Christian Encounters, a series of biographies from Thomas Nelson Publishers, highlights important lives from all ages and areas of the Church. Some are familiar faces. Others are unexpected guests. But all, through their relationships, struggles, prayers, and desires, uniquely illuminate our shared experience.
Johann Sebastian Bach is generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time. He enriched his generation, and every generation since, with his prolific ability to survey and bring together the principal musical styles, forms, and national traditions. Himself a Lutheran, he left a corpus of sacred music to cover the entire liturgical year, including Latin Masses written for the Catholic Court of Dresden, and spent much of his working life as a church music director in Germany. Though he was a highly respected organist during his lifetime, he wasn’t recognized as a great composer until the early nineteenth century. Today he is considered one of the most influential ever.
My opinion: This book is a great historical background on Bach. I love music, and I'm a huge fan of Bach's compositions. This biography is a great start if a person wants to find out more about the great composer. There's a lot about the current events during Bach's time, and a great deal of other resources that a person can delve into if they want to find out more. After reading this book, I have a lot more respect for Bach. However, this book was a tough read. The writing style is somewhat bland and dry, and it took a lot of effort to get through this book, which is rare for me.
My rating: three out of five stars.
