Bach beyond the myths

Uncertainties and errors, as well as approximations and fanciful inventions, have frozen certain illustrious composers in a gangue of untruths and legends, which are perpetuated by many careless musicographers. This is in stark contrast to the latest work by Gilles Cantagrel, one of the world's leading specialists on the Leipzig Cantor, who draws on a rigorous musicological approach, first-hand accounts and original documents, some of which have only recently come to light, to nuance, clarify or rectify many preconceived ideas and inaccuracies, while remaining a highly enjoyable read. In the course of fascinating chapters, which can be discovered in any order, this mine of information gives us the historical and social context and describes the places where Bach stayed or lived - in particular Leipzig as he knew it, dynamic, modern and Francophile - as well as the vocal and instrumental practice omnipresent in the Germany of his time. In addition to various aspects of the life of the author of theArt of the fugueWhether it's his musical activities, his relationships - particularly with members of his family - his faith and its influence on his work, his vocation as a teacher, the quarrels and conflicts he had to endure or his late blindness, the eminent musicologist dispels the all-too-frequent myth of a total oblivion followed by a sudden rediscovery of his compositions. Among the countless subjects covered are Bach's relationship with opera, his work as a concert leader with his Collegium Musicum, the fate of his widow and children after his death, the erection, at Mendelssohn's instigation, of the first monument to be dedicated to him, the long story of the exhumation of his bones, the study of autograph manuscripts and their delicate restoration. This book demonstrates that profound erudition does not exclude the ability to be accessible and captivating.

Gilles Cantagrel: Sur les traces de J.-S. Bach, 496 p., € 32.90, Éditions Buchet/Chastel, Paris 2021, ISBN 978-2-283-03425-5