Overview
The Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach is a charming and historically important collection of music compiled by Johann Sebastian Bach for his second wife, Anna Magdalena Bach, who was a professional singer. It offers a rare glimpse into the musical life of the Bach family and the kinds of music that were played and sung at home.
📖 Overview
Title: Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach
Composer: Primarily Johann Sebastian Bach, with contributions from other composers
Compiled: Two main manuscripts (1722 and 1725)
Purpose: A domestic music album for Anna Magdalena, likely used for teaching, practice, and private performance
📚 The Two Notebooks
There are two separate manuscripts:
1722 Notebook – Contains only a few entries, mostly by J.S. Bach.
1725 Notebook – Much more substantial, including works by:
J.S. Bach (e.g., minuets, polonaises, keyboard suites, and songs)
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (his son)
Christian Petzold, Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, and other contemporaries
🎵 Contents
The 1725 notebook includes:
Keyboard works: Minuets, Marches, Polonaises, Musettes
Arias and songs: Many with religious or sentimental themes
Didactic music: Suitable for beginner to intermediate keyboard students
Some famous pieces:
Minuet in G major (BWV Anh. 114) – long attributed to Bach but now known to be by Christian Petzold
Musette in D major (BWV Anh. 126)
Aria “Bist du bei mir” (BWV 508) – actually by Stölzel
🎼 Significance
Historical value: Provides insight into music teaching and family life in the Bach household.
Educational use: Many pieces are still used for early keyboard instruction.
Aesthetic appeal: Combines Baroque charm with personal warmth.
🧩 Authorship Note
Although J.S. Bach’s name is on the cover, many works are:
Not composed by him (e.g., Petzold’s minuets)
Unattributed or anonymous
Some remain difficult to definitively attribute
🎹 Performance Notes
Great for beginners to intermediate pianists
Excellent for exploring Baroque ornamentation, phrasing, and dance forms
Short, elegant pieces ideal for recitals or study
Characteristics of Music
The Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach (especially the 1725 volume) is not a formal suite or unified composition but rather a miscellany of musical miniatures—a personal, pedagogical, and domestic anthology. However, the pieces reflect many Baroque stylistic traits and dance suite characteristics, making it a rich window into early 18th-century keyboard practice.
🎼 Musical Characteristics of the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach
1. Dance Forms Dominate
Many of the instrumental pieces are based on Baroque dances, typical of keyboard suites:
Minuets (e.g., BWV Anh. 114, 115)
Polonaises (e.g., BWV Anh. 119–122)
Marches (e.g., BWV Anh. 122–124)
Musette (e.g., BWV Anh. 126)
Gavotte, Rondeau, and other stylized dances
These are short, elegant, and typically follow the binary form:
A–B, often with both sections repeated (||: A :||: B :||).
2. Simple Textures and Melodies
Mostly two-part or three-part textures
Melody with accompaniment is common
Pieces are designed to be accessible, especially for beginners and intermediate players
3. Tonal Clarity and Structure
Clear key centers (G major, D minor, B♭ major, etc.)
Diatonic harmonies with occasional modulations to the dominant or relative minor
Strong cadential patterns for teaching phrase structure
4. Ornamentation
Use of Baroque ornaments: trills, mordents, appoggiaturas
These are essential to expressive performance and stylistic accuracy
Some manuscripts include ornament signs typical of Bach’s notation style
5. Vocal and Sacred Pieces
Arias such as “Bist du bei mir” (BWV 508) reflect:
Lyrical vocal writing
Simple chordal accompaniments
Religious or sentimental texts
Some are based on popular Lutheran chorale melodies
6. Teaching Intent
Gradual increase in difficulty from simple dances to more ornamented or harmonically rich pieces
Likely used to teach:
Hand coordination
Phrasing and articulation
Stylistic awareness of Baroque genres
🔹 How the Collection Reflects Baroque Suite Practices
While not a formal suite, the pieces mirror the suite structure:
Use of contrasting dance types
Unified style (French-influenced, elegant, and courtly)
Structured binary forms
Tendency toward pairing dances (e.g., Minuet I and II) as in Bach’s French suites
🧩 Summary of Stylistic Elements
Musical Feature Characteristic in the Notebook
Texture Mostly homophonic; some contrapuntal passages
Form Binary (A–B), occasional ternary (for vocal pieces)
Melody Lyrical, diatonic, and clearly phrased
Harmony Functional tonality, simple I–IV–V progressions
Rhythm Dance-inspired; includes dotted rhythms, triple and duple meters
Ornamentation Present and stylistically appropriate
Purpose Pedagogical, devotional, domestic enjoyment
Analysis, Tutorial, Interpretation & Important Points to Play
Here is a comprehensive general and summary guide to the entire Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach (1725 version), covering its musical content, tutorial focus, interpretive approach, and technical tips for pianists:
🎼 GENERAL MUSICAL ANALYSIS
The Notebook is a miscellaneous collection of short pieces in Baroque style, compiled for personal and educational use in the Bach household. It includes:
🎵 Musical Forms & Types
Dance pieces: Minuets, Polonaises, Marches, Gavottes, Musettes
Arias and songs: Vocal-style keyboard settings (e.g. Bist du bei mir)
Binary-form keyboard works: Often in 3/4 or 2/4, with clear tonal centers
Sacred and secular texts: Especially in the vocal works
🧩 Structural & Stylistic Features
Mostly in binary form (A–B) with repeats
Major and minor keys (G major, B♭ major, D minor, etc.)
