|
FRONT COVER
|
OVERVIEW
|
List
of articles in this issue
|
| TITLE |
Musik und Kirche. 4/1999 -- 69. Jahrgang. "Bach
2000". |
| PUBL. DETAILS |
Kassel: Bärenreiter-Verlag (1999) 212-292;
paper back. Price: DM 15. |
| ISSN |
0027-4771 |
| TO ORDER |
Bärenreiter-Verlag,
Heinrich-Schütz-Allee 35, D-34131 Kassel, Germany. |
|
SUMMARY
|
| DESCRIPTION |
Collection of short articles, covering diverse aspects
of Bach's life and works from a commemorative perspective; other featured
articles include Bach in internet, conductors of Bach's cantata and Bach's
chorus. |
| WORKS COVERED |
BWV 248/46 (Geck) and many brief references
to other works. |
| READERSHIP |
Musically informed public and scholars. |
RESEARCH
CONTRIBUTION |
Neat summary of the current image of Bach
from diverse points of view |
|
Established in 1928, the Musik und Kirche
has been one of the most important journals for Bach Studies. To illustrate
its significance, it may be sufficient to point out that the Bach Bibliography
contains 579 entries of articles published in this journal to date, which
is ranked third after the Bach-Jahrbuch and the Musical Times.
Subtitled "Bach 2000", this special commemorative issue not only
reflects this heightened mood among Bach lovers but also features, however
brief, recent development in research and performance that enhance our
better understanding of his life and works.
As you can see from the list
of articles in this issue, it contains six main commemorative articles
by some of most well-known scholars; they are all interesting readings.
The opening article by Martin Geck is particularly so; he observes that
BWV 248/46 is to contain Bach's Credo, and by touching upon various issues
that have been argued by other scholars in the past, he puts this unusual
view in context. In the article that follows, Ulrich Siegele portrays an
overview of Bach's life from a unique perspective, an able composer in
dilemma, the topic he discusses elsewhere in great depth (e.g. in Bach-Handbuch).
The article by Georg Christoph Biller--the present Thomaskantor--may of
particular interest if you are a Thomanerchor fan, for he tells us the
history of the choir since the time of Bach from his point of view; it
is the first time that his article came under my attention. This is followed
by an article by Thomasorganist, Ullrich Böhme.
All the articles are fascinating readings, as they are written with
non-specialist in mind. They are all short (between four and seven pages
long) and no references (i.e. notes) are provided; thus they are not written
for specialists but for general readership. As a book (though it is a journal),
it will continue to be as valuable as it stands at the moment. For research
purpose in particular, the future scholars will find this volume very useful
for their studying our 'current image' of Bach.
On page 263, I am delighted to find my Bach Bibliography being mentioned
with a comment--"ein Standardwerk der Zukunft."
Published on-line on 22 February 2000
