MMS 331-02 December 7th Sum-Q 5 J.S Bach A commentary on the death of J.S Bach

Bach Remember by His Son and Bach's Obituary

Does this reading change your impression of Bach?  What sort of person does he seem to have been?  How was he regarded by his children?  By those who wrote his obituary?

No the reading only makes me more aware of what Bach was all about.  You see, I have read several books
 about him years ago because of his importance in music history.  He gave us the well Tempered
 scale of equal tuning of the 4ths and fifths. 



I believe this is one of the most important contributions to music he did make, for it allowed composers
 to create new and different harmonies and work in many different keys and pitches.




Bach was a learner of things or music.  This was his life as his son said about him.  He would walk into
 a room and think of its foundation and characteristics which means he could see things that
 other people did not.  He could hear things that other people could not.  His son did not treat him like
 a Father, but treated him as a person who happened to be his Father.  For me this shows what
 type of Father Bach was for he allowed his children to be free of him and did not allow himself to rule
 his children.



His son was so proud of him for being the greatest organist of his age or time of life.  Bach was the
 greatest organist and clavier player that we have ever had. Such a statement from his son was truly
 amazing for my children have no idea who I am and what I do.  Nor are they interested,  I can only say
 this is because of mass media and the control they have over our lives.  It makes me think that
 all these new inventions are only making people less aware of themselves and what they have
 as
 human beings.



This is why I wrote my book called The Death of Music in the 20th Century  

If my own children haven't any idea what I do and what I love how can anybody else?  After all they lived
 with me for years. One only gets respect in our culture if one is famous or has lots of money
 like Bloomberg not because he has knowledge of life and its true purpose.

Like most great artist Bach worked himself to death.  It is most interesting that non-musicians direct
 the lives of musicians and not the musicians themselves for they only follow orders



If there were saints, Bach was one of them.  He knew the true purpose of life and that was to serve his
 fellowman and not to take from his fellowman like most men do of little character and being.

He wrote objective music and one of the only composers who was able to do this.  I wonder what it would
 have been like to live during Bach's time and what kind of musician I would have been.  It
 seemed the main instruments were strings and keyboard instruments.  Would I have been a composer or 

what kind of musician.  It is surprising to me to hear of so many wonderful universities and places of
 learning in these times.  It seemed like all the educated musicians had a tutor or went to some
 university of some kind in their own country.



OBITUARY SAYS BACH WAS the Royal Polish and Electoral Saxon court Composer and Music Director in
 Leipzig.  I never heard the term Royal Polish Composer I am wondering where this fits in to his life as a
 Polish Musician?  
He lost is parents when he was 10 years old so that made him independent and had to have a strong
 character to continue on and grow into a man.  It seems he had no problem with this and like children
 only accept the condition of life rather than complain about it like older folks do.




Or like I do, I am a great complainer about life!
I am so grateful to know Bach's music and I hope someday I can play his music on my piano.




I have a great teacher now and have some time to practice so with this I maybe can learn his music and
 play it.  This is my hope in the last years of my life whether 5, 10 or 20 years whatever God or
 the life force allows me to do.



Sincerely, Greg Henry Waters