Joh. Pachelbel--Complete Works for Keyboard Instruments, Volume V, Magnificat Fugues from the London Manuscript and Joh. Pachelbel--Complete Works for Keyboard Instruments, Volume II, Fugues.

Joh. Pachelbel--Complete Works for Keyboard Instruments, Volume V, Magnificat Fugues from the London Manuscript and Joh. Pachelbel--Complete Works for Keyboard Instruments, Volume II, Fugues, edited by Michael Belotti. Wayne Leopold Editions (8510 Triad Dr., Colfax, NC 27235), 2006. 49pp. and 116 pp. $21 and $29.

These collections of Pachelbel keyboard works are playable on the piano, with only a few moments where organ pedal is required (and these can easily be rearranged). While the notes by editor Michael Belotti show the origins of these works as organ music, he points out that Pachelbel (1653-1706) wrote most of them manualiter (to be played by the hands and not the feet). Therefore, the piano teacher can find in these volumes a treasure trove of rarely played music in the baroque style preceding J. S. Bach's generation. Here, we find fugues and ricercares of clearly drawn character that also provide a musical and technical bridge to the art of high baroque counterpoint. Primarily known by students for his Canon in D, the true worth of Pachelbel's music can be found in these excellent fugues.

Belotti, a Pachelbel scholar, has done a great service by preparing these books for practical use. The preface gives students and teachers biographical and musicological information on each piece. The editorial decisions are carefully explained. Teachers looking for a pedagogical grading of the works will not find it here. Neither will they find editorially suggested fingerings or articulations. They will have to play through the sets to come to their own conclusions regarding sequencing and other pedagogical matters. But what a pleasant assignment! Beyond a couple of demanding double-note passages, late-intermediate to early-advanced students should be able to handle these works. And some of them hold considerable charm for a young student (see Fugue No. 9 in volume II, subtitled "Nightingale" for its subject's imitation of the bird). The pieces are short, well-constructed and can play an important role in the development of fugal playing in the young pianist. Reviewed by John Ellis, Ann Arbor, Michigan