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Johann Sebastian Bach | HearLore
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was born on the 21st of March 1685 in Eisenach, the capital of the duchy of Saxe-Eisenach, into a family that had produced three to four generations of musicians. His father, Johann Ambrosius Bach, was the director of the town musicians, and his mother was the daughter of a town councillor. By the time Bach was ten years old, he had lost both parents, leaving him to live with his eldest brother, Johann Christoph, in Ohrdruf. It was here that the young orphan began his musical education, but not without breaking the rules. Scores were so valuable and ledger paper so costly that his brother forbade him from copying music. Undeterred, Bach spent long nights copying the family's private manuscripts by candlelight, eventually filling a large notebook with works by composers like Johann Pachelbel and Johann Jakob Froberger. This act of musical theft was the foundation of his genius, as he absorbed the styles of South Germans, North Germans, Frenchmen, and Italians into his own developing consciousness. By the time he left for Lüneburg at the age of fifteen, he had already mastered the violin and clavichord, and his reputation as a keyboardist was beginning to spread far beyond his small hometown.
The Organist Who Walked To Lübeck
In 1705, while serving as organist at the New Church in Arnstadt, Bach took a four-week leave that turned into a four-month absence. He walked hundreds of miles to Lübeck to hear the legendary organist and composer Dieterich Buxtehude play. The journey was so arduous that he reportedly walked both ways, covering the distance on foot. Upon his return, his employer was furious, and Bach was reprimanded for neglecting his duties to pursue his own musical education. This trip was not merely a vacation; it was a pilgrimage to the source of the northern German organ tradition. Buxtehude introduced him to his friend Johann Adam Reincken, a master of improvisation who reportedly told the young Bach, I thought that this art was dead, but I see that it lives in you. The visit to Buxtehude and Reincken expanded Bach's organ repertory and deepened his understanding of fugue and improvisation. He later wrote several works on the same theme as Reincken's monumental Toccata and Fugue, and his own improvisatory skills were so advanced that they left his contemporaries in awe. This period marked the transition from a talented local musician to a composer with a vision that transcended the boundaries of his time.
The Prisoner Of Weimar
Bach's time in Weimar was marked by a dramatic fall from grace. In 1717, after a dispute with his employer, Duke Johann Ernst III, Bach was imprisoned for almost a month. The court secretary's report described him as confined to the County Judge's place of detention for too stubbornly forcing the issue of his dismissal. He was finally freed on the 2nd of December 1717 with notice of an unfavourable discharge. This incident was not an isolated event but part of a pattern of difficult relations with his employers. Despite the humiliation, his time in Weimar was productive. He composed keyboard and orchestral works, including the preludes and fugues that would later be assembled into the first volume of The Well-Tempered Clavier. He also began work on the Little Organ Book, containing traditional Lutheran chorale tunes set in complex textures. The imprisonment did not break his spirit; instead, it seemed to fuel his creative output. He continued to play and compose for the organ and perform concert music with the duke's ensemble, even as he prepared to leave for a new position in Köthen. The incident highlighted the tension between artistic freedom and the constraints of court life, a theme that would recur throughout his career.
Common questions
When and where was Johann Sebastian Bach born?
Johann Sebastian Bach was born on the 21st of March 1685 in Eisenach, the capital of the duchy of Saxe-Eisenach. He was born into a family that had produced three to four generations of musicians.
Why did Johann Sebastian Bach travel to Lübeck in 1705?
Johann Sebastian Bach traveled to Lübeck in 1705 to hear the legendary organist and composer Dieterich Buxtehude play. The journey was so arduous that he reportedly walked both ways, covering the distance on foot.
What happened to Johann Sebastian Bach in 1717 during his time in Weimar?
Johann Sebastian Bach was imprisoned for almost a month in 1717 after a dispute with his employer, Duke Johann Ernst III. He was finally freed on the 2nd of December 1717 with notice of an unfavourable discharge.
When was the St Matthew Passion first performed by Johann Sebastian Bach?
The St Matthew Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach was first performed on Good Friday the 11th of April 1727. This work is considered one of the greatest choral works in history and its performance was described as sounding like opera.
How did Johann Sebastian Bach die in 1750?
Johann Sebastian Bach died on the 28th of July 1750 from complications following unsuccessful eye surgery. The surgery was performed by the British eye surgeon John Taylor, a man widely understood today as a charlatan.
Who revived the reputation of Johann Sebastian Bach in the 19th century?