Simple textures, mostly homophonic or two-part writing
Frequent use of cadential formulas and pedagogical voice-leading
Short, well-defined phrases (4 or 8 measures)
Diatonic harmony, with occasional modulation to dominant or relative minor
🎹 GENERAL TUTORIAL & TECHNICAL APPROACH
The notebook functions like a progressive method book for:
Developing hand coordination
Refining phrasing and expression
Teaching Baroque ornamentation
Mastering stylistic dances and character pieces
🖐️ Key Technical Focuses:
Skill Details
Articulation Mostly non-legato; use detached touch for dances
Voicing Bring out melody (usually RH), LH is supportive
Fingering Practice finger legato; avoid relying on pedal
Ornamentation Learn trills, mordents, and grace notes in Baroque style
Hand independence Maintain even RH tone and light LH accompaniment
Phrasing Use dynamic shaping, slight agogic accents at cadences
🎨 GENERAL INTERPRETATION TIPS
🎭 Character and Expression:
Minuets and Gavottes – Elegant, courtly, with rhythmic clarity
Polonaises – Noble and stately, often with dotted rhythms
Musettes – Rustic and pastoral, imitate bagpipe drones
Arias – Lyrical, emotional, with vocal phrasing and breathing spaces
🎧 Interpretation Guidelines:
Avoid overly romantic dynamics or rubato
Keep tone clean, balanced, and stylistically restrained
Let the structure and rhythm guide expressive choices
Add tasteful ornaments on repeats, as Baroque custom allows
⚠️ COMMON PERFORMANCE PITFALLS
Mistake How to Avoid
Overuse of sustain pedal Use no pedal, or very sparingly for connecting long notes
Overly legato touch Use clear finger articulation instead of pedal blending
Heavy bass lines Keep LH light and transparent
Flat phrasing Shape phrases with direction and contour
Ignoring ornaments Learn standard Baroque ornamentation symbols and realizations
✅ WHY THIS COLLECTION IS VALUABLE
Pedagogical: Excellent for young pianists or anyone studying Baroque style
Stylistic training: Teaches elegance, clarity, and phrasing
Historical insight: Reflects domestic music-making and education in the Bach family
Artistic charm: Each miniature is expressive, personal, and musically refined
History
The Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach is not just a collection of keyboard pieces—it is a window into the private, domestic, and musical life of one of history’s greatest composers and his family. It is also one of the few surviving examples of a musical manuscript that offers a personal, rather than professional, portrait of J.S. Bach.
The story of the notebook begins in 1725, in Leipzig, where Johann Sebastian Bach was serving as Thomaskantor, in charge of music at the Thomasschule and the city’s churches. At the time, he lived with his second wife, Anna Magdalena Wilcke, a professional soprano whom he had married in 1721. Anna Magdalena was not just a wife and mother; she was also a gifted musician and an important musical partner in the household.
For Anna Magdalena, Bach compiled a notebook—actually two, from 1722 and 1725—filled with music that was meant to be played and sung at home. The second of these, the 1725 Notebook, is the more famous and expansive, and it is this manuscript that we usually mean when we speak of the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach. The contents were written down partly by Bach himself, partly by Anna Magdalena, and also by other family members and pupils. This shows that it was a living, evolving document, a musical sketchbook and household songbook used by the family for teaching, practice, devotion, and enjoyment.
