Music and Urban Life in Baroque Germany PDF Download

Author: Tanya Kevorkian
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
ISBN: 0813947022
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 426

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Book Description
Music and Urban Life in Baroque Germany offers a new narrative of Baroque music, accessible to non-music specialists, in which Tanya Kevorkian defines the era in terms of social dynamics rather than style and genre development. Towns were crucial sites of music-making. Kevorkian explores how performance was integrated into and indispensable to everyday routines, celebrations such as weddings, and political culture. Training and funding likewise emerged from and were integrated into urban life. Ordinary artisans, students, and musical tower guards as well as powerful city councilors contributed to the production and reception of music. This book illuminates the processes at play in fascinating ways. Challenging ideas of "elite" and "popular" culture, Kevorkian examines five central and southern German towns—Augsburg, Munich, Erfurt, Gotha, and Leipzig—to reconstruct a vibrant urban musical culture held in common by townspeople of all ranks. Outdoor acoustic communication, often hovering between musical and nonmusical sound, was essential to the functioning of these towns. As Kevorkian shows, that sonic communication was linked to the music and musicians heard in homes, taverns, and churches. Early modern urban environments and dynamics produced both the giants of the Baroque era, such as Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Philipp Telemann, and the music that townspeople heard daily. This book offers a significant rediscovery of a rich, unique, and understudied musical culture. Received a subvention award from the Margarita M. Hanson Fund and the Donna Cardamone Jackson Fund of the American Musicological Society.

Author: Robin A Leaver
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1315452804
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 593

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Book Description
The Ashgate Research Companion to Johann Sebastian Bach provides an indispensable introduction to the Bach research of the past thirty-fifty years. It is not a lexicon providing information on all the major aspects of Bach's life and work, such as the Oxford Composer Companion: J. S. Bach. Nor is it an entry-level research tool aimed at those making a beginning of such studies. The valuable essays presented here are designed for the next level of Bach research and are aimed at masters and doctoral students, as well as others interested in coming to terms with the current state of Bach research. Each author covers three aspects within their specific subject area; firstly, to describe the results of research over the past thirty-fifty years, concentrating on the most significant and controversial, such as: the debate over Smend's NBA edition of the B minor Mass; Blume's conclusions with regard to Bach's religion in the wake of the 'new' chronology; Rifkin's one-to-a-vocal-part interpretation; the rediscovery of the Berlin Singakademie manuscripts in Kiev; the discovery of hitherto unknown manuscripts and documents and the re-evaluation of previously known sources. Secondly, each author provides a critical analysis of current research being undertaken that is exploring new aspects, reinterpreting earlier assumptions, and/or opening-up new methodologies. For example, Martin W. B. Jarvis has suggested that Anna Magdalena Bach composed the cello suites and contributed to other works of her husband - another controversial hypothesis, whose newly proposed forensic methodology requires investigation. On the other hand, research into Bach's knowledge of the Lutheran chorale tradition is currently underway, which is likely to shed more light on the composer's choices and usage of this tradition. Thirdly, each author identifies areas that are still in need of investigation and research.

Author: Mark A. Peters
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1498554962
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 355

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Book 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. Such questions of compositional choice and meaning frame the four primary approaches to Bach’s vocal music taken by the authors in this volume, as seen across the book’s four parts: Part I: How might the study of historical theology inform our understanding of Bach’s compositional choices in his music for the church (cantatas, Passions, masses)? Part II: How can we apply traditional analytical tools to understand better how Bach’s compositions were created and how they might have been heard by his contemporaries? Part III: What we can understand anew through the study of Bach’s self-borrowing (i.e., parody), which always changed the earlier meaning of a composition through changes in textual content, compositional characteristics, the work’s context within a larger composition, and often the performance context (from court to church, for example)? Part IV: What can the study of reception teach us about a work’s meaning(s) in Bach’s time, during the time of his immediate successors, and at various points since then (including our present)? 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.

Author: Noria K. Litaker
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
ISBN: 0813949955
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 275

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Book Description
The defense of the cult of saints and relics was an essential element of the Catholic Counter-Reformation in Europe. Facing attacks from Protestant denominations of all kinds, the Roman church redoubled its efforts to promote the veneration of its holy figures and to house their earthly remains in dramatic style. Bedazzled Saints chronicles the transfer, distribution, and display of nearly four hundred "holy bodies" of ancient Christian martyrs, some of the church’s most prestigious relics, sent from the Roman catacombs to the Electorate of Bavaria between 1590 and 1803. Local communities, both religious and secular, broke with medieval tradition and spent immense amounts of time and money to fuse incomplete skeletons into lavishly decorated whole-body saints. By examining these ornamented skeletons—painstakingly enhanced with jewels and fine clothing and still on display atop church altars to this day—Noria Litaker elucidates the interplay between local religious practice and universal church doctrine, shedding new light on the negotiated nature of sanctity in early modern Catholicism. In so doing, she challenges the dominant narrative of the Bavarian Catholic Reformation as a top-down process and provides new insights into the role relics and their innovative presentation played in the development of Catholic identity in early modern German lands.

Author: Cecelia Hopkins Porter
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
ISBN: 0252037014
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
A century later, Josephine Lang, a prodigiously talented pianist and dedicated composer, participated at various times in the German Romantic world of lieder through her important arts salon. Lastly, the twentieth century brought forth two exceptional women: Baroness Maria Bach, a composer and pianist of twentieth-century Vienna's upper bourgeoisie and its brilliant musical milieu in the era of Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Arnold Schoenberg, and Erich Korngold; and Ann Schein, a brilliant and dauntless American piano prodigy whose career, ongoing today though only partially recognized, led her to study with the legendary virtuosos Arthur Rubinstein and Myra Hess.

