Introducing Bach

by Roland Vernon

Examines the childhood and early musical training of the prolific eighteenth-century German composer as well as the influences and historical events that shaped his adult life.

Genres: Biography, History, Music, Nonfiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1995

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Reviews

[Karin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Children's literature nonfiction music history
Grades 2-4

Of the composer books I've used with my students, Roland Vernon's are my favorite. I love the illustrations chosen for the book, the amount of text on each page de-marked by section headings, and the additional historical information in columns along the sides of the pages should a student want to know more about the time period. As much as I like this book, I should look into purchasing the other couple he did on important composers.

[Shelly♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Using this for a unit study on the Baroque era. This is a good introduction to Bach. It chronicles the major events of his life and links his most important pieces to the times they were created. It really humanizes this great master. While we take for granted his music today, hard for us to fathom that it wasn't the same for him in his era and that he was more appreciated after his death. Also included a timeline of important Bach events along with a glossary of relevant terms. Could have used a list of important works mentioned in the text, but otherwise, great for young musicians in training.