Bach's chorus: the Leipzig line A response to Andreas Glockner

Bach's chorus: the Leipzig line. A response to Andreas Glockner Andreas Glockner, together with his influential Leipzig colleagues Christoph Wolff and Hans-Joachim Schulze, has been a leading proponent of the 'choral' performance of Bach's sacred music, yet much of their collective thinking addresses only the general question of forces assigned to particular churches, rather than the specific one of forces selected for Bach's own concerted works. Similarly, what may hold for chorale and motet singing is frequently held to apply equally to Bach's exceptionally 'intricate' music. Specific misconceptions are illustrated in two short case studies: 'new' parts to uwv23 reveal a flaw in the general understanding of Bach's ripieno practice, and fresh evidence in the form of a precisely documented large mixed ensemble at Wittenberg in 1755 contradicts conventional assumptions of singer/instrument ratios while confirming predictions from other reliable sources.