Bach Perspectives, Volume 13

About the Book

Scholars and performers have long noted J. S. Bach's abundant use of parody procedures, that is, the reworking of pre-existing material from his own compositions or from other sources. Laura Buch edits essays that reconsider parody, transcription, and adaptation in the sphere of the composer. The contributors delve into works of eighteenth-century composers from Bach himself to C. P. E. Bach and J. C. F. Fischer. But they also cast a wider net, investigating early twentieth century reworkings by Ferruccio Busoni and the ways Bach's music cross-pollinates with contemporary composer-performers John Lewis and the Modern Jazz Quartet, and keyboardist Bernie Worrell and Parliament-Funkadelic. The diverse contexts illuminate a broad range of techniques, from structural scaffolding and contrapuntal elaboration to integration with stylistic languages far removed from the Baroque.

An insightful look at how composers build on each other's work, Bach Reworked reveals how nuanced understandings of borrowing and adaptation both fuel musical innovation and contextualize historically informed performance.

Contributors: Stephen A. Crist, Ellen Exner, Moira Leanne Hill, Erinn E. Knyt, and Markus Zepf