On-line Book Review

FRONT COVER

OVERVIEW

measuring 23.5 x 16 cm

TITLE Bach's Modal Chorales by Lori Burns PUBL. DETAILS Stuyvesant: Pendragon, 1995. x, 249p. US$54. ISBN ISBN 0-945193-74-2 TO ORDER Pendragon Press, PO Box 190, 52 White Hill Lane, Hillsdale, NY 12529, USA. SUMMARY DESCRIPTION Presenting the original theory of modality in Bach’s chorales through a detailed examination of various issues concerning our traditional analytical approaches WORKS COVERED BWV 4, 10, 33, 38, 73, 65, 77, 91, 145, 153, 161, 227, 245, 259, 261, 265, 277, 293, 298, 314, 370, 382, 437. READERSHIP Scholars and serious students working on Bach's chorales and his use of modes. RESEARCH  CONTRIBUTION Presentation of her own theory on Bach’s treatment of modes, shedding new light into our better understanding of Bach’s ingenious treatment; reassessment of our traditional methods of analysis

FRONT COVER

OVERVIEW

measuring 24.5 x 17.5 cm

TITLE Der Choralsatz bei Bach und seinen Zeitgenossen. Eine historische Satzlehre von Thomas Daniel. PUBL. DETAILS Köln: Verlag Dohr, 2000. 412p. DM78. ISBN ISBN 3-925366-71-1 TO ORDER Verlag Christoph Dohr Köln, Kasselberger Weg 120, 50769 Köln-Rheinkassel, Germany SUMMARY DESCRIPTION Comprehensive discussion of Bach’s chorales, dealing with the issues relating to the form, musical language, Bach’s compositional methods and techniques from historical perspectives. WORKS COVERED BWV 2-11, 13-4, 16-20, 25-8, 30-33, 36-45, 47-8, 52, 55-7, 59-60, 64-67, 69a, 70, 72-4, 77-8, 81, 83, 85-97, 99, 101-4, 108, 110-7, 119-22, 124-8, 130, 133, 135, 139-40, 144-6, 149, 151, 153-9, 161-2, 164-6, 168-9, 171-2, 174, 176-80, 183-5, 187-8, 190, 194, 197, 226-7, 229, 244-5, 248, 250-3, 253-438, 1089. READERSHIP Scholars and serious students working on Bach's chorales. RESEARCH  CONTRIBUTION Encyclopaedic coverage of issues surrounding the discussion of the genre.

Contents in brief Chapter 1  Introduction: The Interpretation of Modal Chorales Chapter 2  An Original Analytic Model for Bach’s Phrygian and Mixolydian Chorales Chapter 3  Bach’s Chorale Harmonzations of Phygian and Mixolydian Cantus Firmi Chapter 4  An Original Analytic Model for Bach’s Dorian and Aeolian Chorales Chapter 5  Bach’s Chorale Harmonizations of Dorian and Aeolian Cantus Firmi Appendix 1  Modal Cadence Systems in Historical Theory Appendix 2  Dorian, Phrygian, Mixolydian and Aeolian Cantus Firmi, as Classified by 17th- and 18th-century Theorists Appendix 3  Index to the Chorale Examples Appendix 4  Representative Modal Chorales by Bach Appendix 5  Texts and Translations for Cantatas 38, 77, and 91 Bibliography Index of Names

powerful contribution to the analysis of Bach's chorales

It is by no means the analysis of all the chorales composed by Bach; rather Burns selects a small number of (but apparently carefully selected) examples for the purpose of demonstrating her above-mentioned aims. So if your aim is to consult a particular chorale in this book, then you may well be disappointed; the index (Appendix 3) lists only those appearing as music examples and no proper index of chorales discussed is provided. Yet it is a little unfair to expect something that is not compatible with the original aims set by the author. Her discussion of various modes is logical and digestible, and although the concept of the topic and the depth of discussion she unfolds may be a daunting task to follow if you are not familiar with this kind of analysis, it is assuring that through her discussion she finds the rich variety of Bach’s modal cantus firmus treatment--a common conclusion in any analytical studies in Bach’s music. It has to be said that as an analyst she is unusually well informed in the literatures of both sources and music analysis, which adds much authoritative air in her tone of discussion.

Thomas Daniel’s Der Choralsatz bei Bach und seinen Zeitgenossen is a totally different kind of book to discuss Bach’s chorales the one reviewed above: it attempts to cover comprehensively the issues relating to Bach’s compositional methods and techniques from a wider historical perspective, thus lacking both the kind of originality and the sharp focus on a particular issue that Burns have so powerfully demonstrated in her book. A clear benefit from Daniel’s approach is the encyclopaedic coverage of issues one can think of in discussing Bach’s chorales, e.g. cadences, voicing, texture, harmony, melody and modes. In fact, his discussion is much more thorough, detailed and systematic than one could normally expect, which is clearly reflected in the structure of the book:
 

Contents in brief Systematische Grundlagen    Ton- und Tonartensystematik; Harmoniesysteme   Satztechnik    Stimmen- und Klangverhältnisse; Parallelen; Dissonanzen   Zeilengestaltung    Kadenzen und andere Schlüsse; Anfänge; Linienführung; Harmonik; Zur Methodik   Studien und Analysen    Zun Wort-Ton-Verhältnis; Zur Echtheit Bach zugeschriebener Choralsätze; Analysen    Verzeichnisse

a comprehensive reference book on Bach's chorales

In many respects, this book will serve as a excellent reference for Bach’s chorales even though not all the chorals were discussed. It uses numerous music examples, and further references and cross-references are amply provided in footnotes. Index is also very comprehensive; it allows you to find the chorales from both the beginning of the chorale text and BWV number. English readers should note that there is no reference to the commonly known edition by Riemenschneider: the letter “R” in Daniel’s book refers to the edition by B. F. Richter (Leipzig 1898).