Description
Johann Sebastian Bach's chorale settings have been vital to the teaching of music ever since they were composed. His four-voiced harmonisations represent a Baroque composer's approach to melodies that are often centuries older. As musical styles continued to evolve, each succeeding generation of teachers and students brought their own viewpoint to bear on this small corpus of music. Consequently, during the three centuries since their composition and a quarter of a millennium since their first publication, a range of contrasting ideas and approaches has tended to obscure the fundamental nature of these short yet complex musical works. This Course provides a thorough re-appraisal of this inspiring music. Each Chapter builds on the work of previous ones, so that the student is taken from the simplest harmonisations of single phrases right through to the most complex settings of complete chorale melodies employing the full range of Bach's harmonic resources. All the exercises are based directly on Bach's own music. The two final Chapters take the most advanced student into more specialised areas of four-part harmony.
About the Author
Christopher Mabley is a teacher, conductor, composer, arranger, performer, writer and examiner. He studied Music at the University of Cambridge, and subsequently took a Master's degree in the Theory and Analysis of Music at Goldsmiths, University of London. He has taught Bach's chorale harmony to students of all abilities since 1984. Inspired at the turn of the millennium to make his own investigations into the musical language of Bach's fourvoiced chorale harmonisations, fourteen years later he completed this Course, marking the tercentenary of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. Just as Emanuel had been concerned to ensure the accuracy of the original publications of this music, so Christopher has been concerned to ensure that the manner of their harmonisation is understood on its own terms rather than from opposing perspectives. Students over many generations have benefited from his evolving ideas, and this Course represents the culmination of his research; its publication marks 250 years since Bach's four-voiced chorale harmonisations first appeared in print in 1765.
Book Information
ISBN 9781910864258
Author Christopher Mabley
Format Paperback
Page Count 184
Imprint The Choir Press
Publisher The Choir Press
Weight(grams) 609g
Dimensions(mm) 297mm * 210mm * 13mm
About the Author
Christopher Mabley is a teacher, conductor, composer, arranger, performer, writer and examiner. He studied Music at the University of Cambridge, and subsequently took a Master's degree in the Theory and Analysis of Music at Goldsmiths, University of London. He has taught Bach's chorale harmony to students of all abilities since 1984. Inspired at the turn of the millennium to make his own investigations into the musical language of Bach's fourvoiced chorale harmonisations, fourteen years later he completed this Course, marking the tercentenary of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. Just as Emanuel had been concerned to ensure the accuracy of the original publications of this music, so Christopher has been concerned to ensure that the manner of their harmonisation is understood on its own terms rather than from opposing perspectives. Students over many generations have benefited from his evolving ideas, and this Course represents the culmination of his research; its publication marks 250 years since Bach's four-voiced chorale harmonisations first appeared in print in 1765.
Book Information
ISBN 9781910864258
Author Christopher Mabley
Format Paperback
Page Count 184
Imprint The Choir Press
Publisher The Choir Press
Weight(grams) 609g
Dimensions(mm) 297mm * 210mm * 13mm
