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Bach Archive

Coordinates:51°20′20″N12°22′20″E/ 51.33889°N 12.37222°E/51.33889; 12.37222
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Logo of the Bach-Archiv Leipzig
Bach-Archiv

TheBach-Archiv LeipzigorBach-Archivis an institution for the documentation and research of the life and work ofJohann Sebastian Bach.The Bach-Archiv also researches theBach family,especially their music. Based inLeipzig,the city where Bach lived from 1723 until his death, the Archiv is recognised by the German government as a "cultural beacon" of national importance. Since 2008 the Bach-Archiv has been part of theUniversity of Leipzig.

History

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The Bach-Archiv was founded on the occasion of the bicentennial of Bach's death in 1950 byWerner Neumann,who remained its director until 1973. It served as a central archive for manuscripts and historic documents connected to the composer and a central research center related to him and his family.

At the time of the institution's foundation Leipzig was inEast Germany.Prior to German unification there was collaboration with Bach experts inWest Germany.For example, the second edition of Bach's complete works, theNeue Bach-Ausgabe,was a joint project between the Bach-Archiv and theJohann-Sebastian-Bach-InstitutinGöttingen,West Germany.[1]After unification the Bach-Archiv became part of theKonferenz Nationaler Kultureinrichtungen,a union of more than twenty cultural organizations in the former East Germany which are deemed to be nationally significant. The Göttingen Institute closed in 2006. Since 23 November 2008 the Bach-Archiv has been an institute of theUniversity of Leipzig.[2]

Location

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Bach-Museum and Bach-Archiv in the Bosehaus

The Bach Archive moved in 1985 from theGohlis Palaceinto the historicBosehausopposite theThomaskirche.The site was restored from 2008 to 2010 to comply with the latest safety requirements, and was opened again on 20 March 2010 by thePresident of Germany,Horst Köhler.[3] TheNeue Bachgesellschaftshares the premises, which also houses a Bach Museum.[4]

Management

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Directors:

Presidents (new position as of 2014; Presidents are appointed for a five-year term):[6][7]

Projects

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Projects with a major participation by the Bach Archive:

  • New Bach Edition(criticalUrtext editionof all of Johann Sebastian Bach's extant works, published between 1954 and 2007)[1]
  • Bach Digital(portal website, launched in 2010, with data and digital facsimiles of compositions by members of theBach family)[8]
  • Online Bach Bibliography(merger, operated since 2012, of the data of the former Bach Bibliography website byYo Tomita[fr],which had been online since 1997, into the bibliographical data of the Archive, accessible via a web interface)[9]
  • jsbach biografie online(multimedia calendar documenting Bach's life story)[10]
  • Bach 333(complete recordings set of Johann Sebastian Bach's works, with detailed documentation, released in 2018)[11]

Acquisitions

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In 2021, the Bach Archive acquiredGustav Mahler's Bach edition, 59 of the 61 volumes of theBach-Gesellschaft-Ausgabe,the first collected edition of Bach's works, with handwritten annotations by Mahler[citation needed]> and his arrangement of the Gavotte from Bach'sOrchestral Suite, BWV 1068.[12]The edition had been in private possession, and will become open to musicologists and the public for the first time, as Wollny told the press.[12]

Relevance

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Today the Bach-Archiv is a renowned center of Bach research with a scientific library for Bach topics. There is engagement with a wider public via theBach-Museum[4]and via performances of Bach's music, especially theBachfest Leipzig(an international festival) and theInternationaler Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Wettbewerb(an international music competition).

References

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  1. ^abUwe Wolf(editor); Contributions byGeorg von Dadelsen,Alfred Dürr,Hans-Joachim Schulze,Frieder Zschochand others.Die Neue Bach-Ausgabe 1954–2007: Eine Dokumentation.Bärenreiter,2007. P3. 3ff
  2. ^Bach-Archiv ist An-Institut der Universität Leipzig.bach-leipzig.de, 24 November 2008 (in German)
  3. ^Bach-Archiv Leipzig wiedereröffnetarchiv.twoday.net, 22 March 2010 (in German)
  4. ^abThe Bach Museum Leipzig
  5. ^Die Neue Bach-Ausgabe 1954–2007. Eine DokumentationArchived3 January 2010 at theWayback Machine,Bärenreiter,p. 31 (in German)
  6. ^abcSmith, Charlotte (2013)."Sir John Eliot Gardiner named president".Gramophone.Retrieved26 August2016.
  7. ^ab"A New President for The Leipzig Bach Archive | Bach-Archiv Leipzig".bach-leipzig.de.Archived fromthe originalon 14 May 2019.Retrieved15 May2019.
  8. ^Legal noteat Bach Digital website.Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  9. ^Bach-BibliographyatBibliotheksservice-Zentrum Baden-Württemberg[de]website.Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  10. ^jsbach biografie onlineat jsbach.de website.Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  11. ^Bach 333website(26 October 2018)
  12. ^ab"Das Bach-Archiv besitzt jetzt Gustav Mahlers persönliche Bach-Gesamtausgabe"(in German).Leipziger Zeitung (seit 2015)[de].22 February 2021.Retrieved23 February2021.
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51°20′20″N12°22′20″E/ 51.33889°N 12.37222°E/51.33889; 12.37222

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