The nine-volume subject section of the second edition of this monumental music dictionary, universally known as MGG, has been appearing volume-by-volume since 1994, and is now complete. (For earlier volumes see RREA 1:413 and 2:207.) Volume 9, the Index, in both print and CD-ROM versions, contains two indexes: subjects and personal names. There are see-references from some common English terms to the German, which may facilitate use of the index for English-speaking users; on the other hand, a difficulty is presented in the personal names index, as the Slavic names are transliterated only in modern German orthography and are sometimes hard to recognize (e.g., Cajkovskij). As in the first edition of MGG, the index entries refer only to page and column, so that a good bit of searching is often still necessary to find the desired entry. Numbered lines or paragraphs might have been helpful.

The CD-ROM of the Index presents an efficient search option, as it will pick up a sequence of letters whether it is contained within a word or standing alone. This is helpful in regard to the many German composite nouns.

Following the completion of the subject section, the first two volumes of the personal names section are now available as well. An introductory text is lacking in the first volume; both sections were covered in the four-page preface to volume 1 of the subjects. Articles contain the musician's biography, a survey of the works, generally in the form of lists, an overall decription of the person's work, and bibliographical citations. Where appropriate, a discography completes the article. In the inevitable comparisons with the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians and the Italian counterpart, Dizionario enciclopedico universale della musica e dei musicisti (DEUMM) (see RREA 6:188 below), it was found that DEUMM has the most complete surveys of an artist's works. Both New Grove and DEUMM offer works lists in tabular form, which has proven to be easier to use.

The new edition covers more performing artists than the old MGG, especially in the areas of jazz and popular music, but nowhere near as comprehensively as a specialty dictionary would. The bottom line is that academic libraries would do well to offer their readers all three of the above-mentioned dictionaries, in addition to a selection of specialty resources covering jazz, popular music, etc.

The plan is to issue two volumes per year, capped with a combined index for both subject and personal names sections. [mr/hh]
 
 

This three-volume section on titles and characters completes the fine Italian music reference work, Dizionario enciclopedico universale della musica e dei musicisti or DEUMM. The previously published four-volume topical section Il lessico and eight-volume biographical section Le biografie were reviewed in RREA 2:209. The present volumes contain around 17,000 articles on individual titles and characters from classical--as opposed to popular--western music from antiquity to the present. Titles in Latin, Italian, French, English, German, Spanish, and Portuguese are listed in their original form; those in other languages are translated into Italian. Among the characters listed are mythological, biblical, historical, and literary figures (and beasts).

Appendixes include: (1) list of arias, choruses and other texts from stage works, oratorios and cantatas with Italian, French, German, and English texts, with information on the names of the characters in the work; the title of the musical work from which it derives; act, scene or section if applicable; and the composer; (2) index of names with references to the work(s) in which they appear and the composer(s); (3) index of composers, librettists, and other participating persons.

The previous two parts of the DEUMM are essential for libraries. This added section is useful in the way it consolidates information that would otherwise have to be looked up in a number of other sources. [mr/hh]
 
 

This project, instigated in 1996 by the AIBM, has resulted in an impressive listing of 1,418 collections in 96 institutions in 57 different cities (according to the preface). The entries are arranged alphabetically by place name, then by institution with address and library code, and under that alphabetically by last name of the collector. Each entry includes the person's name, birth and death dates, citations to the collection in the most popular music reference works, call number, size of the collection, a brief description of it, and level of access. Although many of the collections are not yet organized and have no finding aids, this volume, with its two indexes of collectors' names, and the names of other persons mentioned in the descriptions, will serve scholars as a guide to discovering sources they can mine for their research. [sh/hh]
 
 

Originally a dissertation, this book is a thorough scholarly examination of Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf's chamber music for strings, of which there are 108 compositions. Following the treatise is a 39-page appendix containing a thematic index to these works. The structure of the assigned index numbers reflects the arrangement of the catalog according to number of parts and genre: (1) roman numeral = number of parts; (2) main key (letter, preceded by a colon); (3) running numbering of different works in the same genre and key; (4) if appropriate, different versions, added as a lower-case letter; e.g., III:A3, III:A3a. Each index entry contains the customary elements: title, (works) catalog number, incipits followed by citations, manuscripts, first printing, later printings, commentary, literature, and holding libraries for the manuscripts and first editions according to RISM. Explanatory notes and a list of the RISM library codes precede the thematic index. [mr/hh]
 
 

