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Bach in 1748 by Elias Gottlob Haussmann
Johann Sebastian Bach (31 March 1685 inEisenach – 28 July 1750 inLeipzig; pronouncedBAHK) was a Germancomposer, who was more known as anorganist in his time. He lived in the last part of theBaroque period. He is most famous for his workToccata and Fugue in D Minor,St. Matthew Passion,St. John Passion,Mass in B minor, and theBrandenburg Concertos. He spent several years working at courts ofnoblemen. Here he wrote most of hischamber music andorchestral music. Most of his life, however, he worked in achurch where he was expected to write church music. Bach wrote almost every kind of music exceptopera. During the last part of his life most composers were writing in a new style called theClassical style, but Bach always wrote in the Baroque style. That made some people at the time think he was old-fashioned, but today we know that his work is the very best of Baroque music. Along withMozart andBeethoven, Bach is regarded as one of the greatest composers who has ever lived.
When he was fifteen, he went to the small town ofLüneburg. At first he sangtreble in the choir and was said to have a very fine treble voice, but his voice very soon got lower, so he made himself useful playing instruments. He learned by listening to famous organists like Reincken (1623–1722) andDietrich Buxtehude (1637–1707). Bach got his first job in 1703 in Arnstadt. It was a well-paid job for a young boy who was 18 years old. There was a new organ in the church, and Bach already knew a lot about organ building as well as being a brilliant organist. They asked him to examine the new organ, and then they offered him a job. Bach spent four years as organist there. He composed some organ works. Unfortunately, thecongregation were not musical enough to like it. They did not understand theornamental notes he added to thehymn tunes. Bach got rather fed up with the priests who were always complaining about it, so he resigned and took another job in Mühlhausen, not far away. After a year there, he gave up that job and went to a big town calledWeimar.
Johann Sebastian was made organist to the Duke ofSaxe-Weimar. At the Duke’s court there was achapel with an organ. Bach composed many of his great organ works at this time. He became very famous as an organist and was invited to play in other big churches and to give advice on organ building. He was extremely good atimprovisation. On one occasion he was inDresden at the same time as a French organist named Louis Marchant. There was going to be acompetition between the two men to see who was better at improvisation. Bach was practicing the day before and Marchant heard him. He realized that Bach would win, so he left.
In 1714 theDuke made BachKonzertmeister (Concertmaster, a job that paid more money). He had to writecantatas for church services. In 1717 he was offered a job in the town of Cöthen, where he would earn an even better salary. The Duke was angry and did not want him to go, but Bach insisted. So the Duke put Bach inprison for a month. In the end, he had to let him go.
At Cöthen, Bach worked for Prince Leopold. The Prince was very musical and a wonderful man to work for. Bach wasKapellmeister (Director of Music) and was treated well. The organ was not very good, and it was not used much, so Bach did not write any organ music during this period. The Duke had an orchestra, and Bach was in charge. Nearly all Bach’s orchestral works were written in Cöthen: theBrandenburg Concertos, the violin concertos, the orchestral suites, the solo music forviolin and forcello, and a lot of keyboard music forharpsichord orclavichord.
During 1719, the great composerGeorge Frideric Handel, who had moved toEngland, came to Germany to visit his mother. Bach wanted to meet Handel, who was only 30km away, but these two famous musicians never met. Handel wanted to spend his limited time in Germany with his mother who was old and frail, knowing that it would be the last time he would see her.
Bach’s first wife,Maria Barbara Bach, died in 1720. The couple had seven children. Soon afterwards, he married Anna Magdalena with whom he had another thirteen children. However, several of his children died young.
In 1723 Bach moved toLeipzig to take the job ofCantor at theSt Thomas Church, a very large church in the town. AsCantor he was in charge of all the music, both at St Thomas and at another church nearby. He also had to compose music for the town. It was an excellent job, and more secure than being at a court. The schools were good for his sons. Bach stayed in Leipzig until his death. He loved his job most of the time and worked very hard. He composed manycantatas for the church services. These services were very long, lasting about three hours. Many of the cantatas he wrote last about 30 minutes. He had assistants to play the organ. Bach himself directed the choir and the orchestra. There were probably 16 singers in the choir and 18 players in the orchestra. He wrote theSt Matthew Passion and theSt John Passion. Both these works, which are very long, tell the story ofJesus dying on thecross. They are among the most famous pieces of music ever written. He also wrote cantatas for special occasions such asweddings orfunerals.
Life was not always easy, and sometimes there were arguments with the people who ruled the church. The sub-deacon wanted to choose some of thehymns, but this was theCantor’s job. Bach was a sensible man, and he managed to get his way without makingenemies. On another occasion he argued with the headmaster of the school (Bach had to do some teaching at the church school) about who was allowed to choose the choir section leaders. This actually went to court, and Bach won the case.
Bach often made journeys to other towns. In 1747 he visited the court of Prussian KingFrederick the Great nearBerlin. The king, a music lover, gave Bach a theme to improvise from on the harpsichord. Bach sat down and improvised a fugue using this theme. Later Bach wrote a very long composition forflute, violin and harpsichord with celloaccompaniment, in many movements, all based on this theme. At the end, the theme is heard in 5 of the 6 voices. Bach called itThe Musical Offering and he sent it to the king.
Bach wrote manyfugues, eventually he decided to write a collection calledThe Art of Fugue. His plan was to publish it, but he died before he could finish it (his son later published it in his honor, as Bach's last published piece). In the last year or two of his life, he becameblind in spite of twoeye operations. In the 19th century more people became interested in Bach, and many of his works were published after he had been dead more than a hundred years.
