Johann Sebastian Bach (March 21, 1685 - July 28, 1750) was a German
composer and organist of the Baroque period, and is almost universally regarded
as one of the greatest composers of all time. His works, noted for their
intellectual depth, technical command, and artistic beauty, have provided
inspiration to nearly every musician in the European tradition, from Mozart to
Schoenberg.
Formative Years
J. S. Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany, in 1685. His father, Ambrosius Bach,
was the town piper in Eisenach, a post that entailed organizing all the secular
music in town as well as participating in church music at the direction of the
church organist, and his uncles were also all professional musicians ranging
from church organists and court chamber musicians to composers, although Bach
would later surpass them all in his art. In an era when sons were expected to
assist in their fathers' work, we can assume J. S. Bach began copying music and
playing various instruments at an early age. Bach's mother died when he was
still a young boy and his father suddenly passed away when J. S. Bach was 9, at
which time J. S. Bach moved in with his older brother Johann Christoph Bach,
who was the organist of Ohrdruf in Germany. While in his brother's house, J. S.
Bach continued copying, studying, and playing music. According to one popular
legend of the young composer's curiosity, late one night, when the house was
asleep, he retrieved a manuscript (which may have been a collection of works by
Johann Christoph's former mentor, Johann Pachelbel) from his brother's music
cabinet and began to copy it by the moonlight. This went on nightly until
Johann Christoph heard the young Sebastian playing some of the distinctive
tunes from his private library, at which point the elder brother demanded to
know how Sebastian had come to learn them. It was at Ohrdruf that Bach began to
learn about organ building. The Ohrdruf church's instrument, it seems, was in
constant need of minor repairs, and young J. S. Bach was often sent into the
belly of the old organ to tighten, adjust, or replace various parts. Realizing
that in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the church organ, with its
moving bellows, manifold stops, and complicated mechanical linkages from the
keys and pedals to the many actual pipes, was the most complex machine in any
European town, we can imagine that Sebastian may have been awed by it much as
modern boys are fascinated by cars, trucks, and planes. This hands-on
experience with the innards of the instrument would provide a unique
counterpoint to his unequalled skill at playing the instrument; J. S. Bach was
equally at home talking with organ builders and performers. While in school and
as a young man, Bach's curiosity compelled him to seek out great organists of
Germany such as Georg Böhm, Dietrich Buxtehude and Johann Adam Reinken, often
taking journeys of considerable length to hear them play. He was also
influenced by the work of Nicholas Bruhns. Shortly after graduation (Bach
completed Latin school when he was 18, an impressive accomplishment in his day,
especially considering that he was the first in his family to finish school),
Bach took a post as organist at Arnstadt in Germany in 1703. He apparently felt
cramped in the small town and began to seek his fortune elsewhere. Owing to his
virtuosity, he was soon offered a more lucrative organist post in Muhlhausen.
Some of Bach's earliest extant compositions date to this period (including,
according to some scholars, his famous Toccata and Fugue in D Minor), but owing
to the general immaturity of this "early" Bach music, much of the music Bach
wrote during this time has unfortunately been lost.
Professional Life
Still not content as organist of Muhlhausen, in 1708, Bach took a position as
court organist and concert master at the ducal court in Weimar. Here he had
opportunity to not only play the organ but also compose for it and play a more
varied repertoire of concert music with the dukes' ensemble. A devotee of
contrapuntal music, Bach's steady output of fugues begins in Weimar. The best
known example of his fugal writing is probably The Well-Tempered Clavier, which
comprises 48 preludes and fugues, two for each major and minor key, a
monumental work not only for its masterful use of counterpoint but also for
exploring, for the first time, the full glory of keys--and the means of
expression made possible by their slight differences from each other--available
to keyboard musicians when their instruments are tuned according to Andreas
Werckmeister's system of well temperament or similar system. Also during his
tenure at Weimar, Bach began work on the Orgelbüchlein for Wilhelm Friedemann.
This "little book" of organ music contains traditional Lutheran church hymns
harmonized by Bach and compiled in a way to be instructive to organ students.
