Something of his Art – Horatio Clare

This short book (96 pages) is based on the BBC Radio Three programmes when writer Horatio Clare retraced the 250 mile walk by the young and then unknown Johann Sebastian Bach. Something of his Art (Little Toller) recounts the authors walk in J.S. Bach’s footsteps.

The walk in 1705 from Arnstadt to Lübeck took place during the winter at a time when Bach was earning a living as a teacher and organist. Still yet to be discovered as a composer. A defining moment in the young life of Bach.

The walk by Horatio Clare is not just a walk covering the same route as J.S. Bach it is a walk that talks of the landscapes and the wildlife of the journey today and what it would have been in Bach’s day as he walked the German countryside.

For someone like me who has loved classical music since my childhood, this was a real insight to the composer’s early days and Clare tells of Bach’s drinking and also the fights. The evocative writing by Horatio Clare really makes you walk each step with him just as the author must have thought Bach was walking with him as well. The sheer quality of the writing is a shining example to the research for both this book and also the BBC Radio Three programmes.

Just a words on the cover design, it is in itself a real work of art and Little Toller need to be congratulated. I cannot rate Something of his Art high enough. This is sheer quality. I have a feeling I will be returning this fabulous book again in the near future.

96 Pages.

Thank you to Little Toller Books for the review copy of Something of his Art by Horatio Clare.

Something of his Art by Horatio Clare was published by Little Toller Books and was published on 11^th October 2018 and is available through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop.