Topic: Strange fingerings (BWV 884) (Read 2579 times)

alatius · on: November 12, 2021, 08:24:23 PM

I just started look at Bach's BWV 884, and found this score on IMSLP:
https://s9.imslp.org/files/imglnks/usimg/e/e5/IMSLP564779-PMLP738830-bwv_884.pdf

It's not pretty to look at, but it has fingering advice, which I thought might be helpful. But, is it just me, or do these fingerings look really strange? For convenience, I took an image of the firsta bars:

In the first bar, the editor proposes to rest with the left hand pinkie (5) on the G (of course), while playing B-A-B using 4-3-4! At first I thought this was just an editing error, but then in bar 4, there is a similar strange fingering in the right hand: thumb on F#(!) followed by index finger (2) on E. I am not very advanced, granted, but I can't twist my hands in this way, nor do I see the need to even try.

So, what's up with this? Should I just throw this score away, or is there something I am missing here?

Piano Forum

Piano Street Magazine:
Watch the Chopin Competition 2025 with us!