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The Bach Cantatas Website celebrates its 8th anniversary |
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Aryeh Oron wrote (January 3, 2009):The Bach Cantatas Website (BCW) was launched in its current form and address on December 30, 2000. The BCW is located at: http://www.bach-cantatas.com Description: The Bach Cantatas Website (BCW) is a comprehensive site covering all aspects of J.S. Bach's cantatas and his other vocal works. The BCW contains discussions and detailed discographies of each cantata and other vocal works, performers and general topics. The BCW also contains texts and translations, scores, music examples, articles and interviews, and over 5,500 short biographies of performers of Bach's vocal works and players of his keyboard and lute works, as well as of poets & composers associated with Bach. There are also other relevant resources such as the Lutheran church year, database of chorale texts & melodies and their authors, detailed discographies of many Bach's instrumental works (solo keyboard, lute, Art of Fugue, Musical Offering, etc.) and piano transcriptions and their performers, reviews and discussions of Bach's instrumental works, books and movies on Bach, terms and abbreviations, schedule of concerts of Bach's vocal works, guide to Bach tour, Bach in arts & memorabilia, thousands of links to other relevant resources. The BCW is an international collective project, being compiled from various postings about the subject, most of which have been sent to the Bach Mailing Lists. The BCW is definitely the most popular site dedicated to J.S. Bach and his music and amongst the most popular sites dedicated to Classical Music in general. The BCW has about 8,000-12,000 daily visits, from 7,000-9,000 users, who see 35,000-45,000 pages. The BCW is rated very high in Google and other search engines, and there are thousands of links from other websites to the BCW (over 32,000 according to Yahoo; over 450,000 (!) according to MSN). I would like to use this opportunity to thank the numerous contributors to the discussions in the Bach Mailing Lists and some other lists, whose messages are compiled into the pages of the BCW. Their names are mentioned accordingly above each quoted message. I would also like to thank the many Bach lovers around the world who have sent me material to be included in the BCW, such as articles, translation of cantata texts, recording details, biographies, photos, music examples, links to other sites, etc. Their names are mentioned accordingly in the relevant pages. There have been many improvements & additions to the BCW last year. The major additions were: A. New look of thousands of pages starting from the Home Page. B. Revised discography of the Lute Works BWV 995-1000, BWV 1006a. C. New section - Bach & Other Composers, including comprehensive discographies of works of other composers performed by J.S. Bach. D. Over 700 new bios of artists & composers E. New section - Bach in Arts, including the sub-sections Bach Portraits (most of the material has been provided by Thomas Braatz) and Hommage a Bach: Tribute to Bach & Bach-inspired Art Works (most of the material has been provided by Teddy Kaufman) F. Texts & translations section - hundreds of new translations, including complete new set of French translations in interlinear format by Guy Laffaille and over 170 Russian translations by Peter Meshcherinov. Furthermore, Francis Browne has actually finished his set of English translations in interlinear format. For more info, please take a look at: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Topics/Newsletter-2008.htm I am encouraged by the positive feedback the BCW is getting from all over the world. Many of the feedback messages from last year can be read at the page: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Topics/About-2008.htm I continue to look forward to receiving your comments (corrections, suggestions, improvements, etc.) about the BCW. The instructions how to send me comments, appear in the following page: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/How.htm I wish you all another Great and Happy Bach Year! |
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BGA Scores on the BCW |
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Aryeh Oron wrote (January 4, 2009):I have good news for you. After a long delay I have received at last an official permission to present on the BCW the BGA scores, which had been digitalized by the late Fred Steltner. All the BGA scores of Bach's vocal works are now available on the BCW, linked from the Index to Scores pages and the Cantata main pages. Links to the BGA scores of the other vocal works would be added soon. |
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Matthäus-Passion BWV 244 - Revised & Updated Discography |
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Aryeh Oron wrote (April 17, 2009):I have been (and still am) busy recently with a major project of revising and updating the discographies of Bach's big vocal works. For the already existing recordings I have added exact recording date (not only month/year) and link/s to source of info/possible purchase sources. I have done the deepest possible search over the web and discovered many dozens of unfamiliar recordings. For each new recording I have built performer page (or update existing performer page) and bio page for each artist who took part in the recording. Many of them have to be translated from German So far I have added over 300 bios and updated many others. The material in some of the ensemble/conductor web pages is only partial. However, my goal is that the BCW would be as comprehensive, as updated and as accurate as possible. That means that when I finish this project I shall have to write to each ensemble/conductor, asking to check the details and fill the gaps. I have given higher priority to the discography of SMP, because this work is currently discussed in the BCML. The SMP discography pages are linked from the page: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Vocal/BWV244.htm 159 recordings of SMP are now presented (in the previous version there were 143). The last in the line so far (No. 159) is the a much discussed SMP conducted by Riccardo Chailly performed in both the Barbican in London and the Gewandhaus in Leipzig earlier this month. The Leipzig concerts were recorded by Decca and are planned for release. I would appreciate any help in making this discography even more comprehensive, updated and accurate by adding recordings, correcting errors and completing missing details. |
