The Bach Effect: What the GREATS Hear That You Don’t

[@lisa-mariegray5510]

The cellist Pablo Casals, once said: "Every morning I go to my piano and I play two preludes and fugues of JS Bach. It is like a blessing, a benediction, on my house. Bach is like life: it is a miracle!".

[@jondhuse1549]

My trombone teach once said: Begin every day with Bach.

[@lisa-mariegray5510]

@@jondhuse1549 Very wise! 😊

[@AllofJudea]

​@@jondhuse1549my trombone teacher, Rusty, always said "ASSUME THE POSITION"

[@annwaddell7321]

I went to Marlboro College in Vermont, where Casals summered, and though he had already passed by the time I went there, he was very much alive in Vermont. Some days, I have heard (from very reliable sources) Casals played the entire Well Tempered Clavier!

[@AllofJudea]

@@annwaddell7321 cringe

[@thediamonddog95]

When i saw a thumbnail, i thought Rick is going to interview Bach.

[@bwpm1467]

Well, if anyone could make that happen, it's Rick...

[@Book-bz8ns]

Greatest interview never made😢

[@dad45a]

Mozart

[@WinItReigns]

Bach to the Future

[@punns643]

​@@dad45ahe's overrated

[@curiousgeorge1508]

Dear Rick, I usually don't comment but I wanted to thank you for your video. I actually am a violin student from Leipzig and just yesterday in the evening I have played the St Matthew Passion by Bach in the St Thomas Church. It was great and during the concert I thought to myself how amazing it is to play music by a composer who lived many centuries ago and that the music still sounds beautiful today. I have played all of Bach's Motets and a few Cantatas in that church and also I play pieces from his Partita for solo violin when I'm not playing in an orchestra. Everytime I just wonder how he managed to compose such beautiful works of art and especially in that quantity. Your video made me appreciate the music more and summed up my thoughts about his music. Thank you, Rick :)

[@fredgarv79]

Just saw St Johns passion in Seattle last week, it had more than a few people having to dab their eyes during parts of it. I envy you so much. Hope you have a long and great career playing this great music and not just Bach. I think "how did he manage it?" He himself said it came from higher above and I believe that

[@pamelaschutz1248]

@@fredgarv79 , true, but he also valued plodding. Just plain hard work. No temper tantrums and "look at me" moments. Just service. And work. In humility. That's what makes greatness. Curious George, here's to you! I am personally grateful for every single musician who continues working incredibly hard so that these gems are not lost to us forever.

[@paulwooton4390]

​@@fredgarv79 plus he was a great family man.

[@paulwooton4390]

What a treasure for you, and for those who are lucky to hear you in that setting. I am happy that BLM has not yet torn down the Bach statue.

[@pamelaschutz1248]

@@paulwooton4390 , God forbid! Grief that gave me a turn to think about. They have torn down our statue of Rhodes in South Africa and much else, and however nasty Rhodes might actually have been, history is history, and desecration is desecration. They have also burned Irma Stern Art museum and much else.

[@KokkiePiet]

Nice to hear this. I used to work in a restaurant as a student in the late 80's early 90's and Jan Akkerman (of Focus) was a guest now and again, he explained this once and on his guitar played Bach's music and then modern music and explained the connection. Bach truly is the Musicians Musician.

[@lupash]

Right when you think Rick's videos and interviews couldn't get any better, there he comes with a JS Bach vid.

[@Sonny_McMacsson]

Maybe Rick should interview him.

[@paulmcdonald1258]

Exactly.

[@BalakeHart-nh4xh]

Love it... Bach is out of this world.

[@WiseandVegan]

As beings with good heart, we must be vegan. Dominion (2018)

[@MonaLuna978]

Yeah, they're all boneheads. What was Rick thinking? 🙄

[@richacker9416]

when i was in my 20s i was doing some work in a church and learned the organist rehearsed on wenesday , so i spent every wed i could sitting in the pipe room, tears in my eyes. Bach had been discovered.

[@fernandogarridovaz]

When I was studying music at college, we were lucky to have the local cathedral’s organist attending lessons with us. One day, as a class activity, we went with him to the cathedral and stood next to the organ’s keyboard while he played Toccata and Fugue in D minor. I was in tears all through it, literally sobbing. This was early in the morning, and I remember going back home unable to watch any more lessons and just sitting on my balcony for hours enjoying the memory of the music. It was such a powerful moment which I will never forget. Bach’s music is the pinnacle of human achievement.

[@johnswendell8711]

"the pinnacle of human achievement ", I totally agree!

[@hakanaxlund4316]

Great story!

[@lowandodor1150]

I can relate completely.

[@JackKnight762]

whoop de doo

[@mechanicalman1068]

How wonderful! I totally agree.

[@marianbonnetti7784]

Listened to Bach continually and did the best ever in my exams…………the man was a genius!

[@TitusSamuel-qd2uy]

👍☀️🌝

[@stephenrivera4382]

Hey, Rick. I’m a member of the Bach Choir of Bethlehem (PA) and we have the wonderful honor of singing Bach’s music all year long, every year! We’ll be traveling to Germany this summer and performing at St. Thomas Church, which will be the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for me! I’ve been a subscriber for years and love your videos! Bach’s music is simply without equal!

[@Ragnovlod]

You lucky man, you.

[@MichaelMattison]

Great. Beautiful music 🎶 may it transcend time

[@Paul-o2p]

Was honored to be able to sing there with the Ohlone Chamber Choir many years ago.

[@ralfklonowski3740]

Welcome to Germany. I hope all your expectations will be fulfilled.

[@johnkelly3470]

Stephen, I am a third-generation devotee of the Bethlehem, PA Bach Festival -- my grandparents attended about ten times starting in the 1950s, and then my parents (with me, as a kid, on several occasions) in the 80s' and 90s -- and I got to go again last May with my mother. Sublime! The B Minor Mass is always amazing, of course (I thought last year's soloists were especially strong)...but it's the "little" concerts (chamber works, etc.) at various venues in the city across the weekend (including by very young artists) that delightfully show the range of Bach's music. Thank you!

[@beatrixguitar]

As a classical guitarist I'm always happy to see the classical roots on your channel, I really appreciate how you connect modern music with the historical roots!

[@Ragnovlod]

I've been listening to my Bream collection a lot recently. I'm a bit hung up on the Spaniards - in a good way - but when I hear Bach's Lute Suite in E minor, I am left to wonder. Was he channeling the Spanish sound there? I think he was, I think he did.

[@pinklemon-m5v]

I think you mean as an amazing classical guitarists.

[@nicholasrees1838]

Us classical guitarists have so much to thank Bach for - even though he never wrote a single note for the instrument - due to his lute suites as well as the violin and keyboard pieces which work so well in transcription. Fugues, Gavottes, Preludes, Gigues, Allemandes - what a rich repertoire we are heirs to!

[@kimgutschmidt8970]

I live about 90 minutes away from Leipzig and whenever people visit I take them to Leipzig to the St Thomas church to hear the Thomanerchor sing the motet on Saturday afternoon. They never fail to be moved by it.

[@frenchimp]

I've been to Leipzig twice, and the second time it was to attend the Bachfest, they had a "Kantatenring", they played 30 cantatas in three days' time. What a wonderful experience. Leipzig is a beautiful, vibrant city, I wish I could visit more often!

