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Loading... J.S. Bach: A Life in Musicby Peter Williams
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. This biography takes a novel approach. It uses the printed obituary of Bach written by his son C.P.E. Bach, and examines it line by line, expanding it and speculating on the details. This is not a biography for the merely curious, since a knowledge of music theory and history is helpful, even though it includes a glossary. The target audience would be serious amteurs, music students, and professionals. ( ) no reviews | add a review
Peter Williams approaches afresh the life and music of arguably the most studied of all composers, interpreting both Bach's life by deconstructing his original obituary in the light of more recent information and his music by evaluating his priorities and irrepressible creative energy. How, even though belonging to musical families on both his parents' sides, did he come to possess so bewitching a sense of rhythm and melody and a mastery of harmony that established nothing less than a norm in Western culture? In considering that the works of a composer are his biography, the book's title A Life in Music means both a life spent making music and one revealed in the music as we know it. A distinguished scholar and performer, Williams re-examines Bach's life as an orphan and family man, as an extraordinarily gifted composer and player and as an ambitious artist who never suffered fools gladly. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)780.92The arts Music Music Biography And History BiographyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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