But That Would Be Boasting

J.S.Bach: Brandenburg Concertos No.1-3

Brandenburg Concertos No.4-6

Many people remember that when
in 1977 the Voyager spacecraft was
launched, opinions were canvassed as to what artifacts would be most appropriate to leave in outer space as a signal of man's cultural achievements on earth. The American astronomer Carl Sagan proposed that if we are to convey something of what humans are about then music has to be a part of it.
To Sagan's request for suggestions, the eminent biologist Lewis Thomas answered, I would send the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach.
After a pause, he added, But that would be boasting.
--John Eliot Gardiner
Bach: Music in the Castle of Heaven