The Significance of Bach

Within the spectrum of Bach interpretation today, I see three distinct categories. First are the Bach interpretations that continue the grand Bach tradition of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, unbroken into our time. This approach is characterized by the use of large choirs and orchestras and modern instruments. The unfc)rgotten Karl Richter was an exponent of this interpretive approach. As current proponents of this philosophy, though in ways quite different, one could cite Kurt Masur and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic.

Diametrically opposed to this approach are the interpretations of those musicians and ensembles who have as their goal the most precise possible reconstruction of the sound and performance practice of Bach's time. Gustav Leonhardt and Nikolaus Harnoncourt, among many others, are representative of this philosophy.

Our third and final group consists of church musicians, church choirs, and congregational instrumental ensembles, primarily in Protestant (Lutheran) churches. These performers present Bach within the worship service or perhaps within the context of a special music worship service or concert in the church. The performance forces available vary widely and are often of limited capabilities and lack appropriate balance. But these musicians have one thing over the others: they perform Bach's music in the setting for which it was written and with the same goal Bach himself had in mind.

So here we have three different approaches to Bach interpretation. What is the thinking behind their positions?

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