Bach Project Update Q2
Exciting updates, with some music for America by Bach's grandson
Summer is here! I am loving these long days and all the possibilities they bring, from sunrise to sunset. It was a busy spring at work and at home, but I am delighted to report that The Musical Father has continued to grow, reaching readers who enjoy learning about music, family, and the polyphonic process of weaving the two together.
Bach’s grandson
Did you know J.S. Bach not only had sons who became famous composers, but also musical and artistic grandsons? Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst Bach—the son of Sebastian’s 16th child, Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach—lived from 1759-1845 and served as music director to King Frederick William II of Prussia. He wrote a piece called “Columbus, or the Discovery of America,” that I thought I would share in celebration of July 4th!
The Musical Father went international!
An article I wrote about Bach’s family life, which was first published by the Berlin-based
earlier this year, ended up being translated into Dutch and published in print for a popular daily newspaper called Nederlands Dagblad. It is wild to imagine tens of thousands of copies being printed and shipped across the Netherlands with a feature-length article from my little passion project here in Pittsburgh. It was also published here on their website.Speaking of international, my Substack stats show that The Musical Father now has subscribers in 14 countries!
New articles and episodes
I managed to get out 5 new posts here this quarter and enjoyed putting each one together. I have been on a bit of a John Williams kick, drawing parallels between his life and Bach’s and appreciating his positive personal example alongside his legendary film scores. I got to speak with his biographer
and will be reviewing the full book on his life ahead of its release on September 2nd.It makes my day anytime I hear that one of my articles has sparked meaningful conversation between friends or family members. If one of the articles below makes you think of someone in your life, I hope you will take the time to text them a link and say, “Would love to hear your thoughts on this!”
Looking ahead
In my last quarterly update, I mentioned I had a couple of side projects going that would temporarily slow my progress on my Bach book manuscript. Those projects have wrapped up nicely:
I was honored to collaborate with Mary Irwin, my former high school violin teacher, to write the summer Bible Study for The MasterWorks Festival. I attended MasterWorks for several years in high school and college, and it was an unspeakable gift to my music and my faith. They are big fans of Bach there, often citing his habit of writing S.D.G. (Soli Deo Gloria) on his manuscripts, so I managed to work in a Bach family reference on one of the days I wrote.
I also preached on Father’s Day after going through a fantastic study cohort on the art and process of preaching with my pastor
. I am accustomed to delivering workshops and keynotes in my day job, but delivering a Sunday morning sermon was a whole different (and humbling!) experience. My assigned passage was Ruth 4:13-22, which was perfect for sharing how ordinary families can show forth God’s grace and take part in His redemptive plan.
Grateful for these experiences, I am also excited to be getting back to more regular progress on my Bach manuscript. I plan to tackle some significant chapters of Bach’s fatherhood journey over the summer, and I will continue to post unique articles and podcasts here along the way. Enjoy your summer, and stay in touch!
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Love this update, Alex! (And, your sermon was EXCELLENT.)