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Johann Sebastian Bach (21 March, 1685 – 8 July, 1750) was a German composer & organist whose sacred & laic works for choir, orchestra & keyboard bring together completely but all of the strands of the baroque style and brought it to its ultimate maturity. Although he introduced there is no fresh musical theater forms, he enriched the prevailing German style by owning a robust & dazzling contrapuntal technique, a on a face of it casual control of harmonic & motivic organisation from either either a smallest to the big scales, & the adaptation of rhythms & textures from overseas, particularly Italy & France. His emphatic blandness & huge output own earnt him wide acknowledgement when one of a greatest composers in the American tonal tradition. Venerable for their rational depth, technical indicator comm& and artistic beauty, his works include a Brandenburg Concertos, a keyboard suites & partitas, the Mass in B Minor, the St Matthew Passion, A Musical Offering, The Art of Fugue and about 240 church cantatas. An lesson of a few one stylistic traits appears following, in the chorus Ehre sei Gott inside 500 Höhe from either a Christmas Oratorio, written inside 1734 when you took his matured period of time.

Biography
Early years
JS (Sebastian) Bach was a member of one of the virtually all extraordinary musical families ever. For further than 200 years, a Bachs had produced dozens of worthy performing artist & composers when you took a period of time where a church, local government & the aristocracy provided important trend lines for sales person music making in the German-speaking globe, particularly in the eastern electorates of Thuringia & Saxony. Sebastian's father, Johann Ambrosius Bach, was a popular town piper around Eisenach, a Thuringian town of a select few 6,000 residents. A post taking part a organisation of laic music & participation around religious music. Sebastian's uncles were tons broker musicians, ranging from either church organists & court chamber musicians to composers.

His mother died within 1694, & his father a as a consequence month. A 10-season-old orphan moved inside by using his sr. brother Johann Christoph Bach, the organist at Ohrdruf, a nearby town. There, he copied, exposed & performed music, & apparently received worthful tuition from either his brother. This probably involved him to the act of the nifty South German composers of the day—such when Pachelbel and Froberger—& possibly a music of Northward Germans and of the French composers like Lully, Louis Marchand and Marais. A son probably found & assisted a maintenance of the organ, a precursor to his womb-to-tomb sales person activity as a advisor in the building & restoration of organs.

At a age of Fourteen, Sebastian was awarded a choral scholarship, by using his older school-friend, Georg Erdmann, to learn at the prestigious St Michael's school inside Lüneberg, shortly from either Hamburg, a big city inside Germany. This required an extended journeying using his friend, probably partially in foot & part by coach. His 2 years there come out to stand been critical inside exposing him to the wider palette of European culture than he would stand had inside Thuringia. Additionally to singing a cappella in a choir,These are in all probability that he played the School's 3-manual organ & cembalo. He probably learnt French & Italian, & received the thorough grounding within theology, Latin, history, geographics & physical science. He would own inherit call for using a sons of noblemen from either northern Germany world health organization were sent to a extremely selective school to develop for careers within diplomacy, government & the armed services. These are around all probability that he got important call for sustaining organists in Lüneberg, particularly Georg Böhm, and visited many of victims inside Hamburg, like Reinken and Bruhns. Across these musicians, he probably gained access to the big instruments he experienced played. These are besides belike that he became acquainted a music of a Northward German tradition (particularly the operate of Buxtehude), by owning music manuscripts from either farther afield, & with treatises in music theory that were in the possession one men.

Arnstadt and Mulhausen
Shortly when graduating, withwithin January 1703 Bach took higher the post as a court musician in the chapel of Duke Johann Ernst in Weimar, a large town in Thuringia. His role there exists indecipherable, however appears to keep close at hand involved lowly, non-musical duties. In the period of his heptad-year tenure at Weimar, his reputation as a keyboardist spread. He was invited to inspect & give a first recital on the freshly organ at St Boniface's Church inside Arnstadt. A Bach personal experienced close modems by having this oldest town around Thuringia, astir 180 klick to a southwest of Weimar at the edge of the awesome woods. Around August 1703, he accepted the post of organist at that church, using lightly duties, the comparatively generous wage, & the fresh organ unhampered technical indicator defects & tuned to the modern patterns that allowed a wide range of keys to exist as utilized.

It was as much as a period of his Arnstadt appointment that Bach was commence a good composition of organ preludes, among a children the famed Toccata and Fugue in D minor. These works, in the Northward German tradition of virtuosic, improvisatory preludes, already indicate remarkably pinching motivic control (in which one, short music idethe is explored cogently throughout a movement). Nevertheless, around these works a composer was however grappling sustaining issues of big-shell structure, & experienced eventually to fully have his powers of contrapuntal writing (in which deuce or additional melodies interact at the same time).

