Universality v's nationalism

[hal9000]

"What makes Bach's music particularly striking is that it's about the love of God. This should present a hurdle to someone who, like me, doesn't believe in God - but it doesn't. What I appreciate in Bach is his ability to suggest to me what a belief in God feels like. His music seems to me to be about devotion to a perfect ideal - something purer, better, higher ..."

[AeolianHarp]

I hope it opens the doors to Bach for you - he is one of the greatest of composers, remember Beethoven said he should be called 'Ocean' and it is not for nothing that musicians throughout the ages have revered his name, even when it fell into relative decline after his death. Yes Bach was a deeply religious man, but the point I am making in this thread is about his universality.

Consider biologist Lewis Thomas’s opinion about the contents of the disc that was to be placed on the 1977 Voyager spacecraft before launching it on its long journey into the cosmos. Carl Sagan had asked Thomas for his suggestions about works which would represent the human race at its very finest. Thomas replied: “I would send the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach.” Then he paused and added: “But that would be boasting.”

LOL! Well I would have put all of Beethoven's String Quartets on it, The Ninth, The 7th, some of his piano sonatas- especially Hammerklavier and opus 109 and Chopin's nocturnes and his Grand Polonaise.

Yeah, I like some of Bach, but can't say that he is or will be a favourite- really not my era. Too formal sounding for me.
I am for the Romantic era mostly with some Classical- our Maestro, Mozart and Haydn. And of course I like Schubert a lot!

I wish Chopin had written more piano concertos- he was soooooo good at them! Same goes for piano sonatas.

[Peter]

LOL! Well I would have put all of Beethoven's String Quartets on it, The Ninth, The 7th, some of his piano sonatas- especially Hammerklavier and opus 109 and Chopin's nocturnes and his Grand Polonaise.

Yeah, I like some of Bach, but can't say that he is or will be a favourite- really not my era. Too formal sounding for me.
I am for the Romantic era mostly with some Classical- our Maestro, Mozart and Haydn. And of course I like Schubert a lot!

I wish Chopin had written more piano concertos- he was soooooo good at them! Same goes for piano sonatas.

Some of Chopin's finest music is actually his mazurkas - less attention grabbing than the old favourites, but more subtle in their use of harmony and rhythm. I shall be learning the Andante Spinato and Grande Polonaise over the summer break.

Try the D minor concerto of Bach - 3rd movt:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZGtUATyJDA

[Enrique]

Thanks for that! That 3rd movement is a good example of how listening to music can fill your heart with joy. It is true that he was the supreme synthesis of harmony and counterpoint. But it is no [not?] less true that his melodic gift was inexhaustible. Watch that theme. You could abstract everything else from the movement and leave the theme alone, naked. What? Twelve, sixteen measures? And you would have a fantastic, superb piece of music. The existence of people who can't appreciate Bach is, for me, one of the great mysteries of the human nature.