This volume is not so much a bibliography, as the title suggests, but a finding aid to Richard Genée's autographs and so-called hand-copied music imprints and text books in the Music and Theater Collection of the Österreichsiche Nationalbibliothek (Austrian National Library) in Vienna, plus the music materials and recordings in the Deutsches Musikarchiv (German Music Archive) at the Deutsche Bibliothek (German National Library) in Berlin. This book contains neither a complete listing of Genée's musical texts and works (he was both a librettist and a composer) nor a listing of the literature about Genée. The use of initials and abbreviations in names is inconsistent, and there is no key to the abbreviations used. Genée the librettist worked with, among others, Johann Strauss, Franz von Suppé, and Carl Millöcker, and most closely with Friedrich von Flotow; not much can be found about these collaborations in the book. The reader is advised to continue consulting encyclopedias and dictionaries for bibliographical information on Richard Genée. [fk/hh]
 
 

Volume 1 of this work by Wolfgang Boetticher, a well-known authority on Orlando di Lasso, was originally published under the same title in 1958. Now reprinted, its extensive bibliography has been updated with citations from the years 1958-1998. Volume 2, the catalog of Orlando di Lasso's works, was begun in 1937 but not published until 1998. The two volumes complement each other, but careful perusal of all introductory chapters and prefaces is required to grasp the basic concept of the work as a whole.

The main body of volume 2 is preceded by a list of source literature, by title, and a list of editions, also by title, and consists for the main part of an index of titles and incipits. It lists older imprints, including first editions (in an unusual citation form, the year plus a Greek letter, analog to the source list in volume 1), manuscripts, literature, and editions; this represents an attempt to date the works as well. Where possible, references are made from the incipit to the collection of which the work is a part. A new addition is the index of contrafacta.

The index of incipits is followed by a listing of known manuscripts, sorted by holding institution, and a listing of the known imprints, which constitute a concordance of the imprints listed in the works catalog to RISM and to Howard Mayer Brown's Instrumental Music Printed Before 1600: A Bibliography (Cambridge, Mass., 1965). [mr/hh]
 
 

This publication consists of two parts. Part 1 is a fairly complete discography of Reger CDs that are or were available on the German market, and part 2 lists in-print scores of Reger's works, as well as out-of-print editions. A bibliography of theoretical writings and available posters and postcards can be found in the appendix. Both parts also contain references, though very spotty, to reviews of the CDs or scores listed (most of the reviews are archived in the Max Reger Institute). The volume concludes with personal name, label, and publisher indexes. [mr/ba]
 
 

Known for his other publications on the Strauss family, Franz Mailer, music historian and president of the Johann Strauss Association in Vienna, also put together this annotated bibliography of the works of Johann Strauss. Different from other thematic catalogs, the works here are listed alphabetically, and the annotations explain their historical background (covering, for example, political, societal, and private factors). The list of works appears to be complete, and an appendix notes works with opus numbers by number, and works without opus numbers by other categories. This catalog is not thematic, and some details usually included in similar catalogs are omitted here. Nevertheless, this bibliography belongs in any library with music holdings. [mr/ba]
 
 

This catalog accompanied the Richard Strauss exhibition organized by the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (Bavarian State Library) in 1999 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Strauss's death. The Bayerische Staatsbibliothek was predestined to mount this exhibition, as it has extensive and unique Richard Strauss holdings, including autographs. The pieces in the exhibition came for the most part from its own collections, but also from the Richard Strauss Archive in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the theater-related holdings at the University of Cologne, and the German Theater Museum in Munich. The volume features numerous color and black-and-white reproductions of autographs, scores, paintings, portraits, and photos of stage scenes and programs. The first part of this publication consists of five essays, and the second part comprises the extensive catalog. The volume also includes a list of the Munich concerts directed by Richard Strauss. The appendix contains a Strauss discography, a list of Strauss opera premieres, and a bibliography including a listing of the various editions of his letters. This catalog belongs in every music library. [mr/ba]
 
 

