The Musician in Literature in the Age of Bach

Using novels and autobiographies from Bach's Germany, Stephen Rose suggests new ways of interpreting the lives and social status of musicians. The study focuses on satirical novels written by musicians that describe the lives of performers and composers, as well as the autobiographies of Bach's contemporaries. These narratives represent musicians variously as picaresque outcasts, honourable craft-workers, foolish bunglers and respected virtuosos. They probe the lives of musicians considered taboo or aberrant in the period, such as street entertainers and Italian castratos. The novels and autobiographies also reveal two major debates that shaped the mindset and social identity of musicians: was music a sensual or rational craft, and should musicians integrate within society or be regarded as outsiders? Quoting from an array of little-known novels, this book shows how an interdisciplinary approach can transform our understanding of Bach and his contemporaries.

Reviews & endorsements

"Stephen Rose has taken it upon himself in this extraordinary book to ponder and report on some two dozen (for most modern tastes unreadable) German novels from the seventeenth century, works that describe, in often hilarious, often poignant detail, the musician’s life and world at the time. He does this in the service of a larger purpose … Rose maintains early on that 'to grasp how the lives of musicians such as Bach were embedded in the culture and society of their time, a broader range of texts must be investigated'; namely, the literary traditions he then diligently surveys. [He] suggests that many Bach anecdotes, and even some of Bach’s own statements, reflect those traditions. His conjectures are refreshingly bold and provocative and, often enough, plausible … This remarkable volume is replete with fascinating information and thought-provoking ideas."
Early Music America Magazine

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Product details

• Date Published: March 2011
• format: Hardback
• isbn: 9781107004283
• length: 248 pages

• dimensions: 244 x 170 x 16 mm
• weight: 0.66kg
• contains: 6 b/w illus. 4 music examples
• availability: Available