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Mon, 13 Oct 2003 23:31:56 +0200 |
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David Cozy asks:
>What evidence is there that Bach was (or was not) an earnest Christian?
>
>That is, does the evidence suggest that he composed his Passions and
>other Christian music primarily because he was a believing Christian or
>primarily because it was his job (a job he did, to be sure, very, very
>well)?
>
>I hope those who know more about Bach's life than I do can shed some
>light on this.
My opinion is that it is not important if Bach was an earnest Christian
or not. He composed a lot of music for use in Christian service thus
composing Christian music. You can listen to this music for the sheer
beauty of it, for the pleasure of analysing it, for looking for universal
human feelings or for Christian belief. Of of this is in the music.
But first of all it was written for Christians (there are some cantatas
who even promote converting the "heathen"). It is a fact and it doesn't
take anything away from Bach - music with a one-dimensional message can
transport multi-layered emotions.
Robert
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