Johann Sebastian Bach, whose biography is still being carefully studied, is included, according to the New York Times, in the top 10 most interesting biographies of composers.

Along with his name are such surnames as Beethoven, Wagner, Schubert, Debussy and others.

Let us also get to know this great musician to understand why his work has become one of the pillars of classical music.

J. S. Bach - German composer and virtuoso

The name Bach is one of the first that comes to mind when listing great composers. Indeed, he was outstanding, as evidenced by more than 1,000 pieces of music that remained after his life.

But we shouldn’t forget about the second Bach – the musician. After all, both of them were true masters of their craft.

In both forms, Bach honed his skills throughout his life. The training did not end with the end of vocal school. It continued throughout my life.

Proof of professionalism, in addition to the surviving musical works, is the impressive career of the musician: from organist in the first position to director of music.

It is all the more surprising to realize that many contemporaries perceived the composer’s musical works negatively. At the same time, the names of musicians popular in those years have practically not survived to this day. Only later did Mozart and Beethoven speak enthusiastically about the composer’s work. From the beginning of the 19th century, the work of the virtuoso musician began to revive thanks to the propaganda of Liszt, Mendelssohn and Schumann.

Now no one doubts the skill and enormous talent of Johann Sebastian. Bach's music is an example of the classical school. Books are written and films are made about the composer. The details of life are still a subject for research and study.

Brief biography of Bach

The first mention of the Bach family appeared in the 16th century. Among them were many famous musicians. Therefore, little Johann’s choice of profession was expected. By the 18th century, when the composer lived and worked, they knew about 5 generations of the musical family.

Father and mother

Father - Johann Ambrosius Bach was born in 1645 in Erfurt. He had a twin brother, Johann Christoph. Along with most of the representatives of his family, Johann Ambrosius worked as a court musician and music teacher.

Mother - Maria Elisabeth Lemmerhirt was born in 1644. She was also from Erfurt. Maria was the daughter of a city councilor, a respected man in the city. The dowry he left for his daughter was substantial, thanks to which she could live comfortably in marriage.

The parents of the future musician got married in 1668. The couple had eight children.

Johann Sebastian Bach was born on March 31, 1685, becoming the youngest child in the family. They then lived in the picturesque city of Eisenach with a population of about 6,000 people. Johann's mother and father are Germans, so his son is also German by nationality.

When little Johann was 9 years old, Maria Elisabeth died. A year later, a few months after the second marriage, the father dies.

Childhood

The orphaned 10-year-old boy was taken in by his older brother, Johann Christoph. He worked as a music teacher and church organist.

Johann Christoph taught little Johann to play the clavier and organ. It is the latter that is considered the composer’s favorite instrument.

Little is known about this period of life. The boy studied at a city school, which he graduated at the age of 15, although its graduates were usually young people 2-3 years older. This means we can conclude that school was easy for the boy.

Another fact from the biography is often mentioned. At night, the boy often copied notes of works by other musicians. One day, the elder brother discovered this and strictly forbade him to do this in the future.

Music training

After graduating from school at the age of 15, the future composer entered the vocal school named after St. Michael, which was located in the city of Luneburg.

During these years, the biography of Bach, the composer, begins. During his studies from 1700 to 1703, he wrote the first organ music and gained knowledge about modern composers.

During the same period, he traveled for the first time to the cities of Germany. He will continue to have this passion for travel in the future. Moreover, all of them were done for the sake of getting acquainted with the work of other composers.

After graduating from vocal school, the young man could have entered the university, but the need to earn a living forced him to abandon this opportunity.

Service

After completing his studies, J. S. Bach received the position of musician at the court of Duke Ernst. He was only a performer, playing the violin. I haven’t started writing my own musical compositions yet.

However, dissatisfied with the job, after a few months he decides to change it and becomes the organist of the Church of St. Boniface in Arndstadt. During these years, the composer created many works, mainly for organ. That is, for the first time in the service I had the opportunity to be not only a performer, but also a composer.

Bach received a high salary, but after 3 years he decided to move due to tense relations with the authorities. Problems arose due to the fact that the musician was absent for a long time due to a trip to Lubeck. According to available information, he was released to this German city for 1 month, and he returned only after 4. In addition, the community expressed complaints about his ability to lead the choir. All this together prompted the musician to change jobs.

In 1707, the musician moved to Mülhusen, where he continued to work. In the Church of St. Blaise he had a higher salary. Relations with the authorities were going well. The city authorities were satisfied with the activities of the new employee.

