BH - Music

2011

BH - Music

Zentren der Kirchenmusik [Centers of Church Music]. Ed. Matthias Schneider and Beate Bugenhagen. Laaber: Laaber-Verlag, 2011. 429 p. ill. music. 28 cm. (Enzyklopädie der Kirchenmusik, 2); (Veröffentlichungen der Gesellschaft der Orgelfreunde, 251). ISBN 978-3-89007-690-4 (6-vol. set); ISBN 978-3- 89007-692-8 (vol. 2): EUR 128 [12-3]

The six-volume (in ten) Enzyklopädie der Kirchenmusik begins with a four-part volume 1, Geschichte der Kirchenmusik, of which only the first two parts have appeared, published in 2010. Part 1 covers the beginnings of church music through the Reformation; part 2 covers the 17th and 18th centuries, focusing on the creative tensions among the numerous confessional groups.

The second volume, Zentren der Kirchenmusik adopts a new, “center-based” approach to the study of the history of church music. Following a somewhat brief introduction to this new center-periphery approach, the material in the volume is arranged chronologically, with coverage of medieval to modern times, and subdivided geographically. The “centers” are almost all German, from Riga to St. Gallen to the major cities in Central Europe to Pennsylvania; the only other centers discussed are Amsterdam, London, Paris, and Venice. The volume includes a chapter on the mass and on Johann Sebastian Bach.

Although the coverage leaves something to be desired (some striking omissions and some unexpected inclusions; a generally Eurocentric focus), the individual contributions in the volume offer important new perspectives on the social and cultural history of church music. Together with its companion encyclopedia volumes, this work has a place in any good reference collection; as a stand-alone volume, it belongs in any research collection with coverage of music history. [ar/cjm]

Complete Works for Keyboard Instruments = Sämtliche Werke für Tasteninstrumente. Johann Pachelbel. Ed. Michael Belotti. Colfax, NC: Wayne Leupold Editions. (Baroque Organ Repertoire). 31 x 24 cm [12-1]
Vol. 1. Preludes and Toccatas: Pedaliter = Praeludien und Toccaten. 1999. xxvi, 46 p. ill. facsimiles. Order number WL600052: $22.50
Vol. 2. Fugues = Fugen. 2005. ix, 116 p. facsimiles. Order number WL600176: $35.25
Vol. 3. Magnificat Fugues from the Berlin Manuscript: 1 = Magnificat-Fugen aus der Berliner Handschrift: 1. 2002. ix, 64 p. ill. facsimiles. Order number WL600129: $23.75
Vol. 4. Magnificat Fugues from the Berlin Manuscript: 2. = Magnificat-Fugen aus der Berliner Handschrift: 2. 2002. ix, 59 p. facsimiles. Order number: WL600136: $22.50
Vol. 5. Magnificat Fugues from the London Manuscript = Magnificat-Fugen aus der Londoner Handschrift. 2005. xvii, 49 p. facsimiles. Order number: WL600177: EUR 26.25

Scholarly editions of Pachelbel’s keyboard works go back to the volumes published in the series Denkmäler Deutscher Tonkunst [Monuments of German Composition] edited primarily by Max Seiffert in the early years of the 20th century. Later editions published by Bärenreiter and Peters were derived largely from Seiffert’s work.

Michael Belotti, the editor of this new, ten-volume edition, writes that developments in editorial practices, the discovery of new source materials, and especially new insights into historic performance practice justify the need for the reexamination of Pachelbel’s score. The result: many changes, including new variants in the scores and revised attributions.

Although Pachelbel is known today primarily as a composer for the organ, he also composed for keyboard instruments without pedal, as well as music for the harpsichord to be played at home: hence an edition of works for keyboard.

Volume 1 provides an extensive introduction (in both English and German), which itself warrants acquisition of this edition. It bears the title “Pachelbel’s Keyboard Music: The Historical Background,” and gives detailed information on the relevant biographical and musical contexts. As well, it includes a section on performance practice and a critical commentary (in English only) on editorial questions.

Still awaiting publication are volumes 6 (Fantasias, Ciaconnes, Suites, Variations), volumes 7-9 (Choral Arrangements) and volume 10 (Didactic Compositions).

Although intended primarily for use in performance, given the up-to-date editorial standards on which it is based, this edition is strongly recommended for libraries, even those that already possess the older editions. [ar/sl]

Hugo-Wolf-Werkverzeichnis: (HWW); thematisch-chronologisches Verzeichnis der musikalischen Werke Hugo Wolfs [Catalog of Hugo Wolf ’s Compositions: Thematic-Chronological Catalog of Hugo Wolf ’s Compositions]. Margret Jestremski. Kassel: Bärenreiter, 2011. xxxiv, 697 p. ill. music. 27 cm. (Catalogus musicus, 19). ISBN 978-3-7618-1989-0: EUR 198 [12-2]

This listing of the works of Hugo Wolf can only be described as magisterial, indeed monumental. Providing as much information as it does, it far exceeds the basic functions of a mere catalog. It also marks the first time that a comprehensive listing of Wolf ’s compositions has been based on the entire body of available source material, which almost doubled during the period this catalog was in preparation.

