Klaus Hofmann (born 20 March 1939) is a German
musicologist
Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...
who is an expert on the music of
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, ïżœjoËhan zeËbastiÌŻan baÏ ( â 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...
.
Born in
WĂŒrzburg
WĂŒrzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and FĂŒrth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. WĂŒrzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...
, Hofmann studied after graduation (1958) from 1958 to 1959 at the
University of Erlangen
A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...
. He then continued his studies at the
Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg. In 1968 he received his
doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...
with a
dissertation " " (Studies on the composition technique of the
motet
In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the preeminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to the Eng ...
in the 13th century, performed on the motets with tenor ). From 1968 to 1978 he worked as an employee of the
HĂ€nssler Verlag. From 1978 he was a research assistant of the
Johann Sebastian Bach Institute The Johann Sebastian Bach Institute (German: Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Institut) was an institute dedicated to Johann Sebastian Bach in Göttingen, Germany. It was founded in 1951 as one of two institutes preparing the New Bach Edition, the second compl ...
in Göttingen, one of the two institutions which prepared the
Neue Bach-Ausgabe
The New Bach Edition (NBE) (; NBA), is the second complete edition of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, published by BĂ€renreiter. The name is short for Johann Sebastian Bach (1685â1750): New Edition of the Complete Works (''Johann Sebastian ...
, the second complete edition of Bach's work. In 2004 he was appointed to the position of Executive Director, a position which he held until the Institute closed in 2006.
He is a board member of the
copyright collective
A copyright collective (also known as a copyright society, copyright collecting agency, licensing agency or copyright collecting society or collective management organization) is a non-governmental body created by copyright law or private agreeme ...
. In 1994 he was appointed honorary professor at the
Georg-August-UniversitÀt Göttingen.
Selected publications
In 2003, he wrote a book on the motets by Bach, ''Johann Sebastian Bach. .'', published by
BĂ€renreiter
BĂ€renreiter (BĂ€renreiter-Verlag) is a German classical music publishing house based in Kassel. The firm was founded by Karl Vötterle (1903â1975) in Augsburg in 1923, and moved to Kassel in 1927, where it still has its headquarters; it ...
. He covered not only the five motets
BWV
The (, ; BWV) is a Catalogues of classical compositions, catalogue of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was first published in 1950, edited by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue's second edition appeared in 1990 and the third edition in ...
225 to 229, but also three works of more questionable attribution, (generally agreed to be by Bach), (now assumed to be by Bach, but formerly regarded as spurious) and (a ''
pasticcio
In music, a ''pasticcio'' or ''pastiche'' is an opera or other musical work composed of works by different composers who may or may not have been working together, or an adaptation or localization of an existing work that is loose, unauthorized, ...
'' work). He divided his book in two parts, one dedicated to the facts and history of the works, the other to musical analysis.
For the music publisher
Carus-Verlag
Carus-Verlag is a German music publisher founded in 1972 and based in Stuttgart.
Carus was founded by choral conductor GĂŒnter Graulich and his wife Waltraud with an emphasis on choral repertoire. the catalogue includes more than 26,000 works ...
, he edited Bach's ''
Christmas Oratorio
The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance in a churc ...
'', supplying a foreword in three languages and a critical report of historical and musicological information.
For
Breitkopf & HĂ€rtel
Breitkopf & HĂ€rtel () is a German Music publisher, music publishing house. Founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf, it is the world's oldest music publisher.
Overview
The catalogue contains over 1,000 composers, 8,000 works ...
, he reconstructed a
trio sonata
The trio sonata is a genre, typically consisting of several movements, with two melody instruments and basso continuo. It originated in the early 17th century and was a favorite chamber ensemble combination in the Baroque era.
Basic structure
T ...
for violin, viola and basso continuo, based on BWV 1038, and attributed it to both Johann Sebastian Bach and
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (8 March 1714 â 14 December 1788), also formerly spelled Karl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, and commonly abbreviated C. P. E. Bach, was a German composer and musician of the Baroque and Classical period. He was the fifth ch ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hofmann, Klaus
German musicologists
1939 births
Living people
Writers from WĂŒrzburg
University of ErlangenâNuremberg alumni
University of Freiburg alumni
Academic staff of the University of Göttingen
Bach scholars