Seminar 8: "The touches of sweet harmony" A celebration of J.S. Bach's church music
Introduction to the 2000 seminar series To ISS home page   2000 Seminars 1 - The experience of God (March 15) 2 - Shared traditions: Different paths (March 30) 3 - Glory and flesh: The spirituality of John's gospel (April 13) 4 - Setting the agenda for society: Whose role? (May 10) 5 - City churches as spiritual powerhouses (June 3) 6 - Ecumenical vespers for the vigil of Pentecost (June 10) 7 - Looking back at the 20th century and forward to the 21st (July 8) 8 - "The touches of sweet harmony" A celebration of JS Bach's church music (August 5) 9 - Homosexuality in Christian tradition (August 23) 10 - Tour of Orthodox churches and their icons (September 9) 11 - 'Two steps forward: one step back': Anglicans and Roman Catholics in dialogue (October 7)   Back to St Peter's Home Page		A day of lectures and recitals to mark the 250th anniversary of Bach's death. MORNING SESSIONS HOMAGE TO BACH - A LECTURE RECITAL That composers should still be playing homage to Bach 250 years after his death surely attests to his standing as one of the greatest composers who ever lived. Bach assiduously studied the works of other composers. Despite never travelling outside Germany, he maintained an active interest in the music of Italian and French masters: he transcribed orchestral works by Vivaldi and other Italians, corresponded with Couperin, and borrowed d'Anglebert's table of ornaments. In this session, Elizabeth Anderson introduces works by ~Bartok and Heiller, written this century in homage to Bach. The remainder of the program comprises an exploration of compositions that Bach himself studied, transcribed or copied, by Buxtehude, Reincken, Vivaldi, Stolzel and Lully. Conductor: Elizabeth Anderson, harpsichordist and university lecturer BACH CELEBRATES LUTHER In 1739 Leipzig celebrated the 200th anniversary of Luther's visit to that city. Bach's contribution to this event was to publish - as always, at his own expense - what is arguably the greatest volume of organ music of all time, the third part of his Clavierubung. Under this unassuming title ("keyboard practice"), he had already published his six partitas (as part one) and Italian Concerto and French Overture (part two). The series would continue with the so-called "Goldberg" Variations, and it is almost certain that The Art of Fugue, under publication at his death, was to have been issued under the same generic title. Clavierubung III consists of twenty-seven pieces for organ devoted to the Lutheran Mass and Catechism, framed by the great Prelude and Fugue in E-flat. No other work by Bach gives us such a complete self-portrait of the complete organist, the consummate composer and the devout Lutheran. Conductor: John O'Donnell, keyboard artist, choral conductor (Tudor Choristers) and musicologist Conductor: John O'Donnell, keyboard artist, choral conductor (Tudor Choristers) and musicologist AFTERNOON SESSIONS The afternoon will demonstrate the amazing range of Bach's composition, including his works for choir, organ and harpsichord. CHOIR AND ORGAN RECITAL From Bach's immense choral repertoire, members of St. Peter's Choir sing in a segment of solos and duets. Tony Way will perform some of Bach's organ music. THE GOLDBERG VARIATIONS The last of Bach's great Clavierubung (keyboard practice) collections, the socalled "Goldberg" Variations, was published in 1741 or 1742, and has been the subject of much folklore. The structure of the "Goldberg" Variations is defined most clearly by the series of canons constituting every third variation up to the twenty-seventh, the interval of the canon growing from the unison to the ninth, those at the fourth and fifth being canons by inversion. The technical nature of the work explores all elements of "keyboard practice" that a budding young virtuoso of 1741 might aspire to master. Almost two hundred years after the "Goldberg" Variations, there is but one rival in the entire musical literature - Beethoven's "Diabelli" Variations. Conductor: Jacqueline Ogeil, harpsichordist and university guest lecturer CDs FEATURING JACQUELINE OGEIL AND JOHN O'DONNELL WILL BE ON SALE DURING THE DAY   Date Saturday 5 August Time 10 am - 5 pm Venue St. Peter's, Eastern Hill, Melbourne Cost ALL DAY - $40 (includes lunch) EITHER morning OR afternoon sessions - $25 (includes lunch)
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		Authorised by the Vicar (vicar@stpeters.org.au) and The Institute for Spiritual Studies (iss@stpeters.org.au) Maintained by the Editor (editor@stpeters.org.au) © 2000 The Institute for Spiritual Studies