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Johannes-Passion BWV 245 - Revised & Updated Discography |
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Aryeh Oron wrote (May 12, 2009):As informed last month, I am still busy with the major project of revising and updating the discographies of J.S. Bach's big vocal works. For the already existing recordings I have added exact recording date (not only month/year) and link/s to source of info/possible purchase sources. I have done the deepest possible search over the web and discovered many dozens of unfamiliar recordings. For each new recording I have built performer page (or updated existing performer page) and bio page for each artist (conductor, vocal & instrumental ensembles, vocal soloists) who took part in the recording. Many of them had to be translated from German or other languages. I have added hundreds bios and updated many others. The number of musicians' (& poets') bios on the BCW in now over 6,100, making it one of the biggest collections of (classical) musicians bios over the web. I have just finished the revised discography of Johannes-Passion BWV 245. The 8 pages (a page for a decade + a page for SJP sung in English) are linked from: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Vocal/BWV245.htm 156 complete recordings are now presented in the discography pages of SJP (in the previous version there were 124). During the process of revising this discography, I have found 11 more recordings of SMP, which has now the amazing number of 170 complete recordings! Desmy efforts, the info presented for some of the recordings is only partial. Therefore, I would appreciate any help in making this discography (as well as other discographies on the BCW) even more comprehensive, updated and accurate by adding recordings, correcting errors and completing missing details. |
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Mass in B minor BWV 232 - Revised & Updated Discography |
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Aryeh Oron wrote (June 24, 2009):Following the revised discographies of SMP & SJP, I am glad to inform you of the revised & updated discography of the Mass in B minor BWV 232 (MBM). For the already existing recordings I have added exact recording date (not only month/year) and link/s to source of info/possible purchase sources. I have done the deepest possible search over the web and discovered many dozens of unfamiliar recordings. For each new recording I have built performer page (or updated existing performer page) and bio page for each artist (conductor, vocal & instrumental ensembles, vocal soloists) who took part in the recording. Many of them had to be translated from German or other languages. I have added hundreds bios and updated many others. The number of musicians' (& poets') bios on the BCW in now over 6,200. The 7 pages (a page for a decade) of the MBM discography linked from: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Vocal/BWV232.htm 175 complete (or near complete) recordings are now presented in the discography pages of the MBM (in the previous version there were 142). That means that the MBM is currently the most recorded vocal work of J.S. Bach with the SMP close second (171 recordings). Despite my efforts, the info presented for some of the recordings is only partial. Therefore, I would appreciate any help in making this discography (as well as other discographies on the BCW) even more comprehensive, updated and accurate by adding recordings, correcting errors and completing missing details. |
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Markus-Passion BWV 247 - Revised & Updated Discography |
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Aryeh Oron wrote (June 25, 2009):Following the revised discographies of SMP, SJP & MBM, I am glad to inform you of the revised & updated discography of the Markus-Passion BWV 247. For the already existing recordings I have added exact recording date (not only month/year) and link/s to source of info/possible purchase sources. I have done the deepest possible search over the web and discovered some unfamiliar recordings. The page of Markus-Passion, including the discography: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Vocal/BWV247.htm 18 recordings in various reconstructions are now presented in this page (in the previous version there were 14). Please notice that for many recordings (I do not have them all at my disposal) scans of both the front and back covers are presented. If you click on the small picture, you get a bigger one, allowing you looking into further details of the recording. Please also notice that the other Markus-Passion associated with Bach (performed by him several times), by Brauns (Bruhns) / Keiser is presented at: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Other/Brauns-Markus-Passion.htm Despite my efforts, the info presented for some of the recordings is only partial. Therefore, I would appreciate any help in making this discography (as well as other discographies on the BCW) even more comprehensive, updated and accurate by adding recordings, correcting errors and completing missing details. |
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Weihnachts-Oratorium BWV 248 - Revised & Updated Discography |
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Aryeh Oron wrote (July 28, 2009):Following the revised discographies of SMP, SJP, MBM & SRP I am glad to inform you of the revised & updated discography of the Weihnachts-Oratorium BWV 248 (XO). For the already existing recordings I have added exact recording date (not only month/year) and link/s to source of info/possible purchase sources. I have done the deepest possible search over the web and discovered many dozens of unfamiliar recordings. For each new recording I have built performer page (or updated existing performer page) and bio page for each artist (conductor, vocal & instrumental ensembles, vocal soloists) who took part in the recording. I have added hundreds bios and updated many others. The number of musicians' (& poets') bios on the BCW in now over 6,300. The 7 pages (a page for a decade) of the XO discography are linked from: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Vocal/BWV248.htm 144 complete recordings (all 6 Cantatas) of XO and/or complete Cantatas from XO are now presented in the discography pages (in the previous version there were 99). Despite my efforts, the info presented for some of the recordings is only partial. Therefore, I would appreciate any help in making this discography (as well as other discographies on the BCW) even more comprehensive, updated and accurate by adding recordings, correcting errors and completing missing details. |
