PERHAPS A GIFT VOUCHER FOR MUM?: MOTHER'S DAY
Michael Marissen is Daniel Underhill Professor Emeritus of Music at Swarthmore College, where he taught from 1989 to 2014. He has also been a visiting professor on the graduate faculties at Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania. His publications include The Social and Religious Designs of J. S. Bach's Brandenburg Concertos; Lutheranism, Anti-Judaism, and Bach's St. John Passion; An Introduction to Bach Studies (co-author Daniel R. Melamed); Tainted Glory in Handel's Messiah; Bach & God; and essays in The Huffington Post and The New York Times.
There is a widespread feeling among music lovers today that 'Bach is a good friend of mine,' and that if he were alive in this era, he would surely be an 'ultra-modern' person who was good at Facebook and Twitter—after all, his music appeals so much to us! I find Michael Marissen's new book discussing Bach, rather, in opposition to modernity to be a wonderful model of historically-informed analytic criticism, not only against 'modernism,' but also against the current easy-going commercialism and triumphalistic secularism that prevent us from truly deepening our understanding and enjoyment of Bach. Wholeheartedly welcome! * Masaaki Suzuki, music director of Bach Collegium Japan * This is a thought-provoking, incisive, and hugely enlightening collection of essays from one of the most respected and original thinkers in Bach studies today. Marissen's razor-sharp wit and crystal-clear prose cut through some of the enduring myths of modern Bach reception to reveal different, unexpected, and sometimes uncomfortable facets of the man and his music. * Bettina Varwig, University of Cambridge * Marissen,... provide us with an excellent demonstration of the variety of issues with which we must contend and exemplary models of how to negotiate the challenges that we encounter. * Daniel F. Boomhower, Notes: the Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association vol. 80 *
