Essay on J.S. Bach

In addition, Bach was a virtuoso on the organ. He also served as an organ consultant, and composer of organ works, like toccatas, chorale preludes, and fugues. He had a reputation for having great creativity, and he was able to integrate many national styles into his works. Many of his works are said to have North German influences that were taught to Bach by Georg Bröhm. Bach also copied the works of many French and Italian composers in order to decipher their compositional languages. Later on, he arranged several violin concertos by Vivaldi for organ. Most experts of musical composition believe that the years, between 1708 and 1714, were his most productive. Within this period, he composed several preludes, fugues, and toccatas. During this span, Bach wrote the Little Organ Book, Orgelbüchlein. This book remains an unfinished collection of forty-nine short chorale preludes.

A perfect example of this can be seen in Arnstadt. Previous accounts of history claim that Bach was upset with the performance of the church choir for which he played for. He claimed that “the voices could never make the music soar to the sky as it should” (loosely translated). Here Bach realized the high level of music and perfectionism that he wanted. In 1707, at the age of 22, Bach moved on from Arnstadt to another organist job, this time at the St. Blasius Church in Muhlhausen. Once again he did not remain there too long, only a little over a year, when he moved again to Weimar where he accepted the position of head concertmaster and organist in the Ducal Chapel. It was here that Bach settled himself and began to compose the first collection of his finest early works which, included organ pieces and cantatas.

Johann Sebastian Bach was one of the most important figures in the Baroque era of music. His music was a large part of the Baroque era and contains many musical principles of the time. The question is, what specific ideas did Bach use in his music? Did he use different Baroque techniques based on what he was writing for? And how were these techniques used in his music? In this paper, I will discover what Baroque era techniques Bach used in some of his music, what kind of compositional models Bach used, and how Bach’s Great Eighteen organ chorales were received.

Most performers in his time lacked the facility to perform Bach’s vocal works. Even if they did, Vivaldi, Telemann and Handel, wrote pieces that were much simpler, popular and accessible to the average performers (Wolff, Bach: Essays on his Life and Music 374-375). This problem was amplified by Bach’s lack of effort to change this situation. Bach wrote in a period of growing rationalism. The devout Protestant religious beliefs which characterized Bach’s music also fell out of fashion in this period (Denis Arnold, "Bach," New Oxford Companion to Music, 1983 ed). Only a small number of his compositions were printed in his lifetime possess by friends and family Wolff, Bach: Essays on his Life and Music,371.) This made the situation worse. As his works were dispersed among his inheritors and many were lost or almost inaccessible (Schweitzer, J.S. Bach, 234). A large amount of Bach’s work that were published fell out of print. As well as, the only large accessible collections of his music were held by Bach’s pupil Kirnberger in Berlin and by Baron van Swieten in Vienna (Wolfgang Domling, "The Bach Tradition of the 19th and 20th Centuries," in Johann Sebastian Bach: Life, Times and Influence, ed. Barbara Schwendowius and Wolfgang Domling, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984),

Bach held various positions: court violinist, chamber musician, and organist. Bach had his first appointments at Arnstadt and Muhlhausen. During this period he wrote his first cantatas and a number of preludes and fugues. He also married Maria Barbara, a church choir singer. His first major appointment was as court organist and chamber musician to the Duke of Weimar. In Weimar he composed cantatas, and wrote much organ music for the church. Bach's first wife died and he remarried Anna Magdalena Wilcke, who was a singer and also the daughter of a court musician. Bach's last appointment was as Cantor of St. Thomas School in Leipzig.( 1964-2014 M&L Sartorius "Johann Sebastian Bach: a detailed informative biography") Bach's responsibilities included teaching, composing, directing choirs, and supervising the musical activities in several churches. He also was the director of a collegium music. Bach wrote the Goldberg Variations, Art of Fugue, and other important large-scale works during the Leipzig period. During this time Bach travelled to the court of Frederick the Great where his son CPE Bach became employed. JS Bach improvised on a theme provided by the king and this became

J.S. Bach, short for Johann Sebastian Bach, is a prominent composer during the Baroque Era. Bach was born in Eisenach, Thuringia, Germany on March 31, 1685. He is the youngest son of his parents, Johann Ambrosius Bach and Elizabeth Lammerhirt Bach. Because he came from seven generations of musicians, it was not unusual that Bach became a musician and composer himself. In fact, Bach’s father and brother are both church organist. Although Bach is well known for his organ skills, his musical career did not start with an organ. In fact, it started with violin lessons with

Johann Sebastian Bach is known as one of the greatest German composers of all time. He contributed a lot to the Enlightenment era (1685-1815). His music was used much for religious worship. His work is iconic because he was the “supreme master of counterpoint, allowing him to write music as the musical equivalent of textual ideas” (Bach, Johann Sebastian). He was orphaned at the age of ten and taken in by his brother, Johann Christoph. He took after his brother, and by 15, he was singing in the choir at St. Michaels Church. By 18, he was a violinist in the chamber orchestra of Duke Johann Ernst. He then left that church to be the church organist at Arnstadt instead. There, the church let Bach leave to study with Dietrich Buxtehude, a composer

When Bach was eight years old he went to the old Latin Grammar School. He was taught reading and writing, Latin grammar, and a great deal of scripture, both in Latin and German. The boys in the school formed the choir of the St. Georgenkirche. This also gave Bach an opportunity to sing in the regular services, as well as in the nearby villages. He has an uncommonly fine treble voice.