However, a year later Bach moved again to Weimar. In this city he received a more prestigious position as a concert organizer. The 9 years spent in Weimar became a fruitful period for the virtuoso; here he wrote dozens of works. For example, he composed “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor” for organ.

Personal life

Before moving to Weimar, in 1707, Bach married his cousin Maria Barbara. During their 13 years of marriage, they had seven children, three of whom died in infancy.

After 13 years of marriage, his wife died, and the composer married again 17 months later. This time Anna Magdalena Wilke became his wife.

She was a talented singer and subsequently sang in the choir led by her husband. They had 13 children.

Two sons from his first marriage - Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emmanuel - became famous composers, continuing the musical dynasty.

Creative path

Since 1717 he has worked for the Duke of Anhalt-Köthen as a bandmaster. Over the next 6 years, numerous suites were written. The Bradenburg Concertos also belong to this period. If we generally evaluate the direction of the composer’s creative activity, it is worth noting that during this period he wrote mainly secular works.

In 1723, Bach became a cantor (that is, organist and choir conductor), as well as a teacher of music and Latin at the Church of St. Thomas. For this reason he moves to Leipzig again. In the same year, the work “St. John’s Passion” was performed for the first time, thanks to which he received a high position.

The composer wrote both secular and sacred music. He performed classical sacred works in a new way. The Coffee Cantata, the Mass in B minor and many other works were composed.

If we briefly characterize the work of the musical virtuoso, it is impossible to do without mentioning Bach’s polyphony. This concept in music was known before him, but it was during the composer’s life that people began to talk about free-style polyphony.

In general, polyphony means polyphony. In music, two equal voices sound simultaneously, and not just melody and accompaniment. The musician’s skill is evidenced by the fact that his works are still used by student musicians to study.

Last years of life and death

During the last 5 years of his life, the virtuoso rapidly lost his sight. To continue composing, he had to dictate music.

There were also problems with public opinion. Contemporaries did not appreciate Bach's music and considered it outdated. This was due to the flourishing of classicism that began during that period.

In 1747, three years before his death, the cycle “Music of the Offering” was created. It was written after the composer visited the court of Frederick II, King of Prussia. This music was intended for him.

The last work of the outstanding musician, “The Art of Fugue,” consisted of 14 fugues and 4 canons. But he didn’t have time to finish it. His sons did this for him after his death.

Some interesting moments from the life and work of the composer, musician and virtuoso:

1. After studying the family history, 56 musicians were found among the virtuoso’s relatives.
2. The musician’s surname is translated from German as “stream”.
3. Having heard a piece once, the composer could repeat it without error, which he did repeatedly.
4. Throughout his life, the musician moved eight times.
5. Thanks to Bach, women were allowed to sing in church choirs. His second wife became the first chorus member.
6. He wrote more than 1000 works throughout his life, so he is rightfully considered the most “prolific” author.
7. In the last years of his life, the composer was almost blind, and eye surgeries did not help.
8. The composer's grave remained without a tombstone for a long time.
9. Until now, not all biographical facts are known, some of them are not confirmed by documents. Therefore, the study of his life continues.
10. In the musician’s homeland, two museums dedicated to him were opened. In 1907, a museum was opened in Eisenach, and in 1985 in Leipzig. By the way, the first museum houses a lifetime portrait of the musician, made in pastel, about which nothing was known for many years.

The most famous musical works of Bach

All works by him were combined into a single list - the BWV catalogue. Each essay is assigned a number from 1 to 1127.

The catalog is convenient in that all works are divided by type of work, and not by year of writing.

To count how many suites Bach wrote, just look at their numbering in the catalogue. For example, the French suites are assigned numbers from 812 to 817. This means that a total of 6 suites were written within this cycle. In total, you can count 21 suites and 15 parts of suites.

The most recognizable piece is the Scherzo in B minor from Suite for Flute and String Orchestra No. 2, called “The Joke.” This melody was often used for ringing on mobile devices, but despite this, unfortunately, not everyone will be able to name its author.

Indeed, the names of many of Bach’s works are not well-known, but their melodies will seem familiar to many. For example, “Brandenburg Concertos”, “Goldberg Variations”, “Toccata and Fugue in D minor”.

