As publishers of the scholarly-critical Complete Editions of Bach and Handel, Bärenreiter is the first point of call for both of these composers. All our practical performing editions of Bach's and Handel's keyboard music are based on these Complete Editions. One particular highlight is our Urtext edition of the “Goldberg Variations” with fingering by baroque specialist Ragna Schirmer (BA 10848). Ms Schirmer specifies the most convenient ways to cross the hands which is required many times at the keyboard. For important guidelines on dividing the parts between the hands, she has consulted the original 1741 print. Furthermore she has provided fingering for Bach’s “Six Partitas, First Part of the Clavier Übung” (BA 5247).

William Byrd is one of the great English composers of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. This edition (BA 10897) contains a selection of his major works for keyboard instruments, some taken from such famous collections as the “Fitzwilliam Virginal Book”, “Parthenia” and “My Ladye Nevells Booke”.

Of particular interest are the long-awaited volumes of François Couperin's “Pièces de clavecin” (BA 10844 | BA 10845). This Urtext edition does full justice to the extraordinarily high-quality engraving of the historical first edition of 1713. Salient features of the original print image have been preserved in modern engraving – a fascinating way to alert today's performers to the special sound of this music. A detailed Preface, notes on historical performance practice and many facsimile illustrations round off these volumes, making them indispensable for all admirers and performers of French clavecin music. The first volume was awarded the “Best Edition” prize at the Frankfurt International Music Fair 2017 by the German Music Publishers Association.