Bach descended from a long line of distinguished musicians, and, after his death, several of his sons achieved musical prominence. He received his first musical training from members of his family, including his father, who was also a musician. He learned a great deal by studying the scores of other composers, assimilating the best musical practices of Germany, Italy, Austria, and France. Early on, he exhibited the work ethic that made him an extremely prolific composer. One story illustrates the extent of his devotion to his craft: at the age of 20, he walked a distance of 200 miles to hear Dietrich Buxtehude, Northern Europe's most renowned organist at the time, play the organ at Lübeck.

Bach left Luneburg in 1702 and had his first employment at Weimar as a violinist which was offered by Duke Johann Ernst of Saxony in his private chapel (Koster, 2011). Apart from this he had an opportunity to learn some Italian music instruments and practice the organ which he did when deputizing for the Court organist, Effler, (Baroque Music). Thus

At first, he was an organist for the New Church. Bach would provide music for special events and the religious services held at the church. He was supposed to give music instruction, but he was arrogant and independent. This made it difficult for him to get along with the students and the church officials scolded him for not rehearsing enough and having trouble with the kids. Bach then disappeared for a few months without telling anyone where he was going. He ended up going to Lubeck to listen to a well known organist and extended his stay afterwards. He left his home in Arnstadt and got a position as an organist at the Church of St. Blaise in Muhlhausen. Bach only ended up staying in this position for a year because he liked the complex arrangements and liked to weave different melodic lines together, while the pastor thought that church music should be simple and plain. He then post the post of organist at the court of the Duke Wilhelm Ernst in Weimar where he wrote some of his best compositions and cantatas. While here, Bach tried to take a position with Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cothen instead but Duke Wilhelm Ernst didn’t want him to go and imprisoned him for several weeks and then he was released and and went to Cothen. At Cothen Bach spent most of his time playing music. He

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 –1750)-A theorist at heart was one of the most renowned composers of the Baroque Period known for the use of his exquisite and infallible counterpoint method. Famous for his more than 300 cantatas, the Goldberg Variations and two Passions It was recently discovered that Bist du Bei Mir was actually composed by Gottfried Heinrich Stolzel (1685 –1750) even though it stills appears as Bach BWV 508. Stolzel was a prolific composer of the Baroque Period as well, and Bach had great respect for him. Sometimes, Bach would use little excerpts from Solztel’s music as exercises that were used to teach his children. The piece was found in Ana Magdalena Bach’s notebook so it was immediately attributed to her husband; but the

He was now looking for a job. He wanted the post as organist of Arnstadt where a new organ was being built. After a short period as a violinist in Weimar he was indeed offered the post in Arnstadt. However, problems arose when Bach composed a piece full of “strange” new sounds for a church service. The Council decided to be lenient with him until he refused to work with the boys’ choir and was found to have a complaint against him for entertaining a young woman in the organ loft of the church. Thus was the end of his first job. He moved on to Muhlhausen and married his cousin Maria Barbara on October 17, 1707. He got a job in Muhlhausen and set to work on the poor facilities he had to work with there. His efforts here brought about his first cantata Gott ist Mein Konig (God is My King), the only one of his cantatas to be published in his life time. This was thanks to the Council’s desire for publicity and prestige. A religious controversy soon arose and the music in Muhlhausen was in a state of decay. Bach.was off to find another job. On June 25, 1708, the Duke of Weimar offered Bach a post among the Duke’s Court chamber musicians. Bach and his wife moved to the small town of Weimar. While in Weimar Bach composed music exclusively for the organ, which he played. By 1714 Bach had moved up in status and was now the leader in the orchestra, second only to the old Kapellmeister. When the old Kapellmeister died Bach had hoped to

Bach was a well-known German composer and musician of the Baroque Period. His skills in composition, counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organization are highly respected even until present. Bach composed the cello suites sometime around 1720, the same time he wrote the equally astonishing six partitas and sonatas for solo violin.

Later on, Bach at the age of thirty-one was approached by the Prince of Anhalt-Colthen whom he served for five years and composed suites, concertos and Sonatas from various musical instruments. One of his compositions was dedicated to the Margrave of Brandenburg. At the age of thirty-eight, Bach was appointed to yet another important position in Germany. He was made a Cantor at the St. Thomas`s church in Leipzig. As a Cantor, he composed music for the daily church services, he was responsible for training the singers. Some of his major works were sacred vocal music, orchestral music, Solo Sonatas and many other organ compositions. Bach was married twice as a result of being made a widower by the death of his first wife in 1720. His two marriages were said to have produced at least nineteen children of which many died at infancy.