This study is a comprehensive assessment of J. S. Bach's use of articulation marks (i.e. slurs and dots) in the large body of primary sources. Dr Butt analyses the role of such markings within the compositional process, how they relate to the norms of articulation of the period, and how they might assist us in a deeper understanding and evaluation of Bach's style. With its extensive catalogue of the most common slurring patterns based on a study of over 100 concerted vocal works, this book is invaluable both for performers on all baroque instruments, and for scholars with an interest in Bach's style and source studies. It also contributes to our perception of Bach's position in music history: the purpose of music in the Lutheran Germany of Bach's time and its rhetorical power; the close relationship between composer and performer within the context of 'practical' music; and the functions and development of notation.

Bach, like Shakespeare, is known largely by his works, exceptional in quantity as well as quality, and only a few original documents convey any idea of his life and character. Peter Williams's 2003 look at Bach's biography asks many questions about the so-called evidence. What was he like as a young man, as a father, as an ageing church servant? What were his preoccupations? What music did he know and how did he compose and perform such an amazing amount of music? Was he a disappointed man? Reading the available documentation critically, especially from the viewpoint of a performer, and going back to the first substantial 'biography' of Bach, namely his Obituary, Williams suggests new interpretations of the composer's life and his work. In addition, he asks if our understanding of Bach has been hindered by the unremitting deference displayed towards him since his death.

Bach, like Shakespeare, is known largely by his works, exceptional in quantity as well as quality, and only a few original documents convey any idea of his life and character. Peter Williams's 2003 look at Bach's biography asks many questions about the so-called evidence. What was he like as a young man, as a father, as an ageing church servant? What were his preoccupations? What music did he know and how did he compose and perform such an amazing amount of music? Was he a disappointed man? Reading the available documentation critically, especially from the viewpoint of a performer, and going back to the first substantial 'biography' of Bach, namely his Obituary, Williams suggests new interpretations of the composer's life and his work. In addition, he asks if our understanding of Bach has been hindered by the unremitting deference displayed towards him since his death.

Early Music History is devoted to the study of music from the early Middle Ages to the end of the seventeenth century. The scope is exceptionally broad and includes manuscript studies, textual criticism, iconography, studies of the relationship between words and music, and the relationship between music and society. The journal gives preference to studies pursuing interdisciplinary approaches and to those developing new methodological ideas.

Bach's spectacular Goldberg Variations represent a high point in the repertory of keyboard music, particularly for the harpsichord. This book takes a detailed look at how these variations originated, especially in relation to all Bach's ClavierÜbung volumes and late keyboard works, what their exceptionally intricate plan is, what kind of impact they have had, and how their mysterious beauty has been created. This guide to what was at the time the largest and most carefully conceived single work of keyboard music will appeal to students, performers and listeners.

Early Music History is devoted to the study of music from the early Middle Ages to the end of the seventeenth century. The scope is exceptionally broad and includes manuscript studies, textual criticism, iconography, studies of the relationship between words and music, and the relationship between music and society. Articles in volume 19 include: Ritual and Ceremony in the Spanish Royal Chapel, c. 1559-c. 1561; Urban Minstrels in Late Medieval Southern France; Mapping the Soundscapes: Church Music in English Towns 1450-1550; A New Look at Old-Roman Chant.

This celebrated collection contains arrangements prepared for Harriet Cohen by some of Britain's finest composers, such as Frank Bridge, William Walton, and Ralph Vaughan Williams, and includes favourites such as 'Sleepers, Wake', 'In dulci jubilo', and the Andante from Brandenburg Concerto No. 2. With a new introduction by David Owen Norris, A Bach Book for Harriet Cohen is ideal for all pianists of intermediate standard or above wishing to further explore Bach's music.

The life and career of George Frideric Handel, one of the most frequently performed composers from the Baroque period, are copiously and intricately documented through a huge variety of contemporary sources. This multi-volume major publication is the most up-to-date and comprehensive collection of these documents. Presented chronologically in their original languages with English translations and with commentaries incorporating the results of recent research, the documents provide an essential and accessible resource for anyone interested in Handel and his music. This volume begins with Handel's move to the Covent Garden theatre, during the period of his competition with the Opera of the Nobility, and ends with his season of oratorio performances in Dublin. These years saw the composition of Italian operas including Ariodante, Alcina and Serse but also of the major English works Alexander's Feast, Saul and Messiah.

This highly-praised study of Monteverdi and his works combines clear social and historical perspectives with critical insight into his music. In relating Monteverdi to the musical activity of his time, Denis Arnold reveals a forward-looking genius whose music is now receiving long-overdue appreciation. The text and appendices of this edition were fully revised by Tim Carter, who added a new chapter taking account of recent scholarship.

