I'd argue baroque music, and particularly Bach's work wasn't merely a tradition and an affect of taste and fashion, it was discovered, and it is still being dis

I'd argue baroque music, and particularly Bach's work wasn't merely a tradition and an affect of taste and fashion, it was discovered, and it is still being discovered though statistical and other analysis techniques used on his work today. Bach's work is all about expressions of implied symmetries and forms, and one of the most interesting aspects of it is that you can essentially extend his pieces by writing consistent theorems in them. It's not just harmony it's iterating the rules within the pieces. Take this example of Alan Mearn's interpretation of BWV 1007, this isn't mere ornamentation, he has filled out an entire exposition of implied counterpoint, where the alberti bass evolves into a completely new voice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp98MRKrs2U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp98MRKrs2U I'm biased because I think Mearns' new Bach album is the most important interpretation since Gould's Goldberg Variations, and I'm working my way through his sheet music edition, but this idea that Bach's work was an artifact of a time whose importance is diminished by progress is farcical. It's a foundation without which there would be nothing approaching what we know today.