Juozas Rimas wrote:

>Is it known whether Bach's music was regarded archaic by his
>contemporaries? I read it somewhere and lately have had an opportunity to
>get a proof: listened to some Renaissance music (15-17th century) on the
>radio.  Man, that was very nice and Bach-like: not exactly the tunes but
>rather the overall harmony and accords.

Whether or not is was known at all by his contemporaries is the real
question.  Remember that he was most famous as an organist, and since
he stayed so close to home, he did not have contact with many of his
contemporaries.  For example, he and Handel never met.  Haydn was coming
into his own while Bach was still alive and well in Leipzig.  But in a
word, Bach was out of step with many of the younger generation in the 18th
century.  In relation to Telemann, Vivaldi, Zelenka, Corelli and Handel et
al, his direct contemporaries, I don't think that one could say that his
music is archaic at all.

Kevin Sutton