Music Theory Online

MTO

The Online Journal of the Society for Music Theory


Volume 5, Number 4  September, 1999
Copyright � 1999 Society for Music Theory



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Princeton University Press


Princeton University Press

New Paperback

The Social and Religious Designs of J. S. Bach's Brandenburg Concertos

Michael Marissen

This new investigation of the Brandenburg Concertos explores musical, social, and religious implications of Bach's treatment of eighteenth-century musical hierarchies. By reference to contemporary music theory, to alternate notions of the meaning of "concerto," and to various eighteenth-century conventions of form and instrumentation, the book argues that the Brandenburg Concertos are better understood not as an arbitrary collection of unrelated examples of "pure" instrumental music, but rather as a carefully compiled and meaningfully organized set. It shows how Bach's concertos challenge (as opposed to reflect) existing musical and social hierarchies. 

"This book is full of significant insights into the nature of the [Brandenburg Concertos]. . . . [It] offers a fascinatingly fresh approach to these masterworks." --F. Ellsworth Peterson, Notes

"For anyone who is interested in exploring the remarkably rewarding challenge Bach lays down for the human family, this is a careful, helpful, plausible, and perceptive analysis." --Paul Westermeyer, Church History

"Full of important and closely argued discussions of individual aspects of chronology, source criticism, musical structure, and [Bach's] biographical background. . . . [Marissen] is very informative on analytical and historical points, effectively demolishing many received beliefs, especially regarding chronology and source filiation." --Michael Talbot, Music and Letters

Michael Marissen is Associate Professor of Music at Swarthmore College. His most recent book is Lutheranism, Anti-Judaism, and Bach's "St. John Passion."

0-691-00686-5 Paper $14.95 US and L9.50 UK and Europe 168 pages, 6 x 9, 5 music examples.

If you wish to place an order, we encourage you to do so through  your local bookseller. If that is not possible, you can order  through our Web site: <http://pup.princeton.edu/order_info

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This page prepared by
Eric J. Isaacson, General Editor
14 November 2002