Bach/Fred

Carl...you mentioned that Bach may never have met Fred the Great...there's a book about that meeting called "Evening in the Palace of Reason," by James Gaines. Maybe it didn't happen, would be curious to know where that info is. Bach wrote and engraved the Musical Offering for old Fred, based off the famous 6 voice fugue that he was asked to improvise while at the Palace...best...Hstick

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At 08:04 AM 7/8/2008, you wrote:
> Carl...you mentioned that Bach may never have met Fred the
>Great...there's a book about that meeting called "Evening in the
>Palace of Reason," by James Gaines. Maybe it didn't happen, would be
>curious to know where that info is. Bach wrote and engraved the
>Musical Offering for old Fred, based off the famous 6 voice fugue that
>he was asked to improvise while at the Palace...best...Hstick

Hi Neil- Yes, I had read that the story was relayed by one of
Bach's early biographers but was considered dubious. However,
as of today, the Wikipedia entries for Bach, Frederick the Great,
and The Musical Offering all claim it occurred (though without
citations). Maybe Daniel W. or another scholar here knows more.
I do recall that most sources said he only improvised a 3-voice
fugue on the theme at the time, with the six-voice fugue being
composed later.

-Carl