[@occamsox5331]

Bach is incomparable. Artists. Mathematicians. Scientists. All have achieved more, explained more, discovered more and more for centuries. Bach remains the best, unsurpassable, above all. I was raised by musicians, classically trained musicians, music has been so important in my life, but I swear if I could only listen to one persons music for the rest of my life, and for eternity if I’m really screwed, it would be Johann Sebastian Bach. I love Mozart. Beethoven. Miles Davis, NOFX, Coltrane, The Stones, Hendrix, and on and on, I love music. The Allman Brothers Band! The Band! Etta James. Louis Armstrong. Vivaldi. Debussy. Chopin. Dvorak. A Tribe Called Quest. Mos Def. I can name every group,band, singer, songwriter, and composer. John Williams wrote the music of my childhood, but that was only because I wasn’t grown up enough to know that one man towered over all for centuries and to this very day. Bach above all. Bach forever.

[@RosieHarp]

I'm a choral singer in the UK. Bach's sacred music is the absolute *BEST* music to sing. Singing those wonderful compositions and haunting harmonies with an orchestra makes me very emotional at times. His fugues are monumental. Pure genius.

[@nextlifeonearth]

If only he considered the singers a bit more. I sometimes need oxygen.

[@RosieHarp]

@@nextlifeonearth The 'runs' definitely aren't easy to sustain 😆 but the joy of singing his wonderful harmonies more than makes up for that.

[@annwaddell7321]

I have been in choirs that always chose a Bach coral (yummy) and once we did the St Matthew Passion! It is all so beautiful. It feels so lovely to sing.

[@DanielByers-qf9qi]

I'm a choral singer in the US, and I agree: pure genius. My music theory teacher required us to buy Bach's "371 Chorales" (for the Lutheran Church) as a textbook; sadly and significantly, it was long out of print, so we had to buy well-used copies online. I place Bach before all, including Mozart and Beethoven, and Haydn after Bach: We would not have Common Practice without Bach, and we would not have the Symphony without Haydn; the true pioneers often get less respect than those who follow in their wake. The local "classical" (writ large) radio station - which gets play in the UK, by the bye - has an annual vote for their listeners' choices for the best pieces. The top twenty is invariably dominated by Beethoven; even Mozart only appears a few times. Bach typically does not appear once in the top thirty or so.

[@RosieHarp]

@@annwaddell7321 I agree St Matthew and St John Passions are both wonderful to sing. The opening chorus to St John is exquisite.

[@ФонФон-й7о]

What a touching tribute to JS Bach. RIP 1685-2024.

[@MrDanielqueijo]

Better: JS Bach Born: 1685 (age 339 year old)

[@SamTheEnglishTeacher]

@@MrDanielqueijo if you leave your mark on history, part of you lives forever

[@johnnygoodman2003]

Bach died in 2024?

[@vinceblanket1327]

@@johnnygoodman2003 nope, still alive 😁

[@johnnygoodman2003]

@@vinceblanket1327 👍

[@maybient]

I’m thrilled that Bach gets so much recognition on this channel. Music is the closest thing to real magic on Earth, and Bach is the greatest wizard. Saying something like that probably sounds pretentious to some. And, it’s really difficult to define or explain why Bach is so great. If there is such thing as ‘musical truth’ then Bach has it.

[@nahtesalinas1917]

Right now I'm high and this video is extra good.

[@thehydrostore380]

Well said! Music really is the closest thing to magic humans have created. And Bach puts those inclined under a wonderful spell.

[@thehydrostore380]

@@nahtesalinas1917Now put on headphones and listen to Glen Gould doing The Goldberg Variations

[@gligorpecev5199]

i have often thought the same thing

[@chrisantoniou4366]

Pretentious? No! Accurate? Yes!

[@AG-cr6tm]

This is one of the most beautiful and most profound commentaries about influence of Bach on modern music. I'm one of those who was raised on his music. Today I'm almost 60 and still love it! Thank you 🙏

[@RichardLittlewood1]

The thing about Bach is that you never exhaust the music. Once discovered it's a life long gift.

[@thehydrostore380]

It’s so true! When I was younger I thought Mozart was #1. That was until I discovered Bach 😊

[@martincox9691]

My guitar instructor used to say to me “there isn’t really anything new in music since Bach”, and we were working on blue and rock.

[@oneirdaathnaram1376]

How true that is! Today we know a bit more than 1000 pieces composed by him and however much I listen to that music, it never becomes boring.

[@meg5202]

So true, I was marveling today while listening to one of the violin concertos that I’ve known for years. Still gives chills!

[@vijabhinav]

How can a man be so extraordinarily superior. Just magnificent. 'Don't cry for me when I'm gone, for i go where music is born' Bach's last words.

[@ludwigbutton]

Did he really say that?? 😢 I can totally believe it.

[@leif1075]

Why don you say he was superior? Surely.we can be as great as he?

[@Gernot66]

@@ludwigbutton I don't think so i guess he said "Kacke!", since he was a human. He loved to live and had many children i don't think he would have said something swollen, usually you say nothing when you die, simply because you can't.

[@peterkrarup9222]

@@leif1075 , ah, the ignorance of youth.

[@MarcioSilva-ssiillvvaa]

@@peterkrarup9222 I'd call it vanity.

[@ivarronnback]

Rick Beato is a teacher on same level as David Attenborough. They are teachers on the highest level for a whole world. They are a gift to us all.

[@ThvonS]

Indeed

[@poolhall9632]

"splendid" - DA

[@andymelendez9757]

Bravo,

[@wikusclass77]

Absolutely.

[@vettezl1]

Rick is not a communist.

[@onedecibel2lo]

Thank you for this! Bach is my all-time favorite. Someone once said, "After Bach, everything else is... recapitulation!"

[@RodrigoFernandez-td9uk]

Today my two-month-old son heard the Brandenburg Concertos for the first time. I hope he comes to love Bach's music as much as I do.

[@hippiechick73]

Which is your favorite? I like 1,2, and 4 the best. His recorder parts are completely delightful! I also love how in the first concerto, there is this unison oboe part in the low range. I’ve always wanted to play the concertos, but I only played them by myself.

[@garyhope2]

Excellent start for your son. Smart dad. Thank you..

[@Orionstar528]

Growing up, my mom would listen to mostly baroque and classical music. I remember finding her music boring, even though I did enjoy some of the Mozart and Vivaldi. But I remember I found Bach weird, and never really enjoyed it (the toccata and fugue was an exception). Only much later did I rediscover Bach, and for some reason, I could hear the beauty now, and I couldn’t get enough of it. Still my favorite composer by far. TLDR, I think Bach’s music is something that can’t be ‘indoctrinated’ but one has to discover it in his own path in life.

[@henrykwieniawski7233]

@@Orionstar528I wholeheartedly agree

[@liam_gallagherr]

Rick has got to interview Bach🔥🔥🔥

[@ytc3182]

He might not be available at this particular time

[@benjaminperez7328]

Rick needs to break out the Ouija board…….

[@mannibimmel09]

reading out bwv live?

[@liam_gallagherr]

@@benjaminperez7328 that would be sick

[@0xbad]

I hope Rick will not meet Bach anytime soon.

[@mrtruefifth]

- When biologist Lewis Thomas was asked what message he would choose to send into outer space in the Voyager spacecraft, he said: “I would send the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach … but that would be boasting.”

