father loved and studied Böhm's music, and a correction in his note shows that his first thought was to say that Böhm was Johann Sebastian's teacher. On 31 August 2006 the discovery of the earliest known Bach autographs was announced, one of them (a copy of Reincken's famous chorale fantasia on "An Wasserflüssen Babylon") signed "Il Fine â Dom. Georg: Böhme descriptum ao. 1700 Lunaburgi". The "Dom." bit may suggest either "domus" (house) or "Dominus" (master), but in any case it proves that Bach knew Böhm personally. This connection must have become a close friendship that lasted for many years, for in 1727 Bach named none other than Böhm as his northern agent for the sale of keyboard partitas nos. 2 and 3. Böhm died on 18 May 1733 at the advanced age of 71. His son Jakob Christian, who would have inherited his post, died young. The position eventually went to Ludwig Ernst Hartmann, Böhm's son-in-law. Works Böhm is mainly known for his compositions for organ and harpsichord (primarily preludes, fugues, and partitas). Many of his works were designed with flexibility of instrument in mind: a particular piece could be played on the organ, the harpsichord, or the clavichord, depending on the situation in which the performer found himself. Böhm's music is notable for its use of the stylus phantasticus, a style of playing based on improvisation. Böhm's most important contribution to North German keyboard music is the chorale partita, a large-scale composition consisting of several variations on a particular chorale melody. He effectively invented the genre, writing several partitas of varying lengths and on diverse tunes. Later composers also took up the genre, most notably Johann Sebastian Bach. Böhm's chorale partitas feature sophisticated figuration in several voices over the harmonic structure of the chorale. His partitas generally have a rustic character and can be successfully performed on either the organ or the harpsichord. Recordings Complete Harpsichord and Organ Music - Simone Stella (harpsichord, organ), OnClassical (OC72-75B) licensed for Brilliant Classics (BC 94612), 2013. Die Claviersuiten - Mitzi Meyerson (harpsichord), GLOSSA (GCD 921801), 2003. Keyboard Works - Stef Tuinstra (organ & harpsichord), DOCUMENT (DOC 1102), 2011. Notes References McLean, Hugh J. "Böhm, Georg", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (accessed 2006 March 23), grovemusic.com (subscription access). Williams, Peter F. 2007. J.S. Bach: A Life In Music. Cambridge University Press. 9780521870740 Further reading Waldschmidt, Carl L. Georg Böhm: his Life