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There can be no doubt as to the authenticity of BWV 143 as a genuine cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. While the originals are lost, there are second and third «generation» copies. This study considers all known facts since the work's composition in the 18th century and discusses in detail the criteria for judging the authenticity of the work.
List of contents
Contents: Earliest known copies - Bach's presumed intentions of instrumentation and keys - Bach's use of timpani; the Fanfarenthema - Bach's methods of text setting - BWV 143 and Bachüberlieferung - Penzel's importance for copies of Bach's music - The Echtheit of BWV 143: The musical and stylistic evidence - Bachs use of the chorale, Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ - The Verwendungszweck of BWV 143 - Tables of Bach's music in the Handschrift of C.F. Penzel - Tables of Bach's music from appropriate categories related to BWV 143.
About the author
Don L. Smithers is a music historian and a performer on the natural trumpet. Among his achievements are the revival of the authentic historic trumpet and the rediscovery of many important musical works written for it. The author holds a doctorate in the history of music from the University of Oxford and taught at Syracuse University in the United States and at the Royal Dutch Conservatory of Music in The Hague. He has a special interest in the music of J.S. Bach and has recorded numerous works of Bach and other Baroque composers with ensembles in the United States and Europe.
