The House That Bach Did Not Build Alone

Johann Sebastian Bach signed nearly every manuscript the same way: "S. D. G." — Soli Deo Gloria, "To God alone be the glory." In the dim candlelight of St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, he composed cantatas, fugues, and chorales not to build his own reputation but to honor the Almighty. He died in 1750 with failing eyesight, largely forgotten by the musical world, his scores stuffed into cupboards and used as wrapping paper by a butcher's shop.…