Perceptions of J.S. Bach and performance of his music in nineteenth-century England

At the turn of the nineteenth centudy knowledge of J.S. Bach was limited in England to a very few musicians, mostly German organists connected with the Hanoverian court. By the close fof the century, Bach had won widespread popularity, and England was second only to Germany in numbers of published editions, performances, and the written word. This thesis looks at the reception of J.S. Bach in nineteenth-century England, and considers why England reacted with such enthusiasm to his works. First. the elements important to Bach reception are explored and situated in English culture at the beginning of the nineteenth century; areas such as the Ancient and Modern discourse; the interest in historicism; the attraction of German culture; the love for Handel; and the notion of the sublime (especially in terms of music) are discussed. In Chapter 2, Bach is seen through the activities of his proponents in the first part of the nineteenth century, both performers and writers. Since it will be shown that it was on the backs of the choral and organ music that Bach entered into English musical consciousness, the reception of those genres is considered in the following two chapters, with a particular focus on the St Matthew Passion and the Mass in B Minor in the area of choral music (Chapter 3). In Chapter 4 I consider Bach and the English organ, and the activities of Mendelssohn, Gauntlett, and those others who were his advocates in the first half of the century after Wesley. Finally, I summarise the topic by looking at the ways his music was interpreted to fit the ideal so nineteenth-century English culture, and how he was regarded through an English lens.