Bach has remained a figure of continuous fascination and interest to scholars and readers since the original Master Musicians Bach volume's publication in 1983 - even since its revision in 2000, understanding of Bach and his music's historical and cultural context has shifted substantially. Reflecting new biographical information that has only emerged in recent decades, author David Schulenberg contributes to an ongoing scholarly conversation about Bach with clarity and concision.
Bach traces the man's emergence as a startlingly original organist and composer, describing his creative evolution, professional career, and family life from contemporary societal and cultural perspectives in early modern Europe. His experiences as student, music director, and teacher are examined alongside the music he produced in each of these roles, including early compositions for keyboard instruments, the great organ and harpsichord works of later years, vocal music, and other famous instrumental works, including the Brandenburg Concertos. Schulenberg also illuminates how Bach incorporated his contemporary environment into his work: he responded to music by other composers, to his audiences and employment conditions, and to developments in poetry, theology, and even the sciences. The author focuses on Bach's evolution as a composer by ultimately recognizing "Bach's world" in the specific cities, courts, and environments within and for which he composed. Dispensing with biographical minutiae and more closely examining the interplay between his life and his music,
Bach presents a unique, grounded, and refreshing new framing of a brilliant composer.
Industry Reviews
"...this volume offers a thorough analysis of current and traditional scholarship associated with Bach's life and music." -- E.G. Wickersham, emerita, Rosemont College, CHOICE
"He offers a comprehensive, useful, and insightful path to the understanding of Johann Sebastian Bach, both the man and the artist. The volume will deservedly become a standard biography with a wide readership." -- Raymond Erickson, Bach Notes
"This is a Bach biography for our time--steeped in the tradition of Bach studies but up to date on the latest research; fluent in the received legacy of Bach but willing to rethink inherited views. Everyone from Bach lovers to students to performers will learn from this worthy successor to Malcolm Boyd's volume. We may have our doubts in the 21st century about the idea of a Master Musician, but David Schulenberg clearly demonstrates Bach's central place in our
musical world and expertly introduces the compositions that put him there." -- Daniel R. Melamed, Indiana University, and President, American Bach Society
"A superbly lucid, down-to-earth portrait of Bach the man that at the same time seeks to get to the heart of what was so unique about his extraordinary musical achievements." -- Bettina Varwig, University of Cambridge
"Dispensing with biographical minutiae and more closely examining the interplay between his life and his music, Bach presents a unique, grounded, and refreshing new framing of a brilliant composer.' I can only agree." -- Andrew Benson-Wilson, Andrew Benson-Wilson Early Music Reviews
