Footnote

There is yet another analogy linking Drupal with the music of Bach that I find somewhat compelling. In terms of absolute size, the core Drupal CMS (5.x) is relatively small, on the order of 735 KB; yet, one can, with that script and some additional modules, produce the most complex, content-rich and sophisticated websites.

Similarly, the range of tonality available to Bach (and even to Mozart after him) was by technical standards, somewhat restricted: the harpsichords of his day, for example, comprised 63 individual keys -- just three keys over 5 full octaves. (Because of the revolutionary and expansive nature of Beethoven's piano compositions -- here we need only mention the piano sonatas Op. 13 in C minor, Op. 27, no. 2 in C sharp minor, and Op. 106 in B flat major, as illustrative examples -- the number of keys on the keyboard was to increase during the course of his lifetime: the Broadwood piano, with 66 keys [5-1/2 octaves] was introduced in 1790; a later version produced in 1804 had 78 keys [6-1/2 octaves]. The 88-key keyboard [7-1/3 octaves] was standardized only in 1890.)

Yet, Bach, like Mozart after him, was able to produce the most elaborate, profound, complex and tonally rich works in every musical form (cantata, suite, concerto, mass, etc.) known to exist at the time -- a feat which, parenthetically, places these two composers (and to a lesser degree notables such as Haydn, Handel, Beethoven and Brahms -- individuals who too exploited the musical genres known to exist at the time but who ultimately made musical history for other reasons) in a class all their own. (This notion is, of course, one over which there is considerable disagreement; the views expressed here are merely my own.)