In 1724, Bach unleashed his St. John Passion on Good Friday. Solemn music for the most solemn day in the Christian calendar. While Lutheran congregations would have expected an austere service, with a handful of Lutheran hymns, Bach had something new up his sleeve. As John Eliot Gardiner observes: "What greeted worshippers that day, however, … Continue reading Bach’s St. John Passion
Month: April 2022
Bach for Easter
Last Christmas, I published a playlist that looked at Christmas music over nearly 1,000 years. At Easter, it is all about Bach. As mentioned earlier, Bach’s faith ran deep; while his great and frequent personal tragedies were never worn on his sleeve or visage, they poured out of him and into his music. The St. … Continue reading Bach for Easter
Music History, by Guitar
Classical guitarists get comparitively little consideration and wrongfully so. We will have much to say about the classical guitar, particularly when we get to Benjamin Britten much further down the line. Compared with rock gods and jazz freaks, classical guitarists operate in a world where they are largely shunned by classical audiences and ignored by … Continue reading Music History, by Guitar
Samantha Hankey: Aural Ambrosia
We've had the distinct pleasure of following mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey's career ever since her senior year at the Juilliard School. A very deserved winner of the Metropolitan Opera's National Council Auditions (coming out of the NY region!) in 2017, Samantha's career has taken off spectacularly, debuting at many of the world's greatest opera houses including … Continue reading Samantha Hankey: Aural Ambrosia
J.S. Bach, Hitmaker
Bach could do more than write intellectual studies and heart rendering music. Here was a composer who gave the people what they wanted too--a hit maker supreme. Want proof? Here are two examples. Everyone here knows Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3 (Air). It is, hands down, the #1 butchered piece of music ever written—I’ve heard … Continue reading J.S. Bach, Hitmaker
A Gertus History of Music 