J. S. BACH Jonathan Berkahn - Victoria University - Victoria ...

produce, as you may guess.—What must they do in a full Orchestra!’ 100 This was
indeed to happen; among the pieces he arranged for orchestra were the ‘St Anne’
Prelude and Fugue BWV 552 (with obbligato organ part), the D major fugue from the
first book of the WTC, and the F major fugue from the second. The general attitude is
best communicated when Vincent Novello describes how, in performing the ‘St Ann’
arrangement, he and Wesley ‘played the obbligato organ part as a Duett on that
occasion, each filling in the harmonies according to the feeling of the moment, and
endeavouring to enrich the effect to the utmost, for the sake of Master Sebastian.’ 101 A
continuum can be traced from their activities as copyists of Bach sources, to the near-
Urtext of the WTC and trio sonata editions, to Horn’s transcriptions for string quartet,
to the more elaborate arrangements for orchestra, to introductions newly written for a
few of these arrangements, to entirely new works modelled on those of J. S. Bach.
BACH MEETS FOLK
Given the strong association in Wesley’s mind between Bach’s music (even the
WTC) and the organ, it is surprising how little impact the style of J. S. Bach had upon
his own organ music, as we have seen. By contrast, some of the most striking
evidence of this influence can be seen in—of all places—the piano music Wesley
wrote for popular consumption.
The nineteenth century was the first to fully realise the commercial possibilities
of music publishing. The most popular genres (as has perhaps always been the case)
were those that re-used already familiar tunes: variations, rondos, and transcriptions.
Throughout the nineteenth century transcriptions formed an important part of the
average music lover’s life. In the absence of recording technology, there was literally
100 Letter to Jacob, 19 October 1808, Olleson, Letters, p.81.
101 Note to the score, quoted by F. G. E[dwards], ‘Bach’s music in England (continued)’, Musical Times
37/644 (October 1896), 655.
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