Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach Meets Frederick the Great in the Age of Enlightenment - James R. Gaines

A vivid history of the clash between belief and reason is played out in the climactic meeting of a composer and a king: Bach and Frederick the Great. Line art throughout. nJohann Sebastian Bach created what may be the most celestial and profound body of music in history; Frederick the Great built the colossus we now know as Germany, and along with it a template for modern warfare. Their fleeting encounter in 1747 signals a unique moment in history where belief collided with the cold certainty of reason. Set at the tipping point between the ancient and modern world, Evening in the Palace of Reason captures the tumult of the eighteenth century, the legacy of the Reformation, and the birth of the Enlightenment in this extraordinary tale of two men.