Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach was born on March 21st, 1685 in Eisenach, Saxe-Eisenach, and pasted away on July 28th, 1750. Bach was a famous German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred music and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity. Although he did not introduce new forms, he enriched the prevailing German style with a robust contrapuntal technique, an unrivalled control of harmonic and motivic organisation, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France.

Revered for their intellectual depth, technical command and artistic beauty, Bach's works include the Brandenburg Concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Partitas, the Well-Tempered Clavier, the Mass in B minor, the St. Matthew Passion, the St. John Passion, the Magnificat, the Musical Offering, The Art of Fugue, the English and French Suites, the Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin, the Cello Suites, more than 200 surviving cantatas, and a similar number of organ works, including the famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, and the Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes, ''Organ Mass

Childhood
Johann Sebastian Bach was one of the children of Europe's great musical families. He was the child of Maria Elisabeth Lammerhirt and Johann Ambrosius Bach, the director of the town musicians. His father taught him the violin and the harpsichord. His uncles were all professional musicians, whose posts included church organists, court chamber musicians, and composers. One uncle, Johann Christoph Bach (1645–93), introduced him to the organ, and an older second cousin, Johann Ludwig Bach (1677–1731), was a well-known composer and violinist. Bach drafted a genealogy around 1735, titled "Origin of the musical Bach family".

Bach's mother died in 1694, and his father followed her footsteps and eight months later he also passed away. Bach, who was 10 at the time, moved in with his older brother, Johann Christoph Bach (1671-1721), the organist at Michaeliskirche, in Ohrdruf, Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. There he studied, performed, and copied music by candlelight, (His sight had been weak since youth. Bach, when he had stayed with his brother, taught him more music. Bach mastered those music pieces with the greatest ease. Bach asked his brother, Johann Christoph, if he could have more music to study but Christoph said Bach was to young and had to practice more before he was ready. Bach, was desperate and wanted new music badly, so, by moonlight, wrote every single piece down on parchment. For many nights he would do this, causing his early eyestrain), including own brother's, despite being forbidden to because scores were so valuable and private and blank ledger paper of that type was costly. He received valuable teaching from his brother though, who instructed him on the clavichord. J.C. Bach exposed him to the great composers of the day, including South German composers such as Johann Pachelbel (under who J.C. had studied with) and Johann Jakob Froberger; North German somposers; Frenchmen, including Jean-Baptiste Lully, Louis Marchand, Marin, Marais; and the Italian clavierist Girolamo Frescobaldi. Also during this time, he was taught theology, Latin, Greek, French, and Italian at the local gymnasium.

At the age of 14, Bach, along with his older school friend George Erdmann, was awarded a choral scholarship to study at the prestigious St. Michael's School in Lüneburg in the Principality of Lüneburg. Although it is not known for certain, the trip was likely taken mostly on foot. His two years there were critical in exposing him to a wider facet of European culture. In addition to singing in the choir he played the School's three-manual organ and harpsichords. He came into contact with sons of noblemen from northern Germany sent to the highly selective school to prepare for careers in other disciplines.

Although little supporting historical evidence exists at this time, it is almost certain that while in Lüneburg, Bach visited the Johanniskirche (Church of St. John) and heard (and possibly played) the church's famous organ (built in 1549 by Jasper Johannsen, and played by Georg Böhm). Given his musical talent, Bach had significant contact with prominent organists of the day in Lüneburg, most notably Böhm, but also including organists in nearby Hamburg, such as Johann Adam Reincken.

Weimar, Arnstadt, and Mühlhausen (1703–08)
In January 1703, shortly after graduating from St. Michael's and being turned down for the post of organist at Sangerhausen, Bach was appointed court musician in the chapel of Duke Johann Ernst in Weimar. His role there is unclear, but likely included menial, non-musical duties. During his seven-month tenure at Weimar, his reputation as a keyboardist spread so much that he was invited to inspect the new organ, and give the inaugural recital, at St. Boniface's Church in Arnstadt, located about 40 km southwest of Weimar. August 1703, he became the organist at St Boniface's, with light duties, a relatively generous salary, and a fine new organ tuned in the modern tempered system that allowed a wide range of keys to be used.

Despite strong family connections and a musically enthusiastic employer, tension built up between Bach and the authorities after several years in the post. Bach was dissatisfied with the standard of singers in the choir, while his employer was upset by his unauthorised absence from Arnstadt; Bach was gone for several months in 1705–06, to visit the great organist and composer Dieterich Buxtehude and his Abendmusiken at the Marienkirche in the northern city of Lübeck. The visit to Buxtehude involved a 400 kilometre (250 mi) journey on foot each way. The trip reinforced Buxtehude's style as a foundation for Bach's earlier works. Bach wanted to become amanuensis (assistant and successor) to Buxtehude, but did not want to marry his daughter, which was a condition for his appointment.

In 1706, Bach was offered a post as organist at St. Blasius's in Mühlhausen, which he took up the following year. It included significantly higher remuneration, improved conditions, and a better choir. Four months after arriving at Mühlhausen, Bach married Maria Barbara Bach, his second cousin. They had seven children, four of whom survived to adulthood, including Wilhelm Friedemann Bach and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach who both became important composers as well. Bach was able to convince the church and city government at Mühlhausen to fund an expensive renovation of the organ at St. Blasius's. Bach, in turn, wrote an elaborate, festive cantata—Gott ist mein König, BWV 71—for the inauguration of the new council in 1708. The council paid handsomely for its publication, and it was a major success.

Return to Weimar (1708-17)
In 1708, Bach left Mühlhausen, returning to Weimar this time as organist and concertmaster at the ducal court, where he had an opportunity to work with a large, well-funded contingent of professional musicians. Bach moved with his family into an apartment very close to the ducal palace. In the following year, their first child was born and Maria Barbara's elder, unmarried sister joined them. She remained to help run the household until her death in 1729.

Bach's time in Weimar was the start of a sustained period of composing keyboard and orchestral works. He attained the proficiency and confidence to extend the prevailing structures and to include influences from abroad. He learned to write dramatic openings and employ the dynamic motor-rhythms and harmonic schemes found in the music of Italians such as Antonio Vivaldi, Arcangelo Corelli, and Giuseppe Torelli.

Death
By 1740 Bach had lost a substantial part of his vision. (His sight had been weak since youth. Bach when he had stayed with his broher who was also a musician, his brother taught him more music. Bach mastered thous music pieces with the greatest ease. Bach asked his brother if he could have more music to study but his brother said he was to young and had to practice more before he was ready. Bach, by moonlight, wrote every single piece down on parchement. For many night he would do this, causing his early eyestrain). The problem-apparently cataracts-continued to worsen throughout the years until the composer finally conceded to two painful, unanesthetized operations on his eyes. They left him completely blind. he spent his last few months in a dark room dictating music to his son-in-law and his wife, Anna Magdalene Wulken, who often wrote out parts for his compositions. Bach died July 28, 1750 at the age of 65, 10 days after suffering a stroke.

Many thanks to Mendelssohn for rediscovering the beautiful music of Bach. Without his find, we would never have known about him.

One of the greatest composers, Johann Sebastian Bach, will forever be remembered in the hearts and minds of all to come. If only Bach was alive now, what a different world this would be.

Source

 * Johann Sebastian Bach