The motets of J. S. Bach are probably the most sophisticated works ever composed in the genre. Nevertheless, Daniel Melamed maintains, the view that they constitute a body of work quite separate from the German motet tradition is mistaken. He starts by considering the eighteenth-century understanding of the term itself and finds that Bach's own use does indeed agree with his contemporaries and that his motets are rooted in the conventions of the time, particularly in matters of musical construction, performing forces, and type of text. A fresh look at the repertory shows that Bach composed motets all through his career and an appreciation of the contemporary conception of the motet sheds light on questions of how and why Bach himself used the form. Professor Melamed also finds plenty of evidence that motets and motet style played an important role in Bach's exploration of the musical past.

This is the first full-length study of the vernacular motet in thirteenth-century France. The motet was the most prestigious type of music of that period, filling a gap between the music of the so-called Notre-Dame School and the Ars Nova of the early fourteenth century. This book takes the music and the poetry of the motet as its starting-point and attempts to come to grips with the ways in which musicians and poets treated pre-existing material, creating new artefacts. The book reviews the processes of texting and retexting, and the procedures for imparting structure to the works; it considers the way we conceive genre in the thirteenth-century motet, and supplements these with principles derived from twentieth-century genre theory. The motet is viewed as the interaction of literary and musical modes whose relationships give meaning to individual musical compositions.

During the lifetime of Guillaume Du Fay (c. 1400 1474) the motet underwent a profound transformation. Because of the protean nature of the motet during this period, problems of definition have always stood in the way of a full understanding of this crucial shift. Through a comprehensive survey of the surviving repertory, Julie Cumming shows that the motet is best understood on the level of the subgenre. She employs new ideas about categories taken from cognitive psychology and evolutionary theory to illuminate the process by which the subgenres of the motet arose and evolved. One important finding is the nature and extent of the crucial role that English music played in the genre's transformation. Cumming provides a close reading of many little-known pieces; she also shows how Du Fay's motets were the product of sophisticated experimentation with generic boundaries.

Bach's cantatas are among the highest achievements of Western musical art, yet studies of the individual cantatas that are both illuminating and detailed are quite few. In this book, Eric Chafe combines theological, historical, analytical, and interpretive approaches to the cantatas to offer readers and listeners alike the richest possible experience of these works--that is, given the composer's intentions as well as the enduring and universal qualities of the music itself. Concentrating on a small number of representative cantatas, mostly from the Leipzig cycles of 1723-24 and 1724-25, and in particular on Cantata 77, Chafe illustrates how Bach strove to mirror both the dogma and the mystery of religious experience in musical allegory.

Music and the choice of musical settings function as one of the most basic forms of affiliation and identity in American Jewish congregations. This study explores the networks of musical interaction within this community through oral stories and an analysis of recordings. While the same melody may be used in different worship circles, its meaning can vary dramatically from one community to another, even when these worship groups are located only a few miles apart. This book examines how choice of melondy helps Jews present and maintain their cultural identity. An audio CD packaged with the book includes field recordings of the most important tunes discussed.

Iain Fenlon explores how music was an 'instrument' of those in power in late Renaissance Italy. Focusing on major urban centres - Mantua, Milan, Rome, Florence, and Venice - he argues that, far from losing its vigour after 1530, Italian culture was in fact transformed, as both individuals and institutions reacted to new political, economic, and religious circumstances.

The Bach cantatas are among the highest achievements of Western musical art; yet studies of individual Bach cantatas that are both illuminating and detailed are few in number. In Analysing Bach Cantatas, Eric Chafe combines theological, historical, analytical, and interpretive approaches to the cantatas to offer the reader and listener the richest possible experience of the works, in the light of the composer's intentions and of the enduring and universal qualities of the works. Concentrating on a small number of representative cantatas, mostly from the Leipzig cycles of 1723-24 and 1724-25, and in particular on Cantata 77, Chafe illustrates how Bach strove to mirror both the dogma and the mystery of religious exerience in musical allegory.

Michael Tippett's oratorio A Child of Our Time was written at the beginning of the second world war as an expression of "man's inhumanity to man." This Handbook discusses the significant musical and literary features of this remarkable work within its specific historical, social and stylistic context. Attention is given to the shaping of Tippett's own text as well as its musical representation. Also of importance is the initial critical reception of the work, a reception that defined certain responses that still surround the work today.

RABBI ZALMAN SCHACHTER-SHALOMI (usually called, "Reb Zalman") is widely known as the founder of the Jewish Renewal movement, whose accessible teachings on Kabbalah and Hasidism have helped to change the face of modern Judaism. But what is less well known is that he comes from a family of Belzer Hasidim known for their niggunim (wordless melodies), and that he is also a talented musician and composer of Hasidic songs, chants, and melodies himself. At the Rebbe's Table: Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi's Legacy of Songs and Melodies: Volume II is a collection of Reb Zalman's favorite Hasidic niggunim, and those most often used in his teaching. In this book, you will find everything from classic contemplative niggunim to the famed "table bangers" of Hasidic spirituality. For this volume, his student, Eyal Rivlin has lovingly gathered and transcribed many of the traditional classics from Reb Zalman's memory, and even rescued a few forgotten treasures from oblivion. Accompanying the compositions are small teachings and stories to contextualize the music.

