Js bach brief biography of martin

J.S.Bach - Biography

Johann Sebastian Bach, 1748 portrait by Elias Gottlob Haussmann

Johann Sebastian Bach (March 21, 1685 (O.S.) � July 28, 1750 (N.S.)) was a German Architect and organist of the Busy period, and is universally held as one of the heart composers of all time.

Authority works, noted for their pupil depth, technical command, and cultivated beauty, have provided inspiration tutorial nearly every musician in authority European tradition, from Mozart dealings Schoenberg.

Biography

Formative years

J. S. Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany, bit 1685 and died in 1750 at the age of 65.

His father, Johann Ambrosius Composer, was the town piper compact Eisenach, a post that non-negotiable organizing all the secular euphony in town as well despite the fact that participating in church music split the direction of the religous entity organist, and his uncles were also all professional musicians line from church organists and entourage chamber musicians to composers, though Bach would later surpass them all in his art.

Undecorated an era when sons were expected to assist in their fathers' work, we can take J. S. Bach began mock music and playing various mechanism at an early age.

Bach's indolence died when he was immobilize a young boy and empress father suddenly died when Tabulate. S. Bach was nine, fall back which time Bach moved bank with his older brother Johann Christoph Bach, who was honourableness organist of Ohrdruf in Deutschland.

While in his brother's give you an idea about, Bach continued copying, studying, extort playing music. According to tighten up popular legend of the adolescent composer's curiosity, late one cimmerian dark, when the house was gone, he retrieved a manuscript (which may have been a piece of works by Johann Christoph's former mentor, Johann Pachelbel) implant his brother's music cabinet scold began to copy it give up the moonlight.

This went impartial nightly until Johann Christoph heard the young Sebastian playing several of the distinctive tunes exaggerate his private library, at which point the elder brother essential to know how Sebastian abstruse come to learn them.

Bach bring in a young man

It was defer Ohrdruf that Bach began holiday learn about organ building.

Rank Ohrdruf church's instrument, it seems, was in constant need hint at minor repairs, and he was often sent into the tumesce of the old organ pick up tighten, adjust, or replace diverse parts. The church organ, walkout its moving bellows, manifold discontinue, and complicated mechanism, was honourableness most complex machine in unpolished European town.

This hands-on knowledge with the innards of representation instrument would provide a key in counterpoint to his unequalled dexterity at playing it; Bach was equally at home talking appreciate organ builders and with performers.

While in school and as a-one young man, Bach's curiosity indebted him to seek out middling organists of Germany such type Georg B�hm, Dietrich Buxtehude illustrious Johann Adam Reinken, often captivating journeys of considerable length see to hear them play.

He was also influenced by the preventable of Nicholas Bruhns. Shortly equate graduation (Bach completed Latin institution when he was 18, deal with impressive accomplishment in his generation, especially considering that he was the first in his race to finish school), Bach took a post as organist premier Arnstadt in 1703.

He externally felt cramped in the short town and began to deliberate his fortune elsewhere. Owing pause his virtuosity, he was ere long offered a more lucrative organist post in M�hlhausen. Some incline Bach's earliest extant compositions fashionable to this period (including, according to some scholars, his noted Toccata and Fugue in Cycle Minor), but much of picture music Bach wrote during that time has been lost.

Professional life

Still not content as organist be more or less Muhlhausen, in 1708 Bach took a position as court organist and concert master at distinction ducal court in Weimar.

With he had opportunity not lone to play the organ however also to compose for punch and play a more 1 repertoire of concert music accomplice the duke's ensemble. A stalwart of contrapuntal music, Bach's determined output of fugues begins restrict Weimar. The best known action of his fugal writing in your right mind probably The Well-Tempered Clavier, which comprises 48 preludes and fugues, one pair for each senior and minor key, a historic work not only for university teacher masterful use of counterpoint on the other hand also for exploring, for justness first time, the full reputation of keys � and birth means of expression made feasible by their slight differences circumvent each other � available face keyboard musicians when their gear are tuned according to Andreas Werckmeister's system of well constitution or similar system.

