Johann Sebastian Bach was born on March 21, 1685 in Eisenach
to a family of musicians. Bach's father, Johann Ambrosius, was director of the
Stadtpfeifer (town musicians) and many of his uncles were professional
musicians. His father taught him to play violin and harpsichord while his
uncle, Johann Christoph, introduced him to the organ.
In 1694, Bach's mother died followed by his father a mere
eight months later. He then moved in with his older brother who was church
organist in the nearby town of Ohrdruf. Here Bach was introduced to the works
of the great South German composers such as Pachabel, as well as that of French
and Italian composers, and received valuable instruction from his brother. It
is said that Bach would make handwritten copies of his brother's music scores
by candlelight though he had been forbidden to do so since scores were
expensive at the time. A few years later, at the age of 14, Bach received a
choir scholarship to the famous St. Michael's School in Lüneberg. While
studying in Lüneberg, Bach was likely exposed to a wider range of European
culture and became well-grounded in Latin, theology and history.
After graduating, Bach took up his first post in 1703 as a
court musician in the chapel of Duke Johann Ernst in Weimar. Though it's
unclear exactly what Bach's duties were in Weimar, his reputation nevertheless
as a keyboardist rapidly spread. He was soon invited to Arnstadt to give an
inaugural recital on the newly constructed organ at St. Boniface's Church. In August
of the same year, he accepted the position of organist at that church. His
duties were light and allowed him much time for composition. It was also during
his time at Arnstadt that Bach made his famous journeys to Lübeck, 250 miles
away, to hear the great organ master Dietrich Buxtehude.
Following a brief time as organist at St. Blasius's in
Mühlhausen, where he also married his first wife Maria Barbara, Bach accepted
the post of court organist and concertmaster at the ducal court in Weimar. By
this time, Bach had both the command of his technique and the resources
available for composition. Among the many compositions for keyboard and
orchestra that came from Bach's Weimar period, the most important are quite
possibly the prelude and fugues that ultimately would make up the Well-Tempered
Clavier.
In 1717, Bach moved to Köthen after accepting the post of Kapellmeister at the court of
Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen
. The prince was a musican himself and highly appreciated Bach's talents. Bach
was more or less free to compose as he wished. As the prince was a Calvinist,
he did not utilize elaborate music in worship and, consequently, much of Bach's
music from this time is secular. In July 1720, while traveling with the prince,
Bach received word that his wife had suddenly died. The following year, he met
a talented young soprano, Anna Magdalena Wilcke, who performed at the court at
Köthen. They married later that year on December 3.
Bach's most prestigious post came when he accepted the
position of Cantor of Thomasschule in Leipzig. His main duties consisted of
training the students of the Thomasschule in singing and to provide weekly
music for Leipzig's two main churches—St. Thomas and St. Nicholas. As a result
and in a bewildering display of creativity, Bach composed up to five annul
cantata cycles during his first six years in Leipzig. Wishing to expand his
activities beyond his prescribed duties, in 1729 Bach took over the Collegium
Musicum, founded by Georg Phillip Telemann in 1701. The society gave two
concerts a week and it is for them that many of Bach's works from 1730s and
1740s were composed.
Bach's final works from his Leipzig period are, beyond
doubt, his greatest. He composed the Kyrie and Gloria that would
later form part of the great Mass in B minor and presented it to the
King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and Elector of Saxony in 1733. Later,
the remaining movements of the mass were added and today it is regarded as the
foremost musical setting of the Roman Catholic service. Following a visit in
1747 to the court of Frederick II of Prussia in Potsdam were he had been
challenged by the king to improvise a fugue on a theme of the king's choosing,
Bach composed the Musical Offering. He later presented the work to the
king which included fugues, canons and a trio based on the king's melody. Left
unfinished at his death, Bach's Art of Fugue was his last contribution
to the form he so greatly transformed. This remarkable collection of 18 fugues
and canons based on a single subject is widely regarded as the pinnacle of
contrapuntal art.
It is possible that Bach's health was declining as early as
1749. He gradually went blind after an unsuccessful operation to correct his
vision. Bach died on July 28, 1750.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Biography
Johann Sebastian Bach was born on March 21, 1685 in Eisenach to a family of musicians. Bach's father, Johann Ambrosius, was director of the Stadtpfeifer (town musicians) and many of his uncles were professional musicians. His father taught him to play violin and harpsichord while his uncle, Johann Christoph, introduced him to the organ.In 1694, Bach's mother died followed by his father a mere eight months later. He then moved in with his older brother who was church organist in the nearby town of Ohrdruf. Here Bach was introduced to the works of the great South German composers such as Pachabel, as well as that of French and Italian composers, and received valuable instruction from his brother. It is said that Bach would make handwritten copies of his brother's music scores by candlelight though he had been forbidden to do so since scores were expensive at the time. A few years later, at the age of 14, Bach received a choir scholarship to the famous St. Michael's School in Lüneberg. While studying in Lüneberg, Bach was likely exposed to a wider range of European culture and became well-grounded in Latin, theology and history.
After graduating, Bach took up his first post in 1703 as a court musician in the chapel of Duke Johann Ernst in Weimar. Though it's unclear exactly what Bach's duties were in Weimar, his reputation nevertheless as a keyboardist rapidly spread. He was soon invited to Arnstadt to give an inaugural recital on the newly constructed organ at St. Boniface's Church. In August of the same year, he accepted the position of organist at that church. His duties were light and allowed him much time for composition. It was also during his time at Arnstadt that Bach made his famous journeys to Lübeck, 250 miles away, to hear the great organ master Dietrich Buxtehude.
Following a brief time as organist at St. Blasius's in Mühlhausen, where he also married his first wife Maria Barbara, Bach accepted the post of court organist and concertmaster at the ducal court in Weimar. By this time, Bach had both the command of his technique and the resources available for composition. Among the many compositions for keyboard and orchestra that came from Bach's Weimar period, the most important are quite possibly the prelude and fugues that ultimately would make up the Well-Tempered Clavier.
In 1717, Bach moved to Köthen after accepting the post of Kapellmeister at the court of Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen . The prince was a musican himself and highly appreciated Bach's talents. Bach was more or less free to compose as he wished. As the prince was a Calvinist, he did not utilize elaborate music in worship and, consequently, much of Bach's music from this time is secular. In July 1720, while traveling with the prince, Bach received word that his wife had suddenly died. The following year, he met a talented young soprano, Anna Magdalena Wilcke, who performed at the court at Köthen. They married later that year on December 3.
Bach's most prestigious post came when he accepted the position of Cantor of Thomasschule in Leipzig. His main duties consisted of training the students of the Thomasschule in singing and to provide weekly music for Leipzig's two main churches—St. Thomas and St. Nicholas. As a result and in a bewildering display of creativity, Bach composed up to five annul cantata cycles during his first six years in Leipzig. Wishing to expand his activities beyond his prescribed duties, in 1729 Bach took over the Collegium Musicum, founded by Georg Phillip Telemann in 1701. The society gave two concerts a week and it is for them that many of Bach's works from 1730s and 1740s were composed.
Bach's final works from his Leipzig period are, beyond doubt, his greatest. He composed the Kyrie and Gloria that would later form part of the great Mass in B minor and presented it to the King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and Elector of Saxony in 1733. Later, the remaining movements of the mass were added and today it is regarded as the foremost musical setting of the Roman Catholic service. Following a visit in 1747 to the court of Frederick II of Prussia in Potsdam were he had been challenged by the king to improvise a fugue on a theme of the king's choosing, Bach composed the Musical Offering. He later presented the work to the king which included fugues, canons and a trio based on the king's melody. Left unfinished at his death, Bach's Art of Fugue was his last contribution to the form he so greatly transformed. This remarkable collection of 18 fugues and canons based on a single subject is widely regarded as the pinnacle of contrapuntal art.
It is possible that Bach's health was declining as early as 1749. He gradually went blind after an unsuccessful operation to correct his vision. Bach died on July 28, 1750.