Bach and the Riddle of the Number Alphabet

Language: English

Published by Cambridge University Press, 2004

0521361915 / 9780521361910

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In 1947 the theologian and musicologist Friedrich Smend published a study which claimed that J. S. Bach regularly employed the natural-order number alphabet (A=1 to Z=24) in his works. Smend provided historical evidence and music examples to support his theory which demonstrated that by this means Bach incorporated significant words into his music, and provided himself with a symbolic compositional scheme. Since then many people have taken up Smend's theory, interpreting numbers of bars and notes in Bach scores according to the natural-order alphabet. By presenting a thorough survey of different number alphabets and their uses in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Germany, Dr Tatlow investigates the plausibility of Smend's claims. Her new evidence fundamentally challenges Smend's conclusions and the book sounds a note of caution to all who continue to use his number-alphabet theory. Dr Tatlow's painstaking research will fascinate all those with an interest in the music of J. S. Bach and German Baroque culture, and will be of particular importance for music historians and analysts. Sprache: Englisch Gewicht in Gramm: 425.…

Title
Bach and the Riddle of the Number Alphabet
Author
Ruth Tatlow, Tatlow Ruth
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Publication year
2004
Condition
Neu
Binding
Gebundene Ausgabe
Language
English
ISBN 10
0521361915
ISBN 13
9780521361910
Item weight
425 grams

Home-set

Mannheim, Germany

5-star seller

AbeBooks seller since April 13, 2026

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Buch

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Home-set

Germany