Bigwigs of the Baroque                                                                                                                                              

Bach and Handel: Brilliant music, Contrasting lives  

A presentation by Dr Punita Singh who will take us on a journey with the composers, reviewing major milestones of their lives and works.

The year 1685 witnessed the birth of two illustrious composers—Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Friedrich Handel—universally celebrated for their brilliant musical contributions. Bach’s polyphonic innovations, keyboard works and religious music continue to be relevant today while Handel’s orchestral compositions, operas and the legendary oratorio ‘Messiah’ resonate across the world in concert halls, at fundraisers, and even in commercial advertisements. Despite being born in the same year in the same land, they went on to lead very different lives. Bach remained in the same general region and turned to the church for sponsorship while Handel enjoyed travel and aristocratic support. Bach was a family man and relatively austere while Handel remained single and was more of a gourmand. Though appreciative of each other’s works, the composers apparently never met, yet their end was intriguingly brought on by a common factor. 

Punita is a musicologist, linguist, acoustician, editor and educator based in New Delhi.