Scan 186
The American history and encyclopedia of music .., 1908
6 lines. Read by computer on 11 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1thoven. These men not only built up a national school but were the creators of the musical art as we know it. Each of these men individually accomplished work which is of wide-reaching significance, and each made a lasting impression on all forms of music which were to follow.
3In Johann Sebastian Bach, "the father of modern music," was embodied one of the greatest musical geniuses Germany or indeed the world has ever seen. His influence, even during his lifetime, was immense and has been felt in all schools. He was an organist and clavichordist of incomparable skill, and he produced masterpieces of composition in all forms, many of these forms being of his own invention. The solidity and boldness of construction found in his works, added to the wonderful profundity of the musical idea they contain, have made them the foundation of all the music Germany has since produced. His works for the violin still form the groundwork for the student of these instruments. Modern pianoforte music could not have been brought to its present state had it not been for him and his matchless works. To Bach the world is indebted also for the tempering or tuning of the scale of the pianoforte of the present day. It was he who firmly established the modern system of tuning, so that all keys sound equally well. Before his time it had been the custom to discriminate tonality between C sharp and D flat, for instance, even on the keyed instruments, so that in the older method of tuning, pieces sounded well only in certain tonality. But through the "tempering" or adjusting of the scale came the possibility of playing in all keys on the same instrument.
5The second of the commanding figures in German music of the Eighteenth Century is George Frederick Handel. In all of his works there is noticeable a certain grandeur and solemnity, combined with melodic simplicity and naturalness. Though successful in all forms in which he wrote, his fame rests on the oratorio. His were master achievements in this line of creative work, and his prominence is secure so long as "Saul," "The Messiah," "Samson," "Israel in Egypt"
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