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Goldberg Variations BWV 988 - Discography Version 3 |
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Aryeh Oron wrote (September 12, 2009):I am glad to inform you of the 3rd Version of the Discography of the Goldberg Variations BWV 988 (GV) on the BCW. In the 1st Version (January 2004) the discography included 261 recordings. In the 2nd Version (May 2006) - 299 recordings. For the 3rd Version I have done in recent months the deepest possible search over the web (including: recording catalogues and databases, web-stores, artist websites, recording label websites, other discographies, etc.) and discovered many dozens of unfamiliar recordings. Members of the BRML, other Bach fans and artists have supplied me info of unfamiliar recordings. Their names are mentioned as contributors at the bottom of the relevant pages. I am sincerely grateful to them all. You can find the list of complete recordings of GV, arranged by recording date, split into several pages, a page for a decade, starting at the page: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/NVD/BWV988.htm In this 3rd version of the GV discography - 416 recordings are presented. This is definitely the most recorded keyboard work of J.S. Bach. There are, of course, other discographies of the GV over the web (you can find links to them in the main page of GV above). I have used them to check the completeness of the GV discography on the BCW and to fill some gaps. I believe that the discography of GV on the BCW is now the most comprehensive, updated and complete you can over the web or elsewhere. In this version I have also done some serious revision: a. Each recording now contains additional info: - Exact recording date (not only month/year) - Recording place - Links link/s to source of info/possible purchase sources - Option to see larger photos of the album covers b. I have built performer pages (or update existing performer page) and bio pages for most artists in the discography. The performer page has a link from the recording title. As a rule of thumb, each recording is listed only once. All the issues of each recording are presented together (including their cover photos). If a performer has recorded the GV more than once, the info includes also the recording number. I would appreciate any help in making this discography even more comprehensive, updated and accurate by adding recordings, correcting errors and completing missing details. Please write to me, either through the BRML or to my personal e-mail address. |
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Catalan Translations of the Bach Cantatas |
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Aryeh Oron wrote (September 13, 2009):One of the important sections of the BCW is the collection of about 2.420 translations of Bach's vocal works into various languages. We all know how strong is the connection between Bach's vocal music and the text to which it was set. Understanding the sung text is therefore essential to intensify our enjoyment from the music. That's why I am continuously looking for additional translations. In February 2009, Antoni Sàbat Aguilera from Tarragona (Catalonia) Spain suggested contributing to the BCW his Catalan tof the Bach Cantatas. Within a short period of 6 months he provided his translations into Catalan of all the Bach Cantatas, both sacred and secular. My humble contribution was some editing and converting them into parallel format. As with other languages, there are 3 index pages of the Catalan translations. BWV Number: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/IndexTexts-Cat-BWV.htm Title: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/IndexTexts-Cat-Title.htm Event: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/IndexTexts-Cat-Title.htm According to Wikipedia, about 10,780,000 people understand Catalan, and about 7,670,000 can speak the language. I hope that the availability of Catalan translations of the Bach Cantatas would make these sublime works more accessible to this community. Current status of translations into other languages on the BCW: English [Interlinear Format]: Francis Browne - all; in a process of adding also Parallel Format of these translations Chinese [Parallel Format]: Yang Jingfeng - about 20, in progress Dutch [Parallel Format]: Various contributors - about 100, in progress French [Note-to-Note Format]: Jean-Pierre Grivois - all French [Interlinear Format]: Guy Laffaille - almost all Hebrew [Parallel Format]: Various contributors (most are mine) - almost all Indonesian [Word-for-Word Format]: Rianto Pardede - all Italian: Emanuele Antonacci, Vittorio Marnati & Riccardo Pisano & Alberto Lazzari - almost all (many cantatas have 2 translations) Portuguese: Rodrigo Maffei Libonati & Leonardo Santos - about 50, slow progress Russian [Parallel Format]: Peter Meshcherinov - about 190, in progress Spanish: Various contributors - all I am still looking for translations into other languages, such as Arabic, Greek, Persian (Farsi), Polish, etc. If you speak one of those languages (or others) and do not find translations into your language anywhere, you can always try your hands in preparing translations by yourself. By doing that, you would definitely help expanding the understanding and appreciation of Bach's vocal music to the people who speak your language. |
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Major Bach Events |
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Aryeh Oron wrote (November 4, 2009):I have created pages for Major Bach Events, a page for a year. The pages aim to list chronologically all the major Bach-related events around the world, including: Festivals, Conferences, Competitions, etc. See: 2009: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Concerts/Event-2009.htm 2010: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Concerts/Event-2010.htm Linked from BCW Home Page: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/ and from other pages. In case I have missed an event, please do not hesitate to inform me, either through the Bach ML or off-list. |
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Last update: ýNovember 4, 2009 ý11:15:23
