Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach Meets Frederick the Great in the Age of Enlightenment

Nonfiction, History, European General, Entertainment, Music
Cover of the book Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach Meets Frederick the Great in the Age of Enlightenment by James Gaines, HarperCollins Publishers
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: James Gaines ISBN: 9780007369461
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Publication: July 24, 2014
Imprint: Harper Perennial Language: English
Author: James Gaines
ISBN: 9780007369461
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication: July 24, 2014
Imprint: Harper Perennial
Language: English

In one corner, a godless young warrior, Voltaire’s heralded ‘philosopher-king’, the It Boy of the Enlightenment. In the other, a devout if bad-tempered old composer of ‘outdated’ music, a scorned genius in his last years. The sparks from their brief conflict illuminate a turbulent age. Behind the pomp and flash, Prussia's Frederick the Great was a tormented man, son of an abusive king who forced him to watch as his best friend (probably his lover) was beheaded. In what may have been one of history's crueler practical jokes, Frederick challenged ‘old Bach’ to a musical duel, asking him to improvise a six-part fugue based on an impossibly intricate theme (possibly devised for him by Bach's own son). Bach left the court fuming, but in a fever of composition, he used the coded, alchemical language of counterpoint to write ‘A Musical Offering’ in response. A stirring declaration of faith, it represented ‘as stark a rebuke of his beliefs and world view as an absolute monarch has ever received,’ Gaines writes. It is also one of the great works of art in the history of music. Set at the tipping point between the ancient and the modern world, the triumphant story of Bach's victory expands to take in the tumult of the eighteenth century: the legacy of the Reformation, wars and conquest, the birth of the Enlightenment. Brimming with originality and wit, ‘Evening in the Palace of Reason’ is history of the best kind – intimate in scale and broad in its vision.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In one corner, a godless young warrior, Voltaire’s heralded ‘philosopher-king’, the It Boy of the Enlightenment. In the other, a devout if bad-tempered old composer of ‘outdated’ music, a scorned genius in his last years. The sparks from their brief conflict illuminate a turbulent age. Behind the pomp and flash, Prussia's Frederick the Great was a tormented man, son of an abusive king who forced him to watch as his best friend (probably his lover) was beheaded. In what may have been one of history's crueler practical jokes, Frederick challenged ‘old Bach’ to a musical duel, asking him to improvise a six-part fugue based on an impossibly intricate theme (possibly devised for him by Bach's own son). Bach left the court fuming, but in a fever of composition, he used the coded, alchemical language of counterpoint to write ‘A Musical Offering’ in response. A stirring declaration of faith, it represented ‘as stark a rebuke of his beliefs and world view as an absolute monarch has ever received,’ Gaines writes. It is also one of the great works of art in the history of music. Set at the tipping point between the ancient and the modern world, the triumphant story of Bach's victory expands to take in the tumult of the eighteenth century: the legacy of the Reformation, wars and conquest, the birth of the Enlightenment. Brimming with originality and wit, ‘Evening in the Palace of Reason’ is history of the best kind – intimate in scale and broad in its vision.

More books from HarperCollins Publishers

Cover of the book Sagittarius 2017: Your Personal Horoscope by James Gaines
Cover of the book Hostile Contact by James Gaines
Cover of the book Summer on the Little Cornish Isles: The Starfish Studio by James Gaines
Cover of the book Secrets at Meadowbrook Manor (Meadowbrook Manor, Book 2) by James Gaines
Cover of the book Capricorn 2017: Your Personal Horoscope by James Gaines
Cover of the book Escaping the Cult: One cult, two stories of survival by James Gaines
Cover of the book The Taken Girls by James Gaines
Cover of the book The Kiss Before Midnight: A Christmas Romance by James Gaines
Cover of the book Out of the Hitler Time trilogy: When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, Bombs on Aunt Dainty, A Small Person Far Away by James Gaines
Cover of the book Run, Mummy, Run by James Gaines
Cover of the book The Evil Within: Murdered by her stepbrother – the crime that shocked a nation. The heartbreaking story of Becky Watts by her father by James Gaines
Cover of the book Life and Death in Shanghai by James Gaines
Cover of the book Destiny and the Wild Horses (Pony Club Secrets, Book 3) by James Gaines
Cover of the book Victims for Sale by James Gaines
Cover of the book Christmas Is Cancelled by James Gaines
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy