Wilhelm Friedemann Bach

Published in 1913 by Radelli und Hille, Martin Falck's monograph on Wilhelm Friedemann Bach represents a foundational effort in early twentieth-century musicology to recover the legacy of Johann Sebastian Bach's eldest son. At the time of its release, the study was a pioneering attempt to move beyond the shadow of the elder Bach and categorize the distinct, albeit turbulent, creative output of Friedemann, whose work had often been neglected or misunderstood in the romanticized narrative of the Bach family lineage.

Falck approached the subject with the rigor typical of German academic traditions of the era, focusing heavily on source criticism and the systematic cataloging of Friedemann's compositions. The resulting work remains a significant artifact for scholars, as it provided the initial framework for what would later become the 'Falck-Verzeichnis,' the standard system for identifying Friedemann’s musical pieces. While modern research has refined and corrected several of Falck's assertions, the book is respected for its role in establishing the composer as a serious subject of historical inquiry during the pre-war period.