An "Economist "Best Book of the Year
A" Christian Science Monitor" Best Book of the Year
A "Financial Times" Best Book of the Year
Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the most unfathomable composers in
the history of music. How can such sublime work have been produced
by a man who (when we can discern his personality at all) seems so
ordinary, so opaque--and occasionally so intemperate?
John Eliot Gardiner grew up passing one of the only two authentic
portraits of Bach every morning and evening on the stairs of his
parents' house, where it hung for safety during World War II. He
has been studying and performing Bach ever since, and is now
regarded as one of the composer's greatest living interpreters. The
fruits of this lifetime's immersion are distilled in this
remarkable book, grounded in the most recent Bach scholarship but
moving far beyond it, and explaining in wonderful detail the ideas
on which Bach drew, how he worked, how his music is constructed,
how it achieves its effects--and what it can tell us about Bach the
man.
Gardiner's background as a historian has encouraged him to search
for ways in which scholarship and performance can cooperate and
fruitfully coalesce. This has entailed piecing together the few
biographical shards, scrutinizing the music, and watching for those
instances when Bach's personality seems to penetrate the fabric of
his notation. Gardiner's aim is "to give the reader a sense of
inhabiting the same experiences and sensations that Bach might have
had in the act of music-making. This, I try to show, can help us
arrive at a more human likeness discernible in the closely related
processes of composing and performing his music."
It is very rare that such an accomplished performer of music should
also be a considerable writer and thinker about it. John Eliot
Gardiner takes us as deeply into Bach's works and mind as perhaps
words can. The result is a unique book about one of the greatest of
all creative artists.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