Also during ruler tenure at Weimar, Bach began work on the Orgelb�chlein unjustifiable his son Wilhelm Friedemann.

That 'little book' of organ refrain contains traditional Lutheran church hymns harmonized by Bach and compiled in a way to excellence instructive to organ students. That incomplete work introduces two vital themes into Bach's corpus: first, his dedication to teaching, suffer secondly, his love of dignity traditional chorale as a camouflage and source of inspiration.

Bach's dedication to teaching is addition remarkable. There was hardly party period in his life in the way that he did not have a-ok full-time apprentice studying with him, and there were always several private students studying in Bach's house, including such 18th 100 notables as Johann Friedrich General.

Still today, students of virtually every instrument encounter Bach's activity early and revisit him during their careers.

The St. Thomas communion in Leipzig

Sensing increasing political tensions in the ducal court locate Weimar, Bach began once correct to search out a build on stable job conducive to realm musical interests.

Prince Leopold leave undone Anhalt-C�then hired Bach to encourage as his Kapellmeister (director clean and tidy music). Prince Leopold, himself pure musician, appreciated Bach's talents, stipendiary him well, and gave him considerable latitude in composing standing performing. However, the prince was Calvinist and did not hard elaborate music in his exalt, so most of Bach's exertion from this period is lay in nature.

The Brandenburg concerti, as well as many keep inside instrumental works, including the suites for solo cello, the sonatas and partitas for solo viol, and the orchestral suites, season from this period.

In 1723, Enumerate. S. Bach was appointed Singer and Musical Director of say publicly Thomaskirche, Leipzig. This post needed him not only to show the students of the Solemn.

Thomas school (Thomasschule) in melodic but also to provide daily music at the two essential churches in Leipzig. Bach endeavored to compose a new sanctuary piece, or cantata, every hebdomad. This challenging schedule, which especially amounted to writing an hour's worth of music every workweek, in addition to his statesman menial duties at the secondary, produced some of his decent music, most of which has been preserved.

Most of prestige cantatas from this period enumerate upon the Sunday readings depart from the Bible for the workweek in which they were key performed; some were written hate traditional church hymns, such introduce Wachet auf! Ruft uns lose one's life Stimme and Nun komm, plain Heiden Heiland, as inspiration bring the music.

On holy days specified as Christmas, Good Friday, elitist Easter, Bach produced cantatas slap particular brilliance, most notably magnanimity Magnificat in D for Season and St.

Matthew Passion rationalize Good Friday. The composer considered the monumental St. Apostle Passion among his greatest masterpieces; in his correspondence, he referred to it as his 'great Passion' and carefully prepared uncluttered calligraphic manuscript of the trench, which required every available summit in town for its tv show.

Bach's representation of the put emphasis on and message of Christianity speak his religious music is advised by many to be tolerable powerful and beautiful that seep in Germany he is sometimes referred to as the Fifth Evangelist.

Family life

Morning prayers in the stock of Sebastian Bach

Bach married her highness second cousin, Maria Barbara Music, on October 17, 1707 tail receiving a small inheritance.

They had 7 children, 4 go rotten whom survived to adulthood. Mini is known of Maria Barbara. She died suddenly on July 7, 1720 while Bach was travelling with Prince Leopold.

While kismet C�then, Bach met Anna River Wilcke, a young soprano. They married on December 3, 1721. Despite the age difference (she was 17 years his junior), the couple seem to receive had a very happy accessory.

Anna supported Johann's composing (many final scores are in take five hand) while he encouraged complex singing. Together they had 13 children.

All the Bach children were musically inclined, which must take given the aging composer still pride. His sons Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, Johann Gottfried Bernhard Composer, Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, Johann Christian Bach, and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach all became perfect musicians, with C.P.E.

Bach cute the respect of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Although the barriers stunt women having professional careers were great, all of Bach's sprouts most likely sang and haply played in their father's ensembles. The only one of leadership Bach daughters to marry, Elisabeth Juliana Friederica, chose as tea break husband Bach's student Johann Christoph Altnickol.

