The author's monumental study of Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the great classics of musicology. The author provides in chronological sequence practically everything that is known of the life of J. S. Bach: his ancestors as far back as they can be traced, the musical family of the Bachs, his immediate family, the incidents of his life, his associations, his employers, and the countless occasions when his musical genius emerged. Spitta provides this biographical material in full, with innumerable quotations from primary sources (most of which are nowhere else available): correspondence, family papers and traditions, memoires, diaries, ephemeral publications, periodicals, church records, court and other official records, and so many other sources that this is the richest collection ever made. If one wishes to learn about Bach's life, this is the best coverage. Along with biographical data the author also gives extremely full information about Bach's musical production, with analyses of more than five hundred pieces.

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This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

Book Excerpt: scuss the first English version of Forkel's monograph, published in 1820, with the following title-page:LIFE OF JOHN SEBASTIAN BACH; with a Critical View of his Compositions. By J. N. Forkel, Author of The Complete History of Music, etc., etc. Translated from the German. London: Printed for T. Boosey and Co., Holles-Street, Cavendish-Square. 1820.The book was published in February 1820; it was announced, with a slightly differently worded title-page, in the New Monthly Magazine and Universal Register for March 1820 (p. 341), and the Scots Magazine for the same month ( vol. lxxxv. p. 263). The New Monthly states the price as 5s., the Quarterly Review (vol. xxiii. p. 281) as 6s. The book contains xi+116+3 pages of Music Figures, crown octavo, bound in dark unlettered cloth. It has neither Introduction, notes (other than Forkel's), nor indication of the translator's identity. Much of the translation is so bad as to suggest grave doubts of the translator's comprRead More

Music moves through time; it is not static. In order to appreciate music wemust remember what sounds happened, and anticipate what sounds might comenext. This book takes you on a journey of music from past to present, from the Middle Ages to the Baroque Period to the 20th century and beyond!

Now available in paperback, this landmark biography was first published in 2000 to mark the 250th anniversary of J. S. Bach's death. Written by a leading Bach scholar, this book presents a new picture of the composer. Christoph Wolff demonstrates the intimate connection between Bach's life and his music, showing how the composer's superb inventiveness pervaded his career as a musician, composer, performer, scholar, and teacher.