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Bach, a Preacher? I Thought He Was a Composer!
Robin Leaver
Dr. Robin
Leaver, President of the American Bach Society, discusses Bach's motivation
and inspiration for his work. Examples of Bach's music are used to audibly
illustrate Dr. Leaver's points.
Furthermore, as professor at the Westminster Choir College, Dr. Leaver
is eager to remind contemporary listeners that Bach's cantatas were intended
as liturgical pieces, not concert works. These works, including Bach's B
Minor Mass and the St. Matthew Passion, were carefully constructed
by Bach in order to convey the significance of a specific Biblical text.
The pieces, according to Leaver, were intended to move the heart and the
mind in a theological way.
Dr. Leaver contends: "If I am pushed then I will have to say that Bach is my favorite composer,
but I have an interest in a wide range of music, especially early choral/vocal music from the early renaissance
to the end of the 18th century, particularly the music of Walter, Praetorius, Schütz, Humphrey, Purcell, Greene,
among others. But I would not want to exclude Beethoven or Mozart, nor such 19th century composers as Mendelssohn,
Schubert and Brahms, nor such 20th century composers as Stravinsky, Shostakovitch, Poulenc, Britten, Tavener, Pärt, Ives, Barber, Copland, Leighton, Mathias. . .
"Liturgical music, that is, the sound of music in worship, should lift up our
hearts and minds beyond the mundaneness that makes up too much of our lives,
and raise our spirits to worship, adore and thank the God who has created us,
who
redeems us, who sustains us. The leadership of such music takes great musical
skill, hours of preparation, practice and planning, as well a commitment to
the faith as understood and practiced by the congregation that is served. It
is therefore
the primary goal of the sacred music programs at Westminster to prepare musicians
for such leadership."
Program
recording date and length: 2002 ~ 1 Hour 29 Minutes (This
study was presented originally at the University of California, Santa Barbara.)
