Members of the Bach Mailing Lists
Part 15: Year 2013

1000 members!

Aryeh Oron wrote (January 5, 2013):
Member No. 1000 has just joined the BCML!

Happy New Year to all!

George Bromley wrote (January 5, 2013):
And from the both of us, welcomeGeorge & Melanie

Who I Am (Besides Being Member #1,000)

Paul Beckman wrote (January 5, 2013):
New Year's greetings to all.

I understand that I have the opportunity to post an introduction to the group with some indication of how I became acquainted with the music of J.S. Bach.

A brief bio: I am an attorney practicing in Ann Arbor, Michigan - mostly family and elder law, mediation, and arbitration. I am married, and have two children adopted from China (14 and 12, girl and boy, respectively). I was a non-denominational Christian pastor for around 25 years before joining the legal world.

I grew up in a home where classical music - along with jazz and rock - was a staple of our listening diet; however, it was not until i was around 20 that I heard a Bach cantata. In this case, it was #45, and I was immediately arrested, hooked, and otherwise amazed by something that was a completely new aural experience. I don't remember the recording, only that I wanted a copy but could not find one in town (alas that Amazon was many years away from existence). Besides, I was young and, while not penniless, without the means to really pursue an intensive investment.

About twenty years ago, I became reconnected to the cantata world and, with more financial resources to do so, began collecting as many cantatas as I could. About three or four years ago I discovered the Bach Cantatas site and, in around 2010, Julian Mincham's.

At this point, I do my best to limit my time spent reading and catching up with discussions about these inexpressibly great works. I do use the cantatas as everything from personal spiritual inspiration,, a prayer aid, and background music while I engage in legal research and writing.

Thanks for allowing me to partake of your instructive and often fascinating conversations, and I hope to perhaps have something to contribute from time to time.

Julian Mincham wrote (January 5, 2013):
[To Paul Beckman] Hi Paul welcome to the site. I recall some correspondence we had a couple of years ago when you suggested I produce some similar work on the other Bach religious works--something that other commitments have not allowed me time for! Both Bach sites have developed considerably since then--I didn't have the musical examples on mine at that time--and both are receiving increasing numbers of hits from around the world..

It's good to see that you are still actively enjoying your Bach journey.

Lecture on Bach performance (in Hebrew)

Uri Golomb wrote (January 22, 2013):
Hebrew speakers among you might be interested in watching my lecture on Bach performance, titled "The Fifth Evangelist, the Abstract Mathematician and the Impassioned Orator - on Bach and his Performers". The lecture was delivered as part of the Technion's 11th annual symposium on the history of neurology (an unlikely pairing, I know - but they always invite speakers from the arts and humanities). You can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rnn-BwHxAfE

Introducing myself

Laurence Price wrote (February 11, 2013):
After many months of reading the discussions on the bach-cantatas website I thought I should jump in! So please permit me to introduce myself- I'm Laurence Price, from West Yorkshire in England; amateur tenor with an interest in all sorts of music from the obscurest plainchant to the great galumphing oratorios of Elgar (which I've been recently enjoying recording under Mark Elder's baton as part of the Halle Choir in Manchester).

Another interesting concert/broadcast project I've been involved in lately is the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra's coupling of Bach cantatas and motets with Bruckner symphonies, conducted by Juanjo Mena with the Manchester Chamber Choir (a mixed choir of about 25-30). It's been interesting seeing how challenging it is to balance a larger symphony orchestra even with cut-down instrumental forces. Is it still a good idea to do concert performances of Bach cantatas at modern pitch and tuning, with steel strings, modern brass and relatively large choral forces these days? I'd say "probably!".

I first came across Bach as a treble chorister in my local parish church; although Stanford, Handel and Tallis (not forgetting the inevitable John Rutter...) were more common in the repertoire than Bach. But we often sang chorales, and the organist worked through parts of the Wohltemperierte Klavier as a set of voluntaries on the modest church organ. I've also been listening to a cantata a week and writing a little bit on a blog (pardon the self-advertisement- it's at http://ayearwithbach.blogspot.co.uk/ ).

Many thanks for reading- I look forward to taking part in some interesting discussions!

Glass Music

Kim Patrick Clow wrote (May 11, 2013):
[To William Zeiter] That's a fascinating website: http://glassarmonica.com/

William Zeiter [Glass Harmonica] wrote (May 11, 2013):
[To Kim Patrick Clow] I'm working up one of the Bach solo violin suites on the glass armonica. Not exactly historical (grin!) but it's pretty darn magical!:-)

Kim Patrick Clow wrote (May 11, 2013):
[To William Zeiter] Fascinating! You know there is some baroque music for the glass harmonica's predecessor? Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel was the director of music for the Duke(s) of Gotha, Bach performed several of Stölzel's cantata cycles and passion settings in Leipzig. Stölzel wrote an obbligato aria for what is called in the source as "musical glasses." I'm in the process of editing that piece.

