A leading Northern Territory music researcher is questioning the assumptions made about one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s most mysterious compositions.
Associate Professor of Music at Charles Darwin University (CDU) and former artistic director and conductor of the Darwin Symphony Orchestra, Martin Jarvis has found evidence to suggest that the manuscript of the aria “Alles mit Gott” BWV1127 may be an example of an early collaboration between Johann Sebastian Bach and Anna Magdalena Wilcken, who became his second wife.
Using the principles and techniques of the science of forensic document examination, Dr Jarvis will call into question some of the conclusions about the manuscript as part of a presentation, “Who wrote BWV1127?”, on Wednesday, 10 February.
“In 2005, a box was discovered and removed from a library in Weimar, Germany, just shortly before the library burned down,” Dr Jarvis said.
“In the box, which had not been opened since 1713, were a number of items, including an unsigned music manuscript. This manuscript was then attributed, by Bach scholar Michael Maul, to Johann Sebastian Bach.
“This paper examines whether Michael Maul was correct.”
Dr Jarvis’ presentation, part of the Faculty of Law, Business and Arts Seminar Series at CDU, will be held on Wednesday, 10 February from 12 noon – 1 pm in Building Blue 1, Room 62.