"What's in a Score?": J.S. Bach's Capriccio, BWV 992, and Editorial Practices in Baroque Music from 1839 to 2011

Abstract

For musicians working in the tradition of Western classical music, scores are a constant companion. Alongside our instruments, our scores are a fundamental tool in learning, performing, teaching, analyzing, and researching music. But like many daily tools, few pause to consider what went into the making of their scores. This tendency to take scores for granted, often assuming them to be direct conduits of the composer's intent, may be seen among practicing musicians, as well as musicologists. The existing literature on music editing deals primarily with issues of methodology. Scores are typically categorized by the methodology used in their creation, centering the treatment of source material. This means that many aspects of a score's creation are overlooked.

As a case study, this thesis examines the publication history of J. S. Bach's Capriccio, BWV 992. Originally composed in or around 1704, Bach's only programmatic keyboard sonata has been published in 26 unique editions. Examining these editions reveals hundreds of variants in the piece's musical text and showcases significant diversity in the piece's presentation.

This thesis explores two main research questions: how do we explain the diversity of the Capriccio's published editions, and how do published editions reflect the context of their creation? These questions have been addressed by thorough analyses of the Capriccio's 26 unique published editions along several axes, including variant analysis, physical characteristics, and contextual research into the scores' editing and creation.

The analysis demonstrated that, regardless of when an edition was published or what methodology was used, patterns depend on publication agenda and/or the other professional activities of the editor, necessitating the development of a new system of categorization. Additionally, this is the first in-depth research on the Capriccio.