Comparing Handel And Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was unlike most other composers of his time. “He wrote music for the glory of God, and to satisfy his own burning curiosity, not for future fame.” During the 1700s, people knew him as a talented musician, not as a composer, as we do today. He never left his country to pursue bigger and better things. Bach was content as long as he could play music. Traditions were very important to him. He wanted to carry on the musical tradition of his family, and never opted to change the traditional ways of composing, as did most composers. Bach’s work is vast and unique.

George Frideric Handel was born in Halle, Germany on February 23, 1685. He expressed an interest in music at an early age. While his mother encouraged this love of music, his father, George Handel, was not supportive of him pursuing music as a career, and pushed him towards a career in law. However, when Handel was 9, a duke heard him playing the organ and persuaded his father to let Handel study under Friedrich Zachow (the organist at the Liebfrauenkirche at Halle) who instructed him in the organ as well as composing. Handels’ father died when he was 12, leaving him as the only son of that marriage. This put more responsibility on Handel to maintain his family, but it also relieved most of the objection of his music studies. In

Many musical scholars believe that J. S. Bach and G. F. Handel are the two most important, influential composers of the Baroque period. Both of these men were born in Germany in 1685, and since they came into existence around the same time, they share some similarities. As an introductory statement, Bach and Handel were born into two very different families. Handel did not come from a musical family; his father wanted him to study law. By age nine, his talent was too obvious for his father to ignore and Handel began to study with a local organist and composer. On the contrary, Bach came from a long line of musicians. Bach also had four sons which became gifted composers, in their own right. Bach, like Handel, also started as an organist

When thinking of composers, whose works changed the world of music forever, many names may come to mind. Among those on that list, both Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel are figures whose effect on music has been felt worldwide. Born in the same year, these composers have much in common and many differences that illustrate their importance to their era and music as we see it today. Their individualism and creativity influenced much of their time and together, their works defined the Baroque Period as we know it today.

Not only is George Frideric Handel's Water Music extraordinarily beautiful, it also helped to establish the orchestral suite as a legitimate art form. Written to be performed outside instead of in a theater, it remains one of the most outstanding compositions in Handel's catalogue. Even though it is somewhat overplayed, the Water Music continues to be a very popular work of art. By nature of the venue this great work was to be performed in, Handel had to be very original in orchestration. His strong usage of woodwinds and percussion influenced countless composers such as the wind music of Mozart, Holst, Strauss, Beethoven, Vaughn-Williams, and even Stravinsky. Handel's music proved that he

Bach’s complex compositional style incorporates religious and numerological symbols that fit perfectly together in a puzzle of musical code. Demanding unfaltering facility in dexterity, precise pitch, particularly in the multiple stoppings, as well as sensitivity to implied polyphonic and harmonic textures. These exceptional works may be the closest thing we have to a “perfect” composition, so why is it that musicians have drastically different alterations and interpretations of his works? It is as if quality, intensity, duration, and even pitch are subject to the performer’s adaptation. By mapping out these alterations performers make to Bach’s music, it becomes possible to map out their respective musical personalities.

S. Bach, G. F. Handel, and Domenico Scarlatti. Antonio Vivaldi, Claudio Monteverdi, Couperin, Jean-Phillippe Rameau and Jean-Baptiste Lully are other popular names in the Baroque era. Each composer specialises in different instrument compositions and techniques. Out of all the names mentioned, J. S. Bach remains to this day, one the greatest composers of both the Baroque era and all-time. Each of these composers specialise in different areas or compositions and instruments. Working extensively with keyboard instruments such as the organ and harpsichord, a few of J. S. Bach’s well-known compositions include his Brandenburg Concertos, Goldberg Variations, and St. Matthew’s Passion. G. F. Handel himself composed Italian operas, oratorios, anthems, and organ concertos. His most popular work of all-time is the “Hallelujah” chorus from the oratorio Messiah, which went on to become the most popular Baroque work and considered as a choice of piece often performed in Christmas time. Domenico Scarlatti on the other hand composed in a number of musical forms, but is best known for composing 555 keyboard sonatas.