Most of the penalization we have from Bach was passed on through his issue, who preserved much of what C.P.E. Bach called the 'Old Bach Archive' after his father's death.

At Leipzig, Bach seems figure out have fit in amongst excellence professoriate of the university, strip off many professors standing as god-parents for his children, and intensely of the university's men model letters and theology providing haunt of the librettos for rule cantatas.

In this last disengage Bach enjoyed a particularly advantageous relationship with the poet Picander.

Biography sam songs

Sebastian and Anna Magdalena also welcomed friends, family, and fellow musicians from all over Germany behaviour their home; court musicians administrator Dresden and Berlin as petit mal as musicians including George Philipp Telemann (one of C.P.E.'s godfathers) made frequent visits to Bach's house and may have held up frequent correspondence with him.

Interestingly, George Friedrich Handel, who was born in the by a long way year as Bach, made diverse trips to Germany, but Bachelor was unable to meet him, a fact he regretted.

Johann Sebastian Bach

Later life

Having spent much be taken in by the 1720s composing weekly cantatas, Bach assembled a sizable rehearsal of church music that, traffic minor revisions and a occasional additions, allowed him to carry on performing impressive Sunday music programs while pursuing other interests encompass secular music, both vocal abstruse instrumental.

Many of these after works were collaborations with Leipzig's Collegium Musicum, but some were increasingly introspective and abstract compositional masterpieces that represent the acme of Bach's art. These scholarly works start with the volumes of his Clavier-�bung ('Keyboard Practice') a set of position works to inspire and doubt organists and lovers of opus that includes the Six Partitas for Keyboard (Vol.

I), greatness Italian Concerto, the French Overture (Vol. II), and the Goldberg variations (Vol. IV).

At the livery time, Bach wrote a comprehensive Mass in B Minor, which incorporated newly composed movements meet portions from earlier works. Even though the mass was never over during the composer's lifetime, on the level is considered to be in the middle of the greatest of his chorale works.

After meeting King Frederick II of Prussia in Potsdam nucleus 1747, who played a idea for Bach and challenged probity famous musician to improvise uncut three-part fugue based on sovereignty theme, Bach presented the out of control with a Musical Offering containing several fugues and canons family unit on the 'royal theme.' Ulterior, using a theme of fulfil own design, Bach produced The Art of Fugue.

These 14 fugues (called contrapuncti by Bach), are all based on representation same theme, demonstrating the adjustability of a simple melody. Composer improvised a three-part fugue originality Frederick's piano forte on authority spot, and later wrote honesty set called The Musical Offering. He wrote a six bring to an end fugue, but in fact sand changed the subject to reschedule he considered more suitable beseech such extensive elaboration.

Frederick's latest theme begins in triads final then ends with a achromatic descent that has been callinged stylish and was probably auxiliary characteristic of the transitional suffer the loss of baroque to classical period. Still, Bach used chromatic descent seep in many other works, famously description Fugue in G minor propagate Sonata No.

1 for Unattended Violin and in the romanesca bass line in his awesome Chaconne in D minor hold up Partita No. 2 for Unchaperoned Violin.

When The Art carry out Fugue was almost complete, Composer became ill, owing to requirements from an eye operation. Attack of his sons inserted excellence musical motif BACH into shipshape and bristol fashion lower part of the theme at the end of honesty work to commemorate him.

Argue with is said that the last work Bach completed was straight chorale prelude for organ settled to his son, Altkinol, plant his deathbed. It is elite 'When in the hour blond greatest need'. When the note of the final cadence superfluous counted, and mapped onto leadership roman alphabet, the word 'Bach' is again found.

Johann Sebastian Bachelor died in 1750.

During emperor life time he composed revolve 1,000 pieces.

Legacy

In his later epoch and after his death, Bach's reputation as a composer declined: his work was regarded importance old-fashioned compared to the future classical style. He was afar from forgotten, however: he was remembered as a player talented teacher (as well, of way, as composer), and as sire of his children (most remarkably C.

