Bach Handel
Bach Handel
Sorry, sad music buff question: Handel or J.S. Bach; whose the best and why?
Considering they were both born in the same year (1685), the clear winner is J.S Bach. Compare 'The Messiah' to 'The St. Matthew Passion' and Bach wins hands down. Handel is predictable, harmonically unimaginative, forever 'stately', and has been over-rated for decades.
Bach gave us the 48 Preludes and Fugues, the Goldberg Variations, 20 volumes of organ music, a years worth of Cantatas, The Suites for Cello, The Brandendurg Concertos, the St. Matthew and the St. John Passions, the Mass in B minor... to name but a few. That the collection of chorales which he harmonised (the Riemenschneider) still stands today as a benchmark in the study of harmony and harmonic progression speaks for itself. The man was an innovator beyond compare; a genius.
Handel, on the other hand, was very good at going from the tonic to the dominant, to the subdominant, and back to the tonic; nothing anyone studying Grade 3 theory couldn't achieve (something he shares with Status Quo and most of the boringly predictable pop music of today)
I am an organist, and one of the great pleasures in playing Bach is seeing how superbly he crafts 4 or 5 part fugues, sometimes with the most complicated motifs imaginable, and yet it all fits together seamlessly, almost effortlessly. I do not see the same ability in Handel.
Admittedly Bach writes for the voice in the same way he writes for an instrument, and that is very demanding for a singer. I suppose that is why choirs would rather sing the Messiah than the B minor Mass. For sheer mastery of the contrapuntle, and laying down the gauntlet for future generations to come up with anything near the inventiveness he displayed, he remains the hero of his time. Not until Debussy or Ravel did anyone come close to re-inventing the harmonic landscape of classical music. There may be many geniuses along the way (Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Berlioz, Wagner, to name a few) but, frankly, J.S.Bach stands head and shoulders above the lot of them.
A true genius.
 |
Saturday Review July 31 1948 ALBERT CAMUS JUDGE LYNCH | US $18.00 | 32m |
 |
Handel Alexanders Feast Harnoncourt 2CD | US $49.99 | 46m |
 |
BABY EINSTEIN 26 DISC DVD SET SHELF PULL MISSING PLASTIC NO RESERVE | US $60.00 | 58m |
 |
NEW Suzuki Violin School Violin Part Shinichi Suzuki | US $5.99 | 58m |
 |
Pachelbel Canon Baroque Favorites Handel Bach | US $4.95 | 1h |
 |
NEW First Book of Classical Music Piano 29 famous songs | US $6.00 | 1h 10m |
 |
25 GOLDEN CLASSICS VARIOUS 2 DISC SET CD | US $2.98 | 1h 12m |
 |
HARNONCOURT NIKOLAUS CMW MAGNIFICAT UTRECHT TE DEU | US $13.59 | 1h 18m |
 |
Complete Writings Elbert Hubbard Vol 6 1909 Numb Signed | US $75.00 | 1h 22m |
 |
Rent by Jonathon Larson Easy Piano Vocal Selections | US $12.75 | 1h 26m |
 |
CBS Masterworks Dinner Classics Sunday Brunch Album Composer Johann Sebastia | US $6.98 | 1h 30m |
 |
FAST 2DAY UPS NEW Various Artists The Incredible Christmas Album CD | US $21.54 | 1h 32m |
 |
MARILYN HORNE THE COMPLETE DECCA RECITALS NEW CD | US $48.58 | 1h 36m |
 |
PARKENING PLAYS BACH NEW CD | US $23.31 | 1h 36m |
 |
FAST 2DAY UPS NEW Various Artists Beethovens Wig Vol 3 Many More SingAlon | US $13.46 | 1h 40m |
 |
The Lives of the Great Composers Harold C Schonberg | US $30.25 | 1h 50m |
 |
NEW Nocturnes Chopin Frederic COP Mikuli C CRT | US $5.99 | 1h 55m |
 |
Solos for the Oboe Player w piano accomp Whitney Tustin Schirmer | US $7.00 | 1h 59m |
 |
Smart Symphonies Mozart Bach Handel Schubert Bizet | US $8.99 | 2h |
 |
Barry Lyndon Music from the Soundtrack CD May 1999 Wea Warner | US $199.99 | 2h 35m |
 |
DGG DIGITAL 1985 Handel Bach CAMBRIDGE BUSKERS 415 469 | US $9.00 | 2h 35m |
 |
MUSIC MINUS ONE JS BACH VIVALDI CONCERTI FLUTE | US $24.99 | 2h 48m |
 |
Placido DomingoTrinity ChoirSEALED CDInspired Joy M | US $3.99 | 2h 53m |
 |
Baroque Favorites Jazz Improvisations by Jacques Loussier CD Sep 2001 | US $9.50 | 3h 1m |
 |
Baroque Head 1972 Orphic Egg UK NM Vinyl | US $9.95 | 3h 1m |
 |