This incomplete work introduces two major themes into Bach's corpus: Firstly,
his dedication to teaching, and secondly, his love of the traditional chorale
as a form and source of inspiration. Bach's dedication to teaching is
especially remarkable. There was hardly any period in his life when he did not
have a full-time apprentice studying with him, and there were always numerous
private students studying in Bach's house, including such 18th century notables
as Johann Friedrich Agricola. Still today, students of nearly every instrument
encounter Bach's works early and revisit him throughout their careers. Sensing
increasing political tensions in the ducal court of Weimar, Bach began once
again to search out a more stable job conducive to his musical interests.
Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen hired Bach to serve as his Kapellmeister, that
is, director of music. Prince Leopold, himself a musician, appreciated Bach's
talents, compensated him well, and gave him considerable latitude in composing
and performing. However, the prince was Calvinist and did not use elaborate
music in his worship, so that most of Bach's work from this period is secular
in nature. The Brandenburg concerti, as well as many other instrumental works,
including the suites for solo cello, the sonatas and partitas for solo violin,
and the orchestral suites, date to this period. In 1723, J. S. Bach was
appointed Cantor and Musical Director of St. Thomas church in Leipzig in
Germany. This post required him to not only instruct the students of the St.
Thomas school in singing but also to provide weekly music at the two main
churches in Leipzig. Rising above and beyond the call of duty, Bach endeavored
to compose a new church piece, or cantata, every week. This challenging
schedule, which basically amounted to writing an hour's worth of music every
week, in addition to his more menial duties at the school, produced some
genuinely sublime music, most of which has been preserved. Most of the cantatas
from this period expound upon the Sunday readings from the Bible for the week
in which they were originally performed; some were written using traditional
church hymns, such as Wachet auf! Ruft uns die Stimme and Nun komm, der Heiden
Heiland, as inspiration for the music. On holy days such as Christmas, Good
Friday, and Easter, Bach produced cantatas of particular brilliance, most
notably the Magnificat for Christmas and St. Matthew Passion for Good Friday.
The composer himself considered the monumental St. Matthew Passion among his
greatest masterpieces; in his correspondence, he referred to it as his "great
Passion" and carefully prepared a calligraphic manuscript of the work, which
required every available musician in town for its performance. Bach's
representation of the essence and message of Christianity in his religious
music is considered by many to be so powerful and beautiful that in Germany he
is sometimes referred to as the Fifth Evangelist.
Family Life
Bach married his second cousin, Maria Barbara Bach, on October 17, 1707 after
receiving a small inheritance. They had 7 children, 4 of whom survived to
adulthood. Little is known of Maria Barbara. She died suddenly on July 7, 1720
while Bach was travelling with Prince Leopold. While at Cöthen, Bach met Anna
Magdalena Wilcke, a young soprano. They married on December 11, 1721. Despite
the age difference (she was 17 years his junior), the couple seem to have had a
very happy marriage. Anna supported Johann's composing (many final scores are
in her hand) while he encouraged her singing. Together they had 13 children.
All the Bach children were musically inclined, which must have given the aging
composer much pride. His sons Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, Johann Gottfried
Bernhard Bach, Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, Johann Christian Bach, and Carl
Philipp Emanuel Bach all became accomplished musicians, with C. P. E. Bach
winning the respect of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Although the barriers to women
having professional careers were great, all of Bach's daughters most likely
sang and possibly played in their father's ensembles. The only one of the Bach
daughters to marry, Elisabeth Juliana Friederica, choose as husband Bach's
student Johann Christoph Altnickol. Most of the music we have from Bach was
passed on through his children, who preserved much of what C. P. E. Bach called
the "Old Bach Archive" after his father's death. At Leipzig, Bach seems to have
fit in amongst the professoriate of the university, with many professors
standing as god-parents for his children, and some of the university's men of
letters and theology providing many of the librettos for his cantatas. In this
last capacity Bach enjoyed a particularly fruitful relationship with the poet
Picander. Sebastian and Anna Magdalena also welcomed friends, family, and
fellow musicians from all over Germany into their home; court musicians at
Dresden and Berlin as well as musicians including George Philipp Telemann (one
of Carl Philipp Emanuel's godfathers) made frequent visits to Bach's house and
may have kept up frequent correspondence with him. Interestingly, George
Friedrich Handel, who was born in the same year as Bach, made several trips to
Germany, but Bach was unable to meet him, a fact he regretted.
