The Little Bach Book: An eclectic Omnibus of Notable Details about the Life and Times of the esteemed and highly respected Johann Sebastian Bach

After decades of singing the music of J. S. Bach and lecturing about his life in the 18th century, renowned Bach tenor David Gordon has compiled this personal collection of historical anecdotes, scholarly explanations, vintage illustrations, time lines, bits of pathos, gritty descriptions of everyday life, and colorful glimpses of Bach and the world around him.

The Little Bach Book is a series of vignettes of Johann Sebastian Bach as a life-long salaried professional musician. These Bach scenes are presented in a rich context of middle-class daily life in Saxony in the early 18th century. What did people eat, drink, and wear, how did they bathe and cook? What fuels heated and illuminated their homes? How many weekly church services were there in Leipzig in 1727, and how many taverns?

The central subject of this richly illustrated book is J. S. Bach, but nearly half the pages are devoted to engaging and detailed descriptions of the everyday world that surrounded him. Both elements contain the unexpected.

This book is a refreshingly down-to-earth look at Bach's life and times, not an analysis of his music. For the newcomer to Bach, for the experienced listener, and for the general history buff, this book will be entertaining, moving, and sometimes surprising.