Author: Tanya Kevorkian
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351574698
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
Drawing upon a rich array of sources from archives in Leipzig, Dresden and Halle, Tanya Kevorkian illuminates culture in Leipzig before and during J.S. Bach's time in the city. Working with these sources, she has been able to reconstruct the contexts of Baroque and Pietist cultures at key periods in their development much more specifically than has been done previously. Kevorkian shows that high Baroque culture emerged through a combination of traditional frameworks and practices, and an infusion of change that set in after 1680. Among other forms of change, new secular arenas appeared, influencing church music and provoking reactions from Pietists, who developed alternative meeting, networking and liturgical styles. The book focuses on the everyday practices and active roles of audiences in public religious life. It examines music performance and reception from the perspectives of both 'ordinary' people and elites. Church services are studied in detail, providing a broad sense of how people behaved and listened to the music. Kevorkian also reconstructs the world of patronage and power of city councillors and clerics as they interacted with other Leipzig inhabitants, thereby illuminating the working environment of J.S. Bach, Telemann and other musicians. In addition, Kevorkian reconstructs the social history of Pietists in Leipzig from 1688 to the 1730s.

Author: David Schwarz
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
ISBN: 9780813917009
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
Keeping Score is a diverse collection of essays that argues for and demonstrates the current effort to redefine the methods, goals, and scope of musical scholarship. This volume gives voice to new directions in music studies, including traditional and "new" musicology, music and psychoanalysis, music and film, popular music studies, and gay and lesbian studies. These essays speak to music study from within its own language and enter into important conversations already taking place across disciplinary boundaries throughout the academy.

Author: Hermann Selchow
Publisher: Hermann Selchow
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
"On the Traces of German Culture & Identity - A Plea between Kant and Potato Soup" is a book that takes the reader on a journey through the various facets of German culture. I want to share my personal observations, experiences, and reflections on the cultural diversity of Germany and impress upon my readers. In this book, I explore with you the roots of German culture and discover the significance of the German language for Germany and the world, through which we are also connected. I embark on a search for German art and our inventions and developments. I delve into the culinary delights of German cuisine and learn more about the traditions and customs that are still cherished in Germany today. The rich musical culture is also illuminated, from minnesang to modern music genres. I provide insights into the world of German art and architecture and learn with you about the significant history of Germany that has shaped the country and its people. German holidays and festivals are also examined to provide you with an understanding of the cultural celebrations. The beauty and diversity of German nature and the importance of environmental protection are also addressed, as well as the hospitality and unique lifestyle of the Germans. Finally, the book looks into the future of German culture and shows how it could continue to evolve in a globalized world. However, my intention is not only to impart knowledge but also to evoke emotions. Culture is not only intellectually graspable but also something that touches us on a deeper, emotional level. I will try to convey my own feelings and impressions that I have gathered during these mental journeys through Germany. Whether it's a moving monument, the smell of freshly baked bread in a small bakery, or the sound of a traditional folk music group – it is these small moments that make the beauty and uniqueness of German culture tangible. A journey through German culture is always a journey to ourselves. Culture shapes us and forms our identity. It is a reflection of our values, history, and dreams. By engaging with German culture, we can not only better understand the country and its people but also ourselves. However, this book is not only meant to impart knowledge but also to evoke emotions. Culture is not only intellectually graspable but also something that touches us on a deeper, emotional level. This book aims to bring you those feelings and impressions that have accumulated during these journeys through Germany. Often, it is the small moments that allow individuals to experience the beauty and uniqueness of German culture. A journey through German culture is always a journey to ourselves. Culture shapes us and forms our identity. It is a reflection of our values, history, and dreams. By engaging with German culture, we can not only better understand the country and its people but also ourselves. I want to thank you for accompanying me on this journey and hope that this book opens up new perspectives for you and inspires you to delve deeper into German culture. For only through exploring and appreciating cultures can we shape a strong and confident society. During the research for this book, I realized that German culture is a vast and complex field that cannot be captured in a few words. Yet, it is precisely this diversity that makes German culture so unique and exciting. Therefore, I wrote this book with the awareness that such an attempt inherently carries the risk of failure, as the number of cultural facets and historical events and highlights is vast. Nevertheless, I dared to do so in order to evoke personal memories and reflections in my readers or to awaken a new, informed interest. I thank you for accompanying me on this journey and possibly following my plea between Kant and potato soup. Hermann Selchow

Author: Michael Robertson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317161807
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
This companion volume to The Courtly Consort Suite in German-Speaking Europe surveys an area of music neglected by modern scholars: the consort suites and dance music by musicians working in the seventeenth-century German towns. Conditions of work in the German towns are examined in detail, as are the problems posed by the many untrained travelling players who were often little more than beggars. The central part of the book explores the organisation, content and assembly of town suites into carefully ordered printed collections, which refutes the concept of the so-called 'classical' suite. The differences between court and town suites are dealt with alongside the often-ignored variation suite from the later decades of the seventeenth century and the separate suite-writing traditions of Leipzig and Hamburg. While the seventeenth-century keyboard suite has received a good deal of attention from modern scholars, its often symbiotic relationship with the consort suite has been ignored. This book aims to redress the balance and to deal with one very important but often ignored aspect of seventeenth-century notation: the use of blackened notes, which are rarely notated in a meaningful way in modern editions, with important implications for performance.

Author: Bettina Varwig
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190943890
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Book Description
This book a offers a multitude of provocative new perspectives on one of the most iconic composers in the Western classical tradition. Its collective rethinking of some of our most cherished narratives and deeply held beliefs about Johann Sebastian Bach will allow readers to see the man in a new light and to hear his music with new ears.