Jan Dismas Zelenka

Jan Dismas Zelenka, the brilliant but elusive contemporary of Bach, musically served the Catholic chapel of the dazzling Dresden court during the first half of the eighteenth century. Research has uncovered biographical information, and reveals the remarkable music of a major figure of the Baroque era.

Originally published in 1900. BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF MUSICIANS COMPILED AND EDITED by THEODORE BAKER, Text extracted from opening pages of book: PREFACE: CONCISE biogiaphical dictionaries of musicians are no longer a novelty; but their contents and tendency are too apt to be influenced by the immediate environment, the nationality, or the idiosyncrasies of the compilers. In the present lexicon it has been the editor's endeavor to give an impartial general view of musical biography, past and piesent, favoring no nation or period unduly. It has been his especial aim to make up foi the scant attention which leading English and American musicians have received at the hands of foreign biographers; in this point, no other work of similar scope can compaic with this in completeness, recentness, and accuracy. It will be noticed that living musicians have, in general, a somewhat larger relative space allotted them than those whose career is closed. The reasons which determined this course aie, firstly, that full and correct information about contemporaries is frequently unavailable for the general public, being either scattered in numerous periodicals and books of reference, or not published at all; secondly, that earlier lexica already contain the life-histories of most musicians of prominence. It is true, that in such published biographical sketches many errois of fact occm; in the difficult matter of dates, especially, much requires rectification. Hundteds of emendations are contained in the present work, which will, it is hoped, prove more trustworthy than its predecessors. A careful collation of the standard works of reference has resulted in a weeding-out of very many mistakes, due tocarelessness or inadvertence, in the biographical matter belonging to past epochs. A laige amount of reliable and valuable information has been obtained by direct correspondence with musicians and writers of note, though many inquiries icmained unanswered. The comparative bievity of sketches of certain prominent contemporaries is due to the impossibility of gathering sufficient and reliable data. A feature of j ) eculiar interest and value is presented in the three hundred accompany ing pen-and-ink vignettes, by the Russian artist Gribayedoff, after authentic portraits or recent photographs. In their selection, again, a preponderance of contemporary over deceased musicians will be observed, the general plan having been, to portray individuals in whom a personal interest is felt. It was impossible to make the list as complete as projected, owing to the difficulty of procuring originals. Despite all vigilance, many of the statements made in the neaily six thousand biographies given in the Dictionary doubtless require correction.

The first accessible text book on the theories, methods, achievements and problems in this burgeoning field of historical inquiry.

The mass is an extraordinary musical form. Whereas other Western art music genres from medieval times have fallen out of favour, the mass has not merely survived but flourished. A variety of historical forces within religious, secular, and musical arenas saw the mass expand well beyond its origins as a cycle of medieval chants, become concertised and ultimately bifurcate. Even as Western societies moved away from their Christian origins to become the religiously plural and politically secular societies of today, and the Church itself moved in favour of congregational singing, composers continued to compose masses. By the early twentieth century two forms of mass existed: the liturgical mass composed for church services, and the concert mass composed for secular venues. Spanning two millennia, The Origins and Ascendancy of the Concert Mass outlines the origins and meanings of the liturgical texts, defines the concert mass, explains how and why the split occurred, and provides examples that demonstrate composers’ gradual appropriation of the genre as a vehicle for personal expression on serious issues. By the end of the twentieth century the concert mass had become a repository for an eclectic range of theological and political ideas.

After decades of stagnation during the reign of his father, the 'Barracks King', the performing arts began to flourish in Berlin under Frederick the Great. Even before his coronation in 1740, the crown prince commenced recruitment of a group of musician-composers who were to form the basis of a brilliant court ensemble. Several composers, including C.P.E. Bach and the Graun brothers, wrote music for the viola da gamba, an instrument which was already becoming obsolete elsewhere. They were encouraged in this endeavour by the presence in the orchestra from 1741 of Ludwig Christian Hesse, one of the last gamba virtuosi, who was described in 1766 as 'unquestionably the finest gambist in Europe'. This study shows how the unique situation in Berlin produced the last major corpus of music written for the viola da gamba, and how the more virtuosic works were probably the result of close collaboration between Hesse and the Berlin School composers. The reader is also introduced to the more approachable pieces which were written and arranged for amateur viol players, including the king's nephew and ultimate successor, Frederick William II. O'Loghlin argues that the aesthetic circumstances which prevailed in Berlin brought forth a specific style that is reflected not only in the music for viola da gamba. Characteristics of this Berlin style are identified with reference to a broad selection of original written sources, many of which are hardly accessible to English-speaking readers. There is also a discussion of the rather contradictory reception history of the Berlin School and some of its composers. The book concludes with a complete thematic catalogue of the Berlin gamba music, with a listing of original manuscript sources and modern publications. The book will appeal to professional and amateur viola da gamba players as well as to scholars of eighteenth-century German music.

"Choral Repertoire is the definitive and comprehensive one-volume presentation of the most significant composers and compositions of choral music from the Western Hemisphere throughout recorded history. The book is designed for multiple uses-as a programming guide for practicing conductors, instructional resource for students and teachers of choral music, historic and stylistic reference for choral singers, and source of information about composers and compositions for choral enthusiasts-and as such, the book intends to further and make accessible important information relevant to the vast scope of choral music. Organized by era (Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, and Modern), Choral Repertoire covers general characteristics of each historical era, trends and styles unique to various countries, biographical sketches of more than six hundred composers, and performance annotations of more than five thousand individual works. Of the composers, there is substantive coverage of women and composers of color, and of the repertoire, there is inclusion of lesser-known works as well as those works that are considered standard"--

Now available in paperback, this landmark biography was first published in 2000 to mark the 250th anniversary of J. S. Bach's death. Written by a leading Bach scholar, this book presents a new picture of the composer. Christoph Wolff demonstrates the intimate connection between Bach's life and his music, showing how the composer's superb inventiveness pervaded his career as a musician, composer, performer, scholar, and teacher.

Detailed survey of Vivaldi's unjustly neglected chamber cantatas, showing them to stand comparison with his more famous works. Vivaldi's chamber cantatas for solo voice, some forty in total, are steadily gaining in popularity: but because of their relatively small place in the oeuvre of a composer famed for his productivity, and also on account of the general scholarly neglect of their genre, they are little discussed in the literature. This book comprehensively explores their literary and musical background, their relation to the composer's biography, the chronology of their composition, and their musical qualities. Each cantata is discussed individually, but there is also a broader consideration of aspects concerning them collectively, such as performance practice, topical allusion, and the conventions of Italian verse. The author argues that while Vivalid's cantatas are not as innovative as his concertos and operas, he produced several masterpieces in the genre that rank with his best music. MICHAEL TALBOT is Emeritus Professor of Music at the University of Liverpool.