Word: wolff
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...Harvard, this is partially explained by the types of works each excelled in. "You can't really have a major Handel festival without paying attention to his operas, and the difficulties for undergraduates in putting together an opera are nearly insurmountable," Wolff explained. "If you look at Bach's works, you have an ideal repertoire that can be tapped by chamber music, choral and orchestral groups...
...Bach was not acclaimed as a genius composer in his own time. "If you look at Bach's obituary notice in 1750, they praised him as the greatest organist and clavier player of all times, but they had very little understanding of him as a composer," Wolff explained. Marvin added that in Bach's time, other composers, like Handel and Telemann were more acclaimed...
...Wolff said, there are hints that Bach was aware of his own talents. "I think he did recognize his own greatness," Wolff said. "He composed the Mass in B Minor with an eye toward posterity...
...today, Bach is still considered great. "[He is] easily the most well-known and frequently performed composer," Wolff said...
...attributed Bach's recent surge in popularity to technology's growth. "It has been primarily the recording industry which has made people aware of the enormous wealth of, say, cantatas. Previously, only selected ones were available," Wolff expained...