His role there is unclear, but likely included menial, non-musical duties. During his seven-month tenure at Weimar, his reputation as a keyboardist spread so much that he was invited to inspect the new organ, and give the inaugural recital, at St. In August , he became the organist at St. Despite strong family connections and a musically enthusiastic employer, tension built up between Bach and the authorities after several years in the post.
Bach was dissatisfied with the standard of singers in the choir, while his employer was upset by his unauthorized absence from Arnstadt; Bach was gone for several months in —06, to visit the great organist and composer Dieterich Buxtehude and his Abendmusiken atSt. The visit to Buxtehude involved a kilometer mi journey each way, reportedly on foot. In , Bach was offered a post as organist at St.
It included significantly higher remuneration, improved conditions, and a better choir. They had seven children, four of whom survived to adulthood, including Wilhelm Friedemann Bach and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach who both became composers as well.
The council paid handsomely for its publication, and it was a major success. Bach moved with his family into a demolished in house, on Markt 16 , very close to the ducal palace. She remained to help run the household until her death in He attained the proficiency and confidence to extend the prevailing structures and to include influences from abroad. He learned to write dramatic openings and employ the dynamic motor rhythms and harmonic schemes found in the music of Italians such as Vivaldi, Corelli, and Torelli.
Bach was particularly attracted to the Italian style in which one or more solo instruments alternate section-by-section with the full orchestra throughout a movement. He also began to write the preludes and fugues which were later assembled into his monumental work The Well-Tempered Clavier Das Wohltemperierte Klavier BWV — Klavier meaning clavichord or harpsichord , consisting of two books, compiled in and , each containing 24 preludes and fugues in every major and corresponding minor key.
Also in Weimar Bach started work on the Little Organ Book , containing traditional Lutheran chorales hymn tunes set in complex textures. In , Bach was offered a post in Halle when he advised the authorities during a renovation by Christoph Cuntzius of the main organ in the west gallery of the Market Church of Our Dear Lady. Johann Kuhnau and Bach played again when it was inaugurated in In the spring of , Bach was promoted to Konzertmeister , an honor that entailed performing a church cantata monthly in the castle church.
BWV forPentecost. Despite being born in the same year and only about kilometers 81 mi apart, Bach and Handel never met. Thomas Church in Leipzig which served four churches in the city, the Thomaskirche , the Nikolaikirche St. Nicholas Church , the Neue Kirche and the Peterskirche , and musical director of public functions such as city council elections and homages.
This was a prestigious post in the mercantile city in the Electorate of Saxony, which he held for twenty-seven years until his death. Bach drew the soprano and alto choristers from the School, and the tenors and basses from the School and elsewhere in Leipzig. Performing at weddings and funerals provided extra income for these groups; it was probably for this purpose, and for in-school training, that he wrote at least six motets.
He wrote many church cantatas and some of his best compositions for the organ while working for the duke. But Duke Wilhelm Ernst had no interest in letting Bach go and even imprisoned him for several weeks when he tried to leave.
Prince Leopold had a passion for music. He played the violin and often bought musical scores while traveling abroad.
He also wrote pieces for solo instruments, including some of his finest violin works. His secular compositions still reflected his deep commitment to his faith with Bach often writing the initials I. In tribute to the Duke of Brandenburg, Bach created a series of orchestra concertos, which became known as the "Brandenburg Concertos," in These concertos are considered to be some of Bach's greatest works. That same year, Prince Leopold got married, and his new bride discouraged the prince's interest in music.
Bach completed the first book of "The Well-Tempered Clavier" around this time. With students in mind, he put together this collection of keyboard pieces to help them learn certain techniques and methods. Bach had to turn his attentions to finding work when the prince dissolved his orchestra in After auditioning for a new position in Leipzig, Bach signed a contract to become the new organist and teacher at St.
Thomas Church. He was required to teach at the Thomas School as a part of his position as well. With new music needed for services each week, Bach threw himself into writing cantatas.
The "Christmas Oratorio," for example, is a series of six cantatas that reflect on the holiday. 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. Bach did not finish the composition, a musical version of a traditional Latin mass, until The complete work was not performed during his lifetime. By , Bach 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.
In , Bach 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. Johann Sebastian Bach 31 March — 28 July would probably be astounded at his reputation as one of the greatest composers — perhaps the greatest composer — of all time. In his own day, he was famed chiefly for his keyboard skills, and much of his time was spent writing for the churches where he worked.
Yet, when it came to the quality of his work, he produced more jewels than Bvlgari. Listen to the best of Bach on Apple Music and Spotify and scroll down to discover our selection of the 10 best Bach works. Best Bach Works: 10 Essential Pieces By The Great Composer Brandenburg Concertos Many Baroque composers wrote dozens, or even hundreds, of concertos but Bach managed to sum up the entire genre with only six, each featuring a different line-up of soloists with a wide range of moods and even structures shocking in an era when concertos were supposed to have three movements: fast-slow-fast.
So we leap from the dizzying heights of the outlandishly difficult trumpet-writing that colours the second Brandenburg Concerto , to No. And, for pure virtuosity, try the brilliant No.
Whereas the concerto came out of an Italian tradition the suite was, in origin, a sequence of French dances. St Matthew Passion Passions are large-scale choral works telling of the suffering and death of Christ, and none come finer than those of Bach, of which two have come down to us: the St John and the St Matthew. Cantata No. Organ Fantasia and Fugue In G Minor , BWV Bach was particularly admired for his keyboard skills, not least his knack for improvisation; much of his organ music probably started out life as just that — a doodle turned into something mighty.
Leaving aside the most famous organ work of all, the Toccata and Fugue in D minor which some doubt is by Bach at all , one of the most brilliant works is his Fantasia and Fugue In G Minor.
The Well-Tempered Clavier — The 48 Bach was not merely one of the greatest composing geniuses in history; he was also a devoted family man, and frequently wrote keyboard music as a teaching aid for his many children. The Well-Tempered Clavier is a set of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys 48 works in all. The 48 are just as gripping to listen to as they are to play, earning their place among the best Bach works.
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