Life of John Sebastian Bach; With a Critical View of His Compositions.

8vo (152 x 228 mm). XI, (1), 116 pp., (4) pp. of ads. With 3 engraved folding plates of music. Contemporary papered boards, modern spine. First edition in English of Forkel's celebrated first Bach biography, originally published in 1802 as " ber Johann Sebastian Bach's Leben, Kunst and Kunstwerke". "His account of Bach as a performer and teacher is a vivid record of the life of the musician whom Forkel regarded as the highest representative of the art. Much of the information came directly from Bach's sons Carl Philipp Emanuel and Wilhelm Friedemann. An English translation of the biography appeared in 1820, presumably the work of A. F. C. Kollmann" (New Grove). A new English translation would appear in 1920. - Regarded as the father of modern musicology, J. N. Forkel (1749-1818) was a pioneer in the study of the life and work of Johann Sebastian Bach. - Corners rather bumped and chipped; light staining throughout. Untrimmed. - From the collection of Sir Ralph Kohn, German-born British medical scientist and baritone (1927-2016), and his wife, Lady Zahava Kohn (1935-2022). - New Grove VI, 707.