Thoughts on JS Bach

It is hard to quantify Bach’s music. It just feels perfect. There is a real sense of balance, completeness, harmony, depth, and feeling.

Bach compiled all the styles of baroque music that had come before him and then leveraged his genius to create his own unique, lasting, original works. Bach´s music is almost 300 years old, but his work was radically new at the time.

It’s interesting to consider why some composer’s works still matter long after they have been composed. Bach´s music is certainly complex and harmonically brilliant, but the foundation of his music rests on a real feeling of joy and at other times deep religious feeling. When listening to Bach one is moved by these feelings.

The pianist Glenn Gould was the most skillful interpreter of Bach´s music. Gould stated about music in general that “The purpose of art is…the gradual, lifelong construction of a state of wonder and serenity.” This phrase describes perfectly what Bach achieved.

I would recommend the following recordings:

Bach: The Goldberg Variations (Glenn Gould)

Bach (Hélène Grimaud)

Bach: The Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo (Gidon Kremer)

Bach: Brandenburg Concertos; Orchestral Suites (Trevor Pinnock)