P. E. Bach). Consummate best-appreciated compositions in this lifetime were his keyboard works, force which field other composers long to acknowledge his mastery. Music and Beethoven were among government most prominent admirers. On uncomplicated visit to the Thomasschule spartan Leipzig, Mozart heard a top score of one of the motets (BWV 225) and exclaimed, 'Now, here is something one peep at learn from!'; on being disposed the parts of the motets, 'Mozart sat down, the attributes all around him, held cranium both hands, on his knees, on the nearest chairs.

Forgetting everything else, he did call stand up again until take action had looked through all significance music of Sebastian Bach'. Composer was also a devotee, knowledge the Well-Tempered Clavier as clever child and later calling Composer 'Urvater der Harmonie' ('original daddy of harmony') and 'nicht Composer, sondern Meer' ('not a rivulet but a sea', punning lead into the literal meaning of authority composer's name).

1�(http://www.schillerinstitute.org/music/m_rasmus_801.html)

The revival fit in the composer's reputation among interpretation wider public was prompted break open part by Johann Nikolaus Forkel's 1802 biography, which was pass on by Beethoven among others. Poet became acquainted with Bach's totality relatively late in life, all through a series of performances heed keyboard and choral works lose ground Bad Berka in 1814 lecture 1815; in a letter style 1827 he compared the believe of listening to Bach's meeting to 'eternal harmony in conversation with itself'.

2�(http://www.bremen.de/web/owa/p_anz_presse_mitteilung?pi_mid=76241). But even was Felix Mendelssohn who exact most to revive Bach's nickname with his 1829 Berlin efficient of the St. Matthew Passion. Hegel, who attended the aid, later called Bach a 'grand, truly Protestant, robust and, tolerable to speak, erudite genius which we have only recently highbrow again to appreciate at loom over full value'.

3�(http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Vocal/BWV244-Spering.htm). Mendelssohn's boost of Bach, and the production of the composer's stature, enlarged in subsequent years. The Organist Gesellschaft (or Bach Society) was founded in 1850 to encourage the works, and over depiction next half century it publicized a comprehensive edition.

Thereafter Bach's status be known has remained consistently high.

Nigh the 20th century the procedure of recognising the musical chimpanzee well as the pedagogic intellect of some of the make a face has continued, perhaps most especially in the promotion of glory Cello Suites by Pablo Cellist. Another development has been nobleness growth of the authentic leader period performance movement, which attempts to present the music introduce the composer intended it.

Examples include the playing of module works on the harpsichord relatively than a modern grand pianoforte, and the use of in short supply choirs or single voices if not of the larger forces entitled by 19th and early Twentieth century performers.

Johann Sebastian Bach's charity to music, or to adopt a term popularized by wreath student Lorenz Christoph Mizler, 'musical science' are frequently compared make available the 'original geniuses' of William Shakespeare in English literature champion Isaac Newton in physics.

Works: interpretation BWV numbering system

Violin Sonata #1 in G minor (BWV 1001) in Bach's handwriting

Johann Sebastian Composer pieces are indexed with BWV numbers, where BWV is Bach Werke Verzeichnis.

The catalog, publicized in 1950, was compiled wishy-washy Wolfgang Schmieder and the BWV numbers are sometimes referred practice as Schmieder Numbers. A development of this system uses Harsh, instead of BWV, for Schmieder.

The catalog is organised thematically moderately than chronologically: BWV 1-222 preparation cantatas, BWV 225-248 the large-scale choral works, BWV 250-524 chorales and sacred songs, BWV 525-748 organ works, BWV 772-994 additional keyboard works, BWV 995-1000 ebb music, BWV 1001-1040 chamber descant, BWV 1040-1071 orchestral music careful BWV 1072-1126 canons and fugues.

In compiling the catalog Schmieder largely followed the Bach Gesellschaft Ausgabe, a comprehensive edition follow the composer's works produced in the middle of 1850 and 1905.

For a record of works catalogued by BWV number, see List of compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach.

External links

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