The Father of both modern music and 20 human beings, the Yummish Council thought it was only appropriate to announce the canonization of this around the time of Father's Day.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Now one of the best known composers in the world, Johann Sebastian Bach spent his life working in relative anonymity. A sometimes challenging and cantankerous man to those who did not understand his genius, Bach was driven not by the pursuit of fame and wealth but of musical perfection.
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In his own words, “The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.”
In addition to his genius as a musician, St. Bach had other Yummish qualities. For example, did I mention that he fathered 20 children? It is safe to say we can guess at least one Yummish activity he enjoyed. As a young man, he was once castigated for taking a young lady into the choir loft, unchaperoned. (Racy!) Another time, St. Bach was accused of nipping out of church during the sermon to visit the wine cellar. (Tell me you've never been tempted to do the same.) I also suspect, based on the following quote, that St. Bach might also have enjoyed interceding with .
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“Bring me a bowl of coffee before I turn into a goat.”
(Who among us hasn't felt like that on a Monday morning?)
Bach wrote over 1,000 pieces of music, both secular and religious. Regarded as both intellectually challenging and emotionally affecting, Bach's work created a bridge from the Baroque music of his day to the modern masters. Beethoven called him “The immortal God of harmony,” and Brahms said “Study Bach: there you will find everything.”
Even beyond the gift of his own compositions, St. Bach gave us the tools that would eventually allow musicians to take music in fabulous, unexpected new directions that had literally not been possible before. Even if you never listen to classical music, you enjoy the results of his pedagogy. Without St. Bach's “The Well-Tempered Clavier” as both an example of and lesson how to navigate the wider and more nuanced “well-tempered” tonal scale, we would never have had The Beatles, Charles Mingus, Hank Williams, Philip Glass, or Lady Gaga, etc. Whether you are aware of it or not, you are hearing Bach's legacy all up and down the dial and all over YouTube.
As Father's Day approaches, take a moment to remember the man who made possible every album you have ever owned, the father of modern music—St. Bach.