Views on Bach: An Historical Perspective

[Jackson Esq.]

http://www.egtaguitarforum.org/ExtraArticles/artzt.html#ll

[Passacaglia88]

Post by Jackson Esq.
http://www.egtaguitarforum.org/ExtraArticles/artzt.html#ll

Hmmm... there is lot of rubbish in this essay, but it's nothing
remarkable, if the American author don't really know the art of JSB.
(Alice Artzt (born 1943) is a classical guitarist from New York.)

Anyways, is it possible, that Tchaikowsky knew Bach's major works? I
mean in the article there was a judge about Bach's fugues said by him
(they were entertaining or so, but not more or deeper). The first sheet
music with Bach's complete organ works was published in Braunschweig
(Germany) in 1845. Did Tchaikowsky know it...?

[Andrew Schulman]

Hmmm... there is lot of rubbish in this essay...

Please expand on this-

Andrew

[Passacaglia88]

Yeah, after reading the whole article, I'd like to go on.
First of all a little unlogical formal fact (...for me): some resources
are cited in French, even a German one, some ones in English, and I
don't really understand, why... the author could have written
everything in English, or she should cite everything in the original
language.
Then, I got a bit annoyed because of this statement: "This attitude is
entirely understandable in light of the increasingly nationalistic
tendencies of Germany in that day." As if Bach only could be loved and
admired by Germans because he was German...(?) "For to Germans, the
most important of Bach's attributes was that he was a German" How
does the author know, that it was not his music?
I don't want to contonue this, there are still many statements in the
article, like these. Wagner and Schumann were more or less right, even
if the author thinks, they thoughts were influenced by nationalistic
ideas. Even Albert Schweitzer, who lived a long time in France, and who
completely was against the nationalistic government of Germany, admired
and loved Bach.
So I think it's entirely unacceptable to link Bach and Bachlovers to
nationalistic ideas... it's absolutely rubbish. Even if the ideas of a
young Germany *helped* to discover Bach again. There is a huge
difference between these two statements.
Oh yes, and I'm not German... before someone would say I'm not
open-minden enough :)

bye,
F.

Post by Andrew Schulman

Hmmm... there is lot of rubbish in this essay...

Please expand on this-
Andrew

[Andrew Schulman]

Post by Passacaglia88
Yeah, after reading the whole article, I'd like to go on.
First of all a little unlogical formal fact (...for me): some resources
are cited in French, even a German one, some ones in English, and I
don't really understand, why... the author could have written
everything in English, or she should cite everything in the original
language.

Thanks.

I agree, everything could have been in English, with footnotes in the
original language. Also, not a very interesting or well written
article.

Andrew

[John Briggs]

Post by Andrew Schulman

Post by Passacaglia88
Yeah, after reading the whole article, I'd like to go on.
First of all a little unlogical formal fact (...for me): some
resources are cited in French, even a German one, some ones in
English, and I don't really understand, why... the author could have
written everything in English, or she should cite everything in the
original language.

I agree, everything could have been in English, with footnotes in the
original language. Also, not a very interesting or well written
article.

There *is* a logic to it: she consistently quotes the language of her
source, and translates (if necessary) in the footnotes. She presumably
doesn't know German: hence the oddity of quoting a German writer in French
translation. (Other German writers are quoted in English translation.)

[Zach]

Post by Jackson Esq.
http://www.egtaguitarforum.org/ExtraArticles/artzt.html#ll

Ugh it is mostly rubbish. It should be called: "Bach a Neo-Marxist
Historically Uninformed Perspective". This would not pass in a History
of Music 101 class.

Zach

[John Briggs]

Post by Zach

Post by Jackson Esq.
http://www.egtaguitarforum.org/ExtraArticles/artzt.html#ll

Ugh it is mostly rubbish. It should be called: "Bach a Neo-Marxist
Historically Uninformed Perspective". This would not pass in a History
of Music 101 class.

Where is the Marxism -Neo or otherwise? It isn't rubbish, but it does seem
rather pointless - the 'historical perpective' is from c.1800 to c.1900,
which does seem a bit odd.