Johann Sebastian Bach

A true beacon of Western music and master of the Baroque period, Johann Sebastian Bach distinguished himself in all the forms of his time, with the exception of opera. Although subject to the circumstances of his various jobs, his imposing oeuvre, marked by his Christian faith, established a synthesis of European traditions with an unrivalled art of counterpoint, fugue and harmony. Born in Eisenach on March 21, 1685, Johann Sebastian Bach was the youngest of eight siblings. He followed the family tradition in the church choir, and received his musical education from his brother, organist and former Pachelbel pupil Johann Christoph Bach (1671-1721), after the death of their father Johann Ambrosius Bach in 1695. Admitted to the manecantry of the Michaeliskirche in Lüneburg, he discovered works that he transcribed, and learned the mechanics of the organ from organbuilder J. B. Held. After an engagement as violinist at the court of Weimar, he obtained his first position as organist and choirmaster in Arnstadt in 1702. His first works, a number of cantatas and keyboard pieces, followed. In 1705, he went to Lübeck to listen to Buxtehude, but his late return, combined with certain liberties during services, ended up weighing on his hierarchy. In 1707, the young Bach accepted a position at the Blasiuskirche in Mühlhausen, where he composed cantatas such as Got ist mein König (BWV 71), and married his cousin Maria Barbara Bach, who would go on to bear him seven children, including the famous musicians Wilhelm Friedemann (1710-1784) and Carl Philipp Emanuel (1714-1788). However, the religious dissensions that limited his activity prompted him to leave in 1708 for the court of Weimar, where he found a climate more conducive to composition. The famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor and Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, among other organ pieces, date from this period, as do the first chorales of theOrgelbüchlein, of which there are now forty-six. He also adopted the Italian concerto style, transcribing works by Vivaldi. Promoted to Konzermeister in 1714, he had to write one cantata a month, and modified the structure, opting for recitatives and a lyrical style at the expense of choral parts. However, the post of Kapellmeister he had been waiting for eluded him due to internal quarrels, and when the Duke of Weimar learned that he had accepted the proposal of Prince Leopold of Köthen, he had him imprisoned for a month before dismissing him. From the Lutheran court in Weimar, Bach moved to Calvinist Köthen, where he began conducting an orchestra and composing instrumental works. Already renowned for his church music, he consolidated his social position and excelled in his knowledge of French and Italian tastes, which he combined perfectly with Germanic tradition. Bach distinguished himself in keyboard pieces such as the Chromatic Fantasy, the Inventions and the first book of the Well-Tempered Clavier, in chamber music with his sonatas for flute or violin, including the Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin, his Six Suites for solo cello and, in the orchestral field, his six grandiose Brandenburg Concertos dedicated to the Margrave of Brandenburg (1721), his varied concertos and suites in the French or English manner. In December 1721, just over a year after his wife's death, Bach remarried the singer and trumpeter's daughter Anna Magdalena Wilcke (1701-1760), who bore him thirteen children, including Johann Christoph Friedrich (1732-1795) and Johann Christian (1735-1782). She received the Klavierbüchlein as a gift, to help her learn to play the keyboard. The prince's new wife had little taste for music, so Bach began looking for a new position, and found that of cantor at St. Thomas Church and University in Leipzig, where he remained from May 1723 until his death. This title covered the functions of teacher, director of music in four churches and composer for the city's major events. To this end, he had at his disposal a class of pupils for the services, as well as municipal musicians, and was once again called upon to supply cantatas in large numbers. Three hundred of these were produced in just five years, many of them masterpieces of a complexity beyond the level of the singers. Composed before his departure from Köthen, the St. John Passion was performed in Leipzig for Good Friday 1724, and five years later the sublime St. Matthew Passion was born. TheEaster Oratorio, the Magnificat (1723), theChristmas Oratorio (1734) and theAscension Oratorio (1738) are also among the highlights of this period. Despite his obligations, Bach continued to do as he pleased, traveling to Weimar, Kassel and Dresden to visit his friend Johann Adolf Hasse and Count Keyersling, who received as a gift the Goldberg Variations, played by the young Johann Gottlieb Goldberg to relieve his insomnia. Although this freedom was greatly resented by both church and university, the composer was nonetheless rewarded in 1729 with the post of director of the Collegium musicum, and set about compiling his keyboard works in the four volumes of the Klavierübung (1731-1742), including the six Partitas, the Italian Concerto and theOverture in the French style. After a series of disagreements with the rector, he temporarily left his position to work at the court of the King of Saxony, frequently traveling to Dresden, where Wilhelm Friedemann officiated, and to Potsdam, where Carl Philipp Emanuel was employed at the court of King Frederick II of Prussia. In 1739, the situation calmed down and he returned to his post in Leipzig. Three years later, the second volume of the Well-Tempered Clavier was published, along with the revision of several works and the completion of his musical testament, the Mass in B minor (1733-1749). In 1747, he wroteOffrande musicale, a trio sonata framed by canons and variations, for Frederick the Great. In the last years of his life, Bach gradually lost his sight, and had to dictate his compositions to his pupil and son-in-law, Johann Christoph Altnikol. His last major work, theArt of Fugue, the pinnacle of the art of counterpoint, remained unfinished at the time of his death on July 28, 1750, at the age of 65. An underestimated composer in his own lifetime, considered too "modern", J. S. Bach was somewhat forgotten before being rediscovered in the 19th century and performed in a wide variety of styles. In 1950, musicologist Wolfgang Schmieder drew up a thematic catalog of his 1080 works, designated BWV(Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis), with appendices noted Anh. for incomplete pieces, doubtful attributions or apocrypha.