Talk:Daniel Vetter

Daniel Vetter

Previously the article was not written in standard format. For this musical biography, standard material would normally be a short lead, a summary of the life of the organist and his composing activities, mostly the collection and publication of Lutheran chorale melodies. The collection contains simple four-part organ arrangements for the chorales hollowed by spinet or clavichord variations on the chorale, played in a broken manner, i.e. the brisé or luthé style that was in fashion. These were written out in detail, so there was no requirement to improvise or embellish material. In creating his collection, Vetter plays a significant role in late seventeenth and early eighteenth century German because of the attitude to piety amongst wealthy German middle-class households. That is not currently in the article, but is described in the papers of Rose and Rathey. Dirst's article on chorales is also mentioned. There is also content about Lynn Butler's contributions in Bach Perspectives concerning Vetter and Bach's personal library; Williams' "Bach, a Musical Biography" is discussed in relation to Orgelbüchlein and the miniature Advent chorale preludes, such as Nun komm der Heiden Heiland BWV 599, written around 1713, when Bach was auditioning as organist in Halle an der Saale. Robin Leaver's articles and books also contain unused material about Vetter's two collections and its role in Lutheran hymns in the home. The articles of Rose and Rathey are particularly useful. The latter is a musicologist a specialist in 17th century baroque music and contributes in German. He has commented in particular on Vetter's early 18th-century preface, a primary source, so not something that can be used directly on wikipedia. Rathey's own 2010 English translations from Vetter's preface are a reliable secondary source; his extensive comments on attitudes to piety and prayer will be added to this article. No justification has been for why this stub-length musical bio has evolved as a fork for "Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben? BWV 8". Although perhaps not so easy to unearth from modern scholarship, musical commentators have written extensively and dispassionately about Vetter's collection; no particular number has been singled out. There are comparisons of Nun komm, Allein in Gott, Ein Kind, etc. There are comments from Grove and Dürr & Jones that the very last entry Liebster Gott is also associated with the funeral of Wilisius and with Bach's Cantata No. 8. There is also extensive commentary on the 1717 renovation of the Paulaner organ in Leipzig by Johann Schiebe, which involved discussions with both Bach and Vetter. As a result of the rebuild, there were later warnings from the organ-builder family Silbermann about the inadequacy of the restoration. At the moment this cannot be found in the article.

The previous content had various shortcomings, starting from the sources that were missed. As with the articles on Buxtehude, some care is required in finding material. Because of the relation with Bach scholarship, that is possibly made easier. Mathsci (talk) 12:51, 8 November 2020 (UTC)