The grandiose maestro Johann Sebastian Bach managed to write more than a thousand works during his long life. Being a devout Protestant, Bach reworked church works into the Baroque style. Many of his masterpieces relate specifically to religious music. His works cover all significant musical genres except opera. The composer from Germany went down in history as a virtuoso, a brilliant teacher, the best bandmaster, and also as a professional organist.

Bach's early years and youth

Johann was the last child in the family of Johann Ambrosius Bach and Elisabeth Amber. He was born on March 31st in 1685. The history of this family has always been connected with music and its manifestations. Since the 16th century, many of Bach's relatives were known as quite professional musicians. Johann Sebastian's own father lived in Eisenach, Germany. There he did the work of preparing concerts, as well as playing music for the congregation. At the age of 9, the future virtuoso lost his mother, and soon his father. Bach's older brother Christophe took the boy into his home. The relative who carefully took custody of the orphan also worked as an organist in a neighboring town. There Bach entered the gymnasium, and he also learned to play the organ and his clavier from a relative.

During his studies, Johann became acquainted with the works of southern German performers and studied the music of the German north and the French south. At the age of fifteen, Johann Sebastian moved to live in Lüneburg. Until 1703 he managed to study at St. Michael's school. As a teenager, Bach traveled extensively throughout Germany. I looked at Hamburg, appreciated Celle, as well as the province of Lubeck.

At the religious school, Johann acquired knowledge about the church and religion, the history of many countries and geography, the exact sciences, French, Latin and Italian. At the educational institution, Bach interacted with the children of the local nobility and musicians.

For a musician, Bach was well educated. He had a qualitative understanding of many secular spheres, was an excellent student, and absorbed knowledge like a sponge.

Master: Life Path

After completing his studies, Bach received a job as a court performer under the patronage of Duke Ernst. After brilliant service, about a year later, Johann was appointed caretaker of the organ in the temple. Thus began his work in Arnstadt. Since Bach's work responsibilities took up 3 days a week, and the instrument in the church was in excellent condition, he had a lot of time to write his own musical creations.

Despite extensive connections and patronage from employers, Johann still had a conflict with the city authorities, as he was saddened by the training of choral performers. In 1705, Johann went to Lubeck for a couple of months to learn to play as masterly as the Danish organist Buxtehude played.

Bach's trick did not go unnoticed. After this, the authorities brought charges against Bach, which consisted of non-standard accompaniment of the choir’s music, which embarrassed the community. Indeed, Johann’s work could not be called purely secular or only religious. His works combined the incongruous, mixing things that in reality were simply impossible to combine.

After this, in 1706, Johann changed his place of service. He moved on to a more prestigious position at St. Blaise Parish. Then he had to move to the small town of Mühlhausen. There, in a new place, Johann Sebastian came to court. He was given a good salary. And the working conditions in the new temple were much better. There, Bach drew up a detailed plan for the restoration of the church organ. The church authorities fully approved the restoration work plan. In 1707, Johann Sebastian proposed to his cousin Maria. Later, 7 children were born into the Bach family, unfortunately, three of them died in infancy.

Fed up with the old way of life, Johann Bach went in search of a different position. The former employer did not want to let Bach go and even tried to arrest him for persistent requests for dismissal, but in 1717 Prince Leopold personally accepted Bach to the position of his bandmaster. Working successfully under the prince, Bach created many new works.

In 1720, on July 7, Johann Sebastian's young wife Maria suddenly died. Strongly experiencing the tragedy, Johann wrote a musical essay, expressing his grief with the help of a partita in D minor for solo violin. This work later became his calling card. When Bach's wife died, an elderly relative who lived in the Bach family until the end of her days helped him take care of the children.

After a year of mourning and lamentation for his lost lover, Johann Bach met Anna Wilke. The girl was known as a gifted singer who performed at the duke's court. A year later their wedding took place. In his second marriage, Johann had 13 children. Seven babies died at an early age.

When life's troubles subsided, Bach became the director of the St. Thomas Choir and at the same time a teacher in the church school. Unfortunately, over the years, Johann Bach began to lose his visual acuity, but the great composer did not give up and continued to write music, dictating notes to his son-in-law.

In recent years, Bach worked by ear; his later musical innuendos are considered richer and more complex than his earlier works.

Johann Bach passed away on July 28, 1750. The great maestro was buried in the Church of St. John, nearby was the church where he served for 27 years. Then on July 28, 1949, the composer's ashes were transferred to the parish of St. Thomas. The transfer was due to military actions that destroyed his tomb. In 1950, a bronze tombstone was installed on the virtuoso’s grave, and this year was proclaimed the year of the legendary musician.