Later Life and Legacy
Having spent much of the 1720s composing weekly cantatas, Bach assembled a
sizable repertoire of church music that, with minor revisions and a few
additions, allowed him to continue performing impressive Sunday music programs
while pursuing other interests in secular music, both vocal and instrumental.
Many of these later works were collaborations with Leipzig's Collegium Musicum,
but some were increasingly introspective and abstract compositional
masterpieces that represent the pinnacle of Bach's art. These erudite works
start with the four volumes of his Clavier-Übung ("Keyboard Practice") a set of
keyboard works to inspire and challenge organists and lovers of music that
includes the 6 Partitas for keyboard (Vol. I), the Italian Concerto, the French
Overture (Vol. II), and the Goldberg variations (Vol. IV). At the same time,
Bach wrote a complete Mass in B Minor, which incorporated newly composed
movements with portions from earlier works. Although the mass was never
performed during the composer's lifetime, it is considered to be among the
greatest of his choral works. After meeting King Frederick II of Prussia in
Berlin in 1747, who played a theme for Bach and challenged the famous musician
to improvise a six-part fugue based on his theme, Bach presented the king with
a Musical Offering including several fugues and canons based on the "royal
theme." Later, using a theme of his own design, Bach produced The Art of Fugue.
These 14 fugues (called Contrapuncti by Bach), are all based on the same theme,
demonstrating the versatility of a simple melody. During his life time he
composed over 1,000 pieces. Johann Sebastian Bach's contributions to music, or
to borrow a term popularized by his student Lorenz Christoph Mizler, "musical
science" are frequently compared to the "original geniuses" of William
Shakespeare in English literature and Isaac Newton in physics.
- Works -
Orchestra:
Brandenburg Concertos 1-6,
7 Concertos for harpsichord and strings (No.1 in D minor, No.2 in E, No.3 in D,
No.4 in A, No.5 in F minor, No.6 in F, No.7 in G minor),
3 Concertos for 2 harpsichords and strings (No.1 in C minor, No.2 in C, No.3 in
C minor),
2 Concertos for 3 harpsichords and strings (No.1 in D minor, No.2 in C),
Concerto for 4 harpsichords and strings in A minor,
4 Suites (No.1 in C, No.2 in B minor, No.3 in D, No.4 in D.)
Chamber Music:
The Art of Fugue (Die Kunst der Fuge),
The Musical Offering (Das Musikalische Opfer),
3 Partitas Solo violin (No.1 in B minor, No.2 in D minor, No.3 in E),
3 Sonatas Solo violin (No.1 in G minor, No.2 in A minor, No.3 in C),
6 Sonatas violin, klavier (No.1 in B minor, No.2 in A, No.3 in E, No.4 in C
minor, No.5 in F minor, No.6 in G)
6 Sonatas violin, flute, klavier (No.1 in G minor, No.2 in G, No.3 in F, No.4
in E minor, No.5 in C minor, No.6 in A)
4 Sonatas 2 violin, 2 flute, 2 oboe, harpsichord (No.1 in D minor, No.2 in C,
No.3 and 4 in G)
6 Sonatas flute, harpsichord (No.1 in B minor, No.2 in Eb, No.3 in A, No.4 in
C, No.5 in E minor, No.6 in E)
3 Sonatas cello, klavier (No.1 in G, No.2 in D, No.3 in G minor)
Sonata flute in A minor
6 Suites cello (No.1 in G, No.2 in D minor, No.3 in C, No.4 in Eb, No.5 in C
minor, No.6 in D)
Keyboard:
Capriccio in Bb (on the departure of a beloved brother)
Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D minor
16 Concertos solo harpsichord (No. 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 9 transcription of
Vivaldi, No.3 of Marcello, No. 14 and 15 of Telemann)
6 English Suites (No.1 in A, No.2 in A minor, No.3 in G minor, No.4 in F, No.5
in E minor, No.6 in D minor)
