Peter Williams

The Life of Bach

• Gebundenes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

Short description/annotation
A searching and challenging interpretation of one of the greatest composers of all time.

Main description
Bach, like Shakespeare, is known largely by his works, exceptional in quantity as well as quality, and only a few original documents convey any idea of his life and character. Peter Williams's thoroughly new look at Bach's biography asks many questions about the so-called evidence. What was he like as a young man, as a father, as an ageing church servant(?)33; What were his preoccupations(?)33; What music did he know and how did he compose and perform such an amazing amount of music(?)33; Was he a disappointed man(?)33; Reading the available documentation critically, especially from the viewpoint of a performer, and going back to the first substantial 'biography' of Bach, namely his Obituary, Williams suggests new interpretations of the composer's life and his work. In addition, he asks if our understanding of Bach has been hindered by the unremitting deference displayed towards him since his death.

Table of contents:
Introduction; 1. Early years 1685-1703; 2. First appointments 1703-1708; 3. Weimar 1708-1717; 4. Cöthen 1717-1723; 5. Leipzig, the first decade; 6. Leipzig, the second decade; 7. Leipzig, the final years and the first personal descriptions; Appendix 1. A sample hypothesis; Appendix 2. Some terms; References; BWV Index; Name index.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Cambridge University Press
• Seitenzahl: 228
• Erscheinungstermin: 15. März 2012
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 222mm x 145mm x 17mm
• Gewicht: 460g
• ISBN-13: 9780521826365
• ISBN-10: 0521826365
• Artikelnr.: 22031798

Autorenporträt

Peter Williams (1937¿2016) was an internationally renowned Bach scholar and performer. He held the first Chair in Performance Practice in Britain at the University of Edinburgh, where he was Director of the Russell Collection of Harpsichords and latterly Dean of Music. He was also the first Arts and Sciences Distinguished Chair at Duke University, North Carolina. He was the author of many books, including A New History of the Organ (1980), The Organ Music of J. S. Bach (3 volumes, Cambridge, 1981¿1984), Bach, Handel, Scarlatti 1685¿1985 (Cambridge, 1985) and Bach: The Goldberg Variations (Cambridge, 2001).

Inhaltsangabe

Introduction; 1. Early years 1685
1703; 2. First appointments 1703
8; 3. Weimar 1708
17; 4. Cöthen 1717
23; 5. Leipzig, the first decade; 6. Leipzig, the second decade; 7. Leipzig, the final years and the first personal descriptions; Appendix 1. A sample hypothesis; Appendix 2. Some terms; References; BWV Index; Name index.