My favorite composer Johann Sebastian Bach

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The legacy of Johann Sebastian Bach

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Sebastian_Bach

In his later years and after his death, Bach's reputation as a composer declined: his work was regarded as old-fashioned compared to the emerging classical style. He was far from forgotten, however: he was remembered as a player and teacher (as well, of course, as composer), and as father of his children (most notably CPE Bach). His best-appreciated compositions in this period were his keyboard works, in which field other composers continued to acknowledge his mastery. Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin were among his most prominent admirers. On a visit to the Thomasschule in Leipzig, Mozart heard a performance of one of the motets (BWV 225) and exclaimed, "Now, here is something one can learn from!"; on being given the parts of the motets, "Mozart sat down, the parts all around him, held in both hands, on his knees, on the nearest chairs. Forgetting everything else, he did not stand up again until he had looked through all the music of Sebastian Bach". Beethoven was a devotee, learning the Well-Tempered Clavier as a child and later calling Bach "Urvater der Harmonie" ("original father of harmony") and "nicht Bach, sondern Meer" ("not a brook, but a sea", punning on the literal meaning of the composer's name). Chopin used to lock himself away before his concerts and play Bach's music.^[5]

The revival in the composer��s reputation among the wider public was prompted in part by Johann Nikolaus Forkel��s 1802 biography, which was read by Beethoven among others. Goethe became acquainted with Bach's works relatively late in life, through a series of performances of keyboard and choral works at Bad Berka in 1814 and 1815; in a letter of 1827 he compared the experience of listening to Bach's music to "eternal harmony in dialogue with itself".^[6] But it was Felix Mendelssohn who did the most to revive Bach's reputation with his 1829 Berlin performance of the St Matthew Passion. Hegel, who attended the performance, later called Bach "grand, truly Protestant, robust and, so to speak, erudite genius which we have only recently learned again to appreciate at its full value".^[7]. Mendelssohn's promotion of Bach, and the growth of the composer��s stature, continued in subsequent years. The Bach Gesellschaft (or Bach Society) was founded in 1850 to promote the works, and over the next half century it published a comprehensive edition.

Thereafter Bach��s reputation has remained consistently high. During the 20th century the process of recognising the musical as well as the pedagogic value of some of the works has continued, perhaps most notably in the promotion of the Cello Suites by Pablo Casals. Another development has been the growth of the authentic or period performance movement, which attempts to present the music as the composer intended it. Examples include the playing of keyboard works on the harpsichord rather than a modern grand piano, and the use of small choirs or single voices instead of the larger forces favoured by 19th- and early 20th-century performers.

Johann Sebastian Bach��s contributions to music, or, to borrow a term popularised by his student Lorenz Christoph Mizler, "musical science" are frequently compared to the "original geniuses" of William Shakespeare in English literature and Isaac Newton in physics.

As an example of the best which humanity has to offer, Bach��s music was selected for inclusion on the Voyager Golden Records. Scientist and author Lewis Thomas once suggested how the people of Earth should communicate with the universe: "I would vote for Bach, all of Bach, streamed out into space, over and over again. We would be bragging of course, but it is surely excusable to put the best possible face on at the beginning of such an acquaintance. We can tell the harder truths later."

Some composers have paid tribute to Bach by setting his name in musical notes��B-flat, A, C, B-natural (B-natural is H in German)��or its contrapuntal derivatives; for example, Liszt wrote both a praeludium and fugue on the BACH motif. Bach himself set the precedent for this musical acronym, most notably in Contrapunctus XIV from the Art of Fugue. Whereas Bach conceived this cruciform melody as a compositional form of devotion to Christ and his cross, later composers have employed the BACH motif in homage to the composer himself. Bach��s obvious devotion to Christ in his liturgical oeuvre was given special credence with the 1934 discovery of the Calov Bible in Frankenmuth Michigan.

I decided to revive this thread thanks to your other thread.  

Mozart the "bubblegum boy"? Can't say it better myself!!!!! (But some music historians have pointed out that Mendelssohn may have actually been an even more impressive musical prodigy than him.)

I love Beethoven too. He's a real genius. But the amazing thing about Beethoven's genius is that he's extremely meticulous in his composition process. One would think that if you are a genius, you could just create music effortlessly. However, when one looks at the manuscripts of Beethoven's music, one immediately discovers the almost painful tediousness and complexity of his creation process.  

J.S. Bach. Oh, what can I say about J.S. Bach. It seems to me that people either LOVE him to death (like me) or who don't care too much for him at all. I personally just find the latter utterly incomprehensible. How can anyone NOT be mesmerized by his music???

Since I play the piano, I tend to enjoy his keyboard works most. Actually most of his keyboard work was written for the harpsichord. But for the purpose of more pleasant listening, I recommend the piano interpretation rather than the harpsichord one.

For very "light" listening (and playing for beginners), I would recommend his "Anna Magdalena Notebook". The pieces have a very simple and even childlike quality to them, but they're all illustrative of Bach's musical style.

His 48 Well-Tempered Clavier (or Preludes and Fugues) are extremely famous. Some of the more melodious ones have been "popularized" by modern musicians. Some of them (especially the "fugues") are very technical and may not be as aesthetically pleasing to the ears of lay people. (I don't want to sound condescending here. But if one knows some rudiments of musical theory, one could understand and appreciate Bach's fugues a lot more.)

Some of his "Two and Three Part Inventions" have also been "popularized" by modern musicians. You will immediately recognize some of the tunes once you start listening to them.

My all-time personal favorites are the first three of his 6 Partitas for keyboard. Oh my God!!!!! Technically they are very sophisticated. But that's not the point here. They are, IMHO, among the most beautiful sounds ever created by the human race. The Sinfonia of the Second Partita in C Minor - you have to have listened to it to believe how divinely beautiful it is.

Last recommendation for Bach's keyboard work - his Italian Concerto!!!! It has three movements and all three are very very very good, but I especially love the second movement ("Andante"). The unique thing about Bach's Italian Concerto is that it sounds very "modern" (relative to his time). It sounds so "modern" than it could have been written by Beethoven.