Popular Music in the Time of J. S. Bach: The Leipzig Mandora Manuscript

Abstract

Popular Music in the Time of J. S. Bach:The Leipzig Mandora Manuscript Gary Sampsell (bio) Research on music-making in Leipzig in the first part of the eighteenth century has traditionally focused on composers such as Johann Kuhnau, Georg Philipp Telemann, and Johann Sebastian Bach, all of whom were associated with institutions. However, the great majority of music-making in Leipzig and other cities occurred in informal settings and seldom found its way into the historical record. This was particularly true when there was no demonstrable connection to a famous composer; as a result, this area has remained relatively unexplored. The Leipzig Mandora Manuscript is a little-known source from the estate of Carl Ferdinand Becker (1804–1877).1 This anonymous collection features popular songs, dances, and hymns notated in French lute tablature. Becker inscribed the first of its fifty sheets with the title Tonstucke fur die Mandore um das Jahr 1730 [Pieces for the Mandora from around the year 1730]. A study of its contents reveals a trove of information: the innovative use of print editions, arias celebrating leisure pursuits, and evidence of performance practice. Taken together, these pieces form an image of a vibrant musical life with the capacity to strengthen social bonds. [End Page 1] Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. The Leipzig Mandora Manuscript, in the hand of C. F. Becker. [End Page 2] The Instrument Although the thirteen-course lute emerged as the principal plucked chordophone in eighteenth-century Germany, other members of the lute family were played by devotees as well. The mandora was apparently developed as a more accessible alternative. Reminiscent of the Renaissance lute, this longer version had a relatively modest number of courses; six was common, but some had seven or eight. The mandora was tuned to either D or E with an interval pattern like that of the modern guitar (4-4-4-3-4). The D tuning (D-G-c-f-a-d´) provides a range equivalent to the viola da gamba and was the more common tuning in the first half of the century.2 There is some evidence that suggests that the mandora was employed in institutional contexts in Leipzig. In memoranda dated 1704, 1709, and 1717, Kuhnau documented the use of similar instruments,3 which were called Colochonen, Coloscionen, and Calichonen, respectively.4 In the first petition, he described them as "a type of lute that, however, projects, and is necessary for all contemporary ensembles."5 These sentiments were echoed by Johann Mattheson, who also reported that the calichon was tuned to D with the same interval pattern mentioned above.6 In his second and third petitions, Kuhnau conspicuously listed these instruments along with [End Page 3] other foundational forces (e.g., violoncellos and basses), alluding to their functional role within the ensemble.7 Extant parts from Leipzig's Neue Kirche provide additional documentation for the use of the mandora in a church setting. These parts belong to two early works by Telemann, who served as organist and music director from 1704 to 1705, and a cantata composed by Melchior Hoffmann in 1708. They are marked Calcedono or Calcedon, presumably the same instrument referenced in Kuhnau's memoranda. The parts contain no figures, suggesting that the calcedon was employed to reinforce the bass line.8 Whether or not the mandora was introduced as a novelty, it appears to have found an institutional role in Leipzig during the first quarter of the century. There are no official records of its use after 1717, but a published account of the instrument appeared the following decade, implying its steady presence.9 In defense of the thirteen-course lute against earlier criticism, Ernst Gottlieb Baron pointed out the limited range of the calichon in his Study of the Lute (1727): He [Mattheson] also says that the calichon is much more useful in accompaniment, but forgets that the bass part of a lute cannot be more than the whole, especially since many strings can do more than three, four, or six courses.10 This description supports earlier evidence and is a tacit acknowledgement of the use of the calichon in the church and opera house. If there...