[See p. 24 of "Bericht" and "Wagner, Ges. Schriften," Vol. VIII.,
p. 186.]
"IT is difficult to understand Bach's music without a special
musical and intellectual training, and it is a mistake to present
it to the public in the careless and shallow modern way we have
grown accustomed to. Those who so present it show that they do
not know what they are about....The proper execution of Bach's
music implies the solution of a difficult problem. Tradition,
even if it could be shown to exist in a definite form, offers
little assistance; for Bach, like every other German master,
never had the means at his command adequately to perform his
compositions. We know the embarrassing circumstances under which
his most difficult and elaborate works were given--and it is not
surprising that in the end he should have grown callous with
regard to execution. and have considered his works as existing
merely in thought. It is a task reserved for the highest and most
comprehensive musical culture, to discover and establish a mode
of executing the works of this wonderful master, so as to enable
his music to appeal to the emotions in a plain direct manner."