A Conductor's Guide to the Choral-Orchestral Works of J. S. Bach - by Jonathan D Green (Hardcover)

About the Book

Focusing on the works of J. S. Bach, this invaluable guide surveys the choral-orchestral repertoire.

Book Synopsis

This is the third volume in an on-going series of books surveying the choral-orchestral repertoire. In this study, Green reviews Bach's entire oeuvre, including the more than two hundred works that are rarely performed and therefore rarely discussed. All Bach's works from BWV1 to BWV249 are analyzed, making this volume one of the most useful handbooks on this repertoire.

Green reviews each work in great detail, providing information such as an instrumentation list, performance times, publishers, availability of materials, manuscript location (when possible), the hand of the copyist(s), text sources, a discography, and bibliographies specific to each composition. Most importantly, for each work there is a detailed description of the performance issues within the score. This includes evaluations of each solo vocal role, an evaluation of the choral and orchestral parts, along with an estimation of their respective difficulties.

There are a number of indexes that provide brief biographical or historical information about each text source indexed back to the works themselves. There is also an index of works by type, vocal solos, choral voicing, instrumentation, liturgical calendar, performance chronology, title, and chorale usage.

Review Quotes

In sum, it is an excellent reference book written for non-professional conductors who are eagerly looking for a piece by Bach suitable for their performing groups...--Yo Tomita, School of Music, Queen's University of Belfast "Bach Bibliography"

The book is suitable for all music libraries and for libraries of churches with serious choral resources.-- "American Reference Books Annual"

The information presented is extremely useful, clearly and consistently presented. It is easy to read, concise, and serves the purpose of providing a thumbnail sketch of each work...This publication represents an enormous amount of detailed information that saves the choral conductor time in equal proportion. There is no need to consult multiple sources to get complete information about any of the works, and for those seeking further musicological or contextual information, Green provides an excellent bibliography at the end of the book. All choral conductors, whether experienced or novice, should add this book to their libraries as an essential reference tool.-- "Choral Journal"

About the Author

Jonathan D. Green (B.Mus., Fredonia School of Music; M.Mus., University of Massachusetts; DMA, University of North Carolina at Greensboro) is Director of Ensembles at Sweet Briar College. He is a frequent guest conductor and clinician, and an award-winning composer. His works have been performed throughout the United States and Europe.