Bach Cantatas Mailing List (BCML)
Year 2011

OT: Is this list amazing, or what?

Bruce Simonson wrote (May 10, 2011):
I am currently overwhelmed by the depth and variety of knowledge on this list, and feel privileged to eavesdrop and occasionally contribute. Just a brief summary of recent activity that is making my brain buzz:

1) St. Luke Passion, BWV 246
2) The End of Bach's World
3) German Mass vs Formula Missae
4) Bach vs the Othodox, Rationalists, Pietists, and Leipzig Council
5) Methods of determining performance dates
6) Libretti - did Bach like/endorse/choose/tolerate/write 'em?
7) Bach's cantata "genres" - solo, chorale, bipartite and etc
8) The order of church services in Leipzig and elsewhere

... and, well, that's what just comes to mind, as I type away.

Just to say thanks, to you all, and, if you will, an encouragement to each of you to keep it up, and "type away".

It's all fascinating; thank you so much.

Ed Myskowski wrote (May 10, 2011):
Bruce Simonson wrote:
< Just a brief summary of recent activity that is making my brain buzz:
4) Bach vs the Othodox, Rationalists, Pietists, and Leipzig Council
6) Libretti - did Bach like/endorse/choose/tolerate/write 'em? >
Not to overlook contributions from Peter Smaill:

If BACH = 14, and JSBACH = 41 (gemiatric), and 14 is 41 inverted, can we discount the significance of those numbers, when they occur?

BCW: Bach Cantata Discussion pages revised

Aryeh Oron wrote (October 6, 2011):
The BCML was founded by Kirk McElhearn at the end of 1999. I and a few others joined and soon after the cantata discussions began. I started to write weekly reviews of cantata recordings and other members contributed as well. In April 2000 Armagan Ekici wrote to the BCML: "Let's get on with real business: I wish that Aryeh's reviews of cantata recordings --most passionate and informed analysis I have ever seen, professional or amateur-- get published in an organized way rather than disappearing into the ether. Would Aryeh be interested in such a project? .Any ideas on cross-referencing, indexing these etc.?" Other members also encouraged me to begin such an project.

In mid 2000 I started to compile the cantatas discussions, which were firstly hosted in Simon Crouch website. At that stage the website was called "Bach Cantatas Recording Reviews and Mailing List Archive". Only later, a short while after the website had moved to its current location, the name was changed to the shorter and more familiar "Bach Cantatas Website".

Over the years the discussions in the BCML have been edited and complied by me with simple guideline: a page (or two) per cantata in which the discussions are arranged chronologically. I have not imagined that after 10 years we shall be in the 3^rd round of cantata discussions. Neither did I have in mind that many pages would become so big up to being very inconvenient to read. During this period the BCW has developed into something much bigger than only cantata discussions and it is now the prime web source for info about J.S. Bach and his music, used by scholars, musicians, students, music lovers, etc. from all around the world. The BCW is the most visited Bach website and one of the top 5 in the area of classical music.

So, after over 10 years, I thought that time has come to re-consider the construction of the cantata discussion pages in order to make them more accessible, usable and readable. I re-arranged the pages and split them into smaller units keeping the chronological order and using two simple guidelines:
A. Each round of cantata discussion is located in a separate page.
B. Big pages were split into two, sometime more pages.
The result is that a cantata, which has been discussed in all three rounds, has now at least three pages.

The cantatas discussion pages can be accessed via several routes:
A. The Index pages: where the link to each page (3rd column) is placed near the date in which the discussion began (4^th column).
See, for example: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/IndexBWV.htm
B. The Cantata pages: where near the link to each page (below content, right side) you can see in brackets the discussion round number (I have yet to complete some).
See, for example, this week cantata: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV168.htm
C. Search utility: the term you are looking for is easier to find because the pages are now shorter.
D. Inter-links between the discussion pages and links from other pages.
See, for example the page: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/BWV168-D2.htm
where the 1st line below the header and the line before last connect the page to the former and next discussion pages respectively.

In rough estimation the BCW now contains over 600 cantata discussion pages, which is the equivalent of about 50 mid-sized books. That means that the Bach Cantatas belong to a few groups of musical works about which you can find over the web a great deal of material based on systematic and organised discussions. Adding to the discussion pages other cantata resources on the BCW as Discography pages, Commentary pages (include links to Mincham ,Crouch, etc.), Provenance pages, Scores, Music Examples, LCY pages, Readings pages, Texts & Translations pages and much more, and I wonder if they can still be considered as unjustly neglected?

Although this is a huge amount of material and many aspects of the Bach Cantatas have already been discussed, the good thing is that their world is so rich and open to many views that there is still a lot to explore, reveal and discuss. When you prepare yourself for the weekly cantata discussion, you can now find easily what has already been said in former discussions, refer to it, respond to it, develop it or suggest your own perceptions, opinions, views, etc.

Melanie C. wrote (October 6, 2011):
Thank you Aryeh Oron for all your work. These pages are a treasure. I have only a passing experience with the Cantatas of Bach. Most of my playing has been limited to chorales to fill in time needed in services as I sit at the organ. I've learned so much and hope to continue to learn as I read what is here. Please understand that I have not posted much as I quickly saw how little I know and could contribute, but truly appreciate.

Ed Myskowski wrote (October 6, 2011):
Aryeh Oron wrote:
< A. Each round of cantata discussion is located in a separate page. >
I think this will be helpful both in reading, and in referencing previous comments.

< Although this is a huge amount of material and many aspects of the Bach Cantatas have already been discussed, the good thing is that their world is so rich and open to many views that there is still a lot to explore, reveal and discuss. When you prepare yourself for the weekly cantata discussion, you can now find easily what has already been said in former discussions, refer to it, respond to it, develop it or suggest your own perceptions, opinions, views, etc. >
EM:
Hardly a week goes by that we do not have new ideas to add. New writers are especially encouraged, as always. To paraphrase Apuleius (once cited by Francis Browne), the benefit is more to the writer than to the reader. I hope that is close, Francis!

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