Bach's Church Cantatas

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Ruth Tatlow (Visiting Researcher, Visiting Researcher, Academy of Music and Drama, University of Gothenburg)

Bach's Church Cantatas

Ruth Tatlow (Visiting Researcher, Visiting Researcher, Academy of Music and Drama, University of Gothenburg)

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English

Oxford University Press Inc
30 September 2025

Music reviews & criticism; Western "classical" music; Christianity; Christian theology

Series: The ABS Guides Series

What is a cantata? How and why did Bach compose his cantatas? What did cantatas mean to Bach and what do they mean today? In Bach's Church Cantatas Ruth Tatlow addresses these questions through discussion of five of Bach's most beloved works enriched by newly researched insights that will intrigue both first-time and experienced listeners. With the overarching theme of Glory from the Gallery, this guide starts by introducing Bach's aims for his church cantatas. It examines the devotional content, the theology, and the poetic form of the cantata texts to help the reader appreciate Bach's musical responses. By analysing his choice of voices and instruments, compositional construction, structural symmetries, and other features in the music, Tatlow asks what significance these held for Bach, and how understanding this can help the listener of his music today. The text is illustrated by numerous rarely seen images from seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century sources. The book ends by reimagining the cantatas and their glories from galleries for all creeds and cultures.

Written in an accessible style for both non-specialists and those already familiar with Bach, Bach's Church Cantatas uses new research and ways of listening to help us better understand and appreciate the variety of cantata styles and their relevance in the modern world beyond their original liturgical setting.

By: Ruth Tatlow (Visiting Researcher Visiting Researcher Academy of Music and Drama University of Gothenburg)
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 203mm, Width: 142mm, Spine: 23mm
Weight: 227g
ISBN: 9780197622513
ISBN 10: 0197622518
Series: The ABS Guides Series
Pages: 216
Publication Date: 30 September 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , Undergraduate , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Ruth Tatlow is a visiting researcher at the University of Gothenburg and co-founder of Bach Network. Her publications include the award-winning Bach's Numbers: Compositional Proportion and Significance, Bach and the Riddle of the Number Alphabet, and the co-edited volume 'La clemenza di Tito': A Reappraisal.