[@danacoleman4007]

That's a terrific quote!😂

[@mrtruefifth]

Long Version: “Many people remember that when in 1977 the Voyager spacecraft was launched, opinions were canvassed as to what artefacts would be most appropriate to leave in outer space as a signal of man's cultural achievements on earth. The American astronomer Carl Sagan proposed that 'if we are to convey something of what humans are about then music has to be a part of it.' To Sagan's request for suggestions, the eminent biologist Lewis Thomas answered, 'I would send the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach.' After a pause, he added, 'But that would be boasting.” ― John Eliot Gardiner, Bach: Music in the Castle of Heaven

[@charlesbranch4120]

I have tried to read every book that Lewis Thomas, M.D. wrote, from The Lives of a Cell and The Medusa and the Snail to his last two, an autobiography and The Fragile Species. In World War II, the Navy was concerned with the lack of knowledge about conditions in the South Pacific that people might encounter that they enlisted and commissioned from medical schools, teams to travel with the island hopping campaign. He was commissioned as an officer and wrote of his duty caring for laboratory animals to be used in potential testing. Maintaining several rabbits for months on end, only a single rabbit was used before the war ended. Rather than spoil the story, go to the public library and check out his book(s).

[@anthonyhapgood5856]

Send more Chuck Berry!

[@jesperth.petersen8386]

😂😂😂

[@davehopkin9502]

Bach was so far ahead of his times that sometimes I dont think we have caught up with him

[@brzk_]

im really lucky to be in a cathedral choir. every year we perfom bach's matthew and st. john passions alternating, alongside a historical orchestra. every year this is truly my highlight of the year. i love bachs music, it moves me like nothing else when performing. rennaissance and romantic are really fullfilling aswell, but nothing quite beats the genius of bach imo

[@jimmygownley9573]

Love how you first heard the concerto. Let’s hear it for libraries!

[@danacoleman4007]

Indeed!

[@mkatepaski9947]

Rochester is honoring rick at the Roc music hall of fame. Others include Steve gadd, Chuck mangione, Lou graham

[@RCAvhstape]

I borrowed the B. Concertos on cassette from a library on a military base long ago and that was an eye-opener.

[@louiebee6745]

That was my intro to Bach as well.

[@davidrobinson7684]

Public libraries are such incredibly valuable resources; it's political crime that any government should allow them to disappear.

[@carole8312]

Love Bach. When my mother was sick and dying, I was continuosly drawn to playing Bach on my guitar. It brought solace and peace.

[@majortom4543]

Solace is a word ive heard the Great Sting use to describe a feeling for music. And i get it with his music so i get it.

[@galahadthreepwood9394]

I grew up in a very dysfunctional family, however I was given the gift of hearing and playing Bach from an early age. His music has given me great comfort and succour for over 60 years now. I’m not sure I would have made it without this gift.

[@Coolbardie]

Bach's music has given me a lot of comfort over the years, too. I'm glad you were given the gift that's helped you make it to where you are now. ❤

[@alastertan5779]

I am so happy to learn that… to me Bach’s music - is divine. When you study scripture & practice daily; it heals you. Do I make sense?

[@aussiebloke609]

As a pianist, I found Mozart to be the most enjoyable to play - just the movement of the hands, the fingering...it all just worked to feel physically pleasant. But J.S. Bach made me feel accomplished, gave the satisfaction of doing a job well. It was a rewarding feeling that's hard to beat.

[@EK-gr9gd]

Schubert, Liszt and Beethoven

[@randomtux392]

Well Amadeus was no slouch himself, on the piano he got to do more dynamics, which Bach didn't get to do until around 1720, really. Which W A Moz piano sonatas do you like the most, I've been listening to a few as of late but can't find the one I heard that I wanted to hear again. And NO it's not Rondo Al a Turkei. (My wife is from Turkey).

[@EK-gr9gd]

@@randomtux392 Well wenn his patron Swieten got Mozart some Bach sheets , Mozart had to concede that even he could learn from those pieces.

[@perfectbeat]

I love Bach as well. But I agree. What about Mozart?@@randomtux392

[@cobeyc.b5946]

With Mozart you feel the joy he felt when he was playing. Bach wrote his music in service of God so I feel it makes sense that it should feel more laborious. Of course, when you’re serving God, you’re serving the people so the joy is all ours when Bach is played.

[@kellyatkins9064]

I laughed when Rick talked about getting the Brandenburg Concerto no. 3 album from the library when he was a 6th grader. That's exactly how I discovered Bach. I was a 12-year-old kid in the summer of '72 searching the album section of the local library, looking for rock albums, when I came across a recording of the Brandenburg Concerto no. 3 and decided to see what this Bach guy was all about. It's still my favorite classical work ever.

[@EvelynBaron]

Well in Toronto the current Korean embassy around the corner from where my family lived was the Music Library ... everything was there, Alan Bates reading Dante's Inferno, James Joyce reading from Dubliners so far away in time ... I discovered Pericles Prince of Tyre there and the music OMG amazing. Now you can still go down to the music library at the UofT but that's it.

[@Beer_Dad1975]

I always despised and derided heavy metal, until I worked with a guy who was a very talented heavy metal guitarist and he, knowing I was a classical fan, pointed out how much heavy metal is influenced by baroque & classical - & specifically Bach. I still don't like heavy metal - but at least I respect it a bit more.

[@sk8terkyd326]

@@Beer_Dad1975 i get not liking metal its an acquired taste

[@Beer_Dad1975]

@@sk8terkyd326 Agreed, I'm not one to say anyone's music is crap - if it doesn't touch me, it doesn't mean it's not good for someone - it just doesn't work for me. Always pisses me off when someone says "That's crap!" - I mean, I don't get Taylor Swift, I turn her off or skip her if I can - but it's not up to me to claim she's crap - she just doesn't work for me. That heavy metal guy (Andrew) taught me that, because he knew a lot more about music than I ever will.

[@davidmennomoyer]

@@Beer_Dad1975 I've heard more than a couple very knowledgeable musicologists opine that the Toccata and Fugue in D-Minor is nothing but first-rank heavy metal guitar shredding played on a pipe organ. I think they make a really good case.

[@audioupgrades]

Bach has been the air that I breathe since I was about 5 years old. My parents had a decent collection of baroque music records. After hearing the Bach records, I started nagging my parents to take me to Bach concerts. They took me as often as they could but it was never enough.

[@Sirhan_Lohan]

Well put. I have a similar experience, though there's been a constant positioning between Bach and Vivaldi for me as 'most influential' throughout my life.

[@garyhope2]

There's no such thing as too much Bach.

[@audioupgrades]

@@Sirhan_Lohan Bach and Vivaldi are rated very differently today, but Bach rated Vivaldi as the best composer in his lifetime.

[@b.clayshannon7009]

When I discovered Bach (1990s), I thought everyone else would love him, too, so I gave out several cassette tapes to friends, and had them listen to what I thought was the most amazing and beautiful music I ever heard (I was basically a rock and soul guy until then); but sadly, most people don't hear what I hear - he's just another boring old guy to them. I don't trust people who don't like kids or animals, and I might add Bach to that list, too - there's something wrong with someone who doesn't like kids, animals, and Bach.

[@eyetalic]

It occurs to me that the pictures we show of classical composers should be from their 20s and 30s, when most of their work was probably composed. Then the work can be seen as created by someone in their youth challenging limits.

[@bayreuth79]

Bach is the god of music. I have loved Bach since I was 8 (I’m now 45). Aside from Wagner, I tire of most composers after a while but I can listen to Bach every day. I find playing Bach on the piano very satisfying. His music is full of movement, dynamism, rich harmonies, subtle emotions, and contrapuntal genius. It’s the most satisfying music ever written, aside from perhaps Wagner and late Beethoven

[@neildutoit5177]

Bach is wonderful, but kids are the absolute worst and I distrust anyone who likes them.

