Word: musication
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...spiritual side of Bach has probably prompted as much exaggeration as the notion that he is a dry, abstract musician's musician. Because so much of his work was intended for use in worship, he has traditionally been known as "the fifth evangelist," pealing out a musical gospel from some celestial organ loft. "For me," wrote French organist Charles Marie Widor in 1907, "Bach is the greatest of preachers." Two years ago, three Venetian music lovers wrote to the Vatican weekly Osservatore della Domenica, suggesting that Bach, even though he was a Lutheran, ought to be canonized...
...setting of Luther's A Mighty Fortress as a prelude to Sunday Mass. Still, the mode of Christian worship is not that of Bach's time, and the impact of his compositions, whether secular or sacred, stems largely from a general feeling of transcendence in the music. "He will give Christianity to Christians, Judaism to Jews, even Communism to Communists," says Karl Richter, conductor of the Munich Bach Choir and Orchestra. Ultimately, says Helmut Walcha, "Bach opens a vista to the universe. After experiencing him, people feel there is meaning to life after...
...position with Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cothen; the defection so angered Duke Wilhelm that Bach was clapped in the Weimar jail for a month. Once he arrived at Cothen, Bach devoted five placid, productive years to superb keyboard and chamber pieces, including the French Suites for harpsichord, the unaccompanied music for cello and violin, and the six Brandenburg Concertos. This period is usually labeled Bach's secular phase, though he was not fussy about the distinction between sacred and secular. Bach often borrowed from his secular music for sacred occasions, just as Martin Luther had used love songs...
...fortunes declined at Cothen after Prince Leopold married an unmusical wife. In a monumental miscalculation, Bach accepted the post of choirmaster at Leipzig's St. Thomas Church. The salary and social status were lower, the living conditions drearier, and the duties more onerous. Besides being responsible for the music in two Leipzig churches, Bach had minor chores at two others, even had to teach catechism and act as proctor to choirboys. His family obligations were increasing too. After the death of Barbara, he had married a professional singer named Anna Magdalena Wilcken in 1721; she became stepmother...
...trend in music moved away from virile counterpoint toward softer melody and simple accompaniment, from rich harmonic modulations toward more basic cadences, and from daring elaboration toward the cultivation of controlled elegance. Bach's composer sons-notably Carl Philipp Emanuel, Johann Christian and Wilhelm Friedemann -were all attracted to this style. After his death, Bach was mourned as a fine organist and teacher, but for 70 years his reputation as a composer was kept alive only by a few enthusiasts and composers, notably Mozart and Beethoven...