Franz Trenner's most recent catalog of Strauss works draws on information found in Erich H. Mueller von Asow's thematic Strauss catalog, Richard Strauss: thematisches Verzeichnis (Wien, 1959-1974), completed after the death of the author in 1964 by Trenner and Alfons Ott. Trenner then continued his work on Strauss by publishing additions to Müller von Asow's work in Richard Strauss: Werkverzeichnis (Wien, 1985). Because Mueller von Asow's work was no longer in print, Trenner's catalog of Strauss works was revised and updated a year after the author's death (München, 1993). The second edition of this work, under discussion here, was revised by the author's son, Florian Trenner. The arrangement of Strauss works in Trenner's catalog is different from that in Mueller von Asow's. Trenner arranges all compositions chronologically; he does not separate numbered works from unnumbered ones. He also does not include the writings of Richard Strauss. Compared to the first, the second revised edition includes updated and more complete information on each work listed, reflecting the most recent research on Strauss. Trenner's catalog includes the customary information in the descriptions of Strauss's works; however, Mueller von Asow's work remains the most detailed in that respect. The indexes in Trenner's work include: a chronological register by type of work, an alphabetical index of first lines, an index of work titles, an index of writers and translators, composers, and publishers of the originals. The personal name index is a new addition, but it is not very complete. Some publishers are listed; others, who should have been listed, are not. The catalog also includes an indispensable concordance that relates entry numbers in Mueller von Asow's work to those in Trenner's. Libraries need to own both Mueller von Asow's and Trenner's catalogs, the former for its detail and the latter for its updated information. The two works complement each other. [mr/ba]
 
 

This published dissertation meets its two objectives of compiling a complete list of Süßmayr's compositions and of verifying the dates of the works or manuscripts. The first part of the book contains a systematic thematic catalog, including a chronology of the works and an indication of how certain the dates of creation are. The second part discusses in detail how the works were dated. The catalog uses a three-digit numbering system designating series, work group, and number of the individual work within the work group. The catalog includes a bibliography, and title, first line, name, and place indexes. [mr/ba]
 
 

This catalog of Wagner letters (WBV) is closely connected to Wagner's Sämtliche Briefe [Collected Letters], compiled by the Richard Wagner Stiftung in Bayreuth and published first by VEB Deutscher Verlag für Musik in Leipzig and now by Breitkopf & Härtel. The first volume of Sämtliche Briefe was published in 1967, and the set is not yet complete. The original editors of the Sämtliche Briefe neglected to undertake a thorough inventory of the existing letters, with the result that about 300 letters are missing in the first eight volumes of that set. The WBV attempts to present a complete catalog of Wagner's letters on which to base the remaining volumes of the Sämtliche Briefe. The main part of the WBV lists 9,030 letters written by Richard Wagner, and an appendix registers another 496 Wagner-related documents. Included in the catalog are all letters written in Wagner's own hand, or at least signed by him, and currently in existence either in the original or in a copy. Also listed are letters that have been destroyed, if their texts have been preserved in some form. Letters that are only referred to in secondary sources are not included. The catalog lists first (in chronological order) those letters that can be dated exactly, followed by those that can be ascribed to a certain period in Wagner's life, and finally those that cannot be dated. Entries are numbered consecutively and note the name and location of the addressee, as well as the location of the sender and the date (if available). The WBV does not contain a keyword index to the contents of the letters. Instead, it includes comments on the form of the letters, the whereabouts of the originals, the copies, and the dating process. The WBV includes indexes of the addressees and the beginning texts of the letters. [sh/ba]
 
 

This reliable guide introduces 675 compositions for choirs. Two hundred fifty composers are represented, and the volume contains 800 photos of composers and choirs, manuscript scores, and documents, and 213 musical examples on 12 CDs (with a running time of about 15 hours). The main part of the book arranges the composers alphabetically. Each entry contains a short biography, a portrait, and a few bibliographical references. Choral works are listed in tables for composers who have created an extensive number of works. Descriptions of the choral compositions include detailed information on each work, as well as on its origin and its significance. This guide includes several appendixes and indexes. [mr/ba]
 
 

The title of this book is somewhat misleading, as the guide is not restricted to oratorios or sacred choral music. It includes secular choral music as well, and lists about 450 works by more than 200 composers, including Berlioz, Brahms, Schönberg, Sibelius, and Vaughan Williams. The selection of works seems somewhat arbitrary, although, according to the introduction, all are or have at some point in time been considered oratorios. The main part of the guide presents the composers alphabetically and provides short biographies and lists of works, as well as references to some secondary literature. Descriptions of the works are arranged in chronological order and include the customary details. The appendixes include a list of Latin titles with German translations, name and work indexes, a systematic list of works discussed in the volume, and an author index. [mr/ba]
 
 

This guide has been published by Reclam for many years. A second editor (Alexander Wagner) was added to compile this completely revised edition. The introduction features a brief history of choral music. The main section presents the choral works in chronological order by type. This section is followed by a glossary of terms and an index of composers and works. The previous structure of the guide has been retained, and whole passages of text found in earlier editions have been transferred to the new edition. Nonetheless, the text has been significantly revised, and many composers appear here for the first time. The new seventh edition will therefore become the standard edition.

