With all his faults, one cannot but admire the spirit in which Buelow worked.  He felt the greatness of the old masters, regretted the limited means which they had at their command, also the stenographic system in which they were accustomed to express their thoughts; and he sought, therefore, to make use of modern means, and thereby was naturally tempted to introduce modern effects.  The restoration of the old masters is a difficult and delicate task, and in most cases, one may add, a thankless one.  In the matter of transcription, however, it is important to distinguish between a Buelow and a Tausig:  the one displayed the intelligence of an artist; the other, the thoughtlessness of a virtuoso.

But what, it may be asked, is the character of the changes made by Bach?  The matter is of interest; by examining these sonatas, we get some idea of the difference between letter and spirit.  However, from what we have said above, a mere imitation of these changes, in playing Bach’s music, would, in its turn, be letter rather than spirit.

As a rule the bass remains the same, though plain crotchets may become quavers, as in extract from Sonata 1 given below, or notes turned into broken octaves—­

[Music illustration]

or, at times, some very slight alteration may occur, such as—­

[Music illustration]

In the upper parts the changes are similar to those found in the variations of Haydn and Mozart.  An illustration will be better than any explanation, and we accordingly give a brief extract from the 1st Sonata:  first the five bars of the Allegretto, as at the opening, then as they are changed—­

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The publication of the set of six Leipzig collections of sonatas, etc., commenced in 1779; but thirteen years previously, the composer had published a set of “Sechs Leichte Clavier Sonaten,” and these, in one or two respects, are curious.  The opening movement of No. 6 has no double bars, and, therefore, no repeat of the first section.  And again, it has a coda pausing on the dominant chord and followed by an Andantino.  This second movement, peculiar in form and modulation, ends on the dominant of F, leading directly to the Presto.

The opening of the Larghetto of No. 2—­

[Music illustration]

was probably the prototype of many a theme of the classical masters.

The works by which Emanuel Bach is best known are the six collections of sonatas, rondos, and fantasias published at Leipzig between 1779-1787.  The composer died in 1788.  The 1st Collection (1779) bears the title “Sechs Claviersonaten fuer Kenner und Liebhaber,” and, in fact, contains six sonatas.  But “nebst einigen Rondos” (together with some Rondos) was already added to the title-page of the 2nd and 3rd Collections; and to the remaining ones, the still further addition of “Freye Fantasien.”

For the sake of reference, the list of sonatas is subjoined—­