To the Museum?

Richard Taruskin’s onslaught against the contented interpretations of Bach’s music in the New York Times marks a new day for Bach listenership. I must humbly agree that after reading his review, my perspective of Bach’s music changed. While I have generally followed and supported the mainstream of Bach scholarship, Taruskin’s review shook my aesthetic perspective of what Bach should sound like (and what it should *not* sound like). Performances of Bach’s music that are focused on notions of beauty, clarity, and form, while nostalgically special to me, are now museum pieces in the depths of my memory.

Taruskin convincingly and forcefully presents Bach’s “dark vision” – one that is often ugly, violent, messy, and (perhaps most fearfully) real. He demands that a more visceral performance of Bach’s works is necessary to match the intended level of expression and intensity. He claims that Bach’s music “was a medium of truth, not beauty.” While some may have halfheartedly believed such ideas before reading this review, Taruskin lambasts these anemic views, stating “[Bach’s] works persuade us – no, reveal to us – that the world is filth and horror, that humans are helpless, that life is pain, that reason is a snare.” Sometimes ignorance is bliss indeed.

Music, as Charles Burney describes it, is “the art of pleasing by the succession and combination of agreeable sounds.” Based on this overtly sterile definition of what music is, Burney would not be able to comprehend the heights of natural expression in Leonhardt’s and Harnoncourt’s recorded performances of the Bach Cantatas. Taruskin, in his customary state of irreverence, claims, “This one is not for you, Dr. Burney.”

Taruskin’s writings are some of the most potent and convincing writings about music that I have encountered. The clarity of his powerful writings emerges from his assertive confidence, which some claim to be arrogance and haughtiness. As a writer, he has my utmost respect. I admire his command of the written word and his ability to ask penetrating questions. His knack for “going there” is one of his finest trademarks. While his aggressive personality does not align with mine and is not a model that I wish to follow, his writings do demonstrate a confidence and strength that I wish to emulate.

For me, writing a review of a review by Taruskin is a daunting task. Posting it online in a blog is pure terror.