Williams, The Life of Bach.

Bach, like Shakespeare, is known primarily through his works, exceptional in both quantity and quality, and only a few original documents give any insight into his life and character. Peter Williams' 2003 look at Bach's biography raises many questions about the alleged evidence. What was he like as a young man, as a father, as an ageing church servant? What were his concerns? What music did he know and how did he compose and perform so much music? By reading the available literature critically, especially from a performer's point of view, and by going back to the first substantial 'biography' of Bach, his obituary, Williams offers new interpretations of the composer's life and work. Moreover, he asks whether our understanding of Bach has been hampered by the unflagging deference paid to him since his death.