The Life of Bach

by Peter Williams

Like Shakespeare, J.S. Bach is known largely by his works. Peter Williams asks many questions in this examination of the man as well as the composer. What was Bach like as a youth, father, and, eventually, church elder? What music did he know and how did he compose and perform such an amazing amount? Ultimately, Williams questions the effects of unremitting acclaim on objective evaluations of J.S. Bach.

Genres: Music

219 pages, Paperback

First published December 18, 2003

About the author

Full name Peter F. Williams; publishes as Peter Williams

University of Edinburgh 1962-1985
Duke University 1985-1997
University of Cardiff 1996-

Reviews

[Jann Howell · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit dry.

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

This mostly straightforward biography of Bach was extremely well-researched and had a lot of interesting information. I love Bach's music and am trying to read more materials about him and his works, and this was a pretty good place to start. I feel like I got a really good foundation for further studies. However, I wish that the experience itself (of reading this book) had been a bit more pleasurable. Unfortunately, Williams' framing device of exploring the information given in Bach's obituary, point by point, was clunky and distracting in the first chapter. Plus, his style throughout, while nicely concise, was rather dry and bare.