Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was called the immortal God of Harmony by none other than Beethoven himself. The composer’s music inspires a feeling of love, reverence and even spirituality.

His most popular piece of organ music is Toccata and Fugue in D minor, ...

• Born in 1685 in Germany, Bach was in a dynasty of musicians, though his mother and father died before he turned ten.
• Even as an orphan, he got into what he loved, starting with organ music as a court musician, composing for church services.
• This added a flavour of the...

• Bach’s shifting to a cosmopolitan city in Germany resulted in a sort of serendipity that helped him compose his finest music like Magnificat, and about 200 cantata.
• He composed gems like Christmas Oratorio and two great gospel compositions for Good Friday: St John and St Matthew....

For many musicians, Bach is the ‘alpha’, a shared point of reference, a starting language of how music can be made, and how it can sound. His work is timeless and covered by countless composers, jazz players and patrons. In his instrumental works, his music had a sense of balance and harmony whic...