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bach notes

bach notes Born in Eisenach, Germany, on March 21,1685; he was the son of a masterful violinist. Throughout the history of music, many great composers, theorists, and instrumentalists have left indelible marks and influences that people today look back on to admire and aspire to. No exception to this idiom is Johann Sebastian Bach, whose impact on music was unforgettable to say the least. People today look back to his writings and works to both learn and admire. He truly can be considered a music history great. Bach began to play the organ, which is the instrument he would later on be noted for in history. He was instructed rather vigorously until his skills surpassed anyone’s expectations for someone of such a young age. After his parents died when he was 10 he moved to live with his brother. His brother introduced him to the harpsichord, which paid off for him at an early age. After several years of studying with his older brother, he received a scholarship to study in Lunenburg, Germany, which is located on the northern tip of the country. During his teenage years he traveled throughout Germany playing the organ in many churches. A master of several instruments while still in his teens, Bach first found employment at the age of 18 as a violinist in a court orchestra in Weimar. He didn’t remain at this post too long but he was able to make good money playing for the king, he eventually moved to Arnstadt. The reason for his moving was that he was overlooked for the position of Kapellmeister. When he asked to leave the duke was so infuriated with him leaving that he incarcerated Bach. It was here inArnstadt that Bach would soon realize his high standards and regards that he had for music. He was notorious for getting into fights over the quality of music that was being produced. A perfect example of this can be seen in Arnstadt, he claimed that “the voices could never make the music soar to the sky as is should”. Another example is when a problem arose after 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. A lot of this shows how Bach had a high regard for his music but didn’t necessarily care what others wanted. His music was considered a little ahead of its time when he created these strange sounds. It was one time stated that Bach was an unruly youth who greatly disliked authority and had a mind of his own. He then moved twice the second time 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. He married his cousin Maria Barbara. He developed a reputation as a brilliant, yet inflexible, musical talent. His talents on the organ were unequaled in Europe. He toured regularly as a solo virtuoso, and his growing mastery of compositional forms, like the fugue and the canon were already attracting interest from the musical establishment, which, in his day was the Lutheran church. The church liked his writings and wanted to use his music in their masses. This was the slow birth of the German chorale, which Bach became renowned for. It was during his stay here in Cothen that the orchestral masterpiece known as the “Brandenburg Concerto” was born. Bach had three children while at Cothen who became virtuosos of the organ and harpsichord. He then left Cothen and received a prestigious position as music director at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig. This was his most demanding post and stayed there until his death. He had the responsibility, he had to compose cantatas for two churches, conduct choirs, and teach Latin. Even though the post was hard he was still able to write music of various kinds at a level of expertise and emotional insightfulness that was all his alone. To this day more than 1,000 of Bach’s accomplished compositions survive. Bach never believed that his success would become so heroic and monumental. We today perceive him to be one of the key individuals to shape the music we listen to. It is no secret that his writings, especially chorale writings, are used to illustrate the principles of our functional system of harmony. Bach’s works have not only survived to the point where they are still heard and listened to, but they also still provide us with knowledge and understanding from which we can learn and discover music. It is for these reasons that the life of Johann Sebastian Bach was truly a great one and without any apprehension that he can be considered a musical great. He was able to bring together the principle forms that developed during the generations before him and bettered them all. He had a significant effect on all composers who followed him even today. Bach did a lot of “numerical symbolism” which has been found in his music since his time. Because he did this, he’s highly recognized as one of the geniuses of western civilization, even by people who aren’t really into music. Bach’s polyphonic music is full of counter point, the combining of two or more melodic lines into a meaningful whole. He perfected the art of the fugue, a complex composition usually written for four musical lines. Of the thousands of musical pieces he composed, few were published in his lifetime. Bach was a great composer although no in the same way as other composers of his time. Bibliography:

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