Baroque music, not long ago considered the province of the specialist, now occupies a central place in the interests of any music-lover. Not just Bach and Handel, but Vivaldi and Monteverdi, Couperin and Rameau, Purcell and Schutz are familiar and loved figures. There is place now for a survey that offers fresh perspectives on these men and the times in which they lived. That is what the Companion to Baroque Music is designed to offer, to all those who are attracted by the music of that crucial century and a half, 1600-1750, which we call 'the Baroque era'. Julie Anne Sadie, herself scholar, performer, and critic, brings to this survey two novel features. First, it is underpinned by a keen awareness of music as sound, intended to be played, heard, and relished by the listener-as witness the group of articles contributed by well-known specialists, such as Nigel Rogers and David Fuller, on the central issues of performance. Secondly it is concerned not only with what the music is like but why it is as it is: and the series of essays, again by specialists, such as Michael Talbot (on Italy) and Peter Holman (on England) which places each region's music in its social and cultural contexts helps to explain its character. The lexicographical part of the book, in which the life of every significant musician of the era is charted and his or her work outlined, is subdivided geographically so as to convey with particular sharpness the special character of music-making in each part of Europe-and a system of cross-references defines the ebb and flow of influences as composers travelled from city to city or court to court, disseminating their tastes, their styles, their ideas. A detailed chronology enables the reader to take in at a glance the sequence of musical events across the entire period. The Companion to Baroque Music, which contains a foreword by Christopher Hogwood, offers both reliable reference material and lively, enlightening reading to all those-amateur and professional, from the skilled practical musician to the person who has never played anything more demanding than a piece of stereo equipment-who love the music of the era that culminated in the great masterworks of Bach and Handel.

'This is a remarkable and important book: impeccably scholarly yet very readable, brimming with ideas and thoroughly engaging. It will be much enjoyed by musicians with any interest in the early violin or in English music of the 16th and 17th centuries.' Paul Doe in Early Music

This is the first study in modern times dealing exclusively with the flutes used in the Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical eras. It details the history of the transverse flute from 1500 until the early nineteenth century. Advice is given on acquiring instruments, and their care and maintenance. Additional chapters guide the reader to sources about relevant technique and style, recommend repertoire, and give general advice to the modern player. The text is enhanced by numerous photographs of important historic flutes.

The ever-increasing number of performances of Bach's music is a sign of its enduring vitality. But perhaps no other composer is subject to such a wide diversity of interpretation--assessing the merits of these many interpretations and unravelling the sources and documents on which they are based can be extremely difficult for the modern performer. In this important book, Paul Badura-Skoda draws on forty years of studying and performing Bach to present startling new insights into many different aspects of Bach's music. He looks at rhythm, tempo, articulation, and dynamics; examines the instruments for which Bach's music was intended, and considers problems of sonority. He then discusses ornamentation in depth, analyzing each of the signs and symbols used by Bach, and argues that much of Bach's ornamentation in current performance is monotonous and fails to reflect the actual Baroque style. Sometimes contentious, always stimulating, Badura-Skoda's book conveys a passion for an informed interpretation of Bach's music based on a recognition and respect for Bach's actual intentions. Copiously illustrated with musical examples, the book will take its place as a standard work for all students and performers of Bach's ever-popular keyboard music.

Purcell's Dido and Aeneas stands as the greatest operatic achievement of seventeenth-century England, and yet, despite its global renown, it remains cloaked in mystery. The date and place of its first performance cannot be fixed with precision, and the absolute accuracy of the surviving scores, which date from almost 100 years after the work was written, cannot be assumed. In this thirtieth-anniversary new edition of her book, Ellen Harris closely examines the many theories that have been proposed for the opera's origin and chronology, considering the opera both as political allegory and as a positive exemplar for young women. Her study explores the work's historical position in the Restoration theater, revealing its roots in seventeenth-century English theatrical and musical traditions, and carefully evaluates the surviving sources for the various readings they offer-of line designations in the text (who sings what), the vocal ranges of the soloists, the use of dance and chorus, and overall layout. It goes on to provide substantive analysis of Purcell's musical declamation and use of ground bass. In tracing the performance history of Dido and Aeneas, Harris presents an in-depth examination of the adaptations made by the Academy of Ancient Music at the end of the eighteenth century based on the surviving manuscripts. She then follows the growing interest in the creation of an "authentic" version in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries through published editions and performance reviews, and considers the opera as an important factor in the so-called English Musical Renaissance. To a significant degree, the continuing fascination with Purcell's Dido and Aeneas rests on its apparent mutability, and Harris shows this has been inherent in the opera effectively from its origin.

