This book is an edition, with commentary, of Handel's exercises for continuo playing, which he wrote for the daughters of George II. The exercises, which until now have not been readily available, are supplemented by clear and concise commentary. Remaining faithful to his source, Ledbetter, who lectures in keyboard studies, has prepared an edition that will prove invaluable to students and performers of the music of Handel and his contemporaries.

Language and Globalization: The History of Us All is a short book combining my two interests, Linguistics and History. Linguistics contains some intriguing hints about the entirety of the human journey, hints which have been confirmed in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century by genetics. How do History, Linguistics, and Genetics connect? What do they tell us about the fifty-thousand year human journey condensed into the contentious word globalization? This short book hopes to open the door to the answer, and hopes also to inspire some awe at both the grand cycles of human development and reconnection, and the way spontaneous order works to uplift us in spite of ourselves. Mark David Ledbetter is a visiting professor of linguistics at Hosei University in Tokyo; he has spent over thirty-five years teaching in Japan. He has published a number of books in both English and Japanese, including three volumes of America's Forgotten History. He is presently working on the fourth volume of that series.

Continuation of Part One. Monroe to Lincoln, each president a chapter. The struggle between Jeffersonianism and Hamiltonianism continues, but slavery warps the debate. Westward expansion, tariffs and free trade vs. government/business collusion. The Great Awakening. John Quincy Adams. Marshall, Clay, and Lincoln. Jackson and Van Buren. And finally, Puritans and Cavaliers dispute once again their deep cultural divide in another great and terrible civil war on a new continent. CONTACT: [email protected]

Part one of a history of the American system from a libertarian/constitutionalist point of view. Puritans and Cavaliers fought the English Civil War; Puritans fled to Massachusetts, Cavaliers to Virginia. They allied against the Mercantilism of Britain to form a new system based on the Enlightenment philosophy of Locke, Montesquieu etc. Parties formed around Jefferson (Enlightenment, strict constitutional interpretation) and Hamilton (Mercantilism, loose interpretation) that would frame America's philosophical dispute until the collapse of Jeffersonianism at the Democratic convention of 1896. Part One covers English roots, the colonial period, the Revolution and Constitution, the first four presidential administrations. CONTACT [email protected]

Bach's 'Well-tempered Clavier' (the 48 Preludes and Fugues) stands at the core of baroque keyboard music and has been a model and inspiration for performers and composers ever since it was written. This invaluable guide to the 96 pieces explains Bach's various purposes in compiling the music, describes the rich traditions on which he drew and provides commentaries for each prelude and fugue. In his text, David Ledbetter addresses the focal points mentioned by Bach in his original 1722 title page. Drawing on Bach literature over the past three hundred years, he explores German traditions of composition types and Bach's instruments and innovations in keyboard technique in the general context of early eighteenth-century developments; reviews instructive and theoretical literature relating to keyboard temperaments from 1680 to 1750; and discusses Bach's pedagogical intent when composing 'Well-tempered Clavier'. Ledbetter's commentaries on individual preludes and fugues equip readers with the concepts necessary to make their own assessment and include information about the sources when details of notation, ornaments and fingerings have a bearing on performance.David Ledbetter studied music at the universities of Dublin and Oxford, and specialised in the harpsichord and early keyboard instruments at the Staatliche Hochschule fur Musik, Freiburg. He was Senior Lecturer at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester. Among his publications are 'Harpsichord and Lute Music in 17th-Century France' (1987) and 'Continuo Playing According to Handel' (1990).

This pioneering book by an acclaimed expert is the first to discuss all of Bach's unaccompanied pieces in one volume, including an examination of crucial issues of style and composition type and the options open to interpretation and performance. David Ledbetter, a leading expert on Bach, provides the historical background to Bach's instrumental works, as well as detailed commentaries on each work. Ledbetter argues that Bach's unaccompanied works-the six suites for solo cello, six sonatas and partitas for solo violin, seven works for lute, and the suite for solo flute-should be considered together to enable one piece to elucidate another. This illuminating and significant book is essential for professionals, performers, students, or anybody who wishes to learn more about Bach's music.