No European musician has achieved the status of JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH, who is regularly cited as the greatest composer in history. He dominated the Baroque era of 18th century Germany, and in retrospect, played a key transitional role in the evolution of Western classical music.
His virtuosity as a performer, productivity and brilliance as a composer, the vast range of his secular music and sublime profundity of his religious music — have never been equaled. An innovator in his time, he expanded the role of the pipe organ in the church and embraced new styles, while his adoption of the "well-tempered" scale set the course for the future.
Beyond its breadth, depth, intellectual and emotional power, the appeal of Bach's music can be attributed to something more basic: Bach was a master of melody. The spacious lyricism of his chorales and contemplative arias creates an atmosphere of sacred mysticism that's as relevant today as it was in Baroque Germany.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space from our regular guest producer for classical and sacred music ELLEN HOLMES, an all-Bach program called IMMORTAL MELODIES 2. Performances by pianists CHAD LAWSON, MARTA & GYORGY KURTÁG, and ANNA GOURARI, cellists YO-YO MA and ELISE ROBINEAU, organists FRANZ HAUK and OLIVIER LATRY, and strings by FRETWORK, the BBC PHILHARMONIC and the BBC SYMPHONY.
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