Bach Research Paper

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.

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German organist, composer, and musical scholar of the Baroque period, and is almost universally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time. His works, noted for their intellectual depth, technical command, and artistic beauty, have provided inspiration to nearly every musician after him, from Mozart to Schoenberg.

Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany in 1685, as the youngest of eight children. Bach was a product of one of the greatest musical family’s, and would become one of the most influenceial composers of all time. Bach lived in the heart of the reformation era and believe that all music should be to the glory of God and for the recreation of the mind. His father was a great trumpeter/violinist; his brothers were organists and keyboarders, to which Bach drew most of his influence and education. Bach was a member of the Lutheran faith and a great fan of the works and beliefs of Martin Luther. Bach tried to give depth and color to church music as he successfully added dimension to God’s word.

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.

learning and inner peace are both changes that one can have help to achieve with

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

Johann Sebastian Bach was born on March 21st 1685. He is the son of Johann Ambrosius. For many years, members of the Bach family had held positions such as organists, town instrumentalists, or Cantors.

The musical lives of Claude Debussy and Johann Sebastian Bach were anything but lackluster. They each lived fascinating and musically fulfilling lives, one having grown up within a well-known musically talented family and the other growing up in a poverty-stricken city. Both composers became especially successful within their musical careers, careers in which changed the course of history in the musical world. Their success ensued not without challenges and teachings, in which influence their music in many ways. Both composers you could say are on either side of the spectrum when it comes to music, one being extremely non-traditional and the other being exceedingly “old-fashion” even for his time. Although

Before actually going into the analysis of the actual piece itself, background information would be helpful. The composition was written by Bach, and it is part of the sonatas and partitas for solo violin. For this example, Partita II in d minor, movement I, Allemanda, will be discussed. Allemanda, sometimes spelled allemande, derives from German and simply means “dance.” While there are various tempos used, this movement is usually fast, around 120 beats per minute.

Although the clavichordf ell into relativeo bscurityb y the end of the nineteenthc en-tury,it had a long and distinguishedh istoryd atingb ack to the late Middle Ages. Bach biog-rapherJ ohann Forkel claimed that the clavichord was Johann Sebastian Bach's preferred instrument; he was attractedb y its abilityt o communicaten uances and subtleties, and con-sideredi t to be farm ore expressivet han the harpsichord. Bach was not alone in his admira-tion for the clavichord; similar sentiments were expressed by numerous composers, performers,an d music lovers over those centuries,m any of whom are quoted in this vol-ume. "Intimate"c omes to mind as a way of describingt he sound of a clavichord. At its loud-est the sound would be described as soft,a nd its softests ounds are barely audible.

J.S. Bach was born into a stylistic period called the ‘Baroque’ period. This period was one of decorative, lavish extravagance in relation to art, architecture and music. Similar to architecture at this time, Bach’s music was extremely ornate with heavy embellishments and was somewhat characterised by its ornamentation yet still had a strict organisation of insistent rhythms. “Thus, music of the Baroque period is somewhat paradoxical in that, while it is extravagantly ornate and emotionally expressive, it still manages to be rigorously controlled and systematic.”

propulsive. The periodic approach creates a larger whole unit from smaller units when creating a melodic line. It originates in dance music, such as formal dances consisting of repeated steps like the waltz, the tango, and more. The smaller units of the periodic phase structure come from harmony and rhythm. The basic rhythmic pattern of a periodic phase structure is repeated in order to form greater sub-units that make up a larger whole unit. While propulsive phase structure is similar to a long thread. The propulsive technique can be found in the opening of Bach’s Fifth Brandenburg Concerto as well as the fugal section of the overture to Handel’s Giulio Cesare, and the fugues in J. S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. Baroque examples of periodic

During the Renaissance the focus shifted on Classical Antiquity (hence the name) and people tried emulate that in new art and architecture. While the emphases, was still on formality and hierarchy just like during the Baroque, the focus was more on clear division, strong contrast, and a simpler style, unlike the complex, ornamental style of the Baroque. In simple terms, the polyphony gave way to a single melody accompanied by subordinate harmony. Revealing the shift in modulation, such as between the first and second theme of a sonata became increasingly important. The knowledge of the older musicians with their technical expertise was needed, but the newer style came from the younger musicians. C.P.E. Bach proved a great combination of these

Talents vary in all human beings but a small fraction of those talents are noticed and are put into good use, which benefits not only the history of the subject of his or her talent, but also the person's audience. According to Katherine Charlton, “A fugue is based on the polyphonic development of a melody called the subject. J.S. Bach was one of those talented people who was not just a composer, but also composed works in fugue that he is most famous for because of the quality of the works, which that are still performed today. Fugues were not a piece of cake, but he made it seem effortless on his fugues even though they were difficult to perform. J.S Bach brought his uniqueness and special composing talents when creating his fugues, including

The title Clavierubung means keyboard study or exercise, a term that probably referred both to the keyboard skill of the performer and the inventive powers of the composer. Bach’s full title added that the music was to “refresh the spirits of music lovers, omitting the pedagogic implications of the candid instruction” that headed the title of the inventions and sinfonias. The Clavierubung consists of four major parts: