Bach's Musical Universe: The Composer and His Work

by Christoph Wolff

Throughout his life, renowned and prolific composer Johann Sebastian Bach articulated his views as a composer in purely musical terms; he was notoriously reluctant to write about his life and work. Instead, he methodically organized certain pieces into carefully designed collections. These benchmark works, all of them without parallel or equivalent, produced a steady stream of transformative ideas that stand as paradigms of Bach’s musical art.

In this companion volume to his Pulitzer Prize–finalist biography, Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician, leading Bach scholar Christoph Wolff takes his cue from his famous subject. Wolff delves deeply into the composer’s own rich selection of collected music, cutting across conventional boundaries of era, genre, and instrument. Emerging from a complex and massive oeuvre, Bach’s Musical Universe is a focused discussion of a meaningful selection of compositions—from the famous Well-Tempered Clavier, violin and cello solos, and Brandenburg Concertos to the St. Matthew Passion, Art of Fugue, and B-minor Mass.

Unlike any study undertaken before, this book details Bach’s creative process across the various instrumental and vocal genres. This array of compositions illustrates the depth and variety at the essence of the composer’s musical art, as well as his unique approach to composition as a process of imaginative research into the innate potential of his chosen material. Tracing Bach’s evolution as a composer, Wolff compellingly illuminates the ideals and legacy of this giant of classical music in a new, refreshing light for everyone, from the amateur to the virtuoso.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, German Literature

432 pages, Hardcover

First published March 24, 2020

About the author

Christoph Wolff is a German-born musicologist, who is best known for his works on the music, life, and times of Johann Sebastian Bach. Christoph Wolff has been on the faculty of Harvard University since 1976 and director of the Bach Archive in Leipzig since 2001.

Reviews

[Jonathan O'Neill · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

A bit dry and catalogue-y, which will be no surprise to readers familiar with other works by Wolff. But what he lacks in stylistic flair he more than makes up for with knowledge and passion for the subject.

Note: I listened to the audiobook of this one as I was keen to get to it and this was the only way I saw of "slotting it in" but there's no doubt that my experience was lessened by the lack of musical scores which I presume the hard copy contains. I'll likely revisit this one day with a physical copy.

[Gavin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best writers on music (like Charles Rosen) can make you want to re-listen to familiar works or to listen to works you've never heard before. Christoph Wolff does almost the opposite; he focuses on the most boring aspect of a work, such that you have no particular desire to look it up ever.

For example, in his very scant two pages on the "Goldberg Variations," he spends time talking about who the publisher was, explains that the variations were probably not originally composed for harpsichordist Goldberg, lists out all the time signatures of the variations, and identifies the pieces behind the quodlibet. There's not even a clue that, say, the variations fall into 3-part groupings.

I understand a desire to not repeat the analysis of others, and there probably isn't anything new to say about Bach's oeuvre, but there's nothing here for the specialist (I imagine) or the musical amateur like me. As an amateur, I haven't read umpteen treatises on, say, the Goldbergs, and I'd been hoping for something with more depth on the particular pieces Wolff decided to focus on.

[Dan Graser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This companion volume to Wolff's exemplary earlier biography of Bach (subtitled: The Learned Musician), is yet another tour de force of insight, history, erudition, and above all a tangible love for the subject matter and the timeless art his subject crafted.

Where the previous volume was structured more in the fashion of a typical chronological biography dealing with Bach's life and education first, this volume takes groupings of the composer's most significant works in the order they were composed and uses them as the primary means to convey Bach's unique thought and creative genius throughout his life. These are related and reflected to his professional endeavors and job posts of the time, without drowning in unnecessary detail. By focusing on these works as the primary discussion points, Wolff states his goal as:
"I am pursuing, in effect, an independent meta-study, whose primary intent is to focus on distinct overarching designs that are discernible within Bach's superabundant musical output. Such an essentially synoptic approach to Bach's oeuvre puts into sharper view the composer's inquisitive musical mind, which produced such a remarkably steady stream of transformational works."

This structure makes for very engaging reading in that for Bach enthusiasts, you likely will have these works playing in your mind's ear throughout each chapter. Of course, there are those who will wish for more material on their favorite works - I would have loved further discussion of the solo string and wind works - however the cumulative effect is to leave the volume with a greater sense as to the fons et origo behind each work's enduring success. I found Wolff particularly strong when discussing Bach's 1724-25 cantata cycle, St. John Passion, WTC book II's differences from the previous collection, The Art of the Fugue, and the Mass in B minor. Additionally the foundational importance of the Orgel-Büchlein as in some biographies this has been dismissed as a mere, "youthful," work.

