While much has been written about the repertoire of musical works for pianoforte duet, ensemble literature for the other classical, historical, and contemporary keyboard instruments has usually been mentioned in only incidental ways. The goal of this bibliography is to advance the playing and listening enjoyment of works written for two or more players at the individual or combined instruments of the clavichord, harpsichord, and organ. It offers a starting point for future research, covering material from the 16th through the 20th centuries, and lists works that keyboard performers can use in programs without involving other instrumentalists or singers.
The book begins with a brief introduction to clavichord, harpsichord, and organ music throughout the centuries and is followed by the representative listing of more than 325 works, arranged alphabetically by the more than 220 composers covered. This literature spans five centuries, several nationalities, many different styles, a wide range of compositional techniques, and all types of ensembles. The degree of difficulty varies widely, though most are within the grasp of even modest performers. Wherever possible, sources for all scores have been cited, while those out of print have been cited to recordings or even addresses of composers and arrangers. A series of appendixes provide further useful information, including a discography, addresses of libraries, and addresses of music publishers. This original reference work will be a valuable asset to students of keyboard pedagogy, as well as for professional musicians and music scholars.
