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William L. Hoffman wrote (December 30, 2021):
While new Bach books produced at the beginning of the third decade of the 21st century yield a treasure trove of biographical, topical, and specialized publications, one genre escapes attention: the concise overview-summary of his compositions, sometimes called Handbuch (manual) but also known as the more scholarly tomes called critical commentary. The German-language penchant for exacting, scientific categorization and cataloging now is yielding occasional, most-welcomed bilingual versions in German and English (both in print and on-line such as Bach-Digital, https://www.bach-digital.de/search_form_work.xed: "Works") while sometimes further blurring distinctions between historical-biographical perspectives and purely musical interests. Formats vary from the original, concise models of Werner Neumann, Handbuch der Kantaten Johann Sebastian Bachs, and Christoph Wolff, Bach-Vocal: Ein Handbuch, to the narrative-formats of Konrad Küster, Bach-Handbuch (all works), and of authors Reinmar Emans, Sven Hiemke, Siegbert Rampe, Das Bach Handbuch (10 vols., all works, Bach Lexicon, Bach's World). More Bach studies have been published or are schedule to be (see below).
Christoph Wolff, Bach-Vocal: Ein Handbuch
German-language studies still predominate in the Handbuch publications with the latest being Christoph Wolff's 2021 unheralded Bach-Vocal: Ein Handbuch from Carus-Verlag in Stuttgart (Carus-Verlag), a companion to the author's previous Bach books (Amazon.com) as well as a companion to the Carus music publisher's Bach, The Sacred Vocal Music. Complete Edition in 23 volumes (Carus-Verlag; directory, Carus-Verlag: + more). The works are divided into seven sections, each with a narrative introduction (church year cantatas, special sacred cantatas, motets, Passions & oratorios, Latin church music, and worldly & related cantatas by types), with a closing Register (Index) of work-types, etc. A brief forward is followed with usage instructions and abbreviations, as well as a BWV numbering index inside the front- and back-piece of this paperback edition (envelope flaps). Particularly helpful in the digital age is a printed directory of text sources (pp.10-11). Each concise work entry (see digital sample, Book2Look) includes in the church year cantatas (Advent to the 27th Sunday after Trinity; see Neumann below) the day's epistle and gospel readings; vocal work incipit, BWV, BC; Bach performance dates, text author and source, scoring, NBA & SBA sources; movement type, incipit, chorale author or biblical citation where applicable, movement scoring, meter, key; plus alternate versions, work history, and references. The Carus-Verlag scores include reconstructions were materials were lost, for example Cantatas 190, 191, and 193, with scholarly foreword by the edition editor and closing Kritischer Bericht (critical report, Carus Media), lacking in older "complete" cantata editions such as BCW: C-10, CB-1. Of particular importance in the Wolff Bach-Vocal: Ein Handbuch are the references to reconstructions found in Carus-Verag recent editions, such as the complete Christmas Cantata 197.1 (Ibid.; 26) of Pieter Dirksen, to be released 15. 09. 2022, and references to other works such as in BWV 197.1 the references to textual parallels with the opening chorus, "Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe" (Glory to God in the highest, Luke 2:14) in the Christmas Oratorio 248/1 and to Cantata 191/1.
Werner Neumann, Handbuch der Kantaten Johann Sebastian Bachs
The model Handbuch is the Werner Neumann, Handbuch der Kantaten Johann Sebastian Bachs (Abe Books), first published in 1947 by Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig, with its fifth, final edition in 1984, including a Literatuurverzeichnis (literature directory) or bibliography of 76 entries through 1970 fourth edition. The three sections involve: 1. extant cantatas (Ibid.: 29-250; BWV 1-216, 244a-249); 2. partially extant (text only), missing, spurious (251-266); 3. summaries and indices (269-323). Beginning about 1950, Bach studies have blossomed and since 1970, research has accepted into the new BWV3 catalogue (due in early 2022) mostly BWV Anhang (Appendix) vocal works, BWV 1135-67 (Wikipedia), texts often extant, music lost. Materials in both Neumann and Wolff Handbuch(s) include works chronology, poets, chorales, and alpha listing of titles. Unique to Neumann were descriptions of each movement and listings of arias by vocal genre and instrumental obbligato, parodies, and manuscript scores and parts sets sources.
