J. S. Bach: The Organ Works - Hardcover

by George B. Stauffer (Author)

In the obituary that appeared soon after his death, Johann Sebastian Bach was described as "the world-famous organist" and "the greatest organist...we have ever had." In Hamburg, Dresden, and other big cities, Bach dazzled audiences with his organ playing, performing passages with his feet that many thought impossible for the hands. One eyewitness declared that he had never seen anything like it. His extant organ works--more than 250 chorale settings and free pieces--are filled with bold, dramatic passages and fully independent pedal parts. They represent the most important body of music in the organ repertoire and the only genre that Bach turned to continuously throughout his life, from his earliest efforts as a teenager in Ohrdruf to his final deathbed revisions as a cantor in Leipzig.

Author Biography

George B. Stauffer is Distinguished Professor of Music History and Dean Emeritus of the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. He is well known for his writings on the music and culture of the Baroque Era and the life and works of Johann Sebastian Bach, in particular. He has written or edited eight books, including Bach: The Mass in B Minor and The World of Baroque Music, and he has contributed numerous articles to American, European, and Asian journals. He has also written pieces for The New York Review of Books, The New York Times, and The Weekly Standard. Stauffer has held Guggenheim, Fulbright, ACLS, IREX, and Bogliasco fellowships, and he is a frequent speaker at Bach festivals, concert halls, and universities in the United States and abroad. A past President of the American Bach Society, Stauffer is General Editor of the Leupold Edition of The Complete Organ Works of Johann Sebastian Bach.