
P 237, RM.21.a9, Oslo and LM 4837: Farthest
group from K1, characterised by corruptions of the text and by many
unique variant readings, occasionally shared with K3. While the
first two MSS contain a complete set of WTC II, the last, the text of which
is severely corrupted, contains pieces from Pr.C to Fg.f, and Pr.G to Fg.g
(up to b.20). |
