Johann Sebastian Bach Life and Compositions. Johann Sebastian Bach.
Johann Sebastian Bach - Maps101
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Johann Sebastian Bach German composer Johann Se- bastian Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany, on March 21, 1685. He is regarded as one of the world’s finest musical composers. Bach was born into a musical family. His father, Jo- hann Ambrosius, was the town musi- cian of Eisenach. Scholars suggest he taught his son to play the violin when the boy was young. At seven, Bach went to school to study religion, Latin, and other subjects. Religion would play a major role in Bach’s mu- sic. He wrote many pieces for the Lu- theran church, including his famous work “St. Matthew Passion.” As a boy, Bach had a beautiful so- prano singing voice. At age 15, he switched from singing to playing both violin and harpsichord. The harpsichord has a keyboard, like a piano, but the strings are plucked. This produces a vibrating, distinctive sound. Many of Bach’s compositions were written to include the harpsi- chord. As a young man, Bach was em- ployed as the organist at church. By 1707, he was the organist at the Church of St. Blaise, located in Müh- lhausen. However, his interest in layering complex melodies was not well-received by the church’s pastor, or leader. He was interested in more simple musical accompaniment to the weekly service. Then a year lat- er Bach became the organist at the court of the Duke Wilhelm Ernst in Weimar. In this position, he wrote many church cantatas. Cantatas are music pieces that feature both vocals and instruments which have several parts, or movements. They are usu- ally religious in nature. While working for the duke, Bach wrote many compositions specifi- cally for the organ. At this point in his life, Bach wrote the famous piece for the organ, “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.” Fugues weave repetitive elements of music together. These elements are frequently opposing, creating complex and often dramatic sounds. You may be familiar with this piece and not realize it was writ- ten by Bach. Then in 1717, Bach accepted a po- sition with Prince Leopold of Anhalt- Cothen, however, the duke refused to let Bach go and even imprisoned the composer! Eventually the duke acquiesced, or gave in. Bach com- posed numerous types of instru- mental music in this time period. He wrote pieces for solo instruments, such as violin. He also wrote con- certos, which are for full orchestras; dance suites; and sonatas. Sonatas feature different instrumental ar - rangements, such as trios or quar- tets. Bach’s famous orchestral work, the “Brandenburg Concertos,” was composed in 1721 in honor of the Duke of Brandenburg. This work is considered some of his finest com- position. Next, Bach took a position in Leipzig where he became the organ- ist for the St. Thomas Church. He also taught at the church’s school. In Leipzig, he further wrote religious pieces, including more cantatas, to provide new music for each weekly service. This was also when he wrote his masterwork “St. Matthew Pas- sion,” which retells chapters 26 and 27 from the Gospel of Matthew in the Christian Bible. It was first per - formed on the service for Good Fri- day. He continued to work despite his eyesight failing and composed in his later years until his death. Bach died in Leipzig on July 28, 1750, with his last work incomplete. He inspired later composers, including both Beethoven and Mozart. Today, he is regarded as one of the best classi- cal composers of instrumental and religious music. Interestingly, he was known in his lifetime more as an or- ganist than as a composer. Bach’s music was in the baroque style. Baroque is a term that de- scribes Western European music from about 1600-1750. It comes from the Portuguese word barocco which means “oddly shaped pearl.” This does not sound complimentary, and it was not meant to be. Today, baroque music is highly regarded, however, music critics of the time found fault with its exaggerated and intricate style. Baroque music comes out of the Renaissance Movement in Europe. Thinkers, artists, and others Eisenach Mühlhausen Weimar Leipzig Berlin North Sea Baltic Sea FRANCE SWITZERLAND LIECHTENSTEIN ITALY AUSTRIA CZECH REPUBLIC GERMANY NETHERLANDS BELGIUM LUXEMBOURG DENMARK P O L A N D 100 km 100 mi Geography News Network 03/18/16 Bust of Johann Sebastian Bach inside Nokolia Church in Leigzig, Germany. © 2016 Bach’s Germany N – 1 – continued >
Transcript of Johann Sebastian Bach - Maps101
Johann Sebastian Bach
German composer Johann Se-bastian Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany, on March 21, 1685. He is regarded as one of the world’s finest musical composers. Bach was born into a musical family. His father, Jo-hann Ambrosius, was the town musi-cian of Eisenach. Scholars suggest he taught his son to play the violin when the boy was young. At seven, Bach went to school to study religion, Latin, and other subjects. Religion would play a major role in Bach’s mu-sic. He wrote many pieces for the Lu-theran church, including his famous work “St. Matthew Passion.”
As a boy, Bach had a beautiful so-prano singing voice. At age 15, he switched from singing to playing both violin and harpsichord. The harpsichord has a keyboard, like a piano, but the strings are plucked. This produces a vibrating, distinctive
sound. Many of Bach’s compositions were written to include the harpsi-chord.
