Two recently found works of J.S. Bach presented in Leipzig [video]

Video & “Newly Found” Works

• Several commenters note that the video has a long intro; the actual performance starts around 15 minutes in, with timestamp links shared.
• It’s clarified that the pieces were not “recently found” as works, but rather that the novelty is the new attribution to Bach.
• Some who listened to the new works found them underwhelming compared to later Bach, describing them as early, less interesting pieces, akin to demos or outtakes.

Bach’s Greatness & Influence

• Many participants call Bach one of the greatest composers, even “perhaps the greatest artist,” stressing his fusion of complexity, structure, and emotional depth.
• Others push back on absolutist claims, arguing that art is subjective and that “greatest” across all art forms and cultures is essentially meaningless.

How to Approach Bach & Recommended Works

• Suggested “entry points” include cello suites, lute works, violin partitas and sonatas, organ pieces (Passacaglia & Fugue, trio sonatas, Toccata and Fugue), choral works (cantatas, St Matthew Passion, Mass in B minor), and the Well-Tempered Clavier and fugues.
• Specific movements (e.g., “Mache dich, mein Herze,” “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring,” various arias) are highlighted as emotionally direct.
• Several recommend particular performers and recordings, including historically informed and modern instrumental interpretations.

Complexity, Intellect, and Emotion

• Fans praise Bach’s ability to encode extreme contrapuntal and harmonic complexity (e.g., palindromic canons, wide-ranging modulations) while remaining expressive and often spiritually intense.
• One thread compares this positively to “complexity” in software, noting that Bach’s complexity is economical and purposeful, unlike unnecessary complexity in code.

Comparisons & Critiques

• Some commenters find Bach emotionally “cold” or “mathematical” and prefer Romantic or other composers (e.g., Mozart, Saint-Saëns), arguing that Bach’s impact can be overstated.
• Others argue that his catalog’s scale, consistency, and influence are nearly unmatched, while also acknowledging that personal enjoyment is separate from technical greatness.
• Debates arise over Mozart’s depth vs. catchiness, Bach’s supposed elitism or “nepo baby” status, and whether complexity equals superiority.

History, Loss, and Culture

• Side discussions cover lesser-known contemporaries (e.g., Zelenka), the loss of many works (notably in WWII), and broader cultural damage from Nazism and the Holocaust.
• Commenters generalize from this to the fragility of media (including films) and how destroyed or lost works shape what we now consider “the canon.”