Since C.P.E Bach's writings on his father, Bach's life has been well documented, receiving much attention from scholars and biographers throughout the music world. More recent publications, such as Christoph Wolff's excellent Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician (reviewed next month), have brought the world of Bach closer to students and scholars alike with excellently researched accounts of the trials and tribulations of his life. But what of the music-lover to whom Bach's life is merely a passing interest? Scholarly accounts are expensive and often present unnecessarily detailed information.

The BBC Music Guides appeared to fill this gap with a number of publications devoted to composers and their works, and into this we can also place Davitt Moroney's small biography, Bach: an Extraordinary Life. In it, Moroney lucidly presents his version of Bach's life in a manner that is both interesting and refreshing. Although he says little that would not be found elsewhere, Moroney's approach is to explain things thoroughly, ensuring that unnecessary detail is omitted, instead steering the text, where possible, to aspects of Bach's life that illuminate his character and his principal compositions. Moroney's method is often witty, to the extent that I found myself waiting for the next bit of information that might break down the standard view of the irascible 'Old Bach'. Thus, the sections that question Bach's drinking habits (37-41) or his use of tobacco (59-62) are often humorous, and as such, very welcome. Such sections, however, are little other than diversions, and the main body of the text examines Bach's life and music, almost in the manner of a guide to good listening, with carefully written comments on not only the nature of his music, but also how it fits into a social and an historical context.

Moroney's style is easy to read and although at times it can be slightly irritating, it is nevertheless an interesting and valuable resource for teachers and music-lovers everywhere.

Joan Gregory