The article compares Bach to Handel saying "not a single work of Bach’s is more beloved than Handel’s Messiah—and this is owing to that oratorio’s undeniable, ineffable charm," and apparently Bach doesn't have charm.
Handel's Messiah is popular in England because it was written in England, in English, at a time when English municipal choirs were really gaining popularity (choirs competed between towns, and police had to be dispatched to stop brawls, just like footballers today). Bach's work hadn't yet been translated into English yet, and by the time they made it to the islands the age of choirs was dying down (although Britain still has wonderful choirs).
In today's perspective on how classical music should be played, it's easy to forget that Bach didn't demand his music played as written. He saw written music as a mere suggestion, not a directive. Bach refused to take on any student who didn't show a knack for improvisation and composition.
In the world of Bach's music, if the performer wanted something charming, then he or she would alter the sheet music and play it with charm, but if they wanted that same piece to be sinister, then it was played and expressed as such.
That's actually a good example of what the author is (probably) talking about.
The link you gave takes Bach's originally 3/4 setting of the melody and "decompresses" it by stretching it to fit in 4/4 time. The cover version multiplies the duration of the first note of each measure by two. That gives the melody a more lyrical, singing quality.
Also, the imitative countermelody of the bass is removed and replaced with a more regular guitar accompaniment.
>The article compares Bach to Handel saying "not a single work of Bach’s is more beloved than Handel’s Messiah
Yeah, that's a very bizarro thing to say. Globally, and pretty much everywhere outside England Bach is 20 times more popular than Handel. Air, Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Goldberg Variations, Brandenburg Concertos, ...
It's like some guy from Romania saying that O-Zone are bigger than the Beatles or something...
That's a ridiculously subjective opinion (redundant?). There's a reason its such a beloved Christmastime piece, and I can say at least for me Hallelujah is not my favorite chorus.
In terms of their overall output, I think Bach tends more toward music that sounds complex, heady, and ornate while Handel's sounds light and lyrical.
For example, listen to the unfinished fugue in C minor, BWV 906[1]. Once all the voices have entered you can hear how there is a kind of game where Bach is trying to cram as many cross-relations into each measure. When he starts sequencing that disjoint tail of the melody it's about as dissonant as music from that period can get. If you heard three people singing this a cappela you'd think they were from Mars.
That's certainly experimental, but there are many other pieces/moments by Bach that are similarly jarring. I'm going to rankly speculate that there is nothing in Handel's output even close to that (in the hopes that it spurs a contrarian to provide me a link).
I'm somewhat convinced by the satirical "Bach Portrait" that makes him out to be pompous and plodding in life and in music. Maybe OT. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtW7cu56MRs
Not OT, but low-brow BS. Letters taken out of context, and in the usual form of communication of the times, from a professional musician. Like judging Miles Davis from his communication with his accountants...
And there's nothing pompous about Bach's music. If anything it's too subdued.
What exonerates Bach's music from being assessed by the same modern criteria? What if, what was, back then, known as "composing music" was what we would now, honestly, describe as a laughably narcissistic activity, comparable to Thomas Heatherwick's designs for London buses or the Garden Bridge. The question is not of the status (culturally) of the work, but of its originality. The measure is of invention vs mere elaboration, or concept vs substantial process.
Handel's Messiah is popular in England because it was written in England, in English, at a time when English municipal choirs were really gaining popularity (choirs competed between towns, and police had to be dispatched to stop brawls, just like footballers today). Bach's work hadn't yet been translated into English yet, and by the time they made it to the islands the age of choirs was dying down (although Britain still has wonderful choirs).
As for the lack of charm in Bach, listen to this melody and tell me it doesn't have charm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5kc5IxtbBk
It definitely has 'charm.'