21 March 19

Happy Birthday, Johann Sebastian Bach! (1685-1750) This is the "Old System" date, from before the 11-day "skip" when the Gregorian calendar was adopted, so you will also see his birthday as March 31. Google has a special tool today to let you add Baroque-style harmony to your own short tune. You can hear my own sample here. But I'm taking this opportunity to wear my birch trees tie to celebrate both the International Day of Forests (today, sponsored by the United Nations) and Birch Tree Day on the French Republican Calendar (next Wednesday).