Customer Reviews

Johann Sebastian Bach: His Life in Pictures and Documents with CD (Audio)

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It really is impossible to capture the glory that is the music of J.S. Bach in the printed page, but this book comes very close. Coupled with a CD of music samples taken from the Edition Bachakademie (a 172-CD set that is the only complete recording of the music of J.S. Bach), this book is a wonderful introduction and survey of the Bach's life and music.

The CD itself is a wonderful collection of seventeen pieces, ranging from just a little over a minute to nearly ten minutes, excerpts or complete renderings of Bach compositions. These include a generous sampling of organ pieces such as the Toccata and Fugue in D-Minor, harpsichord pieces including The Art of the Fugue, and pieces for other instruments and combinations. Included also are portions of the Brandenberg Concertos, the St. Matthew Passion and the Mass in B-Minor, arguably his best piece (and argued by some as the best music ever written).

Bach's work was primarily liturgical and religious in nature. At the conclusion of a great many of his manuscripts, he inscribed the letters SDG, which stand for Soli Deo Gloria, for God's glory alone. Bach was employed as a church organist in Germany, having come from a distinguished musical family (in fact, figuring out which Bach is which can sometimes be a struggle even for scholars). Living a few generational after the Reformation, Bach brought the fullness of the theological impulses together with the richness of the Baroque tradition of music, then in full flower, together in a magnificent form.

This book gives insight into the spiritual and historical forces that helped shape Bach and his music. It has a lavish presentation style, with full-colour portraits of people and places of significance in generous number throughout the text. There are photographs of some of the great organs of the time, too. It is a uniquely fortunate work of fate that J.S. Bach's career should coincide with that of the Silbermann family's ascendancy in organ building, for they reached heights in craftsmanship rarely reached even today.

Bach was a man of strong passions - such is obvious from his music, but also is demonstrated in various aspects of his life apart from music. He was more than once called before church councils to answer for his behaviour, and was involved in physical brawls that required police and court interventions. Bach was very opinionated, to the point of exasperation of those around him, but often got his way.

This book introduces in a very inviting manner. Author Hans Conrad Fischer writes in a lively, interesting fashion for beginners and experienced music fans alike. This book makes a wonderful introduction to Bach, a good refresher for Bach, and is especially good for exploring the historical and spiritual contexts that surround Bach's music.

In this simply written and beautifully appointed volume Hans Fischer has provided a general overview of the life and times of one of the greatest composers ever to live. This is no substitute for the likes of Christoph Wolff's massive (600 pages) intellectual biography Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician, but for that very reason it is all the more accessible and enjoyable for the non-specialist. Fischer concentrates on Bach's life and times, and there is little analysis of his music per se. Born in Eisenach, home of the famous Wartburg Castle where Luther translated the Bible into German while imprisoned, Bach (1685-1750), was the youngest son of a family of eight children (four of whom survived). By age 10 both his mother and father died within a year, so the orphan Bach was raised by his brother. In his own two marriages he fathered 17 children.

Fischer insists that to understand Bach you must move beyond mere technical or intellectual analysis and grasp the centrality of Bach's deeply held (Lutheran) Christian faith. His organizing theme is that, in Bach's own words, the composer's lifelong goal was a "regulated sacred music to God's honor." His life was centered around the daily prayers, life, and worship of the local church. Indeed, writes Fischer, Bach "completely subordinated himself to the liturgy." At the top of many of his compositions Bach wrote the letters "JJ" (Jesu juva, Jesus help), and at the end, of course, the three letters "SDG" (Soli Deo Gloria, for the glory of God alone).

The subtitle of this book is important. Perhaps a full third of the book includes gorgeous plates of autographed manuscripts, engravings of churches and towns, period portraits of people close to Bach, along with important primary documents. For example, it is common knowledge that Bach came from a long line of family musicians; Fischer includes the entire Origin of the Musical Bach Family in which Bach documented what he knew about his 53 ancestors back to the sixteenth century and Vitus Bach, a baker in Hungary. Or again, it is fun to read the city council of Leipzig's Contract of Employment as the Cantor of St. Thomas's (where Bach spent 27 years). Among the 14 enumerated points: "That I will make music in the two major city churches as well as I can" (#2), and, "That I will not leave town without the Mayor's permission" (#13). For about $1300 you might purchase Hänssler Classic's 172 CDs of the Edition Bachakademie (the complete works of Bach). Or buy this book and enjoy the delightful CD that comes with it, A Musical Journey Through the Life of Johann Sebastian Bach, which includes 17 extracts from the Hänssler edition.

Always a pleasure to find another biography of my favorite composer. This one is a delight. It is easy to read and has many interesting illustrations. Thank you for recommending it.

If you know someone who loves Bach's Music, this is the perfect, impressive yet inexpensive gift. Wonderfully illustrated, this one volume and accompanying CD covers Bach's life, times, contemporaries and music. With many full-color photos as well as smaller black and white illustrations, this "coffee Table" book would ordinarily sell for two or three times the price it is being offered at now. The CD recording is a nice touch for non-musicians that provides a good overview of Bach's music as well as further illustration of the text.

H. C. Fischer has given in his book a helpful, informative and well reseached view of the man J. S. Bach whose music we hear yet in this time and enjoy no less than when he wrote.

Johann Sebastian Bach: His Life in Pictures and Documents, with CD is a gorgeous tribute to Bach's life and musical contributions to Western Civilization. Internationally recognized biographer and filmmaker Hans Conrad Fischer offers a religious perspective upon Bach's works, claiming that it is only through Bach's profound Christian faith that the message and essence of his music can be understood. Bach himself wrote three letters at the end of many of his music manuscripts: "SDG", meaning "Soli Deo Gloria", or, "for God's glory alone." In addition to chronicling Bach's life and faith, the text enhances dozens of black-and-white and color portraits, photographs of locales and artifacts, maps, manuscripts, and more. The accompanying CD offers a "musical journey" of Bach's works; samples of 17 of his compositions, from 1 1/2 minutes to 8 1/2 minutes apiece, allows the listener to experience a range of Bach's auditory creations. Highly recommended for lay readers interested in experiencing Bach in a multiplicity of media.

Nearly everyone is familiar with the joyous music of Bach, from the Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring often heard at weddings to Air, the musical ambiance of many fine restaurants. Such smooth and lyrical melodies can put us into an immediate state of calm and tranquility, but what is the source of these treasures? What is the story behind the music?

Hans Conrad Fischer sets out to tell us exactly that through words, pictures and the music itself. In this illustrated biography which includes a CD, Bach's life comes alive in a way not seen before. Listening to the gorgeous music while sifting through the images of Bach's life transports the reader to a time when creating heavenly music was truly the highest form of worship.

Bach was a Lutheran Christian and a mystic. His music is imbibed with devotion and awe of God. Bach's music, during his lifetime and continuing to the present, has been a unifying source of interdenominational worship. The pure melodies are able to transcend divisions within religious communities, as if reaching a unifying connection much deeper than squabbles about doctrine. Today much of Bach's music is used for clearly secular purposes, however Fischer reminds us of the deep Christian roots beneath all of Bach's works.

This beautifully illustrated biography gives a fuller understanding to both the music of Bach and to the man himself. Listening to the CD, while perusing the text and illustrations gives a fully sensuous experience that truly transcends time and place.

Armchair Interviews says: This biography is best enjoyed with a glass of wine while lounging on a luxurious sofa enveloped in the melodic.