The notebook is eclectic. It contains pieces by J.S. Bach—such as keyboard suites, dances, and chorales—but also music by his sons (particularly Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach), friends, and contemporaries like Christian Petzold and Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel. Some of the most famous works in the collection, like the Minuet in G major (BWV Anh. 114), were long attributed to Bach himself but are now known to have been written by others.
This manuscript reveals how music was an everyday part of family life. It was used not only for keyboard instruction, but also for singing—some pieces are arias with sacred or secular texts. It is notable that Anna Magdalena copied and sang many of these pieces herself, demonstrating that she remained active musically even after her marriage.
Though many of the works in the notebook are musically simple and accessible, their beauty lies in their sincerity and charm. These were not composed for fame or performance on grand stages. They were meant for intimate music-making, filled with affection and musical craftsmanship.
Today, the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach is not only a valuable pedagogical resource but a touching document of love, family, and the central role of music in the Bachs’ domestic life. It shows us a softer, more personal side of Johann Sebastian Bach—a father, husband, teacher, and musician whose life was inseparable from the art he loved.
Popular Piece/Book of Collection at That Time?
At the time of its creation in the 1720s, the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach was not a published work in the modern sense—nor was it widely distributed or sold. Rather, it was a private manuscript, created specifically for use within the Bach household. Therefore, it was not popular in the public or commercial sense during Johann Sebastian Bach’s lifetime.
📜 Manuscript, Not Publication
In the early 18th century, printed music was expensive and less common for personal use, especially for domestic teaching. Families like the Bachs often relied on handwritten collections for education and practice. The Notebook was one such manuscript, compiled by Johann Sebastian and Anna Magdalena themselves (and in part by their children and students).
It contained music meant for private use—keyboard instruction, singing, and enjoyment.
It was never formally published or commercially marketed in the 1720s or 1730s.
As such, there was no commercial sheet music edition or sales during Bach’s life.
📈 Popularity After Bach’s Lifetime
The pieces within the Notebook became widely known and beloved much later, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries, when:
Interest in Bach’s life and teaching materials grew among historians and educators.
Certain pieces (like the Minuet in G major, BWV Anh. 114) became popular piano teaching pieces in conservatories and method books.
The manuscript was recognized as a cultural artifact reflecting Baroque domestic music.
Publishers began to issue editions of the Notebook in the 19th century, capitalizing on the romanticized image of Bach as a genius father-figure and teacher.
✅ Conclusion
No, the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach was not a popular or commercially successful publication when it was created. It was a private teaching and family music book, handwritten and used domestically. Its popularity and the wide dissemination of its contents came more than a century later, when it was rediscovered and published for educational and historical purposes.
Episodes & Trivia
The Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach is full of interesting stories, charming details, and historical curiosities. Here are several notable episodes and trivia about the notebook and its surrounding context:
🎀 1. A Musical Gift of Love
The 1725 Notebook was likely a personal gift from Johann Sebastian Bach to his wife Anna Magdalena, possibly for her birthday or as a token of affection. It reflects not only their musical bond but also their deep personal relationship. This was not just a teaching book—it was a way to share in music together as a family.
🖋️ 2. Not Written Only by Bach
Although the title suggests the music is by J.S. Bach, many pieces were copied by others, including:
Anna Magdalena herself
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (their son)
Students and other family members
The notebook includes compositions by composers other than Bach, such as:
Christian Petzold (e.g., the famous Minuet in G major, BWV Anh. 114)
Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel
François Couperin (possibly)
C.P.E. Bach
This makes the collection more of a family anthology than a single-composer work.
🎹 3. The Misattributed Minuet
For more than a century, the famous Minuet in G major (BWV Anh. 114) was believed to be by J.S. Bach, but it was actually written by Christian Petzold, a Dresden composer. This misattribution became widespread because the piece was included in the Notebook without a clear author, and was later mistakenly cataloged under Bach’s name.
👪 4. A Glimpse into Family Life
The Notebook is as much a family document as a musical one. It includes:
Arias for singing
Dance movements for playing
Pieces at various difficulty levels, from beginner to advanced
Personal handwriting from multiple family members, including the Bach children
This illustrates how the Bach family lived and learned together through music, with Anna Magdalena playing a central role in their musical life.