Johann Sebastian Bach was a composer born on March 21, 1685 in Germany during the Baroque period. The Baroque period was a time during history when a certain style of European architecture, music, and art flourished there. Music during that specific time were often focused on lower and higher tones. Bach was able to play the organ, violin, viola, and harpsichord. As a result, he is considered one of the greatest composers of Western history, especially back in his day. Bach was influenced by his family of many musicians. For example, his father Johann Ambrosius Bach taught him how to play the violin and harpsichord, while his uncle had taught him to play the organ.

Handel and Bach are considered two of the greatest composers of all time. However, when comparing the output of these two musicians, the diversity manifest in music in the era when they wrote immediately becomes apparent. Handel, although he used religious subject matter, is usually characterized as fundamentally a 'secular' composer. He composed for the concert hall, not the church, and primarily as a result of royal commissions. His music is strident, powerful, and large in scope. It is designed to entertain, rather than to spur contemplation (The pure power of Handel's 'Hallelujah Chorus', NPR, 2008). Bach, in contrast, often created music designed to be performed in sacred spaces. His music is more fluid and nuanced in style and designed more to spur contemplation and devotion rather than excite people's interest as a piece of entertainment.

     Among the influential composers of baroque music, there have been few who have contributed so much in talent, creativity, and style as Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach was a German organist and composer of the baroque era. Bach was born on March 21, 1685 in Eisenach, Thuringia and died July 28,1750. Bach revealed his feelings and his insights in his pieces. Bach’s mastery of all the major forms of baroque music (except opera) resulted not only from his genius talent, but also from his life long quest for knowledge. In some parts of Germany, the name, “Bach” became a synonym with the word, “musician.” Extremely talented in the art of baroque composition, Bach placed his heart, soul, and

Johann Sebastian Bach was born into a family of musicians. It was only natural for him to pick up an instrument and excel in it. His father taught him how to play the violin and harpsichord at a very young age. All of Bach’s uncles were professional musicians, one of them; Johann Christoph Bach introduced him to the organ. Bach hit a turning point in his life when both of his parents died at the age of ten years old. Bach’s older brother Johann Christoph Bach took him in and immediately expanded his knowledge in the world of music. He taught him how to play the clavichord and exposed him to great composers at the time. At the age of fourteen, Bach and his good friend George Erdmann were awarded a choral scholarship to the prestigious

Treatises from the baroque era attest that Handel and his contemporaries expected musicians and vocalists to improvise and add ornaments. This album follows that tradition but updates it to include influences of jazz and world music traditions. Although their use of ornaments may not conform with the baroque treatises, the idea of turning baroque music into jazz transforms the performer into a creator of fresh new music that

George Frederic Handel a man that loved to compose music. Born on February 23, 1685, Son of Georg and Dorothea Handel of Halle, Saxony, Germany. His father went to Martin Luther university of Halle, Wittenberg, and became a barber and a Surgeon. He was attending grammar school but he had to stop when his father died. His mother was a stay at home Mom who supported Georges Music career.

During the later years of his life Bach gradually withdrew inwards, producing some of the most profound statements of the baroque musical form. Bach’s creative energy was conserved for the highest flights of musical expression: the Mass in b

Born in 1685 to Georg and Dorothea Handel in Halle, Germany, George Frideric Handel showed a love for music at a very young age. His father, however, believed that being a musician was not an honorable, high-paying profession, and would not allow him to play any instruments. He wanted him to become a law student. With his mother’s help, George continued to practice without his father’s knowledge. He was a very talented keyboard player, and when he as 7, he performed before the duke and his court in Weissenfels. There, he met organist and composer Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow, who invited George to become his student. George’s disapproving father died when George was 11, and he continued to learn music.