Previously unknown Bach manuscript discovered
Bach researcher Peter Wollny has discovered an unknown manuscript by Johann Sebastian Bach in the Schütz-Haus Weissenfels. The copy of a mass by Gasparini, written around 1740, offers insights into Bach's preoccupation with the stile antico.
The source contains clear evidence that Bach performed Gasparini's work several times in the two main Leipzig churches of St. Thomas and St. Nikolai, writes the Bach Archive Leipzig. The manuscript will be on display at the Schütz-Haus Weissenfels until July 14, 2013.
Francesco Gasparini created operas, chamber cantatas and church pieces. One of his most famous works is the "Missa canonica" for four-part choir and basso continuo, composed in Venice in 1705, which forms the basis of the copy that has been found.
The Weissenfels manuscript comprises a total of 13 partbooks (4 vocal parts, 4 parts for strings and oboes, 4 parts for cornetts and trombones as well as an organ part).
The set of parts proves that Bach expanded the purely vocal scoring of the original to include string and wind instruments in accordance with the usual practice in Leipzig and limited his performance to the Kyrie and Gloria sections.
