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| Neue Johann Sebastian Bach Gesellschaft | |
|---|---|
| Name | Neue Johann Sebastian Bach Gesellschaft |
| Founded | 1950 |
| Headquarters | Leipzig |
| Purpose | Research, publication, performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's works |
Neue Johann Sebastian Bach Gesellschaft
The Neue Johann Sebastian Bach Gesellschaft is a Leipzig-based society devoted to the study, editing, publication, and promotion of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, with links to the legacy of the Bach family, the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, the Gewandhaus, the Thomaskirche, and the Bach Archive Leipzig. Founded in the postwar period in the German Democratic Republic era, the society has collaborated with institutions such as the Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften, the Akademie der Künste, the Deutsches Musikinformationszentrum, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, and international partners like the Royal Musical Association and the American Bach Society.
The society emerged in the context of post-World War II reconstruction in Leipzig and the broader revival of interest in baroque revivalism associated with figures like Albert Schweitzer, Arnold Schoenberg, Helmut Walcha, Karl Straube, and Mendelssohn's 19th-century Bach renaissance linked to the Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Thomanerchor. Early interactions involved archives such as the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, the SLUB Dresden, and private collections related to the Bach family and the Nikolai Medici provenance of manuscripts. During the Cold War, cooperation crossed the Iron Curtain through exchanges with the Bach-Archiv Leipzig, the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe project, and editorial networks including the Neue Schubert-Ausgabe and the Monuments of Musicology initiatives.
The society's mission centers on scholarly editing, performance practice, archival research, and public outreach, connecting with institutions like the Museumsinsel Berlin, the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, the British Library, the Library of Congress, European conservatoires and ensembles such as the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Les Arts Florissants, Gawain Jones-linked pianists, and historically informed conductors like Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Gustavo Dudamel, John Eliot Gardiner, and Ton Koopman. It supports research into sources, provenance studies with the Bundesarchiv, and cross-disciplinary projects involving scholars from the University of Leipzig, University of Basel, University of Cambridge, Harvard University, and the University of California, Berkeley.
The society issues critical and facsimile editions, monographs, conference proceedings, and a regular journal connecting to bibliographic programs such as the Bach-Jahrbuch, the Oxford University Press musicology series, the Cambridge University Press lists, and catalogues akin to the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis. It collaborates with publishers including Breitkopf & Härtel, Bärenreiter, Carus-Verlag, Oxford University Press, and university presses in Leipzig, Tübingen, and Vienna. Its periodical output reaches readers alongside journals like Early Music, The Musical Quarterly, and Revue de Musicologie.
Editorial projects engage with autograph manuscripts, copies, and prints held at the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, the Sächsische Landesbibliothek, the Bach-Archiv Leipzig, the Musikhochschule Leipzig, and major European repositories including Bibliothèque nationale de France, Stadtbibliothek Weimar, and the Hofbibliothek Dresden; collaborations have included editors from the Neue Bach-Ausgabe, the Bärenreiter-Verlag editorial board, and international specialists linked to the Gesellschaft für Musikforschung and the International Musicological Society. The society has contributed to source-critical debate on works such as the Mass in B minor, the Brandenburg Concertos, the St Matthew Passion, and the Well-Tempered Clavier by offering conjectural readings, performance-critical annotations, and facsimile reprints used by performers from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra to chamber groups like Freiburger Barockorchester.
Annual meetings, symposia, and concert series organized by the society have been held in venues such as the Thomaskirche, the Gewandhaus, Leipzig University, and international sites including Paris Conservatoire, Royal College of Music, Princeton University, and Yale University. These events have featured speakers and performers including Helmut Rilling, Gottfried von der Goltz, András Schiff, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Ton Koopman, Pieter-Jan Leusink, and ensembles like The English Concert, Concerto Köln, and Les Arts Florissants, with proceedings often published alongside festival recordings on labels such as Deutsche Grammophon, Harmonia Mundi, and Archiv Produktion.
Structured as a learned society, its governance involves a board drawn from academics at institutions like the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig, the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, the University of Music Freiburg, and librarians from the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin and Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. Membership spans performers, musicologists, librarians, and benefactors from organizations such as the Deutscher Musikrat, the European Union of Music Competitions for Youth, the International Music Council, and cultural bodies including the Sächsisches Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst. The society liaises with ensembles, conservatoires, and archives internationally for joint projects and fellowships.
The society has shaped Bach scholarship and performance by informing editions used by conductors like Karl Richter and Nikolaus Harnoncourt, by influencing recording projects from Archiv Produktion to Sony Classical, and by fostering research comparable to the impact of the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe and the Schumann-Briefedition. Its work has affected cataloguing schemes such as the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, archival practices at the Bach-Archiv Leipzig and the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, and pedagogy at conservatoires in Leipzig, Berlin, and Vienna. The society’s legacy is visible in festival programming like the Thomaskirche concerts and international Bach celebrations in cities such as Leipzig, Weimar, Eisenach, Dresden, and Zürich.
Category:Music organizations Category:Johann Sebastian Bach