Bach Gesellschaft

The founders of the society were Moritz Hauptmann, cantor of the St. Thomas Church, Leipzig, (and thus a successor of Bach); Otto Jahn, author of a famous biography of Mozart; Carl Ferdinand Becker, teacher at the Leipzig Conservatory; and the composer Robert Schumann.

[7] The volumes varied somewhat in editorial quality and accuracy; Bach scholar Hans T. David particularly criticized Vol.

31's presentation of The Musical Offering for numerous incorrect readings,[8] and the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica calls the edition as a whole "of very unequal merit.

Nevertheless, the Bach-Gesellschaft's volumes were a groundbreaking achievement and contributed greatly to the study and appreciation of Bach's music.

They remained the standard edition of Bach's complete works until the publication of the Neue Bach-Ausgabe by Bärenreiter and the Deutscher Verlag für Musik (1954–2007).

A page from the Bach-Gesellschaft edition of J. S. Bach's St Matthew Passion , BWV 244, as published in 1856