As a young man, Bach was em-ployed as the organist at church. By 1707, he was the organist at the Church of St. Blaise, located in Müh-lhausen. However, his interest in layering complex melodies was not well-received by the church’s pastor, or leader. He was interested in more simple musical accompaniment to the weekly service. Then a year lat-er Bach became the organist at the court of the Duke Wilhelm Ernst in Weimar. In this position, he wrote many church cantatas. Cantatas are music pieces that feature both vocals and instruments which have several parts, or movements. They are usu-ally religious in nature.
While working for the duke, Bach wrote many compositions specifi-cally for the organ. At this point in his life, Bach wrote the famous piece for the organ, “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.” Fugues weave repetitive elements of music together. These elements are frequently opposing, creating complex and often dramatic sounds. You may be familiar with this piece and not realize it was writ-ten by Bach.
Then in 1717, Bach accepted a po-sition with Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cothen, however, the duke refused
to let Bach go and even imprisoned the composer! Eventually the duke acquiesced, or gave in. Bach com-posed numerous types of instru-mental music in this time period. He wrote pieces for solo instruments, such as violin. He also wrote con-certos, which are for full orchestras; dance suites; and sonatas. Sonatas feature different instrumental ar-rangements, such as trios or quar-tets. Bach’s famous orchestral work, the “Brandenburg Concertos,” was composed in 1721 in honor of the Duke of Brandenburg. This work is considered some of his finest com-position.
Next, Bach took a position in Leipzig where he became the organ-ist for the St. Thomas Church. He also taught at the church’s school. In Leipzig, he further wrote religious pieces, including more cantatas, to provide new music for each weekly service. This was also when he wrote his masterwork “St. Matthew Pas-sion,” which retells chapters 26 and 27 from the Gospel of Matthew in the Christian Bible. It was first per-formed on the service for Good Fri-day.
He continued to work despite his eyesight failing and composed in his later years until his death. Bach died in Leipzig on July 28, 1750, with his last work incomplete. He inspired later composers, including both Beethoven and Mozart. Today, he is regarded as one of the best classi-cal composers of instrumental and religious music. Interestingly, he was known in his lifetime more as an or-ganist than as a composer.
Bach’s music was in the baroque style. Baroque is a term that de-scribes Western European music from about 1600-1750. It comes from the Portuguese word barocco which means “oddly shaped pearl.” This does not sound complimentary, and it was not meant to be. Today, baroque music is highly regarded, however, music critics of the time found fault with its exaggerated and intricate style. Baroque music comes out of the Renaissance Movement in Europe. Thinkers, artists, and others
Eisenach
MühlhausenWeimar
Leipzig
Berlin
North Sea
Baltic Sea
FRANCE
SWITZERLAND LIECHTENSTEINITALY
AUSTRIA
CZECHREPUBLICGERMANY
NETHERLANDS
BELGIUM
LUXEMBOURG
DENMARK
POLA
ND
100 km100 mi
Geography News Network 03/18/16
Bust of Johann Sebastian Bach insideNokolia Church in Leigzig, Germany.
© 2016
Bach’s Germany
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Becky Sicking:Becky Sicking has had a 15-year career as an editor and academic designer for McGraw-Hill Education, one of the top education publishers in the industry. Her area of expertise is middle school Social Studies where she recently spearheaded the digital development of a national world geography program.
2016
looked to the classic philosophies of ancient Greece and Rome for inspi-ration during the Renaissance. Out of this creative and inspirational cul-
tural movement, composers worked to make music to communicate the human experience. The ideal was to arouse emotional response from the listener. Bach’s work in general,
especially his “St. Matthew Passion,” illustrates this ideal.
Brought to you by Geography News Network. March 18, 2016. #178.
SOURCEShttp://www.biography.com/people/johann-sebastian-bach-9194289http://www.britannica.com/biography/Johann-Sebastian-Bachhttp://www.baroque.org/baroque/whatishttp://www.britannica.com/art/harpsichordhttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cantatahttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fugue
CLASSROOM RESOURCESJ.S. Bach.org: http://www.jsbach.org/British Library on Bach: http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/musicmanu/bach/Bach’s Life in Pictures: http://www.baroquemusic.org/bachillustrated.htmlThe Art of the Fugue Interactive Listening Guide: https://wwnorton.com/college/music/ilg/ENJ_12/BachContrapunctus.htmlA Guided Tour Through Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion”: http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=298773771&m=298773987Translated Text of “St. Matthew Passion”: http://www.gbt.org/music/St_Matthew_text.pdf
QUESTIONS1. This article may include several unfamiliar terms. Which terms did you not know before? Write them down
and look through the article to provide a definition from context clues. If you are still unsure of their meaning, look them up in a dictionary or on the Internet.
2. How did Bach reflect Renaissance ideals?3. How was the Lutheran church important to Bach’s work?4. What are some of Bach’s most famous works? You may want to research them online to find and listen to a
recording.
