Johann Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratorio

Music, Theology, Culture

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Music, Music Styles, Religious, Theory & Criticism, History & Criticism
Cover of the book Johann Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratorio by Markus Rathey, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Markus Rathey ISBN: 9780190624033
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: August 4, 2016
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Markus Rathey
ISBN: 9780190624033
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: August 4, 2016
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

In the last decades of the 17th century, the feast of Christmas in Lutheran Germany underwent a major transformation when theologians and local governments waged an early modern "war on Christmas," discouraging riotous pageants and carnivalesque rituals in favor of more personal and internalized expressions of piety. Christmas rituals, such as the "Heilig Christ" plays and the rocking of the child (Kindelwiegen) were abolished, and Christian devotion focused increasingly on the metaphor of a birth of Christ in the human heart. John Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratorio, composed in 1734, both reflects this new piety and conveys the composer's experience living through this tumult during his own childhood and early career. Markus Rathey's book is the first thorough study of this popular masterpiece in English. While giving a comprehensive overview of the Christmas Oratorio as a whole, the book focuses on two themes in particular: the cultural and theological understanding of Christmas in Bach's time and the compositional process that led Bach from the earliest concepts to the completed piece. The cultural and religious context of the oratorio provides the backdrop for Rathey's detailed analysis of the composition, in which he explores Bach's compositional practices, for example, his reuse and parodies of movements that had originally been composed for secular cantatas. The book analyzes Bach's original score and sheds new light on the way Bach wrote the piece, how he shaped musical themes, and how he revised his initial ideas into the final composition.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In the last decades of the 17th century, the feast of Christmas in Lutheran Germany underwent a major transformation when theologians and local governments waged an early modern "war on Christmas," discouraging riotous pageants and carnivalesque rituals in favor of more personal and internalized expressions of piety. Christmas rituals, such as the "Heilig Christ" plays and the rocking of the child (Kindelwiegen) were abolished, and Christian devotion focused increasingly on the metaphor of a birth of Christ in the human heart. John Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratorio, composed in 1734, both reflects this new piety and conveys the composer's experience living through this tumult during his own childhood and early career. Markus Rathey's book is the first thorough study of this popular masterpiece in English. While giving a comprehensive overview of the Christmas Oratorio as a whole, the book focuses on two themes in particular: the cultural and theological understanding of Christmas in Bach's time and the compositional process that led Bach from the earliest concepts to the completed piece. The cultural and religious context of the oratorio provides the backdrop for Rathey's detailed analysis of the composition, in which he explores Bach's compositional practices, for example, his reuse and parodies of movements that had originally been composed for secular cantatas. The book analyzes Bach's original score and sheds new light on the way Bach wrote the piece, how he shaped musical themes, and how he revised his initial ideas into the final composition.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book Prosperity for All by Markus Rathey
Cover of the book A Tale of Seven Elements by Markus Rathey
Cover of the book Power & Purity by Markus Rathey
Cover of the book Enemies of the Enlightenment by Markus Rathey
Cover of the book Paris: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide by Markus Rathey
Cover of the book Observed Brain Dynamics by Markus Rathey
Cover of the book Encounter on the Great Plains by Markus Rathey
Cover of the book How Invention Begins by Markus Rathey
Cover of the book The Hidden Cost of Being African American by Markus Rathey
Cover of the book The Music Teaching Artist's Bible by Markus Rathey
Cover of the book General Councils, 1409-1517: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide by Markus Rathey
Cover of the book The Making of a Confederate by Markus Rathey
Cover of the book The Great War: A Combat History of the First World War by Markus Rathey
Cover of the book The Modern Castrato by Markus Rathey
Cover of the book Faces in the Clouds by Markus Rathey
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy