As for sacred polyphony, there is no reason to be afraid of it.
The Italians are very unmusical. If I go to a Protestant church in London or Amsterdam or listen to a black choir, I hear four-part harmony. Italians could never do that. In Italy, we all have to sing the melody because we cannot harmonise.
Singing together is something human beings just do, and there are hundreds of years worth of just European vocal music available to read and hear.
As a matter of fact, I personally would much rather hear Perotin than Mozart.
In a long meter hymn, a singer - they call it 'lays out a line.' And then the whole church joins in in repeating that line. And they form a wall of harmony so tight, you can't wedge a pin between it.
Never have so many recordings of the great Masses and motets been in wider circulation.
Harmony singing isn't meant to be done alone.
In my piano concerto I developed this polyphony to much higher complexity.
Bach is thus a terminal point. Nothing comes from him; everything merely leads to him.
