Compositional Choices And Meaning In The Vocal Music Of J S Bach

Compositional Choices and Meaning in the Vocal Music of J. S. Bach collects seventeen essays by leading Bach scholars. The authors each address in some way such questions of meaning in J. S. Bach’s vocal compositions—including his Passions, Masses, Magnificat, and cantatas—with particular attention to how such meaning arises out of the intentionality of Bach’s own compositional choices or (in Part IV in particular) how meaning is discovered, and created, through the reception of Bach’s vocal works. And the authors do not consider such compositional choices in a vacuum, but rather discuss Bach’s artistic intentions within the framework of broader cultural trends—social, historical, theological, musical, etc. Such questions of compositional choice and meaning frame the four primary approaches to Bach’s vocal music taken by the authors in this volume, as seen across the book’s four parts: Part I: How might the study of historical theology inform our understanding of Bach’s compositional choices in his music for the church (cantatas, Passions, masses)? Part II: How can we apply traditional analytical tools to understand better how Bach’s compositions were created and how they might have been heard by his contemporaries? Part III: What we can understand anew through the study of Bach’s self-borrowing (i.e., parody), which always changed the earlier meaning of a composition through changes in textual content, compositional characteristics, the work’s context within a larger composition, and often the performance context (from court to church, for example)? Part IV: What can the study of reception teach us about a work’s meaning(s) in Bach’s time, during the time of his immediate successors, and at various points since then (including our present)? The chapters in this volume thus reflect the breadth of current Bach research in its attention not only to source study and analysis, but also to meanings and contexts for understanding Bach’s compositions.

Volume 1 of 2. Bach left few sketches for his music: writing for church and congregation obliged him to invent ideas quickly and to write them down at once. Bach's process of composition may thus be seen in his autograph scores, and is now reconstructed by Robert Marshall in an analysis of all the known autographs and sketches. The major part of his study investigates the musical material in the sources, with separate chapters devoted to the four-part chorales, the recitatives, and the arias and chorsuses. By interpreting corrections and sketches, Mr. Marshall works out the usual order of composition in each of these genres and uncvoers the reasons for changes in every musical parameter: melody, rhythm, harmony, texture, orchestration, and form. His analyses provide a greater awareness of Bach's musical personality--his likes and dislikes, his hierarchy of values, and his flexible response to a multitutde of compositional situations and problems. In addition to facsimile plates, the book includes over 20 musical examples and, in Volume II, rigorously faithful transcriptions of the complete sketch material. Readers can see immediately how Bach worked, revised, and polished his compositions. Robert L. Marshall is a member of the Department of Music, University of Chicago. He is currently editing a volume of Bach Cantatas for the Neue-Bach-Ausgabe. Princeton Studies in Music, 4. Originally published in 1972. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Volume 2 of 2. Bach left few sketches for his music: writing for church and congregation obliged him to invent ideas quickly and to write them down at once. Bach's process of composition may thus be seen in his autograph scores, and is now reconstructed by Robert Marshall in an analysis of all the known autographs and sketches. The major part of his study investigates the musical material in the sources, with separate chapters devoted to the four-part chorales, the recitatives, and the arias and chorsuses. By interpreting corrections and sketches, Mr. Marshall works out the usual order of composition in each of these genres and uncvoers the reasons for changes in every musical parameter: melody, rhythm, harmony, texture, orchestration, and form. His analyses provide a greater awareness of Bach's musical personality--his likes and dislikes, his hierarchy of values, and his flexible response to a multitutde of compositional situations and problems. In addition to facsimile plates, the book includes over 20 musical examples and, in Volume II, rigorously faithful transcriptions of the complete sketch material. Readers can see immediately how Bach worked, revised, and polished his compositions. Robert L. Marshall is a member of the Department of Music, University of Chicago. He is currently editing a volume of Bach Cantatas for the Neue-Bach-Ausgabe. Princeton Studies in Music, 4. Originally published in 1972. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

This book a offers a multitude of provocative new perspectives on one of the most iconic composers in the Western classical tradition. Its collective rethinking of some of our most cherished narratives and deeply held beliefs about Johann Sebastian Bach will allow readers to see the man in a new light and to hear his music with new ears.

This volume draws together a collection of Robin A. Leaver’s essays on Bach’s sacred music, exploring the religious aspects of this repertoire through consideration of three core themes: liturgy, hymnology, and theology. Rooted in a rich understanding of the historical sources, the book illuminates the varied ways in which Bach’s sacred music was informed and shaped by the religious, ritual, and intellectual contexts of his time, placing these works in the wider history of Protestant church music during the Baroque era. Including research from across a span of forty years, the chapters in this volume have been significantly revised and expanded for this publication, with several pieces appearing in English for the first time. Together, they offer an essential compendium of the work of a leading scholar of theological Bach studies.

Named a Library Journal Best Reference of 2023 - "Bravo! An invaluable source for scholars and concertgoers.” - Library Journal In the history of the Western musical tradition, the Baroque period traditionally dates from the turn of the 17th century to 1750. The beginning of the period is marked by Italian experiments in composition that attempted to create a new kind of secular musical art based upon principles of Greek drama, quickly leading to the invention of opera. The ending is marked by the death of Johann Sebastian Bach in 1750 and the completion of George Frideric Handel’s last English oratorio, Jephtha, the following year. The Historical Dictionary of Baroque Music, Second Edition contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 500 cross-referenced entries on composers, instruments, cities, and technical terms. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about baroque music.

In Johann Sebastian Bach's Lutheran church setting, various biblical ideas were communicated through sermons and songs to encourage parishioners to emulate Christian doctrine in their own lives. Such narratives are based on an understanding that one's lifetime on earth is a temporal passageway to eternity after death, where souls are sent either to heaven or hell based on one's belief or unbelief. Throughout J. S. Bach's Material and Spiritual Treasures, Bach scholar Noelle M. Heber explores theological themes related to earthly and heavenly 'treasures' in Bach's sacred music through an examination of selected texts from Bach's personal theological library. The book's storyline is organised around biblical concepts that are accented in Lutheran thought and in Bach's church compositions, such as the poverty and treasure of Christ and parables that contrast material and spiritual riches. While focused primarily on the greater theological framework, Heber presents an updated survey of Bach's own financial situation and considers his apparent attentiveness to spiritual values related to money. This multifaceted study investigates intertwining biblical ideologies and practical everyday matters in a way that features both Bach's religious context and his humanity. This book will appeal to musicologists, theologians, musicians, students, and Bach enthusiasts.