Music & Dance
Event Title
Ecrite par Madame Bachen. Son Espouse: Anna Magdalena, Sexism, and the Cello Suites
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Location
Indianapolis, IN
Subject Area
Music & Dance
Start Date
11-4-2014 9:00 AM
End Date
11-4-2014 10:30 AM
Sponsor
Nicholas Johnson (Butler University)
Description
In the year 1890, Pablo Casals found a tattered, neglected score housed in a Barcelona music store: J.S. Bach's six cello suites. For nearly a decade, Casals dedicated himself to the mastery of the suites, often debating his interpretation of the music. Just as Casals struggled with the pieces, scholars have debated multiple components such as notes, articulation, and bowings. Recently, Martin Jarvis posed a new question: did Bach write his cello suites or did his wife? In Jarvis's opinion, it is Anna Magdalena Bach who wrote the cello suites.
Comparing the cello suites with his other solo works, the score is littered with more notes and markings on the pages than the latter. This difference of complexity, along with the fact that Bach's autographed copy of the suites is lost, is the main argument that Jarvis uses to prove his contention. In my paper, I examine the validity of Jarvis's arguments and bolster his claims by exploring the cultural context surrounding Bach and Magdalena. Based on the research of Jarvis linking Magdalena to the suites, analysis of the musical oddities, and Magdalena's life in relation to J.S. Bach's life, I contend that Magdalena in fact composed the cello suites. I explore the role of sexism surrounding her place in history that has kept many from recognizing her true authorship. My paper intends to strengthen Jarvis's argument as well as place the scholarly world one step closer to concluding which Bach is the true composer of the cello suites.
Ecrite par Madame Bachen. Son Espouse: Anna Magdalena, Sexism, and the Cello Suites
Indianapolis, IN
In the year 1890, Pablo Casals found a tattered, neglected score housed in a Barcelona music store: J.S. Bach's six cello suites. For nearly a decade, Casals dedicated himself to the mastery of the suites, often debating his interpretation of the music. Just as Casals struggled with the pieces, scholars have debated multiple components such as notes, articulation, and bowings. Recently, Martin Jarvis posed a new question: did Bach write his cello suites or did his wife? In Jarvis's opinion, it is Anna Magdalena Bach who wrote the cello suites.
Comparing the cello suites with his other solo works, the score is littered with more notes and markings on the pages than the latter. This difference of complexity, along with the fact that Bach's autographed copy of the suites is lost, is the main argument that Jarvis uses to prove his contention. In my paper, I examine the validity of Jarvis's arguments and bolster his claims by exploring the cultural context surrounding Bach and Magdalena. Based on the research of Jarvis linking Magdalena to the suites, analysis of the musical oddities, and Magdalena's life in relation to J.S. Bach's life, I contend that Magdalena in fact composed the cello suites. I explore the role of sexism surrounding her place in history that has kept many from recognizing her true authorship. My paper intends to strengthen Jarvis's argument as well as place the scholarly world one step closer to concluding which Bach is the true composer of the cello suites.