Don Satz wrote:

>Both Bach and Handel are among my favorite composers.  But, for me,
>there's a depth and breadth to the emotions conveyed through Bach's
>music which Handel either couldn't or chose not to tap into.

Could a reason for a distinction between the emotional content of the
works of Bach and Handel be that they wrote music for different audiences?

I know I'm out of my depth here, but I can't resist commenting.

It is fair to say that Bach wrote primarily non-commercial works, such as
works for religious services, and Handel wrote for a commercial audience,
such as the London stage?

If this distinction is even remotely true, perhaps that would account for
Handel writing works with more color, movement, theatrical effects, but
less emotion than Bach.

I know I'm greatly over-simplifying this subject.  I hope I'm not too far
off-base.

Ron Chaplin