The Cambridge Companion to Bach

Fifteen varied essays by 11 authors provide a thoughtful, broad introduction to the music and person of Johann Sebastian Bach. The Cambridge Companion is divided into three main sections: the first concentrates on the biographical and historical details of Bach's life; the second aims at a general discussion of the music; and the last evaluates Bach's continuing influence on modern music. Representative topics in each section include a recounting of Bach's position as a supporter of monarchical absolutism ("Bach and the Domestic Politics of Electoral Saxony"), a discussion of scholarship throwing light on the authenticity of some of the early works ("The Early Works and the Heritage of the Seventeenth Century"), and an outline of developments in performance practice of Bach's music from his time to ours ("Changing Issues of Performance Practice"). The book provides valuable background material for those who may have casually encountered and enjoyed Bach's music, and the variety of viewpoints helps readers avoid an oversimplified impression of the great composer.

CONTENIDO:

Part I. The Historical Context: Society Beliefs and World-View:
1. The Bach family (Malcolm Boyd)
2. Johann Sebastian Bach in the context of domestic politics in Electoral Saxony (Ulrich Siegele)
3. Music and Lutheranism (Robin A. Leaver)
4. Bach's metaphysics of music (John Butt)
5. 'A mind unconscious that it is calculating'? Bach and the rationalist philosophy of Wolff, Leibniz and Spinoza (John Butt)

Part II. Profiles of the Music:
6. The early works and the heritage of the seventeenth century (Stephen A. Crist)
7. The mature vocal works and their theological and liturgical context (Robin A. Leaver)
8. The instrumental music (Werner Breig)
9. The keyboard works: Bach as teacher and virtuoso (Richard D. P. Jones)
10. Composition as arrangement and adaptation (Werner Breig)
11. Bachian invention and its mechanisms (Laurence Dreyfus)

Part III. Influence and Reception:
12. Bach as teacher and model (Stephen Daw)
13. Changing issues of performance practice (George B. Stauffer)
14. Bach reception: some concepts and parameters (Martin Zenck)
15. Reinterpreting Bach in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (Martin Zenck)