Johann sebastian bach brief biography of mark

It was in fact rebuilt at great expense according to his plans: proof of the high regard the Court had for his capabilities as organist and expert on organ construction. During this period he wrote profusely for the organ, and he was rapidly becoming known throughout the country as one of the greatest German organists. Organ pupils came to him from far and wide, and he was asked to test or dedicate many organs in various towns.

His tests were extremely thorough and critical. He used to say for fun 'Above all I must know whether the organ has a good lung', and, pulling out all the stops he produced the largest sound possible, often making the organ builders go pale with fright. He would usually complete his trial by improvising a prelude and fugue: the prelude to test the organ's power, the fugue to test its clarity for counterpoint.

Constantin Bellermann describes his playing during a visit to Kassel in these words; 'His feet seemed to fly across the pedals as if they were winged, and mighty sounds filled the church'. Mizler's 'Nekrolog' states: 'His fingers were all of equal strength, all equally able to play with the finest precision. He had invented so comfortable a fingering that he could master the most difficult parts with perfect ease using 5 fingers instead of the then normal 3.

He was able to accomplish passages on the pedals with his feet which would have given trouble to the fingers of many a clever player on the keyboard'. On a visit to Halle induring which he gave a trial cantata probably BWV 21he was invited to become organist in succession to Zachau, a composer well-known, and celebrated as Handel's early teacher.

However, the conditions and salary were not sufficient for his growing family, so he was obliged to refuse the post. On a visit to Dresden, Bach was invited to compete in a contest with the visiting French organist, Louis Marchand, considered to be one of the best in Europe. But, on the day appointed for the contest, Marchand decided to withdraw discreetly by taking the fastest coach available back to France.

And so Bach gave an impressive solo performance before the assembled audience and referees, establishing himself as the finest organist of the day. Bach made some very good friends at Weimar, among whom was the eminent philologist and scholar Johann Matthias Gesner, who expressed with great eloquence his admiration for the composer's genius.

Johann sebastian bach brief biography of mark: Johann Sebastian Bach was born

Here the interest was in the new Italian style of music which was then becoming the rage of Europe, one of the chief exponents being the Venetian composer Vivaldi. Bach and his cousin Johann Georg Walther transcribed some of the Italian instrumental concertos for keyboard instruments. Consequently musicians of the first household were forbidden to fraternize with those of the second.

Bach did his best to ignore what was, after all, merely an extension of a private quarrel. But the atmosphere was no longer so pleasant. Added to this, the ancient Capellmeister then died, and Bach was passed over for the post in favor of the late Capellmeister's mediocre son. At this, Bach was bitterly disappointed, for he had lately been doing most of the Capellmeister's work, and had confidently expected to be given the post.

This infuriated the Duke of Weimar, so that when Bach put in a polite request for his release, he was arrested and put in the local jail. However, after a month, he was released and given reluctant permission to resign his office. Prince Leopold had already spent three years doing the Grand Tour of Europe, first to Holland and England, through Germany to Italy, returning by way of Vienna.

So he would have been thoroughly familiar with the latest European fashions in music. The young Prince stretched the limited budget of his miniature Court to provide an orchestra of eighteen players, all chosen for their high musical standards from all over the country, some from as far afield as Berlin. He had well-developed musical tastes, having traveled widely, particularly to Italy, where he studied Italian secular music with great interest; he returned from Italy determined to raise the standard of German secular music to an equally high level.

Johann sebastian bach brief biography of mark: Johann Sebastian Bach (31

Unlike most Princes of his time, he was a player of considerable proficiency on the harpsichord, the violin and the viola da gamba, and contrary to current Court etiquette he played quite freely and informally with his Court musicians, treating them entirely as his equals. He soon became very friendly with his new Capellmeister, having a high regard for him, and would often ask his advice on various matters.

During this period he wrote much of his chamber music; violin concertos, sonatas, keyboard music, etc. When the Prince traveled, Bach and some of the Court musicians together with instruments, including an ingenious folding-harpsichord would accompany him on his extensive journeys. Twice they visited Carlsbad, the meeting place of the European aristocracy, in and in the summer of It was on returning from this second visit that Bach received a serious shock; his wife, Maria Barbara, whom he had left in perfect health three months earlier, had died and been buried in his absence, leaving four motherless children.

Two months later he visited Hamburg and expressed an interest in the newly vacant post of organist in the Jakobskirche. This church contained the famous Arp Schnitger organ with four manuals and sixty stops. He was asked to compose and perform cantatas for the Prince's birthday and the New Year; two each time, one sacred and one secular. To perform these works there were singers under contract from nearby Courts, and one of these, Anna Magdalena, daughter of J.

In DecemberAnna Magdalena and Bach married, she at the age of 20, and he Anna Magdalena was very kind to Bach's children, a good housekeeper, and she took a lively interest in his work, often helping him by neatly copying out his manuscripts. In the twenty-eight years of happy marriage that followed, thirteen children were born to the Bach family though few of them survived through childhood.

A week after Bach's johann sebastian bach brief biography of mark, the Prince also married. But for Bach this was to be an unfortunate event, as the new Princess was not in favor of her husband's musical activities and managed, by exerting constant pressure as Bach wrote in a letterto 'Make the musical inclination of the said Prince somewhat luke-warm'.

Bach also wrote to his old school-friend, Erdmann, 'There I had a gracious Prince as master, who knew music as well as he loved it, and I hoped to remain in his service until the end of my life'. So once more, Bach decided to look around for somewhere new. It may perhaps have been these circumstances which led Bach to revive an old invitation to produce what are now known as the Brandenburg Concertos.

We know from the opening of this dedication, dated March 24ththat Bach had already met the Margrave of Brandenburg, at which time Bach had been invited to provide some orchestral music. For the rest, Sire, I beg Your Royal Highness very humbly to have the goodness to continue Your Highness' gracious favor toward me, and to be assured that nothing is so close to my heart as the wish that I may be employed on occasions more worthy of Your Royal Highness and of Your Highness' service There is some internal evidence in the music itself that Bach was intending to visit Berlin in person for the first performance of these works.

There are for example some musicological errors in the scores - hardly something Bach would permit were he seriously dedicating music to a dignitary, particularly with the hope of prospective employment. The most noteworthy indication however is the missing middle movement of the third concerto. Bach, so his contemporaries frequently noted, would not even permit his performers to put in their own trills and elaborations; he would certainly not have left an entire movement to the whim of some distant performer about whose capabilities Bach knew nothing.

History shows no record of Bach's having subsequently visited the Margrave at his Brandenburg Court. There could be many reasons for this. The Margrave was not easily accessible as he was more frequently to be found in residence at his estates at Malchow than in Berlin. Moreover the death of Johann Kuhnau, Cantor of the Thomasschule at Leipzig in June opened the possibility of an appointment for Bach at Leipzig, perhaps more attractive to him than Berlin.

Leipzig was situated in familiar territory where he already had many musical and courtly connections; in addition it had a famous university, and the three-times-yearly Trade Fair gave the city a distinctly cosmopolitan atmosphere. The merits of various candidates to succeed Kuhnau were considered, and the Council eventually nominated Georg Philipp Telemann.

However, the authorities at Hamburg would not release Telemann, and so the candidature was left pending. This position of Cantor at Leipzig had been favorably described to Bach, and as the town offered the necessary educational facilities for his sons, he applied for the post. The Council, after trying unsuccessfully to get a certain Christoph Graupner, old boy of the Thomasschule and Capellmeister at Darmstadt, eventually settled for Bach as a reasonable alternative.

And so Bach left with his family and belongings for Leipzig, where he was to remain for the rest of his life. It was also one of the foremost centers of German cultural life, with magnificent private dwellings, streets well paved and illuminated at night, a recently opened municipal library, a majestic town hall, and a vibrant social life.

Outside its massive town walls were elegant tree-lined promenades and extensive formal gardens. The old-established university drew scholars and men of distinction from far and wide, and the famous book trade contributed much to the cultural life of the city. One of Leipzig's most important features was its international commerce. When the Leipzig Trade Fair was in progress, the respectable town was transformed into a show-ground mixing business with pleasure, and was popular with members of the Royal Court of Dresden.