[@b.clayshannon7009]

@@neildutoit5177 Didn't Bach have 30 children? I'm the opposite: I tend to look askance at people that don't like kids and animals.

[@adamlanderson4154]

Bach’s music has everything. It truly seems to be the musical nexus of beauty, intelligence, and power. I’ve been blessed to have played Bach for nearly 40 years. It is the gift that keeps on giving

[@bcgrittner]

A long time ago, in elementary school, our music teacher did her best to educate us about the classical composers. I always thought,”Oh, no. Not those dead German guys again”. It took a while, but as I sang more classical music in high school, my appreciation of the classical works grew and continues to grow to this day. I am, officially, an old man now. I have too many stories to tell here, but I was fortunate to have traveled in Europe when I was seventeen. That was 1969. I participated in an international choir fest while in Freiburg, Germany. Our primary focus was on J. S. Bach. What a wonderful experience that was. I sing his works to this day.

[@ChrisAndersonSixesMusic]

50 years ago, at the age of 20, I was introduced to Bach in a college music theory class. Per the usual curriculum of that time we analyzed his Chorales via “figured bass”. I was blown away by that encounter and immediately started hitting up our library for recordings of his music. And I was totally bummed out that you couldn’t play music like Bach’s on a guitar. //// On my 20th birthday, an acquaintance knocked on my door. “I heard it’s your BD. You should have this”. He handed me an album of Segovia (who I had never heard of) playing Bach. 30 seconds into listening to it, I made up the decision to sell my steel string guitars so that I could get a decent Classical Guitar. I spent the next 30 years learning a new playing technique and exploring Bach’s music. I remember the first time I saw a score of Bach’s Solo Violin Sonatas & Partitas. It was like a book from Mars had landed in front of me. Minus my family, Bach’s music has been the single most influential thing in my life.

[@charleshefner9013]

Bach touches you in magical ways. I am a classical guitarist and everytime i play his music i am astounded. It is just pure beauty tjat touches the human heart.

[@dr.a.995]

Cannot imagine my life without J.S. Bach’s music.

[@nedisings]

I had long Covid with nerve damage for 14 months, and the only thing that would make me feel OK. I was listening to Bach. It put my nervous system back together.

[@nedisings]

@BigJacques69 Thank you, I am!

[@stephenlee1756]

You confirm my opinion that Bach's music restores your brain wiring to where it's supposed to be. It is a profoundly healing experience.

[@rodriguedouglas7880]

Interesting! I too listened to Bach to calm down and refocus my thoughts while lying in bed with high fevers due to COVID.

[@phonepunk7888]

Bach truly is the GOAT. Greatest composer of all time for real. If I was on a desert island and could only bring one catalog of music to listen to, it would be his.

[@ron88303]

Definitely my GOAT.

[@nmeau]

Yes - the Mass has a lifetime of listening

[@andrewashdown3541]

Oddly whilst I am compelled & engaged by Bach, I could actually live without him. Not without Mozart or Beethoven, though.

[@campbellmj9405]

For me I'd need some Dvorak as well.

[@ac1646]

That'll be a bigger book than the bible. 😁😁 (and so worth it)

[@Jean-SebastienHamel]

I am named after this great composer, my mother listened to him during all of her pregnancy and i have always been in perfect tune with this celestial music! Love it!!

[@NeulichimKanal]

There are fates worse than yours!

[@francescopileri3845]

I was watching this video without headphones and at 6:30 my father walked by and stopped. He looked at me and remained silent, smiling. Then he asked me: is that Bach? I nodded. He said: beautiful.

[@8og7crtxrftghjujhre4dztu8ljg]

Which work is it?

[@fsinjin60]

@@8og7crtxrftghjujhre4dztu8ljghard to say. He used that tune in three or four settings. O sacred head, sore wounded, I think Also used by Paul Simon for American Tune

[@8og7crtxrftghjujhre4dztu8ljg]

@@fsinjin60 I now found it. It is "Jesu, meine Freude (BWV 227)".

[@fsinjin60]

@@8og7crtxrftghjujhre4dztu8ljg I think you are right. My guess, aka O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden, is similar but not the same. Both are used in Weihnachtsoratorium: #40 for Jesu, miene freund and #5 & #57 for o sacred head

[@Henrix1998]

Things that definitely happened

[@1229tedwilson]

I suppose another comment won't add much to the thousands already here. But I'll add my anyway. :-) Some music hits you in heart - its wonderful. Some music hits you in the brain - its enlightening. Bach unites the two, that rare space where the heart and head find common ground. And its done that for countless people for generations. We all owe so much to Felix Mendelssohn for bringing Bach's music back from near oblivion.

[@JAP42]

It beggars belief that his work was so little appreciated & valued until Mendelssohn started championing it.

[@ampac]

Mendelssohn's role in Bach's music "revival" is greatly (and wrongly) overestimated. Bach's music was valued and studied by many musicians before and after Mendelssohn, from Mozart and Beethoven to Schubert and Chopin. Until the end of the 18th century, his music was rarely played in public because the style had shifted away from the polyphonic style that Bach mastered, and music patrons were supporting other types of music. This trend started slowly shifting in the end of the 1700s. Bach's popularity significantly increased after Forkel published his (first) biography in 1802 - note that Mendelssohn was born in 1809. At this time, Bach's music (especially for solo keyboard and solo strings) started being played in public more frequently and his works started to be edited and re-published. Mendelssohn, like his father and teachers, was a yet another major admirer of Bach. Mendelssohn was responsible for the very successful public performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion in 1829 and, later, the first performance of the Mass in B minor in 1844. At the time, these events were rather unusual because "early" choral and orchestral music was not played in public. It is because of this that Mendelssohn (wrongly) gets the credit for "reviving" Bach. Mendelssohn's feat was "reviving" the tradition of performing large choral and orchestral works from older composers, instead of having these large production focusing only on contemporary music. However, Bach's music was already being "revived" before and during Mendelssohn's time. Schubert, Chopin, Liszt and many others were transcribing, arranging, composing, teaching and playing Bach's music or music inspired by Bach. So, saying that Mendelssohn is singlehandedly responsible for reviving Bach's music is an overstretch that ignores the major role that so many other musicians and scholars had.

[@notthemusicalstaff7543]

@@ampac, Yes. Mozart and Beethoven (and many others all across Europe from London to Paris to St. Petersburg) were exposed to the music of Bach. Why? Because the many students he taught at Leipzig fanned out over Europe picking up musician jobs where they were available. In London, Mozart, as an 8 year old, being dragged all across Europe by his father, touring the same circuits that dog-and-pony acts traveled, seeking royal and aristocratic recognition (and money), encountered one of Bach's sons who lived there, and was called "The London Bach." Mozart's first symphony is actually an orchestration of that Bach son's piano sonata. So yeah, JS Bach was, through his *keyboard* music known far and wide. His orchestral and choral, music fell into near-oblivion *outside* the town of Leipzig where it was performed regularly, especially the sacred music at the Thomaskirk. Mendelssohn premiered the B Minor Mass. It had not been performed in Bach's lifetime and I know of no performance before that. That concert was so well-received that Mendelssohn launched a series of "historical" concerts including works by Mozart, Haydn, Handel, and Bach. Mendelssohn was the first person to have a career as what we would now call "a conductor." His Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra still is exists! Not only did he revive the orchestral music of Bach, he also launched the still-active interest in "old" music.

[@johannh6684]

Your comment about Bach's music stimulating the "heart and brain" resonates well with my experience. But now that you've said it, so all I can do is to expand :) Intricate complexity and this deep, moving musicality, woven together into a beautiful whole. Many of his works are like that, maybe even most. I've found myself enjoying complexity in music for the sake of the "intellectual challenge" it presents. Which is fine, but it does tend to get boring when some "heart" is missing. Bach seems to be unique in my experience in that he routinely created music that stirs emotions, out of that complexity. The depth is always enough to explore in any direction. His music really does grow on you and doesn't seem to age.

[@mariacelinachavarriagonzal157]

Very pithy. I want to add that it's a trio: body-heart- and mind...The body fully present in deep corporal vibrations that connect with Mother Earth!

[@dhouse-d5l]

Lifetime electric bassist (Ive played it all) but recently began studying Cello... and with that comes Bach....My goodness what an education. Even his bass note placement is extraordianry..truth is Cello and Bach has completely changed my life.... I barely pick up the bass anymore.

[@nicholaspearson4246]

When musically-inclined people start listening to Bach their tendency is to immerse fully. That happened to me first in my teens and continues to today. The music, both the sacred and secular compositions, is simply transcendent and irresistible and never becomes old.

[@stooms01]

Greetings from the Bach-City Leipzig in germany. 👋

[@hectordelarocha10]

Please pay my respect to His magnificient for me since I live in Mexico.

[@richatlarge462]

I visited your city in 2022 and saw the Bach sights among other sights.

[@figgiesmalls1760]

Sup bro

[@edeinsiedler3020]

Grüße from Karl-Marx-City just down the road 😊

[@arr64lima63]

I am so envious of you living there. Greetings from Arkansas, USA.

[@Herbastus]

I took piano lessons as a child. When I played at the age of 9 Bach for the first time, a ,strange thing happened. My mind knew it before it had heard it ever. In a way you don't discover Bach's music, it s already within you. I think what makes Bach so special and so humanly essential.

[@zggks5066]

1:20 “Compared to Bach , man we all suck” Path Metheny Hahaha 🤣 That’s perfect! I love it ❤️😂

[@leif1075]

How can that be true? I want to be as great as Bach and could never admit I'm not and don't see why I can't be.

[@deliannehal3233]

@@leif1075 Then make your art great

[@marcosgomes7681]

In the Hairstyle Metheny comes close 😅

[@MusicismoreImportant]

🤷🏻

[@MusicismoreImportant]

​@@leif1075it's impossible to compose another toccata and fugue as complex and interesting and captivating

[@QuinnYoung-n5j]

Bach sets the stage for our modern music, and we musicians are all "playing & dancing" on top of it in our individual ways...

[@felsig11]

I love that line from Steve Morse when he says, (I'll paraphrase) "almost anything Bach wrote you can speed it up and add double kick drums and you've got metal." That's just awesome 😀

[@grepora]

Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 is one of his most metal pieces. After completing playing it, the harpsichord needs to be overhauled, because it's shredded.

[@bngrbngr4416]

It's entirely true.

[@delstanley1349]

Bach and roll!

[@robertpraetorius4007]

(Dregs fan since the 70s here) every time I hear Bach's Prelude in C Minor from WTC 1 for the last few years, I imagine what it sounds like on distorted guitar (it's my nomination for Bach's most metal piece). Morse is right - I need to add the double kick drums in my imagination (maybe with Sitti from VoB doing the kicking).

[@s.h306]

Yngwie went ahead and did it too 😅

[@BlairBCollins]

The amount of work he was expected to do and not just with composition, but also having to teach latin and other non music related subjects in addition to all the composing is beyond insane. Genius is a word thrown around way too much. Bach was a genius.

[@semilog643]

Checks out.

[@dollyhorton2579]

I agree, there was simply no contemporary that could even begin to compare, and few since his time.

[@klaxoncow]

Saying that "genius" is a word that gets thrown around too much but he's a genius, is a cliche that gets thrown around too much but it's true.

[@CurtHowland]

Robert Greenberg, for his The Great Courses "Bach And The High Baroque" goes into just what his job as "Choralmeister" entailed. I can't imagine writing new music every week, plus teaching, plus plus plus, and THEN having 23 children, too! On top of this were the great Mass pieces, and things like the Brandenberg Concertos, Goldberg variations, and other freelance works. I get chills when I think of how much we LOST of Bach because nobody was collecting it as it was being written!

[@BlairBCollins]

@@CurtHowland Greenberg is brilliant. Love his courses. I majored in music in college, but his courses go beyond much of the history I was taught.

[@TomSavadel]

I’ve spent most of my life Teaching and playing Bach. The greatest lesson we learn from Bach is what it really means to be a human being.

[@liamsandal6360]

Oh, my goodness, Mr. Savadel. That is the single most beautiful compliment one could ever receive. You are amazing for sharing such an insight!

[@tonymagrogan]

What do you think Bach might say it means…in words?

[@TomSavadel]

@@tonymagrogan to be capable and able to see the beauty of Gods love for us.

[@frankblackwell3804]

@@TomSavadel Amen to that!

[@dandogzbutt1518]

ive heard that said about shakespeare as well

[@ChrisBennetts]

As an American expat living in Leipzig for 25 years, and feeling daily the joy and privilege of experiencing this extraordinary genius, and the exceptional music from this amazing city is never lost on me or taken for granted.

[@ChiChan404]

Do you hear the music on the street?

[@CB-vg1wq]

You are a lucky man, because you appreciate.

[@cartographerband6071]

So good to see Bach getting so much love. My dad was a Bach fanatic, and BWV 546 is one of of the first pieces of music I ever heard, I was probably five when he first played it for me in his Honda Civic. BWV 846 and BWV 54 both played before my wife walked down the aisle. My mom and I danced to the second movement of BWV 1043. You can almost tell the story of my life with Bach. After dad died in 2020, I monkeyed together pieces of BWV 54 to make a song about how much I miss him and how I just can't stand that he can't see the man I am today. Because at the end of the day, Bach's music isn't just technically perfect, thought it's that in spades. It's beautiful. It's human. BWV 106 is what loss sounds like. The prelude to BWV 1006 is what joy sounds like. It expresses whatever you're feeling and then some and makes it all beautiful and true and powerful. I didn't get that when I was younger and my dad played Bach all the time. But I wish I had. I wish I could share this with him and say "See, you were right! I get it. I see what you see."

[@rumpelstilzchen2796]

Dominic's Air on a g string, .. brought tears, music can always find a way to move me. J.S.Bach... truly immortal.

[@loreman7267]

Me too, man 🥲🥲

[@InXLsisDeo]

The entire suite is beautiful.

[@thetechq]

I get tired of modern music, but I never get tired of Bach. His music is timeless and will be influential when all current music is forgotten.

[@jeff-onedayatatime.2870]

When I was a Second Lieutenant at Fort Sill Oklahoma back in the 80s I had a cassette tape of the Brandenburg Concertos, all 6 of them, and listened to it maybe a million times. :)

[@kamilziemian995]

Good choice.

[@olywolle]

As this would be about 95 years of listening, you still have to go on for about 50 years ;-) Just do it, it's worth it 🙂

[@Valarien777]

The Brandenburg Concertos are about as perfect as music can be!

[@boomerdell]

Very much inspired by Rick's story towards the end of this video about going to his local public library to hear Bach's music (the Brandenburg concertos and beyond) for the first time is a profound and moving reminder to us all to support our local public libraries, especially here in the U.S. where they are sadly getting starved of funds, in all ways. They are essential and vital sources of inspiration and knowledge for communities. Like arts and music programs in local schools, we have to make the effort to keep them alive and growing!

