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In 2007, the great Bach scholar Anne Leahy died at the age of 46. She was a leading light in Bach studies and lecturer at the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) Conservatory of Music and Drama. Posthumously edited by renowned Bach scholar Robin A. Leaver, Leahy's dissertation research forms the basis for this original study of the preludes to Bach's Leipzig chorales. Originally composed in Weimar and later revised in Leipzig, Bach's compositions have been a source of some puzzlement. As Leahy notes, "the original intentions of Bach and the possible purpose of this collection might be regarded as speculative." Working from available sources, however, she argues that through the careful examination of the links among the music, hymn texts, and theological sources some answers may be had. From Bach's personal and deep interest in Lutheran theology to his enormous musical passion, Leahy considers closely a series of critical questions: does the original manuscript for the chorales simply reflect a random gathering of compositions or is there a common theme in setting? How critical is the order of the chorales and what is the theological significance of that order? Were the chorales a unified collection, and if so, which parts were to be included and which not? Indeed, were the chorales themselves part of a possibly larger corpus? As Leahy makes evident, there are no simple answers, which is why she considers critical the relationship the texts of the hymns to the chorales and to one another, outlining a theological pattern that is vital to fully grasping the guiding philosophy of these compositions. J. S. Bach's "Leipzig" Chorale Preludes: Music, Text, Theology is ideally suited for Bach scholars and those with a general interest in the intricate connections between text and music in the composition of religious music.
Originally composed in Weimar and later revised in Leipzig, J. S. Bach's chorale preludes have been a source of some puzzlement. However, Bach scholar Anne Leahy argues that through the careful examination of the links among the music, hymn texts, and theological sources some ...
Bach's preludes and fugues for organs have never suffered from neglect. While Bach's vocal works fell into eclipse soon after his death in 1750, his keyboard compositions continued to draw considerable approbation. The preludes and fugues, as part of this esteemed repertoire, remained in wide use throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Consequently they number among the best-known and most-frequently discussed works of the baroque era. They were already available in several printed editions by the time the first volume of the BG appeared in 1851. They were treated at some length in the ground-breaking nineteenth-century biographies of Forkel, Hilgenfeldt, Bitter, and Spitta. Since then they have been discussed in general terms in the numerous monographs dealing with the organ repertoire or Bach's organ compositions in particular. Hence it is surprising that no one has singled out the preludes and fugues for a full-scale study, taking into consideration the sources, the style, the chronology, and other equally important aspects of the pieces. The present volume focuses on half of this task, the detailed investigation of the preludes. Included in this study will be all those compositions--called prelude, toccata, fantasia, or otherwise--which fulfill an introductory purpose. Thirty-three works fall into this category: nine single pieces and twenty-four preludes from prelude-fugue pairs.