Hey. I know for a natural fact that there are a number of classified cats with their bona fides, and, as I’ve been working to get in the past week or so the e minor Partita of Bach under control (I played the Overture of the e minor and the very long fugue as a preteen, but never had that much interest in the other movements, except the Allemande – which I still like), and as I’m still using my old copy of the Bischoff edition to get (particularly) the Courante under my fingers (yes, I know – I’m not using this as a technical exercise – I truly want to discover what Bach had to say).
There are some fingering indications that seem odd to me in Hans Bischoff’s edition.
As a matter of (a) curiosity – to what extent did Bischoff supply fingering indications [it is to laugh as I once did recently that lawyers refer to indicia – no doubt with unacceptably provincial pronunciation] with regard to the average student of piano and (b) curiosity – to what extent do Bischoff’s markings of the text reflect (i) conformation with his contemporary scholarship and (ii) contemporary views of proper pianoforte technique?
I ask for opinions, and I shall have them. As you know, classical music forums are very much partisan and peopled with primarily didacts and young students. I want the real truth, without bothering to go to the considerable expense of procuring musicological articles pertinent to my questions.
And for tyros – what are your thoughts? I’m not a good pianist, so don’t be shy. I’m just trying to make sense of WHY Herr Bischoff chose to have engraved certain indicia of technique. I can give some examples, but that’s not really the point I’m after.
More broadly – what is the interior monologue with a text editor like Bischoff likely to appear like?