Cult art of the virtuoso

Organ music was leading in Bach's works. He wrote 6 trio sonatas for organ, the famous “organ book,” as well as many lesser-known compositions.

Keyboard music is an area that was as interesting to Bach as other musical directions. It was for playing the clavier that English suites were created, as well as famous melodies with many variations.

Chamber music for ensembles included musical works for cellos, lute, flute, and, of course, organ. Bach's vocal innuendos were expressed in passions, cantatas and masses.

The phenomenon of the German composer is well revealed in the discipline of Bach Studies. Since his works are so extensive that they are studied separately by musicians from all over the world.

The legendary composer created music not only for secular and religious audiences, he wrote his sonatas and parts for the productive training of young musicians. It was for them that Bach's most complex and most exciting musical creations were written. After all, among other things, Johann Bach was an excellent teacher.

The outstanding German composer, organist and harpsichordist Johann Sebastian Bach was born on March 21, 1685 in the city of Eisenach, Thuringia, Germany. He belonged to an extensive German family, most of whose members had been professional musicians in Germany for three centuries. Johann Sebastian received his primary musical education (playing the violin and harpsichord) under the guidance of his father, a court musician.

In 1695, after the death of his father (his mother had died earlier), the boy was taken into the family of his older brother Johann Christoph, who served as a church organist at St. Michaelis Church in Ohrdruf.

In the years 1700-1703, Johann Sebastian studied at the church choir school in Lüneburg. During his studies, he visited Hamburg, Celle and Lubeck to get acquainted with the work of famous musicians of his time and new French music. During these same years he wrote his first works for organ and clavier.

In 1703, Bach worked in Weimar as a court violinist, in 1703-1707 as a church organist in Arnstadt, then from 1707 to 1708 in the Mühlhasen church. His creative interests were then focused mainly on music for organ and clavier.

In 1708-1717, Johann Sebastian Bach served as court musician for the Duke of Weimar in Weimar. During this period, he created numerous chorale preludes, an organ toccata and fugue in D minor, and a passacaglia in C minor. The composer wrote music for the clavier and more than 20 spiritual cantatas.

In 1717-1723, Bach served with Duke Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen in Köthen. Three sonatas and three partitas for solo violin, six suites for solo cello, English and French suites for clavier, and six Brandenburg concertos for orchestra were written here. Of particular interest is the collection “The Well-Tempered Clavier” - 24 preludes and fugues, written in all keys and in practice proving the advantages of the tempered musical system, the approval of which was hotly debated. Subsequently, Bach created the second volume of The Well-Tempered Clavier, also consisting of 24 preludes and fugues in all keys.

The “Note Book of Anna Magdalena Bach” was begun in Köthen, which includes, along with plays by various authors, five of the six “French Suites”. During these same years, “Little Preludes and Fugettas. English Suites, Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue” and other keyboard works were created. During this period, the composer wrote a number of secular cantatas, most of which were not preserved and received a second life with a new, spiritual text.

In 1723, his “St. John Passion” (a vocal-dramatic work based on the Gospel texts) was performed in the Church of St. Thomas in Leipzig.

In the same year, Bach received the position of cantor (regent and teacher) at the Church of St. Thomas in Leipzig and the school at this church.

In 1736, Bach received the title of Royal Polish and Saxon Electoral Court Composer from the Dresden court.

During this period, the composer reached the heights of his mastery, creating magnificent examples in different genres - sacred music: cantatas (about 200 have survived), Magnificat (1723), masses, including the immortal "High Mass" in B minor (1733), "Matthew Passion" (1729); dozens of secular cantatas (among them the comic "Coffee" and "Peasant"); works for organ, orchestra, harpsichord, among the latter - "Aria with 30 variations" ("Goldberg Variations", 1742). In 1747, Bach wrote a cycle of plays, “Musical Offerings,” dedicated to the Prussian king Frederick II. The composer's last work was The Art of Fugue (1749-1750) - 14 fugues and four canons on one theme.

Johann Sebastian Bach is a major figure in world musical culture; his work represents one of the pinnacles of philosophical thought in music. Freely crossing features not only of different genres, but also of national schools, Bach created immortal masterpieces that stand above time.

At the end of the 1740s, Bach's health deteriorated, and he was particularly concerned about the sudden loss of his vision. Two unsuccessful cataract surgeries resulted in complete blindness.