Although there is quite a bit of overlap in content between the three guides to choral music discussed above, each one contains a significant number of unique works, making the acquisition of all three a must for music libraries. [mr/ba]
 
 

In contrast to its predecessor Wort- und Sachkonkordanz [Word and Subject Concordance] (Göttingen, 1970), this new concordance provides access to almost all words in the Protestant hymnal, and not merely to the "significant" word in a line. Cross-references between related words allow the user to explore semantic fields and connections. The indexes to verse incipits, canons, and movements for several voices, and the alphabetical list of weekly hymns that supplements the liturgical calendar in the hymnal are useful additions. This volume is now also available in paperback in a "special edition" that is not part of the handbook series.

The second volume of the handbook, Komponisten und Liederdichter, which deals with composers and hymn authors, is no longer arranged chronologically by epoch but alphabetically by composer. Based on the 1993 hymnal, it covers 460 authors, composers, and translators, thus almost doubling the number of authors contained in the hymnal of 1950. In addition to the brief biographies, there is a handful of articles dealing with major collections of hymns, and with themes such as Protestant brotherhoods. This handbook belongs in research libraries as well as in music and theological libraries. [mr/rs]
 
 

This useful and informative dictionary provides entries for some 10,000 composers of masses (volumes 1 and 2), with brief biographical information, a listing of their masses (including locations of the manuscripts), and select bibliographies. Because only about 50 percent of these composers are to be found in the major musical dictionaries, a vast array of the musical literature was consulted in the compilation of the dictionary. Volume 3 begins with an overview of anonymous masses, followed by a survey of the general literature. The remainder, and major part, of this volume contains a systematic arrangement of the masses by their titles in eight large subject groups. The extensive information offered by this excellent reference work makes it essential for music and theological libraries. [mr/rs]
 
 

More than 10 years after German reunification, "GDR" has become a historical term. The dictionary under review declares: "The evolution of GDR rock music has come to an end." A fascinating 14-page introduction outlines the history of rock music in East Germany. One wishes even more space had been dedicated to this topic, and to the situation of popular music under a repressive regime. Rock music is defined rather loosely (as it was in the GDR) and includes, among others, folk and pop. The Western reader gains the impression that in spite of (or because of?) the isolationist tendencies of the state, a healthy rock music scene developed in the GDR, and that it was in fact to some degree accommodated by the regime. Persecution and harassment by the authorities notwithstanding, there existed free areas (e.g., in the churches). Few East German rock bands survived the reunification.

The dictionary contains entries for about 500 bands and artists (including songwriters and composers, as well as musicians who were not allowed to record), and about 100 definitions of technical terms. The Western reader would be well advised to browse freely rather than merely look up specific terms. A list of top hits from 1975-1990 and a subject index conclude the dictionary. Numerous black and white illustrations add to the value of this tool. [beh/rs]
 
 

The second edition of this encyclopedia covers not only Europe but, for the first time, also the United States and Canada. It provides detailed information about individuals and companies that have made pianos and all preceding forms of this instrument since 1788. There is a geographic index, an index for the type of service or activity within the piano industry, and an index of patents and registered designs. Companies that still exist today are identified with an asterisk. [mr/ldl]
 
 

This lexicon provides information about all documented German piano makers from approximately 1850-1960, arranged alphabetically by the name of the piano maker or manufacturer. The work complements Das Klavier-Lexikon (see RREA 6:207 above), in that it provides more background information about piano makers or manufacturers, including the history of the firm and its owner(s), significant developments in piano construction, and data concerning the numbers of pianos that were manufactured during this time period. An appendix includes a bibliography. [mr/ldl]
 
 

After the success of its Orgelführer Deutschland (1998), the publisher brought out this guide to pipe organs in Europe, which provides brief information about 82 instruments in Scandinavia and western and eastern Europe. The criteria for selecting specific organs are unclear. Each entry contains a brief description of the instrument, together with an overview of its ranks of stops. The book lacks an explanation of the underlying principles in organ construction, but it has attractive illustrations and could appeal to an interested afficionado. [sh/ldl]
 
 

This update of a 1996 CD-ROM listing popular hits in Germany from the years 1956-1995 adds the years 1996-1998, as well as 326 song titles from 1930-1955. The total of 15,697 singles by 4,338 artists is searchable by singer, song title, label, date, songwriter (new), and producer (new). For the first time, "clickable" brief biographies of recording artists are included. [beh/rs]
 
