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Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach 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. 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. During this period Bach attended the Gymnasium of Ohrdruf, which had become one of the most progressive schools in Germany. He had made great progress in Latin, Greek, theology, and had reached the top form at a very early age. It was his excellent soprano voice that found Bach a position in the choir of the wealthy Michaelis monastery at Luneburg, which was known to provide a free place for boys who were poor but had musical talent. At the end of 1703, Bach took up his post at the small town of Arnstadt. He was no doubt thrilled about having his own very large organ of two manuals and twenty-three speaking stops. He also had the responsibility of providing music for his own congregation. In 1707 Bach went to Muhlhausen to take up the post of organist to the town. Unfortunately, a quarter of the whole town was hit by a fire; it was thus difficult to find suitable dwellings, therefore he was forced to pay high rent. Nevertheless, shortly after his arrival, he brought his cousin Maria Barbara from Arnstadt, and October 17th 1707 he married her in a small church. By now Bach had high ideals for the church music of Germany. He began organizing the rather poor facilities of Muhlhausen; he started by making a large collection of the best German music available, including some of his own. The first result of these efforts was his cantata ‘Gott ist mein Konig’. This, incidentally, was the only one of Bach’s cantatas to be published during his lifetime. This success gave Bach the hope to put in a long and detailed report, proposing a complete renovation and improvement of the organ. The council agreed to carry the proposals out, and Bach was given the job as supervising the work, for not only now was he a brilliant player, but he became an expert on constructing organs. The court orchestra consisted of twenty-two players. Bach’s function was mainly a violinist, however he also played harpsichord. Bach, on occasion, wrote some of the music that was played. During this period he wrote strictly for the organ, and he was rapidly becoming known throughout the country. As time went on, people were coming to see him far and wide. 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 minor, the Canonic Variations, the Goldberg Variations, and of course the Musical Offering displaying the art of canon. Bach had overworked in poor light throughout his life, and his eyesight now began to fail him. On the advice of his friends, Bach put himself in the hands of a visiting celebrated English ophthalmic specialist, John Taylor(who also operated on Handel). Two cataract operations were performed on his eyes, and their weakening effect was aggravated by a following infection. Then, on the morning of the 28th of July, 1750, he woke up to find he could bear strong light again, and see quite clearly. The same day he had a stroke, followed by a severe fever. He died. Bach was buried in St. John’s Cemetery which stood one block outside the town’s Grimma Gate in the early morning of July 31, and the absence of any tombstone his grave was soon forgotten. Bibliography: Works Cited Page Internet: “Baroque Composers and Musicians” (date of access January 16,2002) online. Available:http://classicalmusic. About.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?=http% 3A%2F%7Earton%barcomp.html Book: Siegmeister, Elie. The Music Lover’s Handbook. New York:William Morrow and Company, 1943 Encyclopedia: Bach, Johann Sebastian. Compton’s Pictured Encyclopedia. 1960 ed.

Word Count: 674