Bach & God

Description

Bach & God explores the religious character of Bach's vocal and instrumental music in seven interrelated essays. Noted musicologist Michael Marissen offers wide-ranging interpretive insights from careful biblical and theological scrutiny of the librettos. Yet he also shows how Bach's pitches, rhythms, and tone colors can make contributions to a work's plausible meanings that go beyond setting texts in an aesthetically satisfying manner. In some of Bach's vocal repertory, the music puts a "spin " on the words in a way that turns out to be explainable as orthodox Lutheran in its orientation. In a few of Bach's vocal works, his otherwise puzzlingly fierce musical settings serve to underscore now unrecognized or unacknowledged verbal polemics, most unsettlingly so in the case of his church cantatas that express contempt for Jews and Judaism. Finally, even Bach's secular instrumental music, particularly the late collections of "abstract " learned counterpoint, can powerfully project certain elements of traditional Lutheran theology. Bach's music is inexhaustible, and Bach & God suggests that through close contextual study there is always more to discover and learn.

• First study to explore the religious character of J. S. Bach's secular instrumental music along with his liturgical vocal music
• Shows how aspects of Bach's music itself can contribute to religious meaning
• Closely considers the original texts of the Hebrew Scriptures and New Testament, and the Luther Bibles of Bach's day
• Quotes extensively from books known to have been in Bach's personal library
• Chapters can stand alone as individual essays or the book can be read cover to cover to reveal themes throughout