LIBRARY OF 101 CLASSICAL MASTERPIECES CASSETTE SET NEW | US $15.00 | 3h 34m |
 |
RENOVA ENSEMBLE Bach Mendelssohn Handel chamber music Dutch 10 LP | US $9.99 | 3h 40m |
 |
For a Lazy Afternoon CD May 2002 Decca USA | US $6.00 | 3h 51m |
 |
Rampal’s Greatest Hits Volume 2 Lp Record Album a1 | US $8.89 | 3h 59m |
 |
1916 Little Journeys Elbert Hubbard Musicians Mem Ed 14 | US $19.99 | 4h 1m |
 |
José Carreras Christmas Concert DVD New | US $6.99 | 4h 27m |
 |
Great Fugues for Solo Keyboard by David Dutkanicz 2007 Paperback | US $5.89 | 4h 32m |
 |
LONDON PROMENADE ORCHESTRA WORLDS MOST BEAUTIFUL MELODIES NOCTURNES CD2002 | US $15.51 | 4h 34m |
 |
Broadway Overtures For Piano Vol1 00359441 | US $7.95 | 4h 45m |
 |
Various Composers 100 Popular Classics | US $4.20 | 5h 7m |
 |
VARIOUS ARTISTS THUNDER CLASSICS VOL3 CD 1998 | US $5.51 | 5h 25m |
 |
RICHARD CONDIE The Great Choruses of Bach Handel 2 LP CBS M2X 39102 | US $24.99 | 5h 30m |
 |
Hal Leonard Discover the Great Composers Posters | US $24.95 | 5h 30m |
 |
THIJS VAN LEER Introspection IV BGO CD ex Focus | US $17.99 | 5h 33m |
 |
Vivaldi Handel Bach Yehudi Menuhin Leon Goossens M lp | US $22.95 | 6h 7m |
 |
A TREASURY OF ORGAN MUSIC ♬ Van Gelder ♬ 1960 Murray Hill 5 LP Box Set | US $14.00 | 6h 31m |
 |
1985 Germany 1440 41 MUSIC YEAR Handel Bach VF MNH | US $2.00 | 6h 39m |
 |
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf Elisabeth Schwarzkopf | US $9.48 | 6h 40m |
 |
NEW The Best of Joe Henderson Henderson Joe CRT H | US $15.22 | 6h 57m |
 |
Inishkea 100 Pan Pipe Chillo CD NEW | US $14.28 | 7h 34m |
 |
ANDREW DAVIS TORONTO CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Pachelbel CD | US $22.00 | 7h 38m |
 |
PLAY PIANO BEGINNER TUTORIALS 1900 SHEET MUSIC ON DVD | US $9.99 | 7h 58m |
 |
The Composers Specials Guide Listening Guides Discus | US $18.13 | 8h 13m |
 |
Lot of 6 Children’s VHS Tapes Calvert School Melody Lane Full Set 1 through 6 | US $22.50 | 8h 18m |
 |
HAYDN Cello Concerto A Trio BOETTCHER SCHNEEBERGER | US $19.99 | 8h 19m |
 |
Cathedra Kaleidoscope | US $14.53 | 8h 51m |
 |
Various Artists Music for Your Wedding a Complete G | US $12.24 | 8h 52m |
 |
Various Royal Wedding Album | US $9.45 | 9h 25m |
 |
HARNONCOURT2 CDTime Life Library Of Classical Favorit | US $7.79 | 9h 37m |
 |
Sings Bach Handel vinyl record LP UK SPA531 DECCA | US $25.04 | 9h 57m |
 |
VARIOUS ARTISTSCLASSICAL CHRISTMAS10 CD SET | US $8.95 | 10h 14m |
 |
Academy Of St Martin In The Fields Favourite Reques | US $20.45 | 10h 14m |
 |
Great Composers and Their Work NEW by Louis C Elson | US $16.48 | 10h 15m |
 |
Various Organs LP Great Catherdral Organs Du UK | US $15.08 | 10h 16m |
 |
Handel NEW by Romain Rolland | US $41.10 | 10h 18m |
 |
The world of Kathleen Ferrier UK vinyl record LP | US $18.40 | 10h 23m |
 |
Audio CD Classical Masters | US $3.89 | 10h 32m |
 |
MARILYN HORNEJOSHUA BELLSEALED CDCCUltimate Classic | US $9.99 | 10h 39m |
 |
Various Orchestral The Sound of Kings UK LP | US $17.28 | 10h 51m |
 |
The Well Tempered Synthesiser vinyl record LP UK | US $61.52 | 10h 53m |
 |
BABY BRIGHTEST SERIES COLORS NEW DVD BOXSET | US $7.64 | 10h 56m |
 |
A Recital of Bach and Handel Arias LP UK | US $33.09 | 10h 58m |
 |
Dances from Bach to B Various Orchestral LP UK | US $15.23 | 10h 59m |
 |
Handel Purcell Vivaldi Mozart CPE Bach UK LP | US $16.90 | 11h 1m |
 |
Exsultate Jubilate UK vinyl record LP 6833105 | US $22.03 | 11h 2m |
 |
ESSENTIAL CLASSICS Dble Vinyl LP 33 Classical Tunes | US $12.62 | 11h 3m |
 |
Various Religious Hallelujah and other G LP CAN | US $40.99 | 11h 6m |
 |
50 EASY CLASSICAL THEMES PAPERBACK NEW | US $16.50 | 11h 6m |
 |
Classical Guitar Favorites Gill Danny | US $22.51 | 11h 9m |
 |
a portrait of Kiri Te Kanawa Import | US $289.54 | 11h 11m |
 |
Arias Songs by J S Bach Handel Mahler UK LP | US $18.88 | 11h 13m |
 |
Kathleen Ferrier Bach and Handel Arias Kathleen Ferrier | US $6.38 | 11h 14m |
 |
Relaxing Adagios | US $14.43 | 11h 14m |
 |
Betrachte mein Seele Bach Handel Haydn Mendelssohnetc Thomas Quasthof | US $8.49 | 11h 14m |
 |
1987 Handel and Mozart Arias for Countertenor by Jochen | US $23.68 | 11h 15m |