Felix Mendelssohn revived the reputation of Johann Sebastian Bach in 1829 by performing the St Matthew Passion. This performance precipitated the Bach Revival and brought his music back into the public consciousness.
In 1717, Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen hired Bach to serve as his Kapellmeister. Unlike his previous positions, this role allowed him to focus on secular music. Prince Leopold was a Calvinist and did not use elaborate music in his form of worship, so most of Bach's work from this period is secular. He composed orchestral suites, cello suites, sonatas and partitas for solo violin, and the Brandenburg Concertos. The cello suites, in particular, are considered among the finest works written for the instrument, requiring virtuosity but without bravura. Bach also composed secular cantatas for the court, such as the Coffee Cantata. In 1719, he made the journey from Köthen to Halle with the intention to meet George Frideric Handel, but Handel had already left town. This period was a time of great creativity and freedom for Bach, as he was able to explore the full range of his compositional abilities without the constraints of church music. The Brandenburg Concertos, a collection of six concertos dedicated to the Margrave of Brandenburg, stand as a testament to his mastery of orchestral writing and his ability to blend different musical styles. The secular nature of his work in Köthen allowed him to experiment with forms and structures that he would later adapt for his sacred compositions.
The Cantor Of Leipzig
In 1723, Bach was appointed Thomaskantor in Leipzig, a position he held for 27 years until his death. He was responsible for directing the St Thomas School and providing music for four churches, including the St Thomas Church and the St Nicholas Church. The position came with significant responsibilities, including the requirement to compose a cantata for each Sunday and additional church holidays during the liturgical year. Bach collected his cantatas in annual cycles, with the first starting in 1723. Of the more than 300 cantatas he composed in Leipzig, over 100 have been lost. Most of these works expound on the Gospel readings prescribed for every Sunday and feast day in the Lutheran year. He also composed the St John Passion and the St Matthew Passion, the latter of which was first performed on Good Friday the 11th of April 1727. The St Matthew Passion is considered one of the greatest choral works in history, and its performance was described as sounding like opera. Bach's time in Leipzig was marked by a constant struggle with his employer, the Leipzig city council, whom he regarded as penny-pinching. Despite the difficulties, he gained further prestige through honorary appointments at the courts of Köthen and Weissenfels, as well as that of the Elector Frederick Augustus, who was also King of Poland. The position allowed him to compose a vast amount of music, including the Mass in B minor, which was not performed during his lifetime but is now considered one of the greatest choral works in history.
The Final Years And The King's Theme
In the last decade of his life, Bach's style shifted, showing an increased integration of elements of the stile antico, including polyphonic structures and canons. In 1747, he visited the court of King Frederick II of Prussia in Potsdam. The king played a theme for Bach and challenged him to improvise a fugue based on it. Bach obliged, playing a three-part fugue on one of Frederick's early prototypes of a new instrument, the fortepiano. Upon his return to Leipzig, he composed a set of fugues and canons and a trio sonata based on the Thema Regium, which was published as The Musical Offering. This work, along with The Art of Fugue, represents the culmination of his compositional genius. The Art of Fugue, which he continued to prepare for publication until shortly before his death, is a collection of canons and fugues that explores the full range of contrapuntal techniques. In 1749, with his eyesight failing, Bach underwent eye surgery by the British eye surgeon John Taylor, a man widely understood today as a charlatan. The surgery was unsuccessful, and Bach died on the 28th of July 1750 from complications following the operation. His final years were marked by a deepening of his musical language and a commitment to exploring the limits of counterpoint and harmony. The Art of Fugue, though unfinished, stands as a testament to his lifelong dedication to the craft of composition.
The Forgotten Genius And The Revival
After Bach's death, his reputation as a composer initially declined, and his work was regarded as old-fashioned compared to the emerging galant style. He was remembered more as a virtuoso organ player and a teacher. The bulk of the music printed during his lifetime was for organ or harpsichord. However, the 19th century saw a dramatic shift in his legacy. In 1829, Felix Mendelssohn performed the St Matthew Passion, precipitating the Bach Revival. This performance brought Bach's music back into the public consciousness, and he began to be regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music. The Bach Society was founded in 1850 to promote his music, and by the end of the century, all of his known music had been printed. The Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, a numbered catalogue of his works, was designed to keep uncertain attributions out of the main catalogue. Bach's music has influenced a wide range of genres, from classical to jazz, and his works continue to be performed and studied by musicians around the world. The legacy of Johann Sebastian Bach is one of resilience and enduring influence, as his music has transcended the boundaries of time and style to become a cornerstone of Western classical music.