4 ms·

I'm somewhat convinced by the satirical "Bach Portrait" that makes him out to be pompous and plodding in life and in music. Maybe OT. https://www.youtube.com/wa

• coldtea 9y ago
  Not OT, but low-brow BS. Letters taken out of context, and in the usual form of communication of the times, from a professional musician. Like judging Miles Davis from his communication with his accountants... And there's nothing pompous about Bach's music. If anything it's too subdued.
  • theoh 9y ago
    What exonerates Bach's music from being assessed by the same modern criteria? What if, what was, back then, known as "composing music" was what we would now, honestly, describe as a laughably narcissistic activity, comparable to Thomas Heatherwick's designs for London buses or the Garden Bridge. The question is not of the status (culturally) of the work, but of its originality. The measure is of invention vs mere elaboration, or concept vs substantial process.