📜 5. There Are Two Notebooks
There are actually two “Anna Magdalena” notebooks:
1722 Notebook – Contains more works by J.S. Bach, including early versions of what became movements in the French Suites and short keyboard preludes.
1725 Notebook – The more famous one, richly varied, includes songs, minuets, marches, and dances.
They show how the Notebook was a living document, added to and used over time—not a finished product.
✒️ 6. Anna Magdalena: Not Just a Copyist
Anna Magdalena was not just the recipient of this music—she was an accomplished musician in her own right. Before marrying Bach, she was a professional court singer. In the notebook, her neat and elegant handwriting appears often, showing she copied music and likely taught or learned from it herself.
🧩 7. The “Notebook” as a Puzzle
Some pages in the manuscript are incomplete, untitled, or missing composer names. Musicologists have had to reconstruct attributions and contexts. The BWV Anhang (Appendix) numbering system was created to catalog these uncertain works—some are by Bach, some by others, and some still remain anonymous.
💡 8. Modern Influence
Several pieces from the notebook—especially the Minuets—have become staples in beginner piano books worldwide.
The notebook has inspired modern artists, including recordings, ballets, and children’s books.
Pianists such as Glenn Gould and Angela Hewitt have recorded selections from it with expressive depth and historical insight.
Similar Compositions / Suits / Collections
The Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach is unique as a personal, domestic, and pedagogical music collection. However, there are several similar collections or suites from the Baroque and Classical periods that share its spirit—whether in terms of function (teaching, home use), style (dance forms, short pieces), or context (family and amateur musicianship). Here are some comparable works:
🎼 Similar Historical Collections
1. Notebook for Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (J.S. Bach)
Purpose: A pedagogical notebook compiled for Bach’s eldest son.
Contents: Includes inventions, preludes, and keyboard exercises.
Relation: Like Anna Magdalena’s notebook, it shows a more didactic, teacher-to-student approach, but still intimate and home-based.
2. Clavier-Büchlein für Anna Magdalena Bach (1722)
The earlier companion to the 1725 Notebook.
Contains early forms of some French Suites, menuets, and keyboard exercises.
More keyboard-focused and less vocal than the 1725 volume.
🩰 Dance-Based Baroque Suites (in a similar style)
3. French Suites, BWV 812–817 (J.S. Bach)
Elegant, lyrical, and dance-based keyboard suites in the French style.
Several movements from the Anna Magdalena Notebook resemble these in miniature.
More complex but still graceful and accessible in comparison to the Well-Tempered Clavier.
4. Georg Friedrich Handel – Keyboard Suites (e.g., HWV 426–433)
Composed for amateur musicians, blending dance forms and lyrical movements.
Popular in domestic settings, just like the Anna Magdalena pieces.
🎹 Teaching and Domestic Music Collections
5. François Couperin – L’Art de toucher le clavecin (1716)
French Baroque harpsichord manual with short, refined character pieces.
Aimed at both technique and expressive playing—often intimate in character.
6. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach – Für Kenner und Liebhaber (For Connoisseurs and Amateurs)
A collection of keyboard sonatas and pieces meant for domestic players and music lovers.
The style transitions toward the Classical period—emotive and expressive.
7. Leopold Mozart – Notebook for Maria Anna (Nannerl) Mozart
Similar family teaching collection for young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s sister.
Includes dances, songs, and short pieces—very much in the educational tradition like Anna Magdalena’s notebook.
8. Muzio Clementi – Gradus ad Parnassum, Op. 44 (later), and Sonatinas
A Classical-period continuation of the pedagogical keyboard tradition.
Emphasizes elegant style and learning, much like the use of the Notebook in Bach’s home.
🧒 Later Pedagogical Anthologies Inspired by the Baroque Tradition
9. Béla Bartók – Mikrokosmos, Sz. 107
A 20th-century example of progressive piano pieces for teaching, rooted in folk music.
Like the Notebook, it starts simple and becomes more complex, often used for musical development in children.
10. Schumann – Album für die Jugend, Op. 68
Romantic-era piano miniatures for and about childhood.
Deeply personal, pedagogical, and emotionally rich, similar in spirit to the Anna Magdalena collection.
(This article was generated by ChatGPT. And it’s just a reference document for discovering music you don’t know yet.)
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