Was Bach Born Into a Family of Lutheran Ministers
J.S. Bach was a German composer, organist and violinist. During his lifetime, he worked as a teacher and organist and was a prolific composer of choral works, concertos and preludes. Bach is widely regarded as one of the greatest classical composers of all time. His greatest works include:
- Choral 'passions' such as St Matthew Passion, St John Passion
- Mass in B Pocket-size
- Organ works – Toccata and Fugue for organ in D pocket-sized
- Brandenburg Concertos, esp. No.3 and No.5
- Violin Concertos
- Goldberg Variations (pianoforte)
- Well-tempered Clavier (48 Preludes and Fugues)
Early on Life
J.S Bach was built-in on 31 March 1685 in Eisenach, Saxe-Eisenach (modern-day Deutschland) to a musical family unit. His father (Johann Ambrosius Bach) was the director of the local boondocks musicians.
Anile only ten, the young Bach lost both his parents and was brought up past his oldest Brother Johann Christoph. His blood brother was an organist at a local church building, and he taught the young Back how to play the clavichord. Living with his eldest blood brother also enabled Bach to gain access to sheet music, which he would pore over and copy for his own access.
Bach was a skilful student both academically and musically; he was said to have an 'an uncommonly fine treble phonation'. When he was 14, he attained a scholarship to the prestigious St Michael's Schoolhouse in Luneburg. Luneburg was a leading cultural centre of Europe and studying there gave Bach admission to new composers and likewise people from the leading social circles of Germany. In detail, Bach was influenced past the style of the organist George Böhm.
Weimar
On leaving school in 1703, Bach was appointed to be court musician in the chapel of Duke Johann Ernst in Weimar. Here his reputation as an organist grew. But, despite his musical talents, Bach was oft at loggerheads with his employer because Bach was interested in travelling around and concentrating on composing rather than other duties. Despite his musical flair, the authorities were not happy with the hot-headed Bach. Throughout his life, Bach would frequently come into disharmonize with his employers; Bach was frustrated at not having fourth dimension to compose and having inadequate choirs to deal with. However, his growing reputation equally organist enabled him to keep getting expert offers.
In 1706, he was sacked, just Bach was able to gain an improved position at St. Blasius in Muhlhausen. Here he married Maria Barbara Bach, a second cousin. They had seven children. After two years in Muhlhausen, Bach moved back to Weimar, where he gained a post of director of music at the ducal courtroom.
Here, Bach was able to devote more time to composing. Too he became influenced by Italian composers, such as Vivaldi and Torelli. Bach incorporated aspects of the Italian style into his growing repertoire of compositions. He composed an extensive array of fugues and preludes which were published as the "Well-Tempered Clavier" – a range of compositions containing a fugue and prelude in every minor and major fundamental.
Bach stayed in Weimar for nine years, before leaving after deteriorating relationships with his employers. Court records suggest, Bach was imprisoned for iv weeks due to his stubbornness and the dispute with his employers.
In 1717, Bach moved to Kothen where he enjoyed the patronage of Prince Leopold of Anhalt Kothen. After Maria, his first wife, suddenly died in 1720, he got re-married a yr later to Anna Wilcke, a immature singer, 17 years Bach'south junior. They had at least 13 children, many of whom went on to become significant musicians in their ain correct.
Leipzig
Bach's next appointment, was perhaps his most pregnant. He was appointed Director of Music at the main churches of Leipzig, and the University of Leipzig. His post also entailed educational activity Latin to young students (a job he frequently delegated), and he was also to produce a cantata for Dominicus services. Bach often performed his ain compositions. He worked well into the night, despite the noise from the unruly students. It was far from ideal conditions for a composer, only Bach was remarkably prolific, despite his busy schedule and being the father to several children.
In 1729, he also took the directorship of a secular musical ensemble. This encouraged him to broaden his compositions away from purely church music.
In 1733, Bach composed, what is widely considered to be his greatest work – Mass in B Minor. A choral work of unprecedented imagination and musical intricacy. Bach was a devout Lutheran Christian and his religious works are the virtually pregnant part of his canon. At that place is a rich religious devotion in his works, specially the Passions of Matthew and St John.
Musical legacy of Bach
Bach is regarded as the pinnacle of the Baroque period. His music is famous for its skill in counterpoint – this involves playing different melodies at once to compose music with several layers on top of each other. His works too take a very strong, dynamic energy, particularly his compositions for the organ. He also took simple melodies and wove a very tight score effectually a frequently repeated theme, with slight variations. Often his music was accounted too radical and revolutionary for some church building figures. The Lutheran tradition was a reaction to the ornamentalism of Catholicism, many of Bach'due south pastors believed music should exist simple. Bach believed his music was an opportunity to highlight '… the glory of God'., and in the case of the Passions – give the audition an emotive and real experience of the gospels. Bach'due south musical radicalism was one reason he wasn't appreciated so much as a composer in his own time. Though Bach could at least claim the support of Martin Luther, who said music was very important to religious faith.
Towards the stop of his life, Dorsum developed bad eyesight, and a British surgeon made an unsuccessful attempt to heal his sight. He died presently after on 28 July 1750, at the age of 65.
Throughout his life, Bach learnt from a broad range of musical sources and re-invigorated these diverse influences with his own developments and innovations. During his lifetime, Bach was regarded equally a great organist and instructor. One contemporary wrote of Bach'south organ playing
'His feet seemed to wing beyond the pedals as if they were winged, and mighty sounds filled the church building'.
– Constantin Bellermann
Merely his musical compositions were not ever highly regarded. For a long time, his reputation every bit a composer was minimal. Withal, from the mid-Nineteenth Century, his musical works were increasingly performed to disquisitional acclamation. In particular, Felix Mendelssohn's performance of St Matthew's Passion was an of import turning point in the reputation of Bach. In the Twentieth Century, Pablo Casals popularised Bach'southward Cello Suites and would play his favourite Bach pieces every day.
Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan."Biography of J.Due south.Bach", Oxford, Great britainworld wide web.biographyonline.internet, Published sixteen November. 2013. Terminal updated x February 2018.
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