Stirling Newberry wrote:

>Bach wrote for local singers and players and so on.  Writing well
>for amateurs is far harder than writing badly for virtuosi...

Bach was also, of course, constantly on the lookout for amateurs with the
superior musical abilities more commonly associated with professionals.
He was not the sort of person to be in the least bit interested in making
concessions to accomodate "the mediocre".  His endless battles with the
Leipzig authorities who employed him are sufficiently well known not to
need repeating here.  Bach would always tell his employers the truth about
the musical abilities or distinct lack thereof of their children.  Then as
now, not everyone actually likes to hear the truth.

Geoffrey Gaskell [log in to unmask]