Tom Bell uses W. T. Best's editions of Bach to open a window into the world of a Victorian musician, and to explore nineteenth-century performance practice.  In 2021 the art of hand registration is in danger of being lost, and how a Victorian organ may have been played is all too rarely considered.  Best's detailed markings on fingering, phrasing, registrations and the use of contemporary registration aids have considerable implications for the musical shape and tempo of a performance on the Victorian organ, and Bell discusses these in detail in relation to Best's markings for the Passacaglia, BWV 582.

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