 

At a time when digital media seem to rule, this lexicon is dedicated to the medium of the vinyl phonograph record, once declared dead, but proving to be surprisingly resistant. As the subtitle states, it aims to address "the truths and myths" of the medium. In addition to copious information on technology and production, the volume contains more than 100 sketches of labels ranging from A&M Records to Zapple Records. Fairly obvious terms, and also complex technical ones, are explained in a fashion suitable for the layperson. The trend of digitizing old analog recordings is lamented as leading to a loss of authenticity. Missing are references to the Internet as an information resource, as well as to record archives, such as the Deutsches Musikarchiv, the Pop-Archiv in Bremen, or the Jazzinstitut in Darmstadt. [beh/rs]
 
 

Special Report: New Information Sources on Johann Sebastian Bach

This volume has been published as a retrospective of the International Working Group for Theological Research in Bach Studies, founded in 1976. The Working Group studies the close relationship of religious and liturgical concerns to Bach's compositions. The first part of this book (p. 1-350) is devoted to the activities of the Working Group (documentation pertaining to its conferences, activities of some of its members, as well as some previously published essays and lectures, such as "Bach and Luther" and "Bach in the Church Service"). The second part (p. 351-445) is a bibliography on the subject of theological Bach research, listing publications of the Working Group and/or its members, including (comprehensively) books, essays, dictionary articles, liner notes, and (selectively) shorter writings, reviews, program notes, and conference reports. [mr/sl]
 
 

Looking at first glance like a monograph rather than a reference work, this handbook attempts, in fact, to be both a book to be read and a guide to be consulted. It consists of a sequence of texts, while reference to individual pieces by Bach can be found using the index or the numerous tables that survey Bach's oeuvre. The handbook is organized into chapters: Bach's politics, Bach reception, performance practice of Bach's music since 1750, and Bach and theology; followed by genres and instrumentation of Bach's works. Works consulted are listed at the end of each chapter. Appendixes include a chronology, an alphabetical list of sacred cantatas, an alphabetical list of chorale arrangements for organ, a listing of Bach's works by Bach Werke-Verzeichnis (BWV) number, an index of names, and index of authors with short biographies. [mr/sl]
 
 

Although the first section (p. 1-148) of this work is devoted to the history of Bach interpretation generally, the largest part (p. 149-427) deals with the history of performance practice on "exemplary recordings," presented in Bach Werke-Verzeichnis (BWV) order. The accompanying CD is intended to document historically representative performance practices. An extensive bibliography lists relevant monographs and essays. There are indexes by BWV numbers and personal names. Although not primarily a reference work, this volume can be used as a thoroughly annotated discography. It conveys an extraordinary amount of information about performance practice, especially as it pertains to the works of Bach. [mr/sl]
 
 

The Bach-Lexikon is the first of the projected six volumes of the Bach-Handbuch to be published, although it is numbered as the last. It includes 453 signed articles by 58 authors, with very brief bibliographical references, and covers life and work, contexts, and impact on Bach. There are useful tabular overviews covering autographs, facsimiles, and cantatas. Also included are a listing of contributors, an alphabetical (instead of topical) listing of articles, bibliographic abbreviations, a listing of Bach's works by Bach Werke-Verzeichnis number, and a chronology of Bach's life.

Unlike contributors to the German publication, who are from German-speaking countries and little-known, the authors contributing to the Oxford Composer Companions series include such prominent names as Alberto Basso, Daniel R. Melamed, Michael Musgrave, Michael Talbot, and Henri Vanhulst. It is much more extensive, with 781 signed articles (containing the briefest of bibliographical references). Every cantata and every motet gets its own article, whereas in the Lexikon they are subsumed within more general articles. Articles are also devoted to performers (e.g., Glenn Gould) and musicologists (e.g., Philipp Spitta, Christoph Wolff). The articles in the English-language work are usually (but not always) more extensive than those in the Lexikon. Appendixes include a listing of works (with much useful detail); text incipits of arias, ensembles and choruses in vocal works; a chronology of Bach's life; and a glossary of musical terms.

