Handbook to Bach's Sacred Cantata Texts - Hardcover

Unger, Melvin P.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0810829797 ISBN 13: 9780810829794

Publisher: Scarecrow Press, 1996

Synopsis

The German church cantata of the eighteenth century was the culmination of a long tradition of Lutheran "sermon music" that used the proclamation, amplification, and interpretation of scripture to teach and persuade the listener. Bach's cantatas also served this didactic purpose and typically incorporate numerous allusions to scriptural passages or themes in their librettos. Unfortunately, many of these passages remain obscure to the twentieth-century musician because they demand a much closer familiarity with the Bible than is common today. The Handbook to Bach's Sacred Cantata Texts identifies scriptural references for the wording, imagery, and themes that Bach's listeners would have known. In addition, the religious or literary theme of each text is summarized within the specific context of the cantata as a whole. With interlinear translations and a full complement of indexes.

About this title

About the Author:

Melvin Unger is Director of the Riemenschneider Bach Institute at the Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music (Berea, Ohio), where he also holds the Riemenschneider Chair in Music History and Literature.

Language Notes:

Text: English, German (translation)
Original Language: German

About this edition

• Publisher: Scarecrow Press
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0810829797
• ISBN 13: 9780810829794
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 780