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Sat, 4 Oct 2003 07:38:18 -0500 |
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Robert Peters replies to me replying to him:
>>>What is the mysterious X which makes Bach's music so touching that even
>>>an agnostic guy like me feels like a Christian when listening to the St
>>>Matthew-Passion?
>>
>>Talent?
>
>Yes, but talent for what? For composing? For moving people?
The short answer is yes.
>Every film composer can move people - but can he (or she) touch the soul?
Some do, some don't, just like other composers.
>Is touching the soul through music only a technical question of notes
>and chords?
What else could it be? AND is Bach's X different in kind or degree or
both? Bach certainly has his own artistic "personality," but so do many
other composers. It's both an advantage and a limitation. Bach could
no more be Chopin or Debussy than either one of them could be him.
The idea of the mysterious X (just drop it in your tea for greatness --
I'm kidding) is a highly Romantic one. For me, an artist does things
better than other people, rather than has a greater Soul than others.
Too many composers, poets, and artists were not only idiots in anything
other than their art, but rather unlovely characters as well. I know
enough of Bach's life to realize he was no saint and that he had no
special insight on life. However, he did compose music better than most.
Steve Schwartz
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