Bach

Music in the Castle of Heaven

By: John Eliot Gardiner

Narrated by: Antony Ferguson

Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the most unfathomable composers in the history of music. How can such sublime work have been produced by a man who (when we can discern his personality at all) seems so ordinary, so opaque - and occasionally so intemperate? John Eliot Gardiner grew up passing one of the only two authentic portraits of Bach every morning and evening on the stairs of his parents’ house, where it hung for safety during World War II. He has been studying and performing Bach ever since, and is now regarded as one of the composer's greatest living interpreters. The fruits of this lifetime's immersion are distilled in this remarkable book, grounded in the most recent Bach scholarship but moving far beyond it, and explaining in wonderful detail the ideas on which Bach drew, how he worked, how his music is constructed, how it achieves its effects - and what it can tell us about Bach the man.

Gardiner's background as a historian has encouraged him to search for ways in which scholarship and performance can cooperate and fruitfully coalesce. This has entailed piecing together the few biographical shards, scrutinizing the music, and watching for those instances when Bach's personality seems to penetrate the fabric of his notation. Gardiner's aim is "to give the reader a sense of inhabiting the same experiences and sensations that Bach might have had in the act of music-making. This, I try to show, can help us arrive at a more human likeness discernible in the closely related processes of composing and performing his music." It is very rare that such an accomplished performer of music should also be a considerable writer and thinker about it. John Eliot Gardiner takes us as deeply into Bach’s works and mind as perhaps words can. The result is a unique book about one of the greatest of all creative artists.

©2013 John Eliot Gardiner (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Fire the Reader!!!

Gardiner's book is fascinating, personal and based on current research, but it would be hard to imagine a reading that was less cognizant of musical or theological terms. In nearly every paragraph, the reader mispronounces terms in Latin, Italian, German and even English! It was infuriating at times, making it a struggle to listen to the end.

A Deep History of Bach

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I listen to about three books a week, so I have a broad experience in the varying qualities of books of various genres. I've listened to longer histories, Toland's biography of Hitler, for example, and I have to say that this history of Bach must be one of those books that just needs to be read, not heard. The narration is very precise, which does not necessarily equal pleasant reading. I ended up returning this book, simply because there was not enough movement in the narrative to maintain my interest.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I did appreciate the scholarship in this book, but it does not make for interesting listening.

Did Antony Ferguson do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

None at all.

Could you see Bach being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Not a chance.

Written by an Artist for Artists and Connoisseurs

Any additional comments?

An excellent biographical treatise on the complex life circumstances that go into creating the sublime. Any creative will be grateful to the author for fleshing out the details of Bach's life and music with purity of intent and love for our artistic evolution....skg

Great book about J. S. Bach

An excellent book. Some music words mispronounced. Well written and author extremely knowledgeable about the subject and made parts of the text personal.

Monumental Work on JS Bach

The content is superb. Perhaps too detailed and in depth for casual Bach lovers and even many professional musicians.

Gardiner displays his extensive, lifelong experience and understanding of JS Bach and many other facets of Western Music History. It's not surprising that his recordings are so illuminated and musical. He has studied countless details that only reinforce his skill at recreating great performance of JS Back, Monteverdi and many others.

The narration is clean, precise and well paced, but some unfortunate pronunciation errors. I imagine reviewing and preparing a work of this size, was not possible.

Slightly irritating to hear pharisee pronounced as fuhREEsee, among other Italian and German word errors, but overall, very good and an impressive effort.

Much easier to absorb the material aurally than visually, so thank you for this audio version.