Bach in music history

[stormx]

Hi !!

We all agree that Bach in one the the heavyweights in music history. I like most of his music, being his Goldberg variations my favourite work.

Now, lets go to the point of my post:
What were Bach's innovations in music?

We know Bach mostly by his contrapunctual writing style, his canons and fugues, his religious instrumental and vocal music, his keyboard suites based on different dances, his concertos, etc, etc.
But none of this forms were Bach's creations, as far as i know.

So, was Bach just the best composer of some already etablished forms, or was he also a pioneer in opening new musical directions?

Probably his "well tempering" method was really something new, but i have to admit i never fully understood what did he achieve on this point 

What do you think?

[kriskicksass]

Bach served as the culmination of the Baroque period. His innovations are somewhat lacking (The well-tempered system of tuning wasn't his, btw. He just used it.), but his use of fugue and other contrapuntal devices is unmatched in all of music history.
He just wasn't one of those people who looked forward I guess. Beethoven looked forward, Mozart too to some extent, Chopin and Lizst did, and of course most of the 20th Century musicians try to; Bach culminated, Czerny culminated kinda (and outlived his welcome!), all the Russian Romantics actually looked backwards.
In the end it doesn't really matter if a composer was an innovator; what really matters is that they created beautiful music in their own voice.

[cherub_rocker1979]

What makes Bach so great is that he brought Baroque music forms to their highest level and the fact that virtually every composer that came after was in some way influenced by him.

[fuel925]

What makes Bach so great is that he brought Baroque music forms to their highest level and the fact that virtually every composer that came after was in some way influenced by him.

I concur!

[pianistimo]

he seemed to have a sense of humor, too.  if B-A-C-H is read in german nomenclature...the B denotes B-flat, H = B natural, and if i remember right - he uses this in the golberg variations (var. 13?).  people started getting the idea that they could send secret messages.  even love letters. 

i read brahms intermezzo op. 118 as a sort of devotional letter to clara because how of how many 'C's' there are - really close to 'B's' (which of course is brahms).  schumann's ABEGG variations.  one of the first pieces he wrote for another girlfriend (before he met clara) uses the letters of her name.

also, with bach, you get a sense of mastery.  even if he didn't always innovate - he mastered everything.  the organ, the harpsichord, various instruments, basically he wrote for almost every genre.  and, how he ever found time to be a music teacher to his children?

[lisztisforkids]

Bach, the most influential of all composers. If you can lear Bach you can learn anything.

[contrapunctus]

Bach invented Bachian counterpoint. That is about as big as it gets. Other than that, he was just on a much higher eschelon than any other Baroque composer.

[apion]

Bach's WTC is one of the most important early contributions to solo keyboard literature.