A wonderful volume with the degree of content you would expect from Christoph Wolff, whose structure achieves an inspired narrative of constant striving for creative novelty and refinement of craft. As Wolff concludes:
"The opus-style benchmark works examined in this volume as separate entities provide, if considered together, a surprisingly coherent narrative of Bach's artistic evolution as he developed his musical universe, moving forward step by step without lingering, always setting new priorities and challenges for himself. The individual histories of these works run in parallel, to a certain extent, with the general narrative of Bach's professional life. Yet at the same time, the works in question exhibit remarkable individuality."

[Francisco Esteban Garcés · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hay cosas que escapan a mi comprensión, porque mis nociones musicales son limitadas, muy limitadas, diría yo.
Pero la claridad, la limpieza, la profundidad,
el cariño con que escribe Wolff, permite seguir la trayectoria musical y el análisis de las principales obras de J. S. Bach de una manera tan amena que, sencillamente, ha sido una auténtica maravilla.
Lo he acompañado, además, con la audición de parte de las piezas que iba comentando y explicando.
Muy, muy recomendable, sobre todo para los amantes de uno de los mejores músicos de la historia, si no el mejor.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Using opus collections and benchmark works as an organizing principle, a noted Bach scholar demonstrates his growth as a composer over the years, and his remarkable powers, especially in harmony, counterpoint, and polyphony.
This organization works out to be relatively chronological as well, and makes it easy for even someone with a minimal understanding of music theory to follow. I can't say I followed every explication, nor could I read the manuscript scores, but I came away with a deep respect for a composer whose work I much admire.

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Christoph Wolff's follow up to his Pulitzer nominated Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician. It presents a roughly chronological discussion and analysis of Bach's benchmark works, beginning with the "composers business card" as displayed in the piece of music in Bach's hand in the famous portrait by Elias Gottlob Haußmann.

https://bach.wursten.be/portraits/174...

That piece of music is the launching point of a series of 14 canons entitled "Fourteen Canons on the first 8 fundamental notes of the Aria" (from the Goldberg Variations). Here is a brilliant audio/visual demonstration of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h6Aa...

This book is a treasure and has opened, for me, a whole new world into Bach, his profound command of the art of polyphony, and the extraordinary beauty of his music.

To truly enjoy Wolff's magisterial work, a basic knowledge of music theory, especially of the Baroque era is recommended. More than that, I highly recommend as you read, LISTEN to the piece being discussed. Simply search with the BWV number (Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (Bach Works Catalogue) ).

As an aside, for listening to works for the keyboard (Clavier-Übung, Well Tempered Clavier, Goldberg Variations, etc.), I suggest listening to harpsichord performances as opposed to piano, since the pianoforte, invented in 1700, was not in standard use as a keyboard until the late 1700s, and, practically so, not until Beethoven's time.

J. S. Bach - Musical Perfection.

[Dan From MN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnificat
Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2025
I warmly and sincerely recommend this great work by Wolff to help you grasp and understand the genius, beauty, and science of the greatest composer of all time, J.S. Bach.

I have always loved the music created by JS Bach. It flows like beautiful water and tells a tale of passion, love, and beauty. His music moved me over the years, like no other, often times to tears of great joy and love. It’s so powerful, profound, and pure.

I have read the autobiography, written prior to this book, by this author. It is a magnificent book, but it is in this work that the genius of the author; a different scientist and scholar, Mr. Wolff, helped me glimpse and begin to understand the beauty and genius of Bach. The universe that is his creation of music, a great gift Bach left to us all when he departed life too soon, leaving his legacy and eternal music to posterity.

Get the book and enjoy spending time with Wolff and Bach, as they allow you a peek into the genius of eternity.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fine essay on selected works by J. S. Bach. The author presents some of the latest research on Bach and organizes the material so that even familiar data often appears in a new and revealing light. Access to the www.imslp.org website will be helpful in passages that refer to compositions (like the cantatas) or movements within a composition by number. All the same, the writing style and presentation of ideas are both generally commendable for their clarity throughout. Altogether, a worthwhile and pleasurable read.

[Evilbjork · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The composer and his work," but really there's a heavy emphasis on "his work." This is essentially a catalogue of works and explanations of musical forms. Somewhat interesting as a performer of his pieces, but not quite enough depth to make it really useful.

[Giovanni · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️
Awesome overview, I greatly enjoyed it.

[David Brimer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unless one is truly intimate with the pieces discussed within (which I am, for the most part, not) this will be a difficult read.