Many connections were established between nations on these occasions, and this in turn had a beneficial effect on the civic economy and culture as well as the international variety of its music. He would have known the town from previous visits, as he had come, for instance, in December to test the large new organ 53 stops in the University Church, the Paulinerkirche, just completed by the Leipzig organ builder Johann Scheibe.

The Bach family at that time comprised his wife and four children, of eight, nine, twelve and fourteen years of age. May 31,marked the inaugural ceremony for the new Capellmeister with the customary speeches and anthems, putting an end to six unsettled months for the city in filling the post. The school of St Thomas was situated on the western wall of the town, not far from the imposing Pleissenburg fortress with its large tower on the south-western corner of the town wall.

The school had around 60 boarders, aged between 11 and early 20s, and provided the choirs for at least four city churches. These boarders were mainly from deprived backgrounds and were maintained at the school on a charitable basis, and they also occasionally had to sing outdoors at funerals and in the city streets for alms. Bach's apartment in the school was divided between the ground floor and the next two floors.

Matthew Passions. Bach apparently gave virtuoso organ recitals in Leipzig and on various tours, although he had no official position as organist in Leipzig. After Bach no longer concentrated so completely on composing sacred vocal music. For services, he re-used his own substantial repertory of cantatas, and turned increasingly to the music of his contemporaries.

In andhe was director of the Leipzig Collegium Musicum, an organization which had been founded by Telemann in This group of professional musicians and university students performed weekly concerts out-of-doors in the summer, and at Zimmerman's coffee-house in the winter. In the s, he also showed considerable interest in the royal court at Dresden, and was named "Hofkomponist" court-composer" in Dresden in Brief Biography.

During Bach's last decade the she completed or revised several large-scale projects which he had started earlier. His duties included accompanying the prince's singing and playing the harpsichord and viol da gamba, as well as directing a chapel of 18 musicians. Bach and Marchand met and played together, but Marchand abruptly left Dresden, recognizing Bach's superior musicianship.

InMaria Barbara passed away, leaving Bach a widower. The following year, he married Anna Magdalena Wilcken, a singer and daughter of a court musician. Anna Magdalena proved to be a supportive partner, aiding her husband in copying his works. InBach accepted the position of cantor at St. Thomas School in Leipzig. He assumed the role of music director and cantor of the church choir in While his responsibilities as a teacher were burdensome, Bach produced some of his most monumental works during this period.

In Leipzig, Bach composed the "St. Matthew Passion," the "St. Bach also created musical interpretations of the Bible using choruses, arias and recitatives. These works are referred to as his "Passions," the most famous of which is "Passion According to St. The piece was performed as part of a Good Friday service. One of his later religious masterworks is "Mass in B minor.

Johann sebastian bach brief biography of mark: Johann Sebastian Bach is regarded as

Bach did not finish the composition, a musical version of a traditional Latin mass, until The complete work was not performed during his lifetime. ByBach was struggling with his eyesight, but he continued to work despite his vision problems. He was even well enough to travel and perform, visiting Frederick the Great, the king of Prussia in He played for the king, making up a new composition on the spot.

InBach started a new composition called "The Art of Fugue," but he did not complete it. He tried to fix his failing sight by having surgery the following year, but the operation ended up leaving him completely blind. Later that year, Bach suffered a stroke. He died in Leipzig on July 28, During his lifetime, Bach was better known as an organist than a composer.

Few of his works were even published during his lifetime. Still Bach's musical compositions were admired by those who followed in his footsteps, including Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. His reputation received a substantial boost in when German composer Felix Mendelssohn reintroduced Bach's "Passion According to St. Musically, Bach was a master at invoking and maintaining different emotions.

He was an expert storyteller as well, often using melody to suggest actions or events. In his works, Bach drew from different music styles from across Europe, including French and Italian. He used counterpoint, the playing of multiple melodies simultaneously, and fugue, the repetition of a melody with slight variations, to create richly detailed compositions.

He is considered to be the best composer of the Baroque era, and one of the most important figures in classical music in general.