Kevin's Watch

Unknown vocal work by J. S. Bach discovered

from: www.bach-leipzig.de (photo of sheet music)

A completely unknown composition by Johann Sebastian Bach was discovered at the Anna Amalia Library in Weimar, Germany by a researcher from the Leipzig Bach Archive. The discovery was made by Michael Maul in the course of a systematic survey of all central German church, communal, and state archival collections, an ongoing research project begun in 2002 and supported by the Packard Humanities Institute and the William H. Scheide Fund.

The score in Bach’s own hand dates from October 1713 and represents a setting of a strophic aria with ritornello for soprano, strings, and basso continuo composed on the occasion of the 52nd birthday of duke Wilhelm Ernst of Saxe-Weimar, whom Bach then served as court organist. The twelve-stanza sacred poem with the text incipit „Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn’ ihn“ (Everything with God and nothing without him), the duke’s motto, was written by the theologian Johann Anton Mylius.

There has been no previous record of, or reference to, this composition. Moreover, in the seventy years since the 1935 discovery of the single-movement cantata fragment “Bekennen will ich seinen Namen” (BWV 200) no unknown authentic vocal work by Bach has come to light.

“It is no major composition but an occasional work in the form of an exquisite and highly refined strophic aria, Bach’s only contribution to a musical genre popular in late 17th-century Germany,” said Professor Christoph Wolff of Harvard University, chair of the Board of the Bach Archive, initiator, and supervisor of the current research project. “I am extremly proud of Michael who is a most resourceful researcher,” he added. “In less than three years he uncovered an unparalleled number of new archival Bach documents, but this is the first time he presented a musical discovery. The overall research project is far from being over and I am quite sure that sooner or later Michael Maul will make news again.”

A facsimile and performing edition of the newly discovered piece will be published in the fall of 2005 by Bärenreiter-Verlag of Kassel, Germany. The first recording will be prepared by Sir John Eliot Gardiner, this year’s winner of the Bach Medal of the city of Leipzig.

I think these odd discoveries - from books in places like libraries or attics that haven't been opened in hundreds or years, or, if someone ever saw the manuscript, didn't know or care what it was - are about the coolest thing in the world! There was an article about this in my local paper too, although it didn't mention Gardiner doing the first recording. He's certainly a great choice, being, imo, a fantastic scholar and conductor of Bach. But I'd love to know who the soprano is going to be. Not too many greater things could conceivably happen to a singer than to be the first person to record a newly discovered Bach piece!!

It's amazing to me that things like this can be found after so much time.

You would think that the paper would simply disintegrate or something after so many years.

In addition, recently an incomplete novel by Alexander Dumas was recently discovered in Paris.

I'm not going ga-ga over this Bach discovery, since it's apparently just a minor piece. I mean, considering the mountain of substantial works from Bach there already is, this new piece doesn't mean much to me.

I was much more enthralled by Beethoven's rough outline of a movement for a Tenth Symphony, that was put into shape for a recording several years ago.

Hmm, an incomplete Dumas novel...that could be significant.

Matrixman wrote:I was much more enthralled by Beethoven's rough outline of a movement for a Tenth Symphony, that was put into shape for a recording several years ago.

Was it in that good a shape? I thought I read only the first movement was really thought out, but I didn't think it was scored for an orchestra. If it exists in another form, I'd be interested in hearing it.

Matrixman,

Hmm, an incomplete Dumas novel...that could be significant.

It's about the Battle of Trafalgar, and a scholar completed it (I don't think there was much left needed) and French scholars have called it "indescribably brilliant." It's in bookstores in France now, and I can't wait until it's in English. [/off-topic]

Damelon wrote:

Matrixman wrote:I was much more enthralled by Beethoven's rough outline of a movement for a Tenth Symphony, that was put into shape for a recording several years ago.

Was it in that good a shape? I thought I read only the first movement was really thought out, but I didn't think it was scored for an orchestra. If it exists in another form, I'd be interested in hearing it.

Damelon, here's a link to the "Beethoven Reference Site Bulletin Board" that has some folks discussing Barry Cooper's recording of the Tenth:www.gyrix.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000112.html

Apologies for getting the facts wrong. Beethoven had much less than even an outline of a movement, just fragmentary sketches. It seems Mr. Cooper's efforts weren't entirely welcome. At least this new-found piece of Bach's is completely his own.

Surely you're a little bit inspired by the body and effort of Mr. Maul's research?

No question that Michael Maul's dedication should be applauded. It's patient research like that which I'm sure leads to discoveries of all sorts, whether major or minor. I believe in the idea that lucky breaks happen to those who work hard for them, and Mr. Maul is proof of that. I'm merely saying that this new Bach piece does not interest me personally; I am in no way doubting the worth of the ongoing research.


On a completely off-topic note:

Mr. Maul's name brings to mind something I read years ago in a classical magazine. The mag's editor told of how the spell-check function on his word processor ended up "correcting" some names of composers in an article he was preparing. I only remember that Gustav Mahler became Guitar Mauler.

Rock on, Mauler dude!