Konrad Küster, Bach-Handbuch (All Works)
Another recent Handbuch is Konrad Küster, Bach-Handbuch (Amazon.com), first published in 1999, Bärenreiter, Kassel, with a second edition in 2017. Rather than in concise, abbreviated form, Küster uses narrative overviews of all Bach's vocal and instrumental works through BWV 1-1121 numbers with musical examples, literature references and several indices (see Contents, GBV|VZG). Introductory chapters involve Ulrich Siegele, "Bach's Political Profile" or "Where Is the music?"; Hans-Joachim Hinrichsen, "Forefather of Harmony?: Bach Reception"; Martin Elste, "Who Plays the Real Bach? or "On the Performance Practice of Bach's Music Since 1750"; and Martin Petzoldt, "There Is Always a Devotional Music" or "God with His Graces Present." The subsequent part on vocal music by Küster (Ibid.: (93ff) begins with an introductory essay of the vocal works in their music history context, then more than 200 sacred cantatas in chronological order with a variety of topics (Ibid.: 192ff) and with the Leipzig works considered in the three annual cycles and miscellaneous cantatas after the summer 1727 and concluding with an index of sacred cantatas (Ibid.: 388-91) in liturgical order from Advent to the end of Trinity Time, festivals, various special services, and undesignated cantatas, followed by worldly cantatas of various types; Passions and oratorios; Latin church music; motets and sacred songs; and a concluding index of vocal music literature (Ibid.: 531-34). The next parts deal with instrumental music (Ibid.: 535ff), with keyboard music restructured and explained in its variety of types, beginning with organ music, chorale style collections by Michael Kube, then free organ works chronologically by Werner Breig (with literature indices), and followed by keyboard music (virtuoso, pedagog, published), introduction by Siebert Rampe with genres (each with literature indices) involving suites and Klavierübung (Rampe); capriccios, toccatas, fantasias (Peter Schleuning); Well-Tempered Clavier (Kube), Inventions and Sinfonias (Emil Platten), and little pedagogical keyboard pieces (Küster); then chamber music (Ibid.: 877ff, Hans Eppstein), orchestral music (Küster), and finally (Ibid.: 935ff), the enigmatic (polyphonic study) late works of the MOffering, Art of fugue, and Canons (Friiedrich Sprondel) — all chapters with introductions, commentary, and concluding bibliographical literature. The Appendix (Ibid.: 974ff) has the alphabetical catalogue of sacred cantatas and the alphabetically catalog of chorale arrangements for organ. This Bach-Handbuch is a "comprehensive reference work and an easily understandable reader at the same time" (Amazon.com, google translate).
Laaber-Verlag, Das Bach Handbuch (All Works)
A parallel and expanded publication in the same BWV format as the Küster, Bach-Handbuch, is the Laaber-Verlag Bach-Handbuch (Laaber-Verlag), covering all the works plus commentary in 7 titles involving 10 volumes, published between 1977 and 2015 at Lilienthal: 1. Cantatas (2 vols.), 2. Latin Church Music, 3. Passions, Oratorios, Motets, 4. Keyboard & Organ Works (2), 5. Orchestra & Chamber Music (2), 6. New Bach Lexicon, 7. Bach's World: Life, Work, Time. The vocal music (1-3) editors are Reinmar Emans & Sven Hiemke and the instrumental music and commentary (4-7) editor is Siegbert Rampe. Das Bach Handbuch description, Laaber-Verlag; description of each volume, click on cover. Tables of Contents in German, No. 4. Laaber-Verlag; Table of Contents in German, No. 7, Laaber-Verlag, includes Anhang (Appendix: 595ff): authors, abbreviations, literature, people index, work index.
More Bach Studies
Various other Bach studies are available, or will be, in print, recording, and on-line platforms, often in narrative or concise formats:
+Hans-Joachim Schulze has published Die Bach-Kantaten: Einfuhrungen Zu Samtlichen Kantaten Johann Sebastian Bachs (The Bach Cantatas: Introductions to all of Johann Sebastian Bach's 226 extant cantatas, Amazon.de), Stuttgart: Carus-Verlag, 2006.
+Just published in a coffee-table format is Michael Maul's Bach; Eine Bildbiographie (Pictorial Biography; Leipzig: Lehmstedt 2022, Facebook), with 141 current, bilingual, chronological essays, most dated and referring to significant works with appropriate illustrations or photographs. "A compendium of all historical images is provided by Volume 9 of Bach-Dokumente: Bach — Eine Lebensgeschichte in Bildern, published by Christoph Wolff and Markus Zeph" (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 2017, Bärenreiter, says Maul (Ibid.; 6), at a fraction of the price: Euro 38 vs. Euro 298 (Amazon.de).
+For Bach lovers who want ALL the music, Bach 333, J. S. Bach: The New Complete Edition of Deutsche Grammaphon and the Leipzig Bach Archive is available (BCW).
+The Bach Werke Verzeichnis (BWV) third edition is scheduled to be published in March 2022 by Breitkopf & Härtel in Wiesbaden (Bach Archiv Leipzig: Google Translate, Wikipedia.
+Bärenreiter publications in Kassel has new music publications in 2022 (Bärenreiter): New Editions (*hardbound with bilingual commentary or **Urtext paperback with bilingual commentary): Six Solo Cello Suites (arr. viola), Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1 (*Christoph Wolff), St. Matthew Passion facsimile (*Christoph Wolff), Triple Concerto BWV 1044 Urtext (*Dietrich Kilian), and St. John Passion chorale score. Other NBArev from Bärenreiter (revised editions, hardbound, bi-lingual), have assigned reference numbers in preparation with editors (Bärenreiter).
+Oxford University Press is under contract with the American Bach Society (ABS) to produce a new series of study guides to major Bach works, beginning with Ellen Exner's ABS Guide to the St. Matthew Passion. The ABS has just announced that Ruth Tatlow will produce an ABS Guide to Cantatas 61, 82. 106, 140, 147 as part of a collaboration with the Netherlands Bach Society "All of Bach" works recording project (All of Bach) to provide the cantatas with English subtitling by Daniel R. Melamed and Michael Marissen. |
