Why Bach is the Greatest Composer of All Time
“Music owes as much to Bach as religion to its founder.”
— Robert Schumann
I have a confession to make: I didn’t always like the music Johann Sebastian Bach that much.
Bach can be hard to listen to. His music is dense, formal, complicated.
It is old. It is so old that it was considered old-fashioned 250 years ago.
What does that make it today?
To add to its “Baroqueness”, much of it is closely linked to the Protestant tradition of 18th century Germany. A large part of his music, like his 200 cantatas, was composed for Protestant service, and is naturally inspired by Christian themes.
This can make for less than easy listening.
His cantatas have such catchy names as “ Weeping, lamenting, worrying, fearing” (BMV 12), “I had much grief” (BMV 21), “ Ah, how fleeting, ah how insignificant” (BMV 26), “False world, I trust you not” (BMV 52) etc.
They were composed to be listened to in the environement of serious religious service, and not as pleasant background music at the beach.
So many might wonder if his music is still relatable in our modern day and age (in a different article, I have extended this question to all of classical music).
