A singular resource, Exploring the World of J. S. Bach puts Bach aficionados and classical music lovers in the shoes of the master composer. Bach scholar Robert L. Marshall and veteran writer-translator Traute M. Marshall lead readers on a Baroque Era odyssey through fifty towns where Bach resided, visited, and of course created his works. Drawing on established sources as well as newly available East German archives, the authors describe each site in Bach's time and the present, linking the sites to the biographical information, artistic and historic landmarks, and musical activities associated with each. A wealth of historical illustrations, color photographs, and maps supplement the text, whetting the appetite of the visitor and the armchair traveler alike.| Cover Title Copyright Contents Foreword Preface Introduction Notes on Usage Maps Part One: J. S. Bach's Principal Residences (Chronological) Chapter 1. Eisenach (1685–95) Chapter 2. Ohrdruf (1695–1700) Chapter 3. Lüneburg (1700–1702) Chapter 4. Arnstadt (1703–7) Chapter 5. Mühlhausen (1707–8) Chapter 6. Weimar (1703, 1708–17) Chapter 7. Köthen (1717–23) Chapter 8. Leipzig (1723–50) Part Two: Towns Certainly or Presumably (*) Visited by J. S. Bach Altenburg and Rötha* Ammern* Bad Berka* Berlin Celle* and Ebstorf* Collmen Dornheim Dresden Erfurt Freiberg* Gehren* Gera Görlitz Gotha Halle Hamburg Heiligengrabe* Karlsbad Kassel Kleinzschocher Langewiesen Langula* Lübeck Merseburg* Naumburg Nienburg (an der Saale)* Pomßen* Potsdam Sangerhausen Schleiz Störmthal Waltershausen* Wechmar* Weißenfels Weißensee Wiederau Zeitz* Zerbst* Zschortau Appendix: Bach's Travels: An Overview Bibliography Illustration Credits Index | "Beautifully written and lavishly illustrated, with both modern photographs and 18th-century images, Exploring the World of Bach is an invaluable guidebook for any traveler wishing to explore Bach's Germany and Germany's Bach... A sophisticated and original piece of scholarship (including a superb bibliography and valuable appendix) which will be of great value to both Bach experts and novices for years to come."—Early Music America

"An extraordinary accomplishment and an indispensable resource for anyone interested in the life and works of J. S. Bach. The authors combine in a single volume the results of the latest research and biographical studies in the form of an illustrated guide of the towns in which Bach lived and which he visited." —Don O. Franklin, The American Bach Society
"For the academic, student, or aficionado who might not be able to travel to Germany, this resource provides an excellent gateway into the geopolitical world where Bach lived, produced music as performer and director, and composed."—Notes

|Robert L. Marshall is Sachar Professor Emeritus of Music at Brandeis University. His books include The Compositional Process of J. S. Bach and The Music of Johann Sebastian Bach: The Sources, the Style, the Significance. Traute M. Marshall is the author of Art Museums PLUS: Cultural Excursions in New England and translator of The Classical Style and Brecht in America.