{"podcast":{"title":"EmpowerU America Podcast","slug":"empoweru-america-podcast-7044524","podcast_index_feed_id":7044524,"rss_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/6097761/episodes/feed","website_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/empoweru-america-podcast--6097761","image_url":"https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/e8eaab7af6fed5d1e3fea9f035034578.jpg","author":"EmpowerU America Podcast","episode_count":87,"summary":"EmpowerU America's motto is \"educate, enjoy, engage\", and we've been providing free educational lectures, interviews, and events to the public on a range of subjects for over 13 years. During our spring, 2024, semester we will expand our audience through this audio podcast. Join Michael Mercier and Jerry Thomas as they take turns behind EmpowerU's host microphone to interview experts on a variety of subjects, including film, politics, the media, architecture, history, and world affairs. Click \"play\" to EmpowerU!","last_synced_at":"2026-06-07T12:17:46.713983+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/empoweru-america-podcast-7044524"},"episode":{"title":"What Makes Bach's Music So Great? | Professor Chris Fuhrmann","slug":"what-makes-bach-s-music-so-great-professor-chris-fuhrmann","published_at":"2026-04-02T17:42:14+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/empoweru-america-podcast-7044524/what-makes-bach-s-music-so-great-professor-chris-fuhrmann","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/empoweru-america-podcast-7044524","url":"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/what-makes-bach-s-music-so-great-professor-chris-fuhrmann--71065533","audio_url":"https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/71065533/bach_audio.mp3","summary":"Johann Sebastian Bach is perhaps the most revered composer in all of Western music. Max Reger simply stated: “Bach is the beginning and end of all music.” But what makes the music of this one composer, who toiled in relative obscurity in 18th-century Germany, so great? In this lecture, we will explore some components that may have helped Bach’s enduring appeal: his subtle but powerful expression of sacred texts; his complete mastery of the building blocks of music (harmony, melody, rhythm); his breathtaking skill at writing complex counterpoint; and the meditative space that his music creates—always expressive, but never overbearing, allowing each listener to have a personal experience with his music. This talk is designed to be accessible to all, regardless of musical background, and it will include musical samples to illustrate key concepts. It promises to offer both an informative overview and a deeper appreciation of Bach’s enduring artistry. ___________________________________________________ Dr. Christina Fuhrmann is Chair, Academic Studies Department and Professor of Music History and Literature at Baldwin Wallace University. She also serves as the Bach Editor of the Journal of the Riemenschneider Bach Institute. Dr. Fuhrmann previously taught at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and at Ashland University, where she was the 2015 winner of the Taylor Excellence in Teaching Award. She also has experience as managing editor of the Journal of Musicology. Her research has been published in venues such as The Oxford Handbook of the British Musical, Nineteenth-Century Music Review, The Journal of Musicological Research and The Encyclopedia of Romantic Literature. In 2012, she published an edition of Henry Bishop’s 1819 adaptation of “Le Nozze di Figaro” with A-…","meta_description":"Johann Sebastian Bach is perhaps the most revered composer in all of Western music. Max Reger simply stated: “Bach is the beginning and end of all music.”…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4119,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/empoweru-america-podcast-7044524/episodes/what-makes-bach-s-music-so-great-professor-chris-fuhrmann/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/empoweru-america-podcast-7044524/what-makes-bach-s-music-so-great-professor-chris-fuhrmann.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}