One thing is certain. Even if few truly appreciated it at the time, Bach was very aware of his genius. A humble Lutheran by nature and faith, Bach sought to cement his legacy at the end of his life through two monumental works. Sick, going blind and dying, Bach set about to compose on both … Continue reading Bach, The Art of the Fugue, Part I
Tag: Bach
Bach’s St. John Passion
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
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
A Light in the Darkness: Bach’s Goldberg Variations
The Goldberg Variations, composed towards the end of Bach’s life, are one of his “summation” works. In these works, and here on a single instrument no less, he presents the entire history of music, synthesizing diverse styles from Italian Aria to French Overture. Depending on how many of the repeats are taken, a performance can … Continue reading A Light in the Darkness: Bach’s Goldberg Variations
Bach and Equal Temperament
Bach’s influence on keyboard instruments is unrivaled. But before getting into his works for solo keyboard, it is important to talk about Equal Temperament, which solved for all time the problem of the Pythagorean Comma, which we discussed at the beginning of this blog. To recap, Western music was based on a natural scale with … Continue reading Bach and Equal Temperament
A Gertus History of Music 