Compositional Choices and Meaning in the Vocal Music of J. S. Bach

Description

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. 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. Contents List of Music Examples List of Figures List of Tables Foreword Preface Paragram Part I. BACH’S VOCAL MUSIC IN THEOLOGICAL CONTEXT Chapter One. In Honor of God and the City: Strategies of Theological and Symbolic Communication in Bach’s Cantata Gott ist mein König (BWV 71) Chapter Two. Two “Johannine” Cantatas: Darzu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes (BWV 40) and Sehet, welch eine Liebe (BWV 64) Chapter Three. Death to Life, Sorrow to Joy: Martin Luther’s Theology of the Cross and J. S. Bach’s Eastertide Cantata Ihr werdet weinen und heulen (BWV 103) Chapter Four. Toward an Understanding of J. S. Bach’s Use of Red Ink in the Autograph Score of the Matthew Passion Chapter Five. The Theological in Bach Research (2007) Part II. ANALYTICAL PERSPECTIVES Chapter Six. Formal and Motivic Design in the Opening Chorus of J. S. Bach’s Magnificat Chapter Seven. The Tonally Open Ritornello in J. S. Bach’s Church Cantatas Chapter Eight. The Christian Believer and the Sleep of Jesus: “Mache dich, mein Herze, rein” from J. S. Bach’s Matthew Passion Part III. BACH’S SELF-MODELING: Parody as Compositional Impetus Chapter Nine. Parody and Text Quality in the Vocal Works of J. S. Bach Chapter Ten. J. S. Bach’s Parodies of Vocal Music Conservation or Intensification? Chapter Eleven. J. S. Bach’s Dresden Trip and His Earliest Serenatas for Köthen Chapter Twelve. Bach’s Second Thoughts on the Christmas Oratorio: The Compositional Revisions to “Bereite dich, Zion,” BWV 248/4 Chapter Thirteen. The Passions as a Source of Inspiration? A Hypothesis on the Origin and Musical Aim of Well-Tempered Clavier II Part IV. THE RECEPTION OF BACH’S VOCAL WORKS Chapter Fourteen. The Leipzig Audiences of J. S. Bach’s Matthew Passion to 1750 Chapter Fifteen. The Vocal Music of the Bach Family in Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: The Complete Works Chapter Sixteen. The Need for a New Music: J. S. Bach in Contemporary Context (c. 1946) Chapter Seventeen. Bach at the Boundaries of Music History: Preliminary Thoughts on the B-minor Mass and the Late Style Paradigm General Index Index of Bach’s Works (by BWV number) About the Editors and Contributors