The main section of listings (600 pages) covers authoritatively dated compositions and fragments. Within this section, the compositions are organized chronologically. For each entry a wealth of information is given, including note incipits, composition history, text, musical sources (autographs, copies, corrected copies, printed editions), first documented performances, references in correspondence and publications, etc. Further, the entries provide a good deal of additional information, e.g, over 70 pages on the great song cycles alone, covering composition as well as manuscript and publication history, and for each individual song performance history, adaptations, etc., as well as relevant biographical information.

Following the main section are appendices listing sketchbooks, individual sketches, plans for compositions, lost works, arrangements of works by other composers, copies of works by other composers, and falsely attributed compositions. The superb indexes are organized by genre, title, first lines of text, poets, translations, publishers of first editions and editions published during Wolf ’s lifetime, performers of the premieres (sub-organized by singers, accompanists, string quartets, etc.), and a general name index. Final sections include an overview of the owners of the Wolf manuscripts, a list of the last known repository of sources whose present location is unknown, a chronology, and reproductions of autograph manuscripts and title pages.

This catalog is an astonishing achievement. It is essential to any serious study of Hugo Wolf and should be in all music history collections. [ar/sl]

Die Wiener Hofoper von 1794 bis 1810: Musik und Tanz im Burg- und Kärntnerthortheater [The Vienna Court Opera from 1794 to 1820: Music and Dance in the Burg Theater and the Kärntnerthor Theater]. Michael Jahn. Wien: Verlag Der Apfel, 2011. 664 p. ill. 25 cm. (Veröffentlichungen des RISM-Österreich: Reihe B, 11). ISBN 978-3-85450-311-8: EUR 85 [11-3]

Die Wiener Hofoper von 1810 bis 1836: das Kärtnerthortheater als Hofoper [The Vienna Court Opera from 1810 to 1836: the Kärtnerthor Theater as Court Opera]. Michael Jahn. Wien: Verlag der Apfel, 2007. 724 p. ill. 25 cm. (Veröffentlichungen des RISM-Österreich: Reihe B, [6]—incorrectly listed as Vol. 5 of the series). ISBN 978-3-85450-286-9: EUR 85 [11-3]

Die Wiener Hofoper von 1836 bis 1848: die Ära Balochino/Merelli [The Vienna Court Opera from 1836 to 1848: The Baloch-Merelli Era]. Michael Jahn. Vienna: Verlag Der Apfel, 2004. 488 p. ill. 25 cm. (Veröffentlichungen des RISM-Österreich: Reihe B, 1). ISBN 3-85450-148-X: EUR 64 [11-3]

Die Wiener Hofoper von 1848 bis 1870: Personal – Aufführungen – Spielplan [The Vienna Court Opera from 1848 to 1870: Personnel – Performances – Programs]. Michael Jahn. Tutzing: Schneider, 2002. 728, [16] p. ill. 24 cm. (Publikationen des Instituts für Österreichische Musikdokumentation, 27). ISBN 3-7952-1075-5: EUR 98 [11-3]

These four volumes (of which volume 4 was published first and volume 1 last) cover the history of the Vienna Court Opera—the ancestor of today’s Vienna State Opera— from the end of the 18th century to 1870, when the company moved into its current site on the Ringstrasse. The bulk of Volume 1 (1794-1810) consists of a chronological listing of the programs (pp. 19-175) and two sections providing detailed information on (1) the operas and other works of the musical theater that were offered by the Court Opera (pp. 177-397) and (2) its dance theater (pp. 399-468). Other, briefer listings, biographies, reports from contemporary journals and the like make up the remainder of the volume. For an extensive documentation of the Vienna State Opera, see Andreas Lang‘s Chronik der Wiener Staatsoper 1945-2005: Aufführungen, Besetzungen, Künstlerverzeichnis (see RREA 13:183).

Volumes 2, 3 and 4 also list the performances chronologically and include extensive sections providing further information on the individual works (again, opera and other forms of the musical theater in addition to dance and concerts), as well sections pertaining to administrative and artistic aspects of the Court Opera. The number of pages devoted to the listings as opposed to the length of the sections of text varies from volume to volume. Each volume includes bibliographies and name indexes. [mr/sl]

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