[@jmctigret]

I was late on the Bach train because I didn’t listen to classical music. I heard Hilary Hahn play Sonata for Violin Solo No. 1 in G Minor and was hook

[@InnerTranquility]

Yea, Bach is my hero. It's hard to even think that one man can have that much music inside. Not just simple melodies, or rhythm, but THOUSANDS of amazing, detailed, beautiful pieces of music. Bach was....is a gift to humanity.

[@paulpaladino8324]

Not just the supernal quality of his music and then the quantity of it all is just staggering.

[@Black-lq2pb]

*thousands* ?

[@dlevi67]

@@Black-lq2pb Yep. Take the Goldberg variations - it's 31 pieces, but one BWV number (988). Yes, many chorales are one single movement, but you have 200+ cantatas and masses of 10+ movements each. Multiply by 1079 or so (BWV numbers) and you easily end up with thousands of pieces.

[@Libroer]

My undereducated take on Bach is the his music is often more of a meditation on music than a song. Which is absolutely amazing. He finds a theme and just explores it so gently and thoroughly. It does something that nothing else really does, which is it manages to be great but still allow space for you to exist and not have to be swept away by someone else’s spell. It’s music I can both listen to intently as well as listen to while doing something else. Of course some of his songs are incredibly intense and don’t fit this description, but a lot of it is a whimsical dance around a theme that you can have on as an ambiance, but if you listen closely you find an endless treasure of richness. Definitely unique and stands alone.

[@heathermcdougall8023]

I'm a 60 year old musician - mainly cello and piano. I still keep coming back to Bach on both instruments. the feeling you get when you play it, the sound, the endless possibility. Just the sheer wonder of Bach, as a player, is so deep, wide and wonderful, the 1 lifetimes is still not enough!

[@alastertan5779]

Agree. You’re recognise greatness. I’m totally awed by Bach.

[@stevenm.6886]

As a complete non musician I am amazed how Bach still manages to grab my attention. At 62 his music always has. It just seems perfect to me

[@WiseandVegan]

As beings with good heart, we must be vegan. Dominion (2018)

[@pendafen7405]

Honestly, have always felt like an idiot or a poor student of music for not liking and understanding J.S. Bach, technically or emotionally. Back when I was learning flute in school, I was forced to practise his studies, and never ended up connecting with anything he composed. What am I missing? Or is it just a mismatch of taste? I love most opera (especially French), old lays & carols, some chamber music, jazz, and more modern atonal pieces.

[@WormAteWords]

@@pendafen7405 Have you tried listening to more of his works? Well-Tempered Clavier, Goldberg Variations, Art of Fugue, B Minor Mass, Cello Suites? Go through all of it and see if you can find one piece or single movement that you enjoy. Listen to it over and over until you know it very well, then listen to various recordings of that same piece until you have a taste for which recording you like best. Then ask why you enjoy that one most. This is the fastest way to cultivate an appreciation for a piece of music, in my opinion. Then ask why you like that particular piece better than other works by Bach.

[@frenchimp]

@@pendafen7405 What works do you know? Have you listened to, say, cantata BWV 78? That's a wonderful piece, and in my opinion rather easy to appreciate, so if you hate that, then probably your case is hopeless...

[@kildegrathsprach6031]

​@@pendafen7405 - listen to the first movement of the Brandenburg Concerto #5 or the last movements of Brandenburg #3 and #6 - if none of those get you, nothing of Bach's will and I would just have to conclude that you are somehow wired differently than most humans - not better or worse, just differently, which is great - as it takes all types to make a world, as they say...

[@biffgordon8468]

You have the makings of a full fledged documentary here, Rick! Bach summarized his motivation for composing by signing his manuscripts with SDG - for Soli Deo Gloria. To the Glory of God Alone. He changed the world!

[@atomicwedgie8176]

His life was devoted to honor our Lord by trying to write the perfect High Mass.

[@WiseandVegan]

As beings with good heart, we must be vegan. Dominion (2018)

[@jennywatson9869]

@@atomicwedgie8176 I think that is why his music is so good, he was composing for the Creator Himself. And God blessed him. And us through him.

[@HClose77]

Yes Bach changed my life as a guitarist. So much that I learned to play him on piano Didn't change my resume as I still get taken for an idiot whenever I try to push forward. I love the wisdom in these notes that challenge the notion of how music works. Sometimes I think my life as a musician is over, Bach tells me it never is

[@randomjasmicisrandom]

I lived in Germany for 17 years and while there also had a wonderful trip to Leipzig. My wife and I sat in the church where Bach had been the chorister while a choir practiced for an upcoming performance. It was so moving, the way the voices soared around the church took me to an entirely new place.

[@bruzewill7081]

Handel and Bach was introduced to me by singing their choral music in church services and concerts. I took heart when I heard that Johann Sebastian Bach said: "[Handel] is the only person I would wish to see before I die, and the only person I would wish to be, were I not Bach." This music was the most enjoyable to sing and, especially with Bach, once you mastered your part you would have to remind yourself that your part is not the solo voice just because it was so melodic.

[@frenchimp]

What's the source for this quotation (which sounds very suspicious to me) ?

[@wirrbel]

Bach is the maestro number one of course. It should not been forgotten that there are tons of almost forgotten composers who are just astonishing. Buxtehude, Telemann, Mattheson, Monteverdi

[@Genus2525]

@@frenchimp The only valid assertion is that Handel preceded Bach.

[@russellsnodgrass9374]

​@wirrbel They haven't been forgotten. And I think history has justifiably placed everyone accordingly and accurately. Those others aren't in the same league as Bach. Bach stands alone.

[@montychiton]

@@wirrbel Composers as Telemann and Monteverdi I would certainly not qualify as forgotten, Mattheson perhaps...

[@CurtHowland]

When my job was programming the company phone system, I changed the "on hold" music to a Bach cello piece. It was still there years later.

[@denisbelanger1709]

I was in Tomaskirche in 2011, went over his tomb, and... cried big a long time, I was outside this world !! Impossible to forget to be near the greatest musician of all time. THE perfection on every piece. We know harmonic music because of him, as he stated everything.

[@jwmcneelyIII]

I have been obsessed with Bach since I first heard the Brandenburg Concertos in junior high. I remember hearing the 5th Brandenburg, 3rd movement. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Unbelievable. To this day, I have a love affair with Bach. I am always listening for the counterpoint. In fact I owned that Keith Jarrett Bremen Lausanne recording, and I just about wore the record out where he plays the fugue. I was shocked when you did a video on that section of the recording! I have always loved your videos but this one skyrockets you to new heights of respect!!!! I love you man!!!!

[@nightwolf2666]

I saw his concertos as a young boy in upstate NY at at outdoor amphitheater...the trumpet sound blew me away, almost made me cry, have been in love ever since.

[@EduardQualls]

It should be remembered that, as a church musician, JS Bach was the equivalent of today's studio musicians. He was not a star and, although he could play for and with kings, never really strove for stardom. His life was to produce Music. (And children: he needed copyists). He was overshadowed during his lifetime by Handel and even by some of his own sons. He was largely forgotten from his death until his public resurrection by Mendelssohn in the 1820's. Only then did Western Music awaken to realize that JS Bach, rather than Haydn, Mozart or Beethoven, had been its father.

