In contrast to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, very little was known about Johann Sebastian Bach’s  early years until recently. His early works, such as the cantata “Christ lag in  Todesbanden ” and the famous Toccata in D minor, reveal a composer who achieved mastery at a young age but not the route to this status.<br>
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In  Weimar , Peter  Wollny and Michael Maul have discovered copies of works by Dietrich Buxtehude and Johann Adam Reinken  made by Bach between the ages of twelve and fifteen.<br>
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This publication contains facsimiles followed by a transcription of the original tablature notation as a critical edition. It includes an extensive foreword which describes the source and the likely conditions in which Bach made the transcriptions. This publication provides the  first reliable edition of  Reinken’s  “An  Wasserflüssen  Babylon” and  the earliest source of Buxtehude’s “Nun freut  euch , lieben Christen g’mein ”.  Two chorale preludes by Pachelbel  set the performing practice scene of the time;  the numerous ornaments are probably even by Bach himself.<br>