Lowell Mason - mid 19th Century

from Musical letters from Abroad, pages 301-2:

We have been recently more than ever before convinced of the necessity of simple harmony for Congregational purposes. We have seen attempts to introduce, for example, some of John Sebastian Bach's harmony parts into congregations. Now, it is well known that Bach did not write harmony parts for Congregational singing, but for choir singing. In his church, the St. Thomas', Leipzig, all the people sing the melody, and the parts are sung (when sung at all) by the choir. Of course. Bach wrote such difficult harmonies as none but a choir, and a pro[f]essional choir too, can sing well. Yet …   more >>

cite as

Lowell Mason, Musical letters from Abroad. In Musical Letters from Abroad (New York, 1854), p. 301-2. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1462035341084 accessed: 28 March, 2024

Listeners

Lowell Mason
Musician, Composer
1792-1872

Listening to

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Chorales
written by Johann Sebastian Bach

Experience Information

Date/Time mid 19th Century
Medium live
Listening Environment in the company of others, indoors, in public

Originally submitted by acusworth on Sat, 30 Apr 2016 17:55:41 +0100
Approved on Sun, 19 Mar 2017 14:08:31 +0000