Thursday, April 24, 2008

For You Bach Lovers

Known for his sacred works, choral music, and orchestral productions, German composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) is considered the culmination of Baroque music standards. He was a mathematical genius who mastered better than anyone the contrapuntal music technique, while synthesizing non-German influences into his music. Outside the polyphonic genre of sacred music (pre-Baroque era), for me the Baroque period offers the most beautiful and inventive consonant expressions in all of musicology, without falling into the detrimental propensity of "mushy." And despite the temptation to characterize Bach's works as musically "stoic" for not having the romantic flare of a Tchaikovskian piece, this style of composition can exhibit appreciable melodic and emotional eloquence. With Bach's death in 1750, effectively came to an end the Baroque period.

But before I turn this post into a boring history lesson, let me get to the point by sharing with you one of Bach's most celebrated works: Concerto for Violin and Oboe in D Minor. It's quite beautiful, even by die hard romantic standards.



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