[@witoldmichalski4349]

But that kind of sounds like creating a narrative so that it fits facts which are only known today, and not necessarily at that time. How could Bach be of any inspiration and significance during the time he was overshadowed? Music could not help but develop independently of his contributions, which would have to be known first in order to exude an influence on anyone but his closest acquaintances.

[@kevincalcote8235]

I agree with you in almost all your points... But lets give credit where credit is due. Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven all knew about Bach and had nothin but love for him. I have heard other music history types make the claim that Mozart had his musical approach to composition changed by listening to Bach. And to be clear. this is not an either or dichotomy. I like all of the above composers...

[@e.p.s.9037]

Sort of true but nuance is important. In his time he was famous as an organist - as famous as an organist can be, well known across Europe. His compositions had moderate popularity beyond his local performances, they just faded out of fashion after his death; however big names that came after him were familiar with his works, which were edited and published mainly by some of his children. All three composers you mention, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, even owned some of Bach's manuscripts. Beethoven notoriously learned the Well Tempered Clavier by the age of 11. But it was indeed Mendelssohn who put Bach under the spotlight of the general public.

[@kayeruss7313]

Lol to the need for copyists. :D

[@fulltongrace7899]

@@kevincalcote8235I believe it was Bach’s son JC Bach, the London Bach who was an important early influence on the young Mozart.

[@Lego51]

My first experience with Bach was his Invention #13 on the commodore 64 . I got mine the year it came out. I was in 4th grade. The complexity that came out of that 2 voice sound chip blew my tiny mind. The melody and counterpoint was unlike anything I had ever heard. So I went to the library like you and listened to every Bach album they had. Multiple composers. Then on compilation albums I got introduced to debusey, mozart, betoven, and many others. Been a life long fan ever since.❤

[@crimadiloca]

I've been a JS Bach freak most of my life. Now in my later days I discovered the genius of his son CPE Bach; I love the individuality and freedom in his melodies which represent the "Empfindsamer Stil" and the spirit of the era of enlightenment. There's so much variety of rhythm in his themes...

[@shawnandrew_artist]

CPE had a major influence on the Classical styles of Haydn, Mozart and early Beethoven.

[@hemiolaguy]

There was a lot of genius in that Bach family!

[@jaflady]

After my first year of piano I was introduced to Bach's Preludes and Inventions. I was transported and have been ever since. No other pieces took me somewhere else as I played. It is delightful to see how many others have had the same experience with Bach. What an amazing gift he had that we can all still share.

[@t.m.7712]

I did exactly the same some time ago: sat by the tomb's side just crying. I just had conducted cantata BWV 4 and BWV 131 in the South of France in a small Chapel from 13. century. And now I just HAD to come to Mühlhausen and Leipzig to thank for those lifetime gifts a little closer....

[@bugtoastmusic1927]

Took a Bach album to a party in high school in 1979, thinking I could convince everyone how it rocked out. Besides being viewed as a freak, I got maybe three people to see what I meant. Know what you mean about Leipzig. I made two pilgrimages there when it was East Germany, before The Wall came down -- a spiritual experience, would love to go again. The cello was my gateway to other stringed instruments. When I studied, all I wanted to play were Bach's unaccompanied suites. Yeah, he's the major influence on my own writing, if I break down a handful of specific pieces I've brought to my prog folk group (not that I would ever compare myself, obviously, just interesting to note how I've been influenced, that's all). I love how often you bring up Bach, and just love your channel in general. You're a gift!

[@davidmennomoyer]

As a young kid, I played a few simple keyboard pieces by Bach, and liked him well enough - but it wasn't until 1969, when my 13-year-old self became enamoured with synthesizers, that I got "Switched-On Bach" as a gift and promptly lost my mind. The entire album was a revelation to me, but Carlos' version of the 3rd Brandenburg did to me what it sounds like it did to Rick. I couldn't believe that music could be this complex, this engaging, and this GORGEOUS, all at the same time. A few years ago I finally finished sequencing all 6 of the Brandenburgs, and I doubt that I'll ever do anything that rewarding ever again.

[@therealtommykeel]

I had "Switched-On Bach" too as a kid! Loved it!

[@davidmaclean9097]

my mother played switched on Bach all the time...

[@alastertan5779]

Rick didn’t feature any Switch on Bach by Carlos - that’s unforgivable!!!

[@macbird-lt8de]

back when transvestites were still cool lol

[@tmathews8181]

One of the most impactful memories of experiencing live music was attending a Bach Organ recityal in Chicago at a cathedral sometime in late "77 early "78. I was all of 18 and going through Electrician's School in the Navy. I can still feel that music over 45 years later. Truly transcendent.

[@bigfoot99]

I have never studied music, nor do I play any instrument. But Bach's music sends me into another dimension of time and space. A titan of titans.

[@ludwigbutton]

Then I think you are a titan for recognizing a titan. 😊

[@alastertan5779]

I can’t play any instruments- period. But Bach’s music brings me peace, happiness, joy and is balm to my soul. It brings me inner harmony and healing.

[@debeshbhattarai]

Wonderful....! First thing I listen to in the early morning walk...! I love both Bach and Rick as well putting these Masters with their Master in one short video...! Cheers...Keep inspiring the rest of the world with BACH....!!

[@mywholesomechannel]

I bought some Bach compilations when I was about 20 but really listened to him a lot a few years later when I developed some mental health issues and became unemployed. The local cheapo shops would sell classical music CD's for peanuts and I could afford them. Helped me through some dark times and I'm forever grateful for his music. Mozart et al are also great but Bach is the number one of all time. A musical brain so superior to my own that I can barely begin to understand it.

[@sofiabraga8005]

It's because it is not only brain. It is brain and heart and spirit.

[@stevejohnson1685]

I had listened to a lot of classical music as a kid, and our mother always made sure that we attended Chicago Symphony Orchestra concerts at least once a year. After church one Sunday morning, I went to the choir loft, and complimented the choir director on the selection of pieces from the Bach B Minor Mass for the service. "Choir practice is Thursday at 6:30 pm. I want to see you here this week" was his response. I've been singing ever since, and in various amateur choral organizations, performed with orchestras around Europe and the U.S. including the LA Phil. It all started with Bach.

[@JK-px9ep]

Bach is the Big Bang of modern music.

[@Divig]

I first read this in a k-pop context and was really confused. 😅

[@JK-px9ep]

They probably don’t know yet but they were influenced by bach as well 😂

[@leoninocat5070]

Modern european

[@klausschumacher8673]

Spontaneously, I would agree. One moment later, I hesitate: what about Monteverdi, Palestrina, Schütz, to name but a few. Surely, the all built upon the existing music. Still, Bach is so special, of course.

[@stevereade4858]

Well said! (Theoretical Physics major ...)

[@deborahgiles8214]

My first intro to Bach was the 2 and 3 part inventions/sinfonias for keyboard. Couldn't get enough of that counterpoint. Discovered that a family I babysat for had all the preludes and fugues in two gorgeous hardbound books, I couldn't wait for every babysitting gig with them, get the kids in bed, wait for them to be sound asleep and get to playing the preludes and fugues until the parents got home. The piano was not far from the kids' bedrooms but thankfully, they never woke up. My piano teacher also introduced me to the chorales and from there I discovered more of the keyboard and the small orchestral works from recordings my parents had then, finally, the great choral works. I am so thankful I was introduced to JS so early on; so thankful that music exists. Seems so trite to say I love it all to this day. Words seem inadequate. Watched that Bach documentary on your recommendation, Rick. Thank you so much for that! Fascinating. So much in there I never knew before.

