Born in 1685, Bach became one of the most famous composers & musicians of the Baroque period. He enriched established German styles through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic organization, and original adaptations of rhythm, form, and texture from others. To this day, his music is revered for its intellectual depth, technical command, and artistic beauty.

Ironically, while Bach is now consistently regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time, and while he was highly respected as an organist throughout Europe during his lifetime, he was not widely recognized as a great writer of music until many years after his death — when Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin & Mendelssohn counted among his admirers; with Beethoven being so moved after hearing Bach’s work that he described him as “the original father of harmony”.

I was personally blessed to be exposed to the genius of Bach at an early age by my own father, and as a small tribute to them both, I am including links to two of my favorite performances of two of my favorite Bach compositions in the first two comment boxes below … As allWays — enJOY!

“Harmony is next to godliness … There’s nothing remarkable about it. All one has to do is hit the right keys at the right time and the instrument plays itself … God’s gift to his creatures is a Joy worthy of their destiny.” ~ J. S. Bach

 

Filed under: In LOVE with Humanity by Scaughdt