I'm sure everyone would love to hear a mp3 of your work with the Bach too (I certainly would ;)

William Zeiter [Glass Harmonica] wrote (May 11, 2013):
[To Kim Patrick Clow] Sorry this a little off topic (I fixed the topic subject), but perhaps it is still consonant with the general treachery of trying to establish musical practices at that time?

The musical glasses (goblet style, tuned with water) start appearing in England 1730-ish (due to the English development of inexpensive and musically usable wine glasses); Gluck played them in London and likely brought that idea back with him when he returned to the continent c.1746/7. Franklin's glass armonica was invented 1761. Mozart composed both his works for the armonica in 1791.

I would love to see the score to the Stoezel piece and know more about it in general. Any idea when it was composed? The historical data about early glass music is terribly murky at best--a piece for musical glasses on the continent before c.1745 would be of great interest to me.

Perhaps we should continue this conversation off-line? <>

Ed Myskowski wrote (May 12, 2013):
Bach's weekly schedule

William Zeiter [Glass Harmonica] wrote:
< I'm working up one of the Bach solo violin suites on the glass armonica. Not exactly historical (grin!) but it's pretty darn magical! >
The glass harmonica has near legendary status in the Boston are because of:
<Franklin's glass armonica was reworked yet again by master glassblower and musician, Gerhard B. Finkenbeiner (1930–1999) in 1984.> (Wikipedia)

Finkenbeiner's day-job was creating custom glassware for chem labs, so he was a legend for industrial as well as musical creations. He *died* when his supposedly solo plane flight was never heard from again.

Do you suppose ...?

George Bromley wrote (May 12, 2013):
Ed Myskowski wrote:
< The glass harmonica has near legendary status in the Boston are because of:
<Franklin's glass armonica was reworked yet again by master glassblower and mus, Gerhard B. Finkenbeiner (1930–1999) in 1984.> (Wikipedia)
Finkenbeiner's day-job was creating custom glassware for chem labs, so he was a legend for industrial as well as musical creations. He *died* when his supposedly solo plane flight was never heard from again.
Do you suppose ...? >
Wow, now that's a must, let's hear on you tube please

Introducing myself & BWV 64 question

Luke Dahn wrote (May 18, 2013):
I'm emailing for two reasons. As a new subscriber, I thought I'd first introduce myself. Second, I'm hoping someone here can help with a question regarding BWV 64.

My name is Luke Dahn, and I teach music theory and composition at Northwestern College <http://www.nwciowa.edu/> in the northwest corner of Iowa. I have been a Bach lover as long as I can remember, and I even have a page devoted to him on my personal website. My blog site also includes numerous posts on Bach's music (including the most recent one entitled, "Goldberg Variation 5, Measure 17 and Dead Kittens<http://lukedahn.wordpress.com/2013/04/21/goldberg-variation-5-measure-17-and-dead-kittens/>
").
Website: www.lukedahn.net
Bach page: www.lukedahn.net/BachPage.htm
Blog site: http://lukedahn.wordpress.com/

I have a question regarding BWV 64, *Sehet, welch eine Liebe, *composed in 1723*. *I'm specifically interested in information regarding the alternate chorale harmonizations provided for this cantata in the BGA. BWV 64 contains three chorales in total (64.2 "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ," 64.4 "Was frag ich nach der Welt," and 64.8 "Jesu meine Freude") the first two of which are provided alternates. These alternate chorales are simply reharmonizations of their corresponding chorales tunes/texts and can be found here: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BGA/BWV064-BGA-Anh.pdf
and here: http://imslp.org/wiki/Sehet,_welch_eine_Liebe,_BWV_64_%28Bach,_Johann_Sebastian%29

The "Was frag" alternate appears to be identical to the ending chorale of BWV 94 (composed a year later in 1724). But what about the alternate to "Gelobet seist du"? I cannot find any information on it in the www.bach-cantatas.com discussions related to BWV64; I do not see this 64.2 alternate listed on the www.jsbchorales.net listing (http://www.jsbchorales.net/bwv.shtml); and I cannot seem to locate it among the other cantatas as a duplicate. Perhaps I've overlooked something.

I would be curious to hear any information on these alternate BWV 64 chorale settings. What's the story behind them, and why are they included in the BGA? I would also like to verify that these are indeed attributed to Bach.

Thanks,

Douglas Cowling wrote (May 18, 2013):
Luke Dahn wrote:
< I'm emailing for two reasons. As a new subscriber, I thought I'd first introduce myself. >
Welcome to the list. Hope you'll most often.

Bach Mailing List (BML): Year 2003 | Year 2004 | Year 2005 | Year 2006 | Year 2007 | Year 2008: Part 1 | Part 2 | Year 2009 | Year 2011 | Year 2014 | Year 2018 | Guidelines for Discussions