Books & Music

   Our Bach Bookshelf  

 

   

During his lifetime Bach assembled a large library of books. Writings on Lutheran theology and the literary work of the day provided a rich source of reference material and thought for the composer. Some are well annotated by him and, in the absence of substantial personal letters and papers having survived, they provide us with some precious insight into the composer’s character. 

Our Bach bookshelf is by contemporary scholars and writers, and their differing approaches will make  fascinating reading.  Our selection includes those that will enlighten the reader about the composer’s life, the fashion and taste of the age too, with one that is an absorbing series of chapters on  the dissemination of Bach’s music in 19th century England, complete with detailed footnotes and references. 

Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician by Christoph Wolff
published by Oxford University Press (2002)   ISBN  0199248842

The New Bach Reader Ed. H.T.David & A. Mendel, rev. Christoph Wolff,  published by W.W. Norton (New York, 1998)  ISBN 0393319563  

The Oxford Composer Companion: J.S. Bach Ed. Malcolm Boyd
published by Oxford University Press (2003)  ISBN 0198606206  

The Life of Bach by Peter Williams, published by Cambridge University Press (2004) ISBN  0 521 53374 0 (pbk)       also by the same author

J S Bach: A Life in Music published by Cambridge University Press (2007) ISBN 13: 9780521870740 ISBN 10: 0521870747

The English Bach Awakening Ed. Michael Kassler published by Ashgate (2004) ISBN 1840146664

The Cantatas of J.S. Bach Ed. Alfred Dürr, Trans. Richard Jones
published by Oxford University Press (2006) ISBN  0198167075

Did Bach really mean that? Deceptive notation in Baroque keyboard music  By Colin Booth   For details and to buy online including an introductory offer visit www.didbach.co.uk

Bach’s Oratorios by Michael Marissen, published by Oxford University Press (2008) ISBN 978-0-19-536717-1  The Parallel German-English Texts with annotations.

Recent Publications

The Music of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach by David Schulenberg, published by Boydell & Brewer (2010) ISBN 978 58046 359 1

A new performing edition from Bärenreiter

Mass in B minor BWV 232 published in the New Bach Edition Revised (2010) and edited by Uwe Wolf. BA 5935  www.baerenreiter.com

The full score contains a comprehensive preface in German and English, with chapters that include The Genesis of the B minor Mass, Parody Models, Reception and Publication History.

The Faber Pocket Guide to Bach  by Nicholas Kenyon, published by Faber (2011) ISBN 978-0-571-23327-4 rrp £8.99. Reviewed in Bach Notes, Spring 2011 edition        

   “Kenyon brings to the compilation a lifelong passion for the composer’s music. This infuses every page and has inspired the pocket guide, a complement to the biographies and composer companions already on the bookshelf.”  Margaret Steinitz  (Bach Notes, Spring 2011)

(Click on  Bach Notes page to download the latest copy of our Journal)