In this anniversary year of Bach’s death it seems appropriate to examine
Bach’s treatment of death and the afterlife. Many of the studies devoted
to this theme have tended to characterise Bach has having a morbid preoccupation
with death. But are Bach’s musical expositions of death and eternity more
in line with a Lutheran ‘ars moriendi’? Or are they reflections necessitated
by the unfolding pattern of the biblical lections assigned to the specific
Sundays, festivals and observances of the church year, rather than personal
preference? Such questions will be addressed, and it will also be suggested
that Bach was more sophisticated in his treatment of death and the life
hereafter than has generally been suggested.
|
|
Conference Timetable |
|