SDG sessions will be half on the life of Bach (from the book) and half listening to and discussing selected Bach compositions that we will curate including The Brandenburg Concerto, secular cantatas (e.g., The Hunt Cantata), The Well-Tempered Clavier (selection of the 48 pieces), The Goldberg Variations (selection of the 30 pieces), a selection of Bach's sacred cantatas (he wrote hundreds), violin concertos, orchestral suites, the glorious St. Mathew Passion, his Mass in B Minor, The Art of The Fugue, etc. Our author, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, is both a historian and esteemed conductor, so the book offers valuable German and musical history related to Bach and his music, providing a real sense of how Bach fit into his musical era.
We'll read one book chapter per week: (1) Germany on the Brink of Enlightenment, (2) The Bach Gene, (3) The Class of '85, (4) The Mechanics of Faith, (5) The Incorrigible Cantor, (6) Bach at His Workbench, (7) Cantatas or Coffee? (8-9) Cycles and Seasons, (10) First Passion, (11) His 'Great Passion', (12) Collision and Collusion, (13) The Habit of Perfection, and (14) 'Old Bach'.
Bach: Music in the Castle of Heaven by John Eliot Gardiner (Musician and Founding Conductor of Monteverdi Choir), Alfred A. Knopf, 2013. The book is available in paperback and kindle on Amazon.
Upon Publication, book reviews were plentiful and highly complementary: "“Fresh, persuasive. . . . As eloquent a writer as he is a musician, Gardiner brings to his study the invaluable perspective of the practitioner.” (New York Times Book Review); “It is hard to imagine what the English maestro John Eliot Gardiner . . . might do to surpass Bach in its commitment, scope and comprehensiveness. . . . [He] has done a masterly, monumental job of taking the measure of Bach the man and the musician.” (New York Times); “Typical John Eliot to combine so much erudition with even more passion and enthusiasm. It made me want to rush and listen to all the pieces whether familiar or unfamiliar. A treasure chest.” (Simon Rattle, principal conductor Berlin Philharmonic); “Monumental. . . . What Gardiner offers is an intimate knowledge of the choral music . . . and a powerful sense of its cultural context, structural evolution and doctrinal intent. . . . His ‘portrait’ reads like a pilgrim’s progress, in which a privileged man-of-the-modern-world is transformed by Bach’s musical revelation.” (Financial Times)