Fantasia in A minor
Fantasia and Fugue in A minor
6 French Suites (No.1 in D minor, No.2 in C minor, No.3 in B minor, No.4 in Eb,
No.5 in G, No.6 in E)
Fugue in C
Goldberg Variations
15 Inventions (2-part)
15 Inventions (3-part)
Italian Concerto
6 Partitas
9 Preludes for W. F. Bach
6 Preludes
7 Toccatas (No.1 in F# minor, No.2 in C minor, No.3 in D, No.4 in D minor, No.5
in E minor, No.6 in G minor, No.7 in G)
Variations in the Italian Style
The Well-Tempered Klavier (Das Wohltemperierte Klavier), 48 preludes and fugues
Lute:
Suites in A, in E minor, in E, in C minor, in G minor
Organ:
6 Concertos all transcriptions from other composers, including Vivaldi
4 Duets
Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, in G minor
Fantasias in C, in C minor, in G
Fugues in C minor, in C minor, in G, in G minor
Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor
Prelude and Fugue in A, in A minor, in A minor, in B minor, in C, in C, in C,
in C minor, in C minor, in D, in D minor, in D minor, in E minor, in E minor,
in Eb, in F minor, 2 in G, in G minor, in G minor
Preludes and Fugues (No.1 in C, No.2 in D minor, No.3 in E minor, No.4 in F, No, 5 in G, No.6 in G minor, No.7 in A minor, No.8 in Bb)
6 Sonatas (No.1 in Eb, No.2 in C minor, No.3 in D minor, No.4 in E minor, No.5 in C, No.6 in G
Toccata, Adagi and Fugue in C
Toccata and Fugue in D minor (Dorian), in D minor, in E, in F
Trio in D minor, in G
Chorale Preludes:
Little Organ Book (Orgelbüchlein)
Cantatas:
No.4 Christ lag in Todesbanden (composed in 1707)
No.6 Bleib bei uns (composed in 1725)
No.10 Meine Seele’ erhebt den Herren (composed 1724)
No.11 Lobet Gott (composed in 1735)
No.12 Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen (composed in 1714)
No.20 O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort ( composed in 1724)
No.23 Du wahrer Gott und Davids Sohn (composed in 1723)
No.28 Gottlob Nun geht das Jahr zu Ende (composed in 1725)
No.29 Wir danken dir, Gott (composed in 1731)
No.40 Dazu ist erschiene der Sohn Gottes (composed in 1723)
No.45 Est ist dir gesagt (composed in 1726)
No.51 Jauchzet Gott (composed in 1730)
No.60 O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort (composed in 1723)
No.61 Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (composed in 1714)
No.68 Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt (composed in 1725)
No.78 Jesu, der du meine Seele (composed in 1724)
No.80 Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott (composed in 1724)
No.82 Ich habe genug (composed in 1727)
No.93 Wer nur den lieben Gott (composed in 1724)
No.95 Christus der ist mein Leben (composed in 1723)
No.106 Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit (composed in 1707)
No.140 Wachet auf (composed in 1731)
No.143 Lobe den herrn (composed in 1735)
No.147 Herz und Mund (composed in 1723)
No.197 Gott ist unser Zuversicht(composed in 1728)
No.211 Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht (Coffee cantata, composed in 1732)
No.212 Mer hahn en neue Oberkeet (Peasant cantata, composed in 1742)
Oratorios:
"Christmas Oratorio" (in 6 parts)
- Weihnachtsoratorium (composed in 1734)
- Easter Oratorio (composed in 1736)
- Magnificat in Eb (composed in 1723)
- Magnificat in D (composed in 1731)
- Mass in B minor (composed in 1749)
- Mass in G (composed in 1738)
- Mass in G minor (composed in 1737)
6 Motets
- Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied
- Der Geist hilft
- Jesu meine Freude
- Fürchte dich nicht
- Komm, Jesu, komm
- Lobet den Herrn, Johannespassion, Matthäus-passion
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