This second edition has been fully revised and updated to keep abreast of the latest scholarship, and now includes colour images throughout, and a glossary and index. In addition there are new, expanded sections on the major genres and works of the Baroque era, as well as in-depth examinations of the lives and careers of the two greatest Baroque composers, Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Frideric Handel. This focus guide is intended to provide a solid foundation for pupils of all levels who are studying Baroque music, as well as general readers with an interest in the topic. It suggests listening and viewing material to complement the main topics within the book, and is an ideal resource for those wanting to explore the many aspects of Baroque music.

In considering the role of practical music in education this book explores the art of performance in Germany during the Baroque period. The author examines the large number of surviving treatises and instruction manuals used in the Lutheran schools during the period 1530-1800 and builds up a picture of the function and status of music in both school and church. This understanding of music as a functional art--musica practica--in turn gives us insight into contemporary performance of the sacred work of Praetorius, SchÜtz, Buxtehude or Bach.

This is the first volume of a magisterial survey of English music that charts its development from its beginnings in the early monastic institutions to the rise of 17th-century opera and masque and instrumental music, culminating in the genius of Henry Purcell.

In the last ten years or so an interest in 'authenticity' has reached a wide public. Many of the best-selling records of Bach, Handel, Haydn and Mozart are those in which period techniques and period instruments are used. There is however a danger that new 'authentic' dogmas of style and interpretation will come to replace the anachronistic dogmas of the late romantic tradition. 'The search for an 'authentic' interpretation', writes Peter le Huray in his opening chapter, 'is not the search for a single hard and fast answer, but for a range of possibilities from which to make performing decisions.' This book introduces the performer to the problems that must be faced when preparing an 'authentic' interpretation. It does so by focusing on nine representative and well-known works from the Baroque and Classical periods, defining some of the more important questions that the performer and listener should ask, and suggesting fruitful lines of enquiry. It is essential reading and reference material for player, student and listener alike.

This book is an edition, with commentary, of Handel's exercises for continuo playing, which he wrote for the daughters of George II. The exercises, which until now have not been readily available, are supplemented by clear and concise commentary. Remaining faithful to his source, Ledbetter, who lectures in keyboard studies, has prepared an edition that will prove invaluable to students and performers of the music of Handel and his contemporaries.

This is the first comprehensive assessment of J. S. Bach’s use of articulation marks (i.e. slurs and dots) in the large body of primary sources. Dr Butt analyses the role of such markings within the compositional process, how they relate to the norms of articulation of the period, and how they might assist us in a deeper understanding and evaluation of Bach’s style. With its extensive catalogue of the most common slurring patterns based on a study of over 100 concerted vocal works, this book is invaluable both for performers on all baroque instruments, and for scholars with an interest in Bach’s style and source studies. It also contributes to our perception of Bach’s position in music history: the purpose of music in the Lutheran Germany of Bach’s time and its rhetorical power; the close relationship between composer and performer within the context of ‘practical’ music; and the functions and development of notation.

Music history was radically influenced by the rapid rise of opera in the 17th century--an era when many musical traditions died and others were created in response to new social functions.

Few bodies of Western music are as widely respected, studied, and emulated as the fugues of Johann Sebastian Bach. Despite the esteem which Bach's contributions brought to the genre, however, the origin and early history of the fugue remain poorly understood. Theories of Fugue from the Age of Josquin to the Age of Bach addresses both the history and methodology of the pre-Bach fugue (from roughly 1500 to 1700), and, of greatest significance to the literature, it seeks to present a way out of the methodological dilemma of uncertainty which has plagued previous scholarly attempts by considering what musicians of the time had to say about the fugue: what it was, what it was not, how important it was, and where and how a composer should (or shouldn't) use it. Paul Mark Walker is director of the Early Music Ensemble at the University of Virginia and an expert on the history of the fugue.

In the years following the Act of Uniformity in 1549, musicians seemed to thrive on the challenge of the New Prayer Book, and the successive reigns of Elizabeth I, James I and Charles I bought a rich and varied repertory of vernacular church music. Peter Le Huray traces these developments in great detail, drawing on many contemporary sources to illuminate the music and its social and religious background.

Music master to Frederick the Great, Quantz was one of the great flute virtuosos of all time. He was also a thorough musician, a fine teacher and an excellent writer. This classic book is ostensibly a flute method, but it goes far beyond that, presenting a complete and detailed picture of musical taste and performance practice in the 18th century. Of special significance is a table relating various tempos to the speed of the pulse, helping modern musicians to solve the difficult question of authentic performance tempos of Baroque music. This reissued edition includes all Quantz's music examples together with an introduction and explanatory notes by the translator, Edward R. Reilly.