(March 21, 1685–July 28, 1750), was a German composer, considered the “master of masters,” combining the polyphonic tradition of Baroque music with harmonic innovations. He held positions at the court of the Duke of Weimar, the court of Prince Leopold of Kothen, and directed music at St. Thomas’s School at Leipzig. The majority of his choral works are of religious inspiration, as seen in his over 200 cantatas, including Passion According to St. Matthew Passion, Passion According to St. John Passion, B Minor Mass and Christmas Oratorio. His great organ and keyboard works include 2 and the Goldberg Variations. Among his instrumental masterpieces are pieces for the cello, the solo violin and the Brandenburg Concertos.
Johann Sebastian Bach composed a cantata which expressed the fervency of his faith in Christ’s atoning work on the cross, entitled:
Jesus, Meine Freude. (Jesus, My Joy!)410
In expressing his conviction concerning the purpose of music, Johann Sebastian Bach asserted:
The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul. If heed is not paid to this, it is not true music but a diabolical bawling and twanging.411
Pope, Alexander (May 21, 1688–May 30, 1744), was the greatest English poet and satirist of the early 1700’s. Ranking with Shakespeare in influence, his works include: Ode to Solitude, 1700–09; An Essay on Criticism, 1711; The Rape of the Lock, 1712, 1714; Dunciad, 1728; An Essay on Man, 1733; The Universal Prayer, 1738; Imitations of Horace, 1733; and The Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot, 1735. In An Essay of Criticism, 1711, Alexander Pope wrote:
To err is human, to forgive divine.412
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.413
In Of the Character of Women, 1735, 1744, Alexander Pope wrote:
A very heathen in the carnal part
Yet still a sad, good Christian at her heart.414
In An Essay on Man, 1733, Epistle I, line 95, Alexander Pope wrote:
Hope springs eternal in the human breast.415
In An Essay on Man, Epistle IV, line 247, Alexander Pope stated:
A wit’s a feather, and a chief a rod;
An honest man’s the noblest work of God.416