He spent the last months of his life in a darkened room, where he composed the last chorale “I stand before Thy throne,” dictating it to his son-in-law, organist Altnikol.

On July 28, 1750, Johann Sebastian Bach died in Leipzig. He was buried in the cemetery near St. John's Church. Due to the lack of a monument, his grave was soon lost. In 1894, the remains were found and reburied in a stone sarcophagus in the Church of St. John. After the church was destroyed by bombing during World War II, his ashes were preserved and reburied in 1949 in the chancel of St. Thomas Church.

During his lifetime, Johann Sebastian Bach was famous, but after the composer's death his name and music were forgotten. Interest in Bach's work arose only in the late 1820s; in 1829, the composer Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy organized a performance of the St. Matthew Passion in Berlin. In 1850, the Bach Society was created, which sought to identify and publish all the composer's manuscripts - 46 volumes were published over half a century.

Through the mediation of Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, the first monument to Bach was erected in Leipzig in 1842 in front of the old school building at the Church of St. Thomas.

In 1907, the Bach Museum was opened in Eisenach, where the composer was born, and in 1985 in Leipzig, where he died.

Johann Sebastian Bach was married twice. In 1707 he married his cousin Maria Barbara Bach. After her death in 1720, in 1721 the composer married Anna Magdalena Wilken. Bach had 20 children, but only nine of them survived their father. Four sons became composers - Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710-1784), Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach (1714-1788), Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782), Johann Christoph Bach (1732-1795).

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Bach Johann Sebastian, whose biography is of interest to many music lovers, became one of the greatest composers in its entire history. In addition, he was a performer, a virtuoso organist, and a talented teacher. In this article we will look at the life of Johann Sebastian Bach and also introduce his work. The composer's works are often performed in concert halls around the world.

Johann Sebastian Bach (March 31 (21 - Old Style) 1685 - July 28, 1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque era. He enriched the musical style created in Germany thanks to his mastery of counterpoint and harmony, and adapted foreign rhythms and forms, borrowed, in particular, from Italy and France. Bach's works are the Goldberg Variations, the Brandenburg Concertos, the Mass in B Minor, more than 300 cantatas, of which 190 have survived, and many other works. His music is considered highly technically sophisticated, filled with artistic beauty and intellectual depth.

Johann Sebastian Bach. short biography

Bach was born in Eisenach into a family of hereditary musicians. His father, Johann Ambrosius Bach, was the founder of the city's music concerts, and all of his uncles were professional performers. The composer's father taught his son to play the violin and harpsichord, and his brother, Johann Christoph, taught him to play the clavichord, and also introduced Johann Sebastian to modern music. Partly on his own initiative, Bach attended the St. Michael's vocal school in Lüneburg for 2 years. After certification, he held several musical positions in Germany, in particular, court musician to Duke Johann Ernst in Weimar, caretaker of the organ in the church of St. Boniface, located in Arnstadt.

In 1749, Bach's eyesight and overall health deteriorated, and he died in 1750, on July 28. Modern historians believe that the cause of his death was a combination of stroke and pneumonia. Johann Sebastian's fame as an excellent organist spread throughout Europe during Bach's lifetime, although he was not yet so popular as a composer. He became famous as a composer a little later, in the first half of the 19th century, when interest in his music was revived. Currently, Bach Johann Sebastian, whose biography is presented in full below, is considered one of the greatest musical creators in history.

Childhood (1685 - 1703)

Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, in 1685, on March 21 according to the old style (new style - on the 31st of the same month). He was the son of Johann Ambrosius and Elisabeth Lemmerhirt. The composer became the eighth child in the family (the eldest son was 14 years older than him at the time of Bach’s birth). The future composer's mother died in 1694, and his father eight months later. Bach was 10 years old at that time, and he went to live with Johann Christoph, his older brother (1671 - 1731). There he studied, performed and transcribed music, including his brother's compositions, despite the ban on doing so. From Johann Christoph he adopted a lot of knowledge in the field of music. At the same time, Bach studied theology, Latin, Greek, French, Italian at the local gymnasium. As Johann Sebastian Bach later admitted, the classics inspired and amazed him from the very beginning.

Arnstadt, Weimar and Mühlhausen (1703 - 1717)

In 1703, after finishing his studies at St. Michael's School in Lüneburg, the composer was appointed court musician to the chapel of Duke Johann Ernst III in Weimar. During his seven-month stay there, Bach's reputation as an excellent keyboard player was established, and he was invited to a new position as caretaker of the organ at the church of St. Boniface, located in Arnstadt, 30 km southwest of Weimar. Despite good family connections and his own musical enthusiasm, tensions with his superiors arose after several years of service. In 1706, Bach was offered the post of organist at the Church of St. Blaise (Mühlhausen), which he took the following year. The new position paid much higher, included much better working conditions, as well as a more professional choir with which Bach had to work. Four months later, Johann Sebastian's wedding to Maria Barbara took place. They had seven children, four of whom lived to adulthood, including Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emmanuel, who later became famous composers.

In 1708, Bach Johann Sebastian, whose biography took a new direction, left Mühlhausen and returned to Weimar, this time as an organist, and from 1714 as a concert organizer, and had the opportunity to work with more professional musicians. In this city, the composer continues to play and compose works for the organ. He also began writing preludes and fugues, which were later included in his monumental work The Well-Tempered Clavier, consisting of two volumes. Each of them includes preludes and fugues written in all possible minor and major keys. Also in Weimar, composer Johann Sebastian Bach began working on the work “Organ Book,” containing Lutheran chorales, a collection of choral preludes for organ. In 1717 he fell out of favor in Weimar, was arrested for almost a month and subsequently removed from office.

Köthen (1717 - 1723)

Leopold (an important person - the Prince of Anhalt-Köthen) offered Bach the job of bandmaster in 1717. Prince Leopold, being a musician himself, admired Johann Sebastian's talent, paid him well and gave him considerable freedom in composition and performance. The prince was a Calvinist, and they do not use complex and refined music in worship, accordingly, the work of Johann Sebastian Bach of that period was secular and included orchestral suites, suites for solo cello, for clavier, as well as the famous “Brandenburg Concertos”. In 1720, on July 7, his wife Maria Barbara, who bore him seven children, dies. The composer meets his second wife the following year. Johann Sebastian Bach, whose works were gradually beginning to gain popularity, married a girl named Anna Magdalena Wilcke, a soprano singer, in 1721, December 3.

Leipzig (1723 - 1750)

In 1723, Bach received a new position, beginning to work as cantor of the St. Thomas Choir. This was a prestigious service in Saxony, which the composer carried out for 27 years, until his death. Bach's duties included teaching students to sing and writing church music for the main churches of Leipzig. Johann Sebastian was also supposed to give Latin lessons, but had the opportunity to hire a special person in his place. During Sunday services, as well as on holidays, cantatas were required for church services, and the composer usually performed his own compositions, most of which appeared in the first 3 years of his stay in Leipzig.

Johann Sebastian Bach, whose classics are now well known to many people, expanded his compositional and performing capabilities in March 1729 by taking over the leadership of the College of Music, a secular assembly under the direction of the composer Georg Philipp Telemann. The college was one of dozens of private societies, popular at that time in large German cities, created on the initiative of students of musical institutions. These associations played an important role in German musical life, being led for the most part by outstanding specialists. Many of Bach's works from the 1730s-1740s. were written and performed at the Music College. Johann Sebastian's last major work was “Mass in B Minor” (1748-1749), which was recognized as his most global church work. Although the entire “Mass” was never performed during the author’s lifetime, it is considered one of the composer’s most outstanding creations.

Death of Bach (1750)

In 1749, the composer's health deteriorated. Bach Johann Sebastian, whose biography ends in 1750, suddenly began to lose his sight and turned for help to the English ophthalmologist John Taylor, who performed 2 operations in March-April 1750. However, both were unsuccessful. The composer's vision never returned. On July 28, at the age of 65, Johann Sebastian died. Contemporary newspapers wrote that "death occurred as a result of unsuccessful eye surgery." Currently, historians consider the cause of the composer’s death to be a stroke complicated by pneumonia.

Carl Philipp Emmanuel, son of Johann Sebastian, and his student Johann Friedrich Agricola wrote an obituary. It was published in 1754 by Lorenz Christoph Mizler in a music magazine. Johann Sebastian Bach, whose brief biography is presented above, was originally buried in Leipzig, near the Church of St. John. The grave remained untouched for 150 years. Later, in 1894, the remains were transferred to a special repository in the Church of St. John, and in 1950 - to the Church of St. Thomas, where the composer still rests.

Organ creativity

During his lifetime, Bach was best known as an organist and composer of organ music, which he wrote in all traditional German genres (preludes, fantasies). Johann Sebastian Bach's favorite genres were toccata, fugue, and chorale preludes. His organ creativity is very diverse. At a young age, Johann Sebastian Bach (we have already briefly touched upon his biography) earned a reputation as a highly creative composer, capable of adapting many foreign styles to the requirements of organ music. He was greatly influenced by the traditions of Northern Germany, in particular by Georg Böhm, whom the composer met in Lüneburg, and Dietrich Buxtehude, whom Johann Sebastian visited in 1704 during a long vacation. Around the same time, Bach rewrote the works of many Italian and French composers, and later Vivaldi's violin concertos, in order to breathe new life into them as works for organ performance. During his most productive creative period (from 1708 to 1714), Johann Sebastian Bach wrote fugues and tocattas, several dozen pairs of preludes and fugues, and the “Organ Book,” an unfinished collection of 46 chorale preludes. After leaving Weimar, the composer wrote less organ music, although he created a number of famous works.

Other works for clavier

Bach wrote a lot of music for the harpsichord, some of which can be performed on the clavichord. Many of these works are encyclopedic, incorporating theoretical methods and techniques that Johann Sebastian Bach loved to use. The works (list) are presented below:

• "The Well-Tempered Clavier" is a two-volume work. Each volume contains preludes and fugues in all common 24 major and minor keys, arranged in chromatic order.
• Inventions and overtures. These two- and three-voice works are arranged in the same order as the Well-Tempered Clavier, with the exception of some rare keys. They were created by Bach for educational purposes.
• 3 collections of dance suites, "French Suites", "English Suites" and partitas for clavier.
• "Goldberg Variations".
• Various pieces such as "Overture in French style", "Italian concerto".

Orchestral and chamber music

Johann Sebastian also wrote works for individual instruments, duets and small ensembles. Many of them, such as partitas and sonatas for solo violin, six different suites for solo cello, partita for solo flute, are considered among the most outstanding in the composer's repertoire. Bach Johann Sebastian wrote symphonies, and also created several compositions for solo lute. He also created trio sonatas, solo sonatas for flute and viola da gamba, and a large number of ricercars and canons. For example, the cycles “The Art of Fugue”, “Musical Offering”. Bach's most famous orchestral work is the Brandenburg Concertos, so named because Johann Sebastian presented it in hopes of obtaining work from Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Swedish in 1721. His attempt, however, was unsuccessful. The genre of this work is concerto grosso. Other surviving works by Bach for orchestra: 2 violin concertos, a concerto written for two violins (key "D minor"), concertos for clavier and chamber orchestra (from one to four instruments).

Vocal and choral works

• Cantatas. Beginning in 1723, Bach worked in the Church of St. Thomas, and every Sunday, as well as on holidays, he led the performance of cantatas. Although he sometimes staged cantatas by other composers, Johann Sebastian wrote at least 3 cycles of his works in Leipzig, not counting those composed in Weimar and Mühlhausen. In total, more than 300 cantatas devoted to spiritual themes were created, of which approximately 200 have survived.
• Motets. Motets, authored by Johann Sebastian Bach, are works on spiritual themes for choir and basso continuo. Some of them were composed for funeral ceremonies.
• Passions, or passions, oratorios and magnificata. Bach's major works for choir and orchestra are the St. John Passion, the St. Matthew Passion (both written for Good Friday in the churches of St. Thomas and St. Nicholas) and the Christmas Oratorio (a cycle of 6 cantatas intended for the Christmas service ). Shorter works are "Easter Oratorio" and "Magnificat".
• "Mass in B Minor". Bach created his last major work, the Mass in B Minor, between 1748 and 1749. The Mass was never staged in its entirety during the composer's lifetime.

Musical style

Bach's musical style was shaped by his talent for counterpoint, his ability to lead a tune, his flair for improvisation, his interest in the music of Northern and Southern Germany, Italy and France, and his devotion to the Lutheran tradition. Thanks to the fact that Johann Sebastian had access to many instruments and works in his childhood and youth, and thanks to his ever-increasing talent for writing dense music with stunning sonority, the features of Bach's work were filled with eclecticism and energy, in which foreign influences were skillfully combined with already existing advanced German music school. During the Baroque period, many composers composed mainly only frame works, and the performers themselves supplemented them with their own melodic embellishments and developments. This practice varies considerably among European schools. However, Bach composed most or all of the melodic lines and details himself, leaving little room for interpretation. This feature reflects the density of contrapuntal textures to which the composer gravitated, limiting the freedom to spontaneously change musical lines. For some reason, some sources mention the works of other authors, which were allegedly written by Johann Sebastian Bach. "Moonlight Sonata", for example. You and I, of course, remember that Beethoven created this work.

Execution

Modern performers of Bach's works usually follow one of two traditions: the so-called authentic (historically oriented performance) or the modern (using modern instruments, often in large ensembles). In Bach's time, orchestras and choirs were much more modest than they are today, and even his most ambitious works - the passions and the Mass in B minor - were written for far fewer performers. In addition, today you can hear very different versions of the sound of the same music, since in some of Johann Sebastian’s chamber works there was initially no instrumentation at all. Modern "lite" versions of Bach's works have made a great contribution to the popularization of his music in the 20th century. Among them are famous tunes performed by the Swinger Singers and Wendy Carlos' 1968 recording of Switched-On-Bach, using the newly invented synthesizer. Jazz musicians, such as Jacques Loussier, also showed interest in Bach's music. Joel Spiegelman performed an adaptation of his famous “Goldberg Variations”, creating his own work in the New Age style.

Of all times. The little genius was born on March 31, 1685 in the city of Eisenach, which was located in Thuringia.

Johann's family was musical, and each of them could play at least one instrument. The gift and talent of music has been passed down from generation to generation.

The future talent often ran into the forest and played on an old guitar, which he found in the attic, and this instrument belonged to the patriarch of the family, Voit Bach.

They say that he almost never parted with it, even when he was grinding flour at the mill, and managed to play and sing songs with his guitar until the evening.

Unfortunately, Johann was left an orphan (at the age of 10), his parents died early. The elder brother Johann Christoph took his brother in and gave him his first music lessons.

As a child, the boy learned to play many instruments - cello, violin and viola, clavichord and organ, dulcimer. He read music with ease and then played music on instruments. From childhood to old age, Johann Sebastian's most favorite instrument was the organ. Possessing perfect hearing, sensitive and vulnerable, he could not stand false sounds that caused him suffering and pain.

The boy sang in the school choir, having a clear voice. When Bach was 15 years old, he went to Lüneburg, where he continued his studies at a vocal school for three years. After this, Johann was a court violinist in Weimar, where he did not stay long, because he didn't like it there at all. Around these years, he wrote his first works.

Having moved to Arnstadt, the musician holds the position of cantor and organist in the church. He also teaches children to sing and play an instrument.Soon, Prince Anhalt offered to become a bandmaster in his orchestra. The new position and free time inspire Bach; he writes cantatas for piano, pieces for violin and cello, suites and sonatas, concertos for orchestra, and, of course, preludes and chorales for organ.

The genius was not even thirty years old, and he had already written more than 500 works, and what a lot! In almost all masterpieces, experts capture the rhythms and melodies of German folk songs and dances, which he heard in childhood and remembered well. Bach light and warmth that will not leave anyone indifferent. Contemporaries of that time admired the great composer's virtuoso playing of the instruments more than his works.

Johann Sebastian Bach photo

The music was not clear to everyone; not everyone realized the great talent of this man. Few people admitted that they liked a lyrical, calm melody more than hurricane-like music, although the rumbling music captivated listeners. The author, in his works, shared hopes, dreams, faith in truth and in man, goodness and beauty. Loud sounds convincingly and simply “told” about it.

Only a hundred years later, his work was highly recognized. Much music has been written on biblical themes. Johann arrived in Leipzig in the spring of 1723. At St. Thomas' Church he is organist and cantor. Again, he spends a lot of time teaching children; he is required to play the organ in large churches 2-3 times a day. But he finds time for his creations and enjoys playing the organ for people.

Johann Bach quickly began to go blind, and after an unsuccessful operation he lost his sight. All his life, Johann Sebastian Bach lived in Germany, giving preference to the provinces. The composer was married twice, his sons (Friedemann, Johann Christian, Carl Philipp Emanuel) continued their father's work and became famous composers. Once or twice a week the family organized home concerts.

Johann had many musical instruments, he bought everything as he saved money, never borrowing money. Five harpsichords, three violins, three violas and two cellos, a lute, a viola basso and a viola pomposa, one spinet. All this inheritance was left to the children after his death, who passed away on July 28, 1750.