5 ms·

Bach is beyond sublime and I am not a poet, my words are insufficient to offer praise of suitable depth. And I wonder, there are so many good writers and poets

Bach is beyond sublime and I am not a poet, my words are insufficient to offer praise of suitable depth. And I wonder, there are so many good writers and poets among us so why, on earth, have we yet to have a blockbuster biography of his, or celebrated film or TV series? We have them all of Beethoven, Mozart, even Mahler and Chopin. Is it because he's just too big to tackle? Jan Swafford--you mastered the other two, where are you?

bcatanzaro 5y ago
It's not a blockbuster but I really do love "Music in the Castle of Heaven" by John Eliot Gardiner. Maybe a little academic - but the drama!
- telesilla 5y ago
  Thanks, I started reading this and it's fascinating and by someone whose conducting I am familiar with. Appreciate the recommendation
zwieback 5y ago
I suspect his personal life is just not colorful enough to make for interesting viewing.
- _Gyan_ 5y ago
  Don't think that's the main reason. Hollywood has no compunction or lack of skill to embellish or dramatize a mundane life if they need to. I suspect Bach's place at the top is received rather than recognized, which is not to say he doesn't deserve it. His skill lays in counterpoint and other facets of harmony. His music has structural elegance and ornamental beauty, not the full orchestral rabble rousing of Beethoven or delicate pianism of Chopin. Not exactly directly translatable to a poster or trailer.
- Ericson2314 5y ago
  I recall there was a teenage knife fight
  - zwieback 5y ago
    Had to google that - with a bassoonist! That explains a lot...
jan_Inkepa 5y ago
I dunno - he was as far as I know (a medium amount but not a lot) a pretty normal person and...his personality comes much less to the fore in his work compared to later era composers. I've tried reading his letters - they're strictly business. He was in many ways a consummate professional of the pre-personality-cult era. Though there's something nice about that in and of itself.
- DennisP 5y ago
  These snippets from the article hint at some entertaining possibilities: > Bach was crafty both in his music and life, and he adored puzzles, games and general inventive mischief. > walking 280 miles just to watch one organist perform > a dizzying array of professional demands, awkward taskmasters, petulant critics, vain royalty and personal tragedies. Also worth noting "the violent, thuggish world of the young JS Bach": https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/sep/21/secret-bach-teenage-thug https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/sep/21/secret-bach-te...
  - telesilla 5y ago
    This article is heartbreaking. I'm not sure I'll listen to his Passions again the same way.
xkeysc0re 5y ago
Check out "The Loser" by Thomas Bernhard. Not a biography, but an excellent novel inspired by Bach
- marton78 5y ago
  Oh, "Der Untergeher". Read it in German, if you can. It's... memorable.
bane 5y ago
An absolutely fantastic scene about Bach was in the East-German/Hungarian co-production: Johann Sebastian Bach https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdmcabpiGYU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdmcabpiGYU In it he meets Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, then one of the world's superpowers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_the_Great https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_the_Great

bcatanzaro 5y ago

It's not a blockbuster but I really do love "Music in the Castle of Heaven" by John Eliot Gardiner. Maybe a little academic - but the drama!

telesilla 5y ago
Thanks, I started reading this and it's fascinating and by someone whose conducting I am familiar with. Appreciate the recommendation

zwieback 5y ago

I suspect his personal life is just not colorful enough to make for interesting viewing.

_Gyan_ 5y ago
Don't think that's the main reason. Hollywood has no compunction or lack of skill to embellish or dramatize a mundane life if they need to. I suspect Bach's place at the top is received rather than recognized, which is not to say he doesn't deserve it. His skill lays in counterpoint and other facets of harmony. His music has structural elegance and ornamental beauty, not the full orchestral rabble rousing of Beethoven or delicate pianism of Chopin. Not exactly directly translatable to a poster or trailer.
Ericson2314 5y ago
I recall there was a teenage knife fight
- zwieback 5y ago
  Had to google that - with a bassoonist! That explains a lot...

jan_Inkepa 5y ago

I dunno - he was as far as I know (a medium amount but not a lot) a pretty normal person and...his personality comes much less to the fore in his work compared to later era composers. I've tried reading his letters - they're strictly business. He was in many ways a consummate professional of the pre-personality-cult era. Though there's something nice about that in and of itself.

DennisP 5y ago
These snippets from the article hint at some entertaining possibilities: > Bach was crafty both in his music and life, and he adored puzzles, games and general inventive mischief. > walking 280 miles just to watch one organist perform > a dizzying array of professional demands, awkward taskmasters, petulant critics, vain royalty and personal tragedies. Also worth noting "the violent, thuggish world of the young JS Bach": https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/sep/21/secret-bach-teenage-thug https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/sep/21/secret-bach-te...
- telesilla 5y ago
  This article is heartbreaking. I'm not sure I'll listen to his Passions again the same way.

xkeysc0re 5y ago

Check out "The Loser" by Thomas Bernhard. Not a biography, but an excellent novel inspired by Bach

marton78 5y ago
Oh, "Der Untergeher". Read it in German, if you can. It's... memorable.

bane 5y ago

An absolutely fantastic scene about Bach was in the East-German/Hungarian co-production: Johann Sebastian Bach https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdmcabpiGYU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdmcabpiGYU In it he meets Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, then one of the world's superpowers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_the_Great https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_the_Great