1. In his lifetime, Bach wrote a total of at least 175 hours of music.
2. His first wife was his second cousin. They had seven children. He had 13 more children with his second wife.
3. Bach and Handel, the two greatest composers of their time, were both born in Germany in 1685 but they never met.
4. When Bach resigned as organist to the Duke of Saxe-Weimar in 1717, the Duke was so annoyed that he had him sent to prison for a month.
5. Both Bach and Handel went blind after eye operations by charlatan surgeon Dr John Taylor.
6. Taylor was one of the most flamboyant quacks of his age, travelling from town to town in a coach decorated with pictures of eyeballs.
7. Johann Sebastian Bach is an anagram of “I bash a banjo – enchants”.
8. Both Bach’s parents died when he was 10. He was brought up by his older brother Johann Christoph who was a church organist.
9. Over 150 stamps honouring JS Bach have been issued around the world including Iran and China.
10. “Bach’s Art Of Fugue played on beer bottles is strangely hypnotic.” (Classic FM).
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