[@marshallballantine-jones3819]

my son and I spent a day at Leipzig for the Bach museum and St Thomas's...very moving indeed

[@steveb9151]

Yngwie recalls a Bach piece, starts to play, and then realizes..."Sorry - that's mine!" Love it!

[@filho4437]

He was talking about a cheesecake that was out of view from the camera.

[@kingkeefage]

Cheesecake, because he dun like donuts!

[@seanmorrissey3103]

Yeah, meanwhile JS Bach clears his throat... with respect to Yngwie, this bit was no doubt inspired by Bach.

[@e.d.1642]

then proceeds to butcher Bach

[@EddieReischl]

@@e.d.1642 Yes, that's what I heard too. Steve Morse did a much more faithful bit of Bach playing.

[@m.w.]

You have woken my interesst on Bachs music by your last video. I just can say thank you for that. It has brought me foreward .Definitly.....🙏

[@dvrds]

Definitely*😅

[@FrederickJohnSebastian]

I still come back to The Goldberg Variations. The return to that understated, introspective theme after the long journey where he exhausts all the possible avenues is deeply moving. It is like a metaphor for a life - the triumphs, trials, tribulations - only to return, if one is lucky, back 'home' and a peaceful end that is now so profound and satisfying.

[@EMartinRoss]

What makes Bach so great is the fact that he didn't have Bach. He created from the bare ground.

[@dooganjones6090]

Even a cursory study of Bach reveals his influences: Dieterich Buxtehude (German-Danish c.1638-1707): His German Oratorios and keyboard works were influences on Bach. Giovanni Palestrina (Italian c.1525-1594): Bach studied Palestrina's Missa sine nomine while writting his own Mass in B Arcangelo Corelli (Italian 1653-1713): Bach based an organ fugue (BWV 579) on Corelli's Opus 3 of 1689. Antonio Vivaldi (Italian 1678-1741): Vivaldi's concertos and arias influenced Bach's St. John Passion, St. Matthew Passion, and his cantatas. Georg Phillip Telemann (German 1681-1767): Significant influence, and Bach's BWV 985 keyboard concerto is an arrangement of a Telemann violin concerto. Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (Italian 1710-1736): His Stabat Mater served as a basis for Bach's cantata Tilge, Höchster, meine Sünden Girolamo Frescobaldi (Italian 1583-1643): Influenced Bach's early choral preludes for organ Tomaso Albinoni (Italian 1671-1751): Themes by Albinoni were used in Bach's BWV 950 and 951 fugues Georg Böhm (German 1661-1733): Bach knew Böhm personally, and may have been a student under him.

[@nilsbrown7996]

He is a summation of a movement as I think Matheny states here, but you’re half right in that he went so far far beyond anyone except perhaps Handel.

[@seejayjames]

He had plenty of influences. We all do...there's nothing wrong with that. He was absolutely brilliant at what he did, and from what I've read, was absolutely humble as well.

[@white_lotus_rising8812]

By the Bach's days, after Tallis, Orlando di Lasso, Allegri, Palestrina, Buxstehude music ground was anything but bare

[@KrystofDreamJourney]

Exactly !!

[@GarrettPod]

Bach changed everything! My teacher, Christopher Parkening, mentions Bach in almost every lesson. What an incredible composer!

[@chips161]

Christopher Parkening... the classical guitarist? Just got a set of his cds the other day, one of which is all Bach. It's great!

[@Dericulus]

I've always enjoyed and admired Bach since discovering classical music and starting piano at about 23 years old. Less than 10 years later, I'm an uncle and videos of Bach's music are common for baby lullabies. Watching my little month old niece fall asleep to the C Major Prelude of the WTC or the Aria of the Goldberg Variations was... A spiritual experience that I cannot describe. So beautiful a sound, so sweet a child, so fleeting a moment. I tear up every time I think about it. Every time. Bach is a music that, when allowed to connect to your life, becomes greater than the sum of its parts.

[@lowandodor1150]

Biutiful commentary!

[@rupertschnitzler]

Bach can always move me to tears. Not in a sad way, but in a "being moved to my core"-way, standing in awe before this strange secret that is this life and the universe. Bach's music connects you to your soul and somehow makes you a believer that there is more than the eyes can see and that there is great meaning behind all this.

[@aloisbreu6063]

Great comment. I agree in every way.

[@jennywatson9869]

"There are more things in Heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

[@joachimschranzhofer5566]

On top of his mastery of melody and harmony, Bach was an extremely hard worker. When Bach came to Leipzig, it was part of his contract to deliver a Cantata every Sunday and he did so for many years.

[@darkiee69]

Writing Monday, Tuesday, start rehearsals on Wednesday, choir rehearsals Thursday, choir and orchestra rehearsals, Friday, general repetition Saturday, performing on Sunday. Rinse and repeat.

[@WillHammerhead]

To be fair, people don't mention he copy and pasted quite a bit of material to his Cantatas to get things done on time. Still, he put out a mind-boggling amount of work, and almost all of it is incredible.

[@montychiton]

@@WillHammerhead It is true that he used material from others, but managed to transform it into his music. But I think this was common practice at the time...

[@WillHammerhead]

@montychiton I meant, he copy and pasted his own music.

[@Fritter70]

I’ve been playing guitar since age 13 but in college I took a classical gen ed class and ever since then Bach is my guy. Transformational is the correct word….no other composer is like Bach. His music brings such joy and also awe at the same time.

[@rolfgustavsonmusic]

I play Bach's inventions almost every day before starting (orchestration/arranging) work, it's a sort of meditation as well as a reminder of the "eternal rules of virtues of music", and also puts my work (and level, therefore) in perspective in the most inspiring of ways! Keep on rocking, Bach!

[@brunop3845]

What I feel about JSB is a deep, intense, emotional, spiritual and intellectual veneration. Since the time I discovered him - Brandenburgs again, spinning a scratchy vinyl in my uncle’s actic- I found myself irresistibly attracted by his music, whatever the genre. After 50 heard since then I’m increasingly moved by his works in such a complete and absorbing way incomparable with any other composer. To me JSB is the highest peak reached by mankind in music, a testimonial of what man can do when is dedicating all his genius not to his own success or benefit, but for higher purposes…. in his case, SDG.

[@JamesExcell-InterJex]

Bach is THE foundation of western music. The greatest!

[@charlesbayer-v3m]

Actually, JSB never wrote a theory book like Quantz or his son CPEBach. And most of his melodies were not his either, but he did provide the harmonizations, unfortunately too complicated for modern audiences. Better look at his bringing together various nationalistic styles from Italy and France and writing compositions of all levels for his family and students. Thats what can make him great and beloved everywhere anytime.

[@ddogg9255]

Bach is absolutely one of humanities most brilliant lights of creativity. Each of his works holds so much complex beauty to explore, I'm still newly appreciating passages after years of playing.

[@volkerduring90]

It was in the eighties, when a good friend asked me to play Bachs "Jesu, joy of man´s desire" during his wedding ceremonie at the main catholic church in the the beautiful town of Lübeck, northern Germany. I took a modern version for classical guitar by David Qualey, a guitarrist from the US, who was also very famous in Germany at that time. After that, playing from the organ balcony, the organ player beneath me put one of his hands on my shoulder and with the other hand he was weeping off his tears.

[@SuperOldandSlow]

Interesting that you mention Lübeck, as that was a place that was critical in the formation of Bach’s organ-playing and composing skills.

[@retromusings]

What a wonderful video. I love Bach's music and to see all these great musicians mention him. wow.