Bach Mass in B Minor [Paperback]

The Mass in B Minor is arguably Bach's greatest single work. John Butt gives an absorbing account of the work's genesis, its historical context, and its reception by later generations.An absorbing account of the mass's genesis--its historical context and its reception by later generations--considers the work movement by movement, and includes an English as well as Latin text.An absorbing account of the mass's genesis--its historical context and its reception by later generations--considers the work movement by movement, and includes an English as well as Latin text.The Mass in B Minor is arguably Bach's greatest single work. This short guide considers the work from many angles, offering the reader basic information in a concise and accessible form. John Butt gives an absorbing account of the work's genesis, its historical context, and its reception by later generations. One chapter considers the work movement by movement, providing the text in both Latin and English, and the final group of chapters on the music itself suggests some new approaches to the work--its forms, style and overall structure. This is an informative and lucid guide, providing an up-to-date summary of existing research and opinions together with some new and challenging insights.List of illustrations; List of abbreviations; Preface; 1. The musical genre of the mass ordinary; 2. Genesis and purpose; 3. Reception history; 4. Text and music: the process of adaptation and composition; 5. Ritornello forms; 6. The influence of the dance; 7. Counterpoint; 8. Figurae and the motivic texture; 9. Patterns and proportions: large-scale structuring and continuity in the Mass in B Minor; Afterword. While the book has numerous virtues--such as up-to-date assessments of why Bach created the Mass, and of how he used pre-existing pieces to do so--an even finer kind of writing emerges when Butt takes us into the composer's workshop. Fanfare ...this book fulfills its purpose admirably. For the concert-goer, lS3