Klaus Hofmann (born 20 March 1939) is a German

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...

who is an expert on the music of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

. Born in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the '' Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzbur ...

, Hofmann studied after graduation (1958) from 1958 to 1959 at the University of Erlangen. He then continued his studies at the Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg. In 1968 he received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' ...

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 pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Marga ...

in the 13th century, performed on the motets with tenor ). From 1968 to 1978 he worked as an employee of the

Hänssler Verlag Hänssler-Verlag is a German music publishing house founded in 1919 as Musikverlag Hänssler by Friedrich Hänssler Senior (died 1972) to publish church music. The company is now based in Holzgerlingen. Since 1972 Hänssler Verlag has also publish ...

. 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 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 . In 1994 he was appointed honorary professor at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen.

Selected publications

In 2003, he wrote a book on the motets by Bach, ''Johann Sebastian Bach. .'', published by Bärenreiter. He covered not only the five motets

BWV The (BWV; ; ) is a 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. An abbreviated version of that second edition, known as BWV ...

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'' 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, 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 on one of ...

'', supplying a foreword in three languages and a critical report of historical and musicological information. For

Breitkopf & Härtel Breitkopf & Härtel is the world's oldest music publishing house. The firm was founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf. The catalogue currently contains over 1,000 composers, 8,000 works and 15,000 music editions or books ...

, he reconstructed a

trio sonata The trio sonata is a genre, typically consisting of several movements, with two melody instruments and basso continuo. Originating in the early 17th century, the trio sonata was a favorite chamber ensemble combination in the Baroque era. Basic s ...

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 – 14 December 1788), also formerly spelled Karl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, and commonly abbreviated C. P. E. Bach, was a German Classical period musician and composer, the fifth child and sec ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hofmann, Klaus German musicologists 1939 births Living people Writers from Würzburg University of Erlangen-Nuremberg alumni University of Freiburg alumni University of Göttingen faculty