SUITE * BWV 996 (In E minor) Edited for Guitar by Frank Koonce Johann Sebastian BACH Pracludio fe tetltee @ 8 4 Passagio24 Presto 1;— 35 * U5 Ws n,—— co 4 ‘ : (cere RoecRY* = — * [~] 11;— WG10010, uu ? } See page xii, “Cress-String Ornaments”, See page xii, “The Mordent,” Example 12. ‘See page xiii, “The Mordent,” Examples 11a and 11b. "The editors of the NBA conclude that the C in beat two and the G in beat three should be natural (as shown in the present edition) whereas the editors of the BGA ‘thought they should be sharp. (In the first edition of this publication they ware also indicated as being sharp, a5 shown below.) The confusion stems from the Walther ‘manuscript that has an initial Csharp and A-sharp in ‘beat one, but no sharp signs in the remainder of the measure, It must be understood that, in Baroque notational practices, accidentals usually apply only tothe note they immediately modify. Thus, ifa sharp is intended to modify a note twice in one measure, the # sign will be written twice. The exception is when a noteis immediately reiterated without any intervening notes. 25 14, (continued) Ossia (as found in many guitar editions) ‘There is also an B in the tenor voice of beat three (as shown, in this example) that is omitted in the present edition for technical considerations. 16. Original wG10026 46.47. Original: Cor COeor 59-54. Original: "73-14, ‘The B in the tenor voice is articulated on beat two to preserve the original harmonic effect of a 4-9 suspension and resolution that otherwise is not possible on the guitar. The present editor also suggests that preserving this effect is more important to the strength of the final cadence than adding a trill in the soprano voioe. Original: Alternative Tunings ‘The Praeluio is sometimes performed with the sixth string tuned to E instead of D. Opinions differ as to which is the better tuning since either choice results in speificadvantages and disadvantages, For instance, D-tuning allows one to play with fewer changes from the original; most significantly, preserves the original melody in measure 3, the original chord voices and register for the bass in measures 7-9 and 13-14, and the original bass note on the last beat of measure 94. (Nevertheless, this tuning is generally more difficult for the lefthand and also requires retuning to before the Allemande, E tuning, while easier, lacks the rich sonorty ofthe lower chord voices and necessitates more subjective changes from the original ‘To a lesser extent, variants of the above are in use, Julian Bream's transcription ealls for a tuning change within the ‘movement to have the sonority of D-tuning for the Passagio and the technical advantages of E-tuning for the Presto. However, these benefits must be weighed against the loss of intensity and continuity which result by separating the two sections (the first of which ends on the dominant), or else the risk of mistuning if adequate time is not taken. Eduardo Fernéndez advocates using D for the sixth string trough all of the Preludio and also for the Allemande, and F sharp instead of G for the third string throughout the entire suite, According to Fernénder: ‘The reason... is si ply to make the piece a little less Aificalt.. It is not an attempt to use the orginal tuning, which is quite diferent. Most guitarists are familiar with this Renaissance tuning, and it should not be too dificult toadjust toi” ‘While recognizing the validity ofthe seordatura cited above, the present editor has chosen instead to retain conventional modern guitar tuning and to offer two transcriptions of the Pracludiowith the or E option forthe sixth string. The reader ‘may then choose one version or the other (or possibly the Passaggio of one with the Presto of the other) according to ‘personal preference, The version in D-tuning is presented first because, as stated, it requires fewer voice and octave adjustments; however, both versions strive to preserve the inherent spirit and intent ofthe original. ¥ JS. Boch: Suite in E minor, arranged for guitar by Julian Bream (London: Faber, 1970) p. 2. WG100 © Bduardo Fernindes, Guitar Review $4 (Summer 1988):22. (A transription by Fernénder of Bach's GIGUE: From Lute Suite No/4 in E-minor appears on pp. 21-22)27 Praeludio (Alternative Version) WG10028 ‘WG1006. See page xii, “Crose-String Ornaments”, 7-8, Original 10, See page xii, “The Mordent,” Examples Ha and 1b, 14. See End Notes on page 25, m. 14 16, See End Notes on page 25, m. 15. 34, Original: Alternative solution: 46-47. See End Notes on page 26, m. 46-47. 58. See Hind Notes on page 26, m. 58-64, "78-14. See End Notes on page 26, m. 73-74 WG100Allemande31 16. Original: 8. Original: 18. Original: # Alternative solutions: 12. Interpretation: [ree f (The “inverted” fingering facilitates the trill.) a) 14, Original note durations: ‘WG10032 wai0033 1. Original: 14-16, Original: _——_———e = = Sr ; r See page xii, Example 8. 16. Original: 5. Interpretation: Alternative solution: = 19. Original: 6-1. Interpretation: aime ein s r l 11. Original: 21, Interpretation: WG10034 Sarabande WG100WG10036 End Notes: Sarabande 2 Original: 16. Interpretation: A dissonance already occurs as a 4-3 suspension within this chord; therefore, a trill that emphasizes the upper auxiliary would change the harmonic structure and ‘weaken the existing effect of tension-relaxation. It would be more effective in this context to emphasize the main note (CH). One might also choose to begin the trill on the 4 ‘main note, 17. Original: ¥ a a ‘See page xi, “The Slide.” 18. See page xvi, “Attempts to Regulate the Dot Example 16. 22. Interpretation: 9. Original: ao M12, Original: 13, See page xvi, “Attempts to Regulate the Dot,” Example 15. 14, Interpretation: = WG100* Original: “Bourée” ce wa100Gigaa —————_ ro s 1 (=== === === 3 = wok q a ee Ps np a Mes yy PRET 4 sh ze 1— 10 7 7 7 = — aie : 3 7 aaa wG100— y—— 4 3] Vo V1, ——\ 1, ¥,—_—_. | | lt) wall Ihe al TH! « aie “e s 3 + 9] {11 S| be =o) ici hy = x 5 ay i Hil | = iy ! I , | 11 * onan fie W |||9 i er prs} ||ins iy fi e hdc on He. a EAL) SIA i I, e = 19] oe I} | L ey OS 1 we aT WG10042 5. Original: 67. Original: 8. Original: 16. ‘The editors of the NBA conclude that Fi is the correct note in beat 3. According to Hans Bischoff (seep. v), this follows the reading ofthe lost Gerber manuseript (source B). The corresponding note in the Walther manuscript (source A) is Gk, and itis Ff in the anonymous A-minor version (source C)if transposed back to E minor. The BGA, from which many earlier guitar editions are based, also shows F4. Unless conclusive evidence surfaces to reveal Bach's intention, it remains the prerogative of individual players to determine which note they prefer. 20. Original: 14, Original: il 17-18. Original: 19, Original WG100