Heavy personal modems & a musically enthusiastic employer failed to block tension between a willful, precocious immature organist & the authorities when many years in the post. He was apparently dissatisfied using a standard of singers in the choir. Other seriously, there was his wildcat absence from either Arnstadt for many months within 1705–06, whilst he visited a outstanding master Buxtehude in the northern city of Lübeck. This easily-known incident around Bach's life taking part his walking a few 400 kilometre every way to spend period by using a human he probably regarded when a father-figure of German organists. A hike reinforced Buxtehude's style as a foundation for Bach's earliest works, & a fact that he overstayed his aforethought visit by many months suggests that his period by having a husband was vastly worthful to his art.

Despite his comfortable position within Arnstadt, by 1706 Bach appears to use at times realised that he required to escape a personal surroundings & go on to more his career. He wwhen so offered the additional remunerative post as organist at St Blasius' within Mühlhausen, a big & crucial city north. A ensuing season, he took higher this senior post by using significantly improved earnings & conditions, including a good choir. 4 months when reach Mühlhausen, he married his first cousin from either Arnstadt, Anna Maria. A church & city government at Mühlhausen must develop been pleased their newly musical comedy director. It readily agreed to his project for an expensive renovation of the organ at St Blasius', & were thus delighted at a elaborate, merry oratorio he wrote for the inauguration of the recently council within 1708 ('God is the king') that it paid handsomely for its publication, & twice within late years experienced a composer go to to perform it.

Weimar and Cöthen
When barely the year at Mühlhausen, Bach left to require higher a position when court organist & concert master at the ducal court inside Weimar. A move will use at times been prompted per prodigal remuneratiin on offer at a court, & a prospect of working completely by owning office musicians. On this button, he got a chance to play & compose for the organ, & to perform a varied repertoire of concert music by using the duke's ensemble. An expert of contrapuntal technique, Bach's steady output of fugues began in Weimar. A big individual body of his fugal writing is The Well-Tempered Clavier, which consists in all of 48 preludes & fugues, a single pair for both major and relative minor key; this is a monumental operate for its masterful utilize of counterpoint & its exploration, for a first time, of the to the full range of keys—and the means of expression processed conceivable by their cold-shoulder differences from either every more—available to keyboardists while their instruments come tuned based on data from systems like that of Andreas Werckmeister.

When you took his tenure at Weimar, Bach began operate on the Orgelbüchlein ("Little Organ book") for his eldest boy, Wilhelm Friedemann; this contains traditional Lutheran chorales (hymn tunes), placed inside complex textures to assist a step by step videos of organists. A book illustrates ii major themes inside Bach's life: his dedication to teaching, & his love of the choral as a compositional inspiration.

The St Thomas church in Leipzig

Sensing increasing political tensions in the ducal court of Weimar, Bach began again to research retired the other stable job that was contributory to his musical interests. Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen hired Bach to serve as his Kapellmeister (director of music). Prince Leopold, himself the musician, appreciated Bach's talents, paid him swell, & gave him considerable latitude around composing & performing. Even so, a prince was Calvinist and did not utilize elaborate music within his worship; so, virtually all of Bach's act from either this cycle was lay. A Brandenburg concerti and many other instrumental works, including a Six Suites for Solo Cello, the Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, and a Orchestral Suites, date back this cycle.

Leipzig
Within 1723, Bach was appointed Cantor and Musical Director of the Thomaskirche, Leipzig.This post required him to instruct a students of the St Thomas School (Thomasschule) inside singing & to provide each week music at them independent churches in Leipzig. For the number one couple of years of his tenure at Leipzig, Bach composed the fresh cantata every week through good deal of the season. This challenging schedule, additionally to his additional lowly duties at a school, produced a select few of his virtually all exquisite music, virtually all of which has been preserved. Virtually all of a oratorio from either either this time period expound on the Sunday readings from the Bible for the week in which it were originally performed; a select few were written utilizing traditional church anthem, like Wachet auf! Ruft uns die Stimme & Nun komm, five hundred Heiden Heiland, when inspiration for the music.

In holy times, like Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter, Bach produced cantatas of particular brilliance, virtually all notably a Magnificat in D for Christmas and St. Matthew Passion for Good Friday. A composer himself considered a monumental St. Matthew Passion among his greatest masterpieces; around his correspondence, he referred to that when his "great Passion" & carefully prepared the calligraphical manuscript of the act, which expected well-nigh each available musician within Leipzig for its performance. Bach's representation all-important & message of Christianity around his religious music is considered by numerous to exist as & then right and beautiful that within Germany he is another time known as a Fifth Evangelist.

Family life
Bach married his second cousin, Maria Barbara Bach, on October 17, 1707 in Dornheim after receiving an inheritance of L gulden.They experienced septenary babies, quaternion of whom survived to adulthood. Little is known of Maria Barbara; she died suddenly in 7 July 1720, while Bach was overseas by using Prince Leopold.

When at Cöthen, Bach met Anna Magdalena Wilcke, a immature soprano; they married in 3 December 1721. Despite the age difference—she was Seventeen years his junior—the few seem to will have a happy marriage. Together it experienced Thirteