J.S. Bach: soli deo gloria

One of the things that inspired the name of this blog was reading a beautiful series of articles about Johan Sebastian Bach in Christian History & Biography magazine. In one article, Calvin R. Stapert writes that Bach was

"arguably the greatest composer in the history of Western music and a man whose staunch Lutheran faith informed his life, his career, and his view of music. He believed that music was a "refreshment of spirit," as some of the title pages of his works stated. He believed that music was a powerful tool for the proclamation of the gospel, as his cantatas, Passions, organ chorales, and other compositions clearly show. And ultimately, he believed that music brought glory to God, as the initials SDG (Soli Deo Gloria, "To God alone be glory") at the end of most of his scores bear witness."

The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul. —J.S. Bach