Libraries would do well to acquire both volumes, which can be used to complement one another. The German volume is more suited to lay readers, the Oxford volume to scholars. [mr/sl]
 
 

This updated and revised edition of Bachstätten aufsuchen (1992) lists locations of significance to the study of Bach's life and music in alphabetical order within four sections: (1) Pertaining to Bach; (2) Buildings, memorials, images, monuments; (3) Literature; (4) Itineraries, information resources, addresses, opening hours. An appendix provides information on where organs are located--by city, then by church. There is also an entirely inadequate bibliography of only six titles, an index to the works of Bach mentioned in the guide, as well as a name index and a place index. The book concludes with a chronology of Bach's life.

Although conceived as primarily a travel guide, this book is also recommended as a reference work for libraries. [mr/sl]
 
 

This volume aims to provide both laypeople and professional musicians with a streamlined version of the exhaustive work known as Schmieder (after its editor), or BWV, shorthand for its full title, Thematisch-systematische Verzeichnis der musikalischen Werke von Johann Sebastian Bach [Thematic-Systematic Index to the Musical Works of JSB]. It is about half as long as the original on which it is based (the second edition of the BWV) and is presented as a compromise between a bare-bones listing of musical titles on the one hand and a comprehensive reference work on the other. The preface is given in both English and German (as it is in Schmieder). Incipits have been shortened, as have the annotations; all works of doubtful authorship are now listed in one section; there are fewer indexes, although there is a new (and useful) one: an index to Bach's church melodies. The deviation from the numbering system of the BWV's second edition is confusing. Nonetheless, this is a useful and affordable edition for students. Libraries will want it, in addition to both the first (1950) and the second (1990) edition of the BWV, for its bibliographic listings. [mr/sl]
 
 

This guide to Bach's works appeared first in 1993, and again in a special edition (though it was not designated as such) on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of his death in 1999. It is organized by instrumentation and genre. Volume 1 includes a short piece outlining Bach interpretation today, and volume 2 the texts of the B-Minor Mass and the Magnificat. Each volume also contains a selective, generally unannotated discography, a selective bibliography of standard titles, and a complete listing of Bach's works by Bach Werke-Verzeichnis number (including "ephemeral," i.e., unperformed, works). Volume 2 contains an alphabetical index of titles and first lines as well. This solidly researched guide belongs in every library. [mr/sl]
 
 

The seventh edition of Johann Sebastian Bach, Die Kantaten, a guide to the cantatas of Bach, is an unrevised reprint of the sixth edition (1995), which was published by the present publisher (Bärenreiter) together with the Munich publisher dtv with the more sensible title Die Kantaten von Johann Sebastian Bach. It is intended for "the interested music lover" as a guide to performances in concert, over the radio, or on records. It begins with informative introductory chapters that deal with Bach's cantatas generally. These chapters are followed by sections on the sacred cantatas, then the secular cantatas, which are described largely in terms of their text, intentionally neglecting other, special aspects such as symbolism, contemporary liturgical applications, etc. Appendixes include a bibliography, a personal name index, a subject index/glossary, a title index, and a Bach Werke-Verzeichnis index.

Unfortunately, the 1995 edition (and thus the one from 1999) used the plates of the 1985 edition, very much limiting the amount of new information that could be added.

Die Welt der Bach-Kantaten has its origins in the performances of the complete cantatas by the conductor Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Choir. As the title indicates, it is not a guide to Bach's cantatas as such, but rather to their historical, biographical, literary, theological, analytical, and aesthetic contexts. Essays by different authors devoted to these topics make up the contents of the three volumes. They are scholarly, although not intended primarily for musicologists. Each volume includes a selective bibliography and a three-part index (two for the cantatas, and one for personal names). [mr/sl]
 
 

This booklet is not an "official" listing of works. Rather, it was published in conjunction with the publication of the organ chorales of uncertain authenticity within Series IV of the Neue Bach-(Gesamt)-Ausgabe (NBA) (1954- ). It is intended to provide additional information concerning the authenticity of the works in question, especially the manuscripts and printed editions that had not yet been dealt with. It is organized alphabetically by title and includes 198 entries. Each entry contains information concerning title, Bach Werke-Verzeichnis number, names of possible composers, incipits, and, when known, holding institutions. [mr/sl]
 
 

Intended for the layperson, this guide treats the development of the passion genre. It provides a detailed discussion of the text and music of Bach's two great surviving instances of it (Matthew and John); sections on Bach's later re-workings of his passions; the history of their performance practice; the history of their reception; the passions of the other two evangelists (the lost St. Mark's Passion and the Luke's Passion of dubious authorship); and the relation of Bach's cantatas to his passions. The volume closes with a bibliography, a glossary, and a listing of references to the musical examples. [mr/sl]