Customer Reviews

Handbook to Bach's Sacred Cantata Texts

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This book is unquestionably one of the finest resources for Bach scholarship that I've come across! I cannot praise this book enough--Charles Sanford Terry would certainly have admired this work. The layout of the texts, with its biblical references, is so very helpful when listening to a cantata. As one who has four complete recording sets of these marvelous works, I can honestly express my gratitude for this book.

Phenomenal! I can't imagine a finer gift for any church musician who uses Bach's music. Definitely worth the price.

The left column is the German text along with the English translation - assuming the intertranslateability of the two (here I am keeping in mind the sort of critique Umberto Eco gives in his book "Experieces in Translation") then in the right column relevant Biblical passages. Still left for the reader the opportunity to elaborate on the deeper interpretations that might be drawn from the text for the sermons these were meant to elaborate in music.

For the Bach cantata student, performer or simply listener and lover, this book is essential. So often the 'translations' provided with recordings of the cantatas are horrible, often totally botchin g the translation of words and terribly distorting their meaning. If you love Bach's church cantatas, you must have this book. Period.

This book will not tell you anything about the music -- but the music speaks for itself. If you want to understand the texts of Bach's cantatas, this is the perfect resource. Not only is the German translated word for word, the relevant biblical texts are cited. Without these references, one can't really understand the sense of what is being sung. I don't believe there's any other book like this, and I am eternally grateful to Dr. Unger for producing this incredible work.

I feel that now that I have this book and recordings of the cantatas (I highly recommend the Bach Collegium of Japan recordings!) I have all the religion I need.