'The ripienists must also be at least eight, namely two for each part': The Leipzig line of 1730--some observations

Abstract

IT is a well-known fact that few authentic testimonies exist as to how many people Bach ordinarily expected to sing in his choirs, and it is probably vain to hope for any reliable, clear-cut resolution to the question in the future. This is why it is essential, in any examination of the matter, to consult the documents concerning the post of cantor of St Thomas’s from the period before 1723 and after 1750. Indeed, Bach’s predecessors and successors also expressed their views on performance practices at the St Thomas’s School in a variety of petitions and memoranda. What they had to say, sometimes in very great detail, is entirely relevant to the current debate on how Bach manned his choirs, as the organizational structures and external circumstances surrounding the post of cantor of St Thomas’s remained largely unchanged from the early 18th century up to 1789, when Johann Adam Hiller took over the post.