In J. S. Bach at His Royal Instrument, author Russell Stinson delves into various unexplored aspects of the organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Drawing on previous research and new archival sources, he sheds light on many of the most mysterious aspects of these masterpieces, and their reception, and shows how they have remained a fixture of Western culture for nearly three hundred years.

In this wide-ranging set of original essays, musicologist and organist Russell Stinson investigates Johann Sebastian Bach's compositions for the organ, opening up a wealth of perspectives on the stylistic orientation and historical context of these timeless masterpieces. With a sweeping hand, Stinson sheds light on the entire corpus of Bach's organ chorales, and considers the reception of particular pieces not only by various luminaries in the classical music world, but also those within such disparate contexts as film, literature, politics, and rock music. Stinson's investigations include a revealing focus on a previously unpublished fugue by Bach pupil J. G. Schübler, unexplored techniques found in over twenty of Bach's chorale preludes, and the diverse ways in which Bach's organ works have been received from the composer's own lifetime to the present day. Individual essays are also devoted to Felix Mendelssohn as a performer; to Robert Schumann as an editor and critic; to César Franck as a performer, pedagogue, and composer; and to Edward Elgar as a performer, critic, and transcriber. Rich in archival data and filled with fascinating anecdotes, J. S. Bach at His Royal Instrument is entirely up-to-date, meticulously annotated and indexed, and eminently readable. This book is essential reading for anyone at all interested in Bach and "the king of instruments."

The music of J. S. Bach continues to be revered and celebrated centuries after his death. Its timelessness can be attributed to masterful musical engineering combined with profound expressivity. In other words, Bach's unique art may represent the pinnacle of contrapuntal technique, but it is just as amazing for its depth of emotion. Bach's compositions remain an indispensable part of the classical-music canon today. The Afterlife of Bach's Organ Works explores the critical impact made on posterity by Bach's organ music. It concerns a diverse group of musicians and non-musicians alike--some famous, some forgotten--who in one way or another became champions of these compositions. These individuals performed the music; edited it for publication; promoted it by means of books, articles, and reviews; transcribed it for other media; taught it to their pupils; shared it with their family and friends; and incorporated it into the soundtracks of their motion pictures. They ensured its "afterlife." In five chapters, organist and Bach expert Russell Stinson traces the historical afterlife of Bach's organ music from the early nineteenth century--the era of the so-called Bach revival--to the present day. Engagingly written and containing a wealth of information previously unavailable in English, the book is a history of performance practice, an aesthetic history of musical taste, and a social history. Each chapter tells the story of how and why Bach's organ works have stood the test of time.

Examines Mendelssohn's relationship to the past, shedding light on the construction of historical legacies that, in some cases, served to assert German cultural supremacy only two decades after the composer's death.

J.S. Bach's 250 extant organ works represent the greatest body of music for the pipe organ, and during his lifetime Bach was able to combine great virtuosity--daring passages for the feet as well as the hands--with bold, dramatic gestures to produce music that dazzled contemporary audiences. In this book, leading musicologist George B. Stauffer shows that Bach focused steadily on organ composition for more than fifty years, and that his unending quest for novelty, innovation, and refinement resulted in pieces that continue to reward and awe listeners today.

Johann Sebastian Bach's legacy is undeniably one of the richest in the history of music, with a vast influence on posterity that has only grown since his rediscovery in the early nineteenth century. In this latest addition to his long list of Bach studies, renowned Bach scholar Russell Stinson examines how four of the greatest composers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries - Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, Richard Wagner, and Edward Elgar - engaged with Bach's legacy, not only as composers per se, but also as performers, conductors, scholars, critics, and all-around musical ambassadors. Detailed analyses of both musical and epistolary sources shed light on how these later masters heard and received Bach's music within their musical circles, while colorful anecdotes about their Bach reception help humanize them, reconstructing the intimate social circumstances in which they performed and discussed Bach's music. Stinson focuses on Mendelssohn's and Schumann's reception of Bach's organ works, Schumann's encounter with the St. Matthew and St. John Passions, Wagner's musings on the Well-Tempered Clavier, and Elgar's (resoundingly negative) thoughts on Bach as a vocal composer. Engagingly written, copiously annotated, and thoroughly up to date, Bach's Legacy traces the historical afterlife of Bach's music and offers fascinating insights into how these later masters defined it for their audiences and beyond.

While interpretation of musical scores is amongst the most frequent of musical activities, it is also, strangely, one of the least researched. This collection of essays seeks to remedy this deficit by illuminating ways in which today’s curious musician – interested in probing beyond the dictates of a faintly understood score – can engage more deeply and thoughtfully with the act of interpretation. Skilful musical interpretation draws on a vast range of knowledges. The chapters of this collection accordingly address a similarly broad set of issues, including notation, rhetoric, theory, historiography, performers past and present, instrument builders, concert presenters, reception history, and more. Written by leading experts from a variety of musical subdisciplines, these essays are designed to be accessible and practically relevant for musical performance. Many of the chapters utilize case studies and, as such, will be useful for university and conservatory level students as well as music scholars. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Musicological Research.