In the seventeenth century Bologna developed a rich and diverse musical culture through the enterprise of musicians attached to the Basilica of S. Petronio and affiliated to the Accademia de'Filarmonici. Their achievements in the field of instrumental music (sonata, concerto) and festive church music (concerted mass) are well documented, but little of their output in the fields of oratorio, amounting to 300 performances in the period 1659-1730, has been subjected to critical scrutiny. This book relates the genesis and development of oratorio in Bologna to the city's religious, political, and cultural aspirations. The oratorio repertory is surveyed in three historical phases: under Cazzati (1657-74), Colonna (1675-95), and Perti (1696-1730), and eight oratorios by the city's leading composers are analysed in detail. A chronological list of performances is given in the Appendix.

The revival of plainchant in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century England was a turning point in the history of Anglican and Catholic musical worship. It led in its time to not only the preservation of much-loved melodies, but also to heated controversy. By the middle of the nineteenth-century, plainchant had returned as a central part of traditional liturgy.

This study provides a general introduction to the sources of the plainchant revival in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century England.

Aristide Cavaille-Coll (1811-1899) is often referred to as the greatest organ builder of all time. The pipe-organ, being the most complicated musical instrument mechanically and tonally, as well as the most expensive, adds significantly to that world's greatest designation. The talents required to be such a person range far from music-making to advanced physics, architecture, and engineering. That, plus the obvious knack to raise vast sums of money. Cavaille-Coll's Monumental Organ Project for Saint Peter's, Rome: Bigger Than Them All, by Ronald Ebrecht, is the story of the quest to build the largest-ever mechanical-action organ in the biggest church at the time. Cavaille-Coll's model for that organ and the book he wrote outlining his proposal are the core of Ebrecht's discussion. Cavaille-Coll bestrode a century as well as an art-form. His century complicated the project with the most intricate, intractable problems. Saint-Peter's Square, now a part of the Vatican City State, was then part of the newly-united Italy, which had just deposed the pope as ruler of the center of Italy and taken the papal lands. The east end of the basilica facing the square and the Tiber became a much disputed boundary. It was a part of the Italian state so hotly contested that the Italian Republicans would not accept the concept of an organ hanged from the basilica wall, lest it shift. Before, or since, has the music sphere ever provoked such a question that could bring nations to swords?

RABBI ZALMAN SCHACHTER-SHALOMI (usually called, "Reb Zalman") is widely known as the founder of the Jewish Renewal movement, whose accessible teachings on Kabbalah and Hasidism have helped to change the face of modern Judaism. But what is less well known is that he comes from a family of Belzer Hasidim known for their niggunim (wordless melodies), and that he is also a talented musician and composer of Hasidic songs, chants, and melodies himself. Into My Garden: Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi's Legacy of Songs and Melodies: Volume I finally reveals Reb Zalman the musician and composer who many students around the world have been surprised to meet in the middle of a Shabbaton or a Jewish Renewal retreat. For this book, his student, Eyal Rivlin, has lovingly gathered and transcribed most of Reb Zalman's (and his forebears) popular compositions, and even rescued a few forgotten treasures from oblivion. Accompanying the compositions are small teachings and stories to contextualize the music.

Monteverdi's Vespers is an exceptional collection of sacred music, both in the inventiveness of the compositions that it contains and in the debate that it has provoked over its use in the seventeenth century and over Monteverdi's intentions in publishing it. This handbook provides all the information that the reader needs for an in-depth appreciation of the musical settings themselves, of the debate that surrounds the original intention of the volume and of the problems of performing the music today. The book includes the texts and plainsongs used by Monteverdi, and a discography.

Monteverdi's Vespers is an exceptional collection of sacred music, both in the inventiveness of the compositions that it contains and in the debate that it has provoked over its use in the seventeenth century and over Monteverdi's intentions in publishing it. This handbook provides all the information that the reader needs for an in-depth appreciation of the musical settings themselves, of the debate that surrounds the original intention of the volume and of the problems of performing the music today. The book includes the texts and plainsongs used by Monteverdi, and a discography.

The book examines from various viewpoints Britten's War Requiem, written in 1962 to celebrate the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral and uniting the famous anti-war poetry of Wilfred Owen with the Latin Requiem Mass. Britten's and Owen's pacifist beliefs are compared, and the chronology of the compositional process unraveled from documentary and manuscript sources. The musical language is analyzed in detail, and the fluctuating critical responses to the score are assessed.

The German Requiem is Brahms' largest work, written for orchestra, chorus and two soloists. It made Brahms an international name, and the scope and technique of the composition brought him not only a new audience but also comparison with Bach and Beethoven. In the past fifty years it has found new critical support as an original and progressive work. This detailed study examines its history and controversial reception, analyzes its textual and musical structure, and discusses performing traditions from Brahms' time until the present.

