Bach and the High Baroque by Robert Greenberg


I love listening to classical music. Not exclusively. I'm kind of a music slut. Outside of a few performers that I am loyal to, I kind of get around - U2, Weird Al, Adele, Kid Rock, Bruno Mars, Carrie Underwood, DNCE. But as for classical music, Bach is by far my favorite composer. I find Baroque music intricate and beautiful. This Great Courses audiobook is a really great introduction to the period and to Bach specifically. Here's the listing of the different lectures in the course:
  1. Introduction
  2. Christmas 1722
  3. Introduction to the Baroque Aesthetic
  4. Fugue
  5. Historical Overview from Constantine through the Great Thinkers of the Baroque
  6. Style Features of High Baroque Music Part I - A Musical Glossary
  7. Style Features of High Baroque Music Part II - A Musical Glossary
  8. Style Features of High Baroque Music Part III - A Musical Glossary
  9. Bach's Inheritance Part I - The Protestant Reformation and the Rise of Lutheranism
  10. Lutheranism, the Chorale, and the Chorale Prelude
  11. Bach's Inheritance Part II - The Development of the Italian Style
  12. The Italian Style, the Operatic Ideal, and Lutheran Spirituality are Joined
  13. Vivaldi, Bach, and the Concerto Part I - Vivaldi and the Venetian Opera
  14. Vivaldi, Bach, and the Concerto Part II - Vivaldi's Model and Bach, Violin Concerto No. 2 in E Major
  15. Vivaldi, Bach, and the Concerto Part III - Bach, Violin Concerto No. 2 in E Major Continued
  16. Vivaldi, Bach, and the Concerto Part IV - Concerto Grosso and the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2
  17. Bach and the French Style Part I - Dance and the Orchestral Suite
  18. Dance and the Orchestral Suite Continued
  19. Bach and the French Style Part II - The Keyboard Suite
  20. The Keyboard Suite Continued
  21. Bach and Opera Part I - Cantata No. 140
  22. Cantata No. 140 Continued
  23. Bach and Opera Part II - Opera Buffa and the Secular Opera, The Coffee Cantata
  24. Opera Buffa and the Secular Opera, The Coffee Cantata Continued
  25. Bach Transcendent - The St. Matthew Passion Part I
  26. Bach Transcendent - The St. Matthew Passion Part II
  27. Bach Transcendent - The St. Matthew Passion Part III
  28. Bach Transcendent - The St. Matthew Passion Part IV
  29. Bach Transcendent - The Goldberg Variations Part I
  30. Bach Transcendent - The Goldberg Variations Part II
  31. Bach Transcendent - The Goldberg Variations Part III
  32. Bach Transcendent - The Goldberg Variations Part IV 
I was only familiar with one piece of music that the lecturer played, and it wasn't even one that was included in the lectures, so every piece played here was new to me. The technical talk went way above my head most of the time, but the bits that did worm their way into my understanding enhanced the pieces considerably. When you can start hearing the different voices in a fugue, you feel like a musical superhero. I know others with more musical talent will think that's ridiculous, but when you are hardly discerning in your musical tastes, as I am, each little baby step feels like a victory. And Robert Greenberg is by far one of my favorite Great Courses lecturers. He mixes humor into the lecture so well, it really makes the time pass more enjoyably.

Bach is well worth learning about. He was an amazing musical technician - he actually made his compositions more complicated just to see if he could. And yet as appreciated as he is today, he was never recognized as the genius that he was in his lifetime. So much of his music is lost to us because his wife had to sell his compositions to make ends meet after his death and the paper was actually more valuable than the art written upon it. If you listen to this Great Courses audio book or get the DVDs, I think you'll find yourself enriched by the genius and the beauty of a true master.

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