brownsfan,
I agree with you about Bach. I was just raising an argument about what counts as greatness and whether influence of future composers can arguably be the main measure. I also agree with you about the greatness of the St. Matthaus Passion, although I might still favor the B Minor Mass. The only thing he didn't do was opera, but, his vocal works certainly show that he had what it took to do opera if he had thought it a worthy endeavor.
I agree with you about Bach. I was just raising an argument about what counts as greatness and whether influence of future composers can arguably be the main measure. I also agree with you about the greatness of the St. Matthaus Passion, although I might still favor the B Minor Mass. The only thing he didn't do was opera, but, his vocal works certainly show that he had what it took to do opera if he had thought it a worthy endeavor.