This how-to guide explains how to make music a lasting and joy-filled force in shul and Jewish life. Weisenberg presents a veritable treasure house of musical opportunities. 104 pp.

Verdi's Requiem is one of the most frequently performed works of the choral repertoire, and one of Verdi's most important nonoperatic works. In this new handbook, David Rosen discusses the work's composition and performance history, and analyzes each of the seven movements, considering Verdi's interpretation of the liturgical text, with reference to settings by Mozart and Cherubini. Rosen also considers the work's coherence and the controversial issue of its generic status--the degree to which it is "operatic."

Contents: 1. Magnificat Anima Mea (Coro) 2. Et Exultavit (Aria) 3. Quia Respexit (Aria) 4. Omnes Generationes (Coro) 5. Quia Fecit Mihi Magna (Aria) 6. Et Misericordia (Duetto) 7. Fecit Potentiam (Coro) 8. Deposuit (Aria) 9. Esurientes (Aria) 10. Suscepit Israel (Terzetto) 11. Sicut Locutus (Coro) 12. Gloria Patri (Coro) Unabridged digitally enhanced reprint of the vocal score prepared by musicologist Karl Straube and published by C.F. Peters, Leipzig in the late 19th century. Bach composed the initial version in E flat in 1723 for the Christmas Vespers in Leipzig which contained several Christmas texts. Over the years he removed the Christmas-specific texts to make it suitable for year-round performance, transposing it into D major to provide better sonority for the trumpets. The work is divided into twelve parts which can be grouped into three movements, each beginning with an aria and completed by the choir. This large-format, easy-to-read vocal score, a welcome addition to the libraries of choruses and orchestras everywhere, is completely compatible with the widely available orchestra material reprinted by E. F. Kalmus.

A well researched account of gospel blues that encompasses the broader cultural and religious histories of the African-American experience between the late 1890s and the 1930s. Harris skilfully contextualizes sacred and secular music styles within African-American religious history and significant social developments of the period.

Agostino Agazzari (c. 1580-c. 1642) has long been recognized as one of the most prominent theorists of the early Baroque. The enduring fame of his 1607 treatise on the basso continuo has, however, overshadowed his equally significant contributions as a composer. And for all his renown, relatively little has been written about his professional career in Siena. This book not only provides the first comprehensive study of his life and sacred works, it also opens a window on musical culture in Siena during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Through the use of archival materials, the author documents Agazzari's long association with the Sienese Cathedral and furnishes valuable information on the personnel, repertory, and performance practices there. She argues for a reassessment of the influences that shaped the composer's style and challenges the generally held view that Sienese culture stagnated after the fall of the Republic in 1555. The book contributes significantly to our knowledge of musical life in the Tuscan 'City of the Virgin'.

This collection of essays, written to commemorate their centenary, celebrates the work of the Plainsong and Mediaeval Music Society. Founded in 1888, the Society quickly established two areas of activity: the propagation of information on medieval music and the revitalization of the Anglican liturgy with the riches of the plainchant of the Roman Rite.

Of the two sides of the Society's activities, the scholarly and the practical, this collection represents the former. The essays reflect the founders' interest in medieval music, both monophonic and polyphonic, and, particularly, their concern with chant. The contributors to this volume are among the most distinguished scholars of medieval music of recent years.

Contributors: David Hiley, Ritva Jacobsson, Michel Huglo, Susan Rankin, Wulf Arlt, Ruth Steiner, David Chadd, Andrew Hughes, John Caldwell, Frank Ll. Harrison, Nick Sandon.

Hymnologische Forschung ist per se interdisziplinar und uberkonfessionell. So gehoeren zwar Psalmen, Hymnen, Sequenzen, Kirchenlieder und Neue Geistliche Lieder in das Gebiet der Praktischen Theologie, genauer: der Liturgiewissenschaft. Reflexionen aus Literatur-, Sprach- und Musikwissenschaft sind jedoch nicht nur Beigabe zur theologischen Untersuchung, sondern fuhren aus je eigenem Blickwinkel zu eigenstandigen hymnologischen Erkenntnissen. Dies und ein wachsendes oeffentliches Interesse an der wissenschaftlichen Beschaftigung mit dem religioesen Liedgut moegen dazu beigetragen haben, dass recht schnell eine Neuauflage des Sammelbandes notwendig geworden ist. Er vereinigt AufsNeuauflage des Sammelbandes notwendig geworden ist. Er vereinigt Aufsatze, die auf der Grundlage von Vortragen und wissenschaftlichen Arbeiten im Kontext des interdisziplinaren Forschungsschwerpunktes "Hymnologie" (Arbeitskreis Gesangbuchforschung, Gesangbuch-Archiv, Graduiertenkolleg) an der Universitat Mainz entstanden sind. Grundfragen der Hymnologie (Mentalitats- und Bedeutungswandel sowie Liedbearbeitung) werden eingehend reflektiert. Mittels ausgewahlter Liedstudien sind daruber hinaus Einblicke in die hymnologische Detailarbeit moeglich.

Book of Common Prayer, French Language edition. (736 pp)