Bach's Operas of the Soul: A Listener's Guide to the Sacred Cantatas: 32 (Unlocking the Masters) - Softcover

Mark Ringer

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1538135566 ISBN 13: 9781538135563

Publisher: Amadeus, 2020

Synopsis

"Bach s Operas of the Soul is the first introduction for the general music lover to Bach s sacred cantatas to appear in nearly half a century. In clear and accessible language, Mark Ringer examines this vast output of masterpieces as the great musical dramatic creations that they are in order to open these works to a wider audience. Bach s sacred cantatas represent an almost superhuman artistic and spiritual achievement, arguably the richest investment by a great composer within a single genre. But outside of a handful of pieces, they remain a closed book to a majority of serious listeners already familiar with Bach s large-scale religious works. Nevertheless, the same musical-dramatic genius of Bach s Passions is fully evident in virtually all of the composer's sacred cantatas. This book s innovative approach to Bach s Sacred Cantatas is to think of them as sermons in musical-dramatic form, un-staged operas, planned for each occasion of the church year. Bach s ability to dramatize text through music is unm"

About this title

About the Author

Mark Ringer is Professor of Theatre at Marymount Manhattan College. A contributor to the New York Times and other publications, he has worked extensively as a dramaturg, director, and actor throughout the United States and Europe. His writings include Euripides and the Boundaries of the Human, Electra and the Empty Urn, Opera s First Master: The Musical Dramas of Claudio Monteverdi, and Schubert s Theatre of Song, the latter two titles for the Unlocking the Masters series.

Edition details

• Publisher: Amadeus
• Publication date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1538135566
• ISBN 13: 9781538135563
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 232