Editorial: Tribute to Dr. Elinore L. Barber

Abstract

Editorial:Tribute to Dr. Elinore L. Barber Christina Fuhrmann The present volume marks the fiftieth anniversary of BACH: Journal of the Riemenschneider Bach Institute. Both this issue and the next celebrate this milestone with articles by many of the best Bach scholars today. These issues also celebrate, in memoriam, the remarkable woman who founded the journal: Dr. Elinore L. Barber (1919–2013). Although I never had the honor to meet Barber, poring over past issues of BACH and archival material in the Riemenschneider Bach Institute (RBI) at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio, brings one word to mind to describe her: indefatigable. In 1969, Barber became the director of the newly founded RBI. Dr. Warren Scharf, director of the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music, wanted to increase visibility for the collection of rare items related to Bach and his circle that Dr. Albert and Mrs. Selma Riemenschneider had lovingly acquired over many years and donated to Baldwin Wallace. And increase visibility Barber did. In 1969–1970 alone, she gave two public lectures at Baldwin Wallace on topics as diverse as "Reactions to the New in Music from the Fourteenth Century to the Twentieth" and "Composing Machines and Chance Music"; lectured on "Bach and the Moon" for the Fortnightly Musical Club in Cleveland; wrote program notes for Baldwin Wallace's annual Bach Festival; assisted in the purchase of her mentor Hans T. David's collection for the RBI; and founded and published four issues of BACH, to which she contributed four articles as well as numerous announcements and an "ask the editor" column.1 Barber's pace did not lessen in succeeding years. She founded a Symposium Concert Series that featured guest and faculty performers and for which she lectured on a range of topics. These symposia [End Page 1] included an ambitious set of anniversary celebrations. She coordinated, gave lectures, and wrote program notes for celebrations of the 400th anniversary of Heinrich Schütz's birth in 1985, the 350th anniversary of Dieterich Buxtehude's birth in 1987, and the 200th anniversary of Carl Phillip Emanuel's death in 1988.2 Barber also celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of the RBI and BACH in 1994 with a concert featuring a newly commissioned work by Baldwin Wallace faculty member Loris Chobanian and a special issue reprinting the best articles from the journal's history.3 The latter included an article by Walter Schenkman, "Portrait of Mattheson, the Editor, Together with his Correspondents," that initially appeared in 1978 and that won the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award for Excellence in Publication in 1980.4 Barber continued to garner awards and accomplishments. The year 1982 brought her greatest highlight. She, the Riemenschneider family, and the Huenefeld family collaborated to purchase a Bach autograph manuscript for the RBI from the Walter Hinrichsen family. The manuscript comprises thirteen parts for the cantata Ich liebe den Höchsten von ganzem Gemüte BWV 174, five pages of which contain important material in Bach's hand.5 As with many of the RBI's most valuable items, Barber published a facsimile in BACH to maximize access for Bach scholars around the world.6 Barber also collaborated with many prominent scholars and performers. Her mentor for her PhD at the University of Michigan, Hans T. David, admired Barber greatly, and David's friend Max Rudolf became her [End Page 2] Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. Elinore L. Barber and Alfred Dürr at the Riemenschneider Bach Institute, 1982 supporter as well.7 A chance meeting on a train in 1949 with Albert Schweitzer led to a lifelong friendship and several years of study spent at Schweitzer's home in France.8 Barber recalled: "He was a very great influence, not only musically, but as a person because he treated me just like a granddaughter. It was just an incredible experience."9 Many renowned scholars pursued research at the RBI, including Alfred Dürr, who published numerous articles in BACH and in 1982 visited Baldwin Wallace to lecture at the fiftieth anniversary of the Bach Festival, receive an honorary doctorate, and conduct research in the RBI. Figure 1 shows Dürr and Barber poring over the...