Johann Sebastian Bach
1685 – 1750
Bach is architecture in sound. His music doesn't just move forward — it builds, layer upon layer, creating structures of impossible beauty. Listening to Bach is like watching a cathedral being constructed in real-time, each voice adding to something greater than itself. He makes complexity feel inevitable, and order feel transcendent.
Essential Listening
Cello Suite No. 1 - Prelude
Perhaps the most recognizable opening in classical music. A single cello, a single line, yet it contains multitudes. Bach wrote six cello suites that explore every emotional terrain. This prelude flows like water — natural, inevitable, perfect.
Air on the G String
From his Orchestral Suite No. 3, this 'Air' floats serenely over a walking bass line. The melody is so simple and so right that it feels like it has always existed. Pure baroque grace.
Toccata and Fugue in D minor
The most famous organ piece ever written — dramatic, dark, and virtuosic. Even if you think you don't know classical music, you know those opening chords. Bach shows what the pipe organ can really do.
Goldberg Variations - Aria
This gentle aria opens and closes one of music's greatest achievements. Between these identical performances of the aria, Bach takes us through 30 variations of breathtaking ingenuity. The return of the aria at the end is one of music's most moving homecomings.
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 - First Movement
Pure joy in motion. The six Brandenburg Concertos showcase baroque music at its most vibrant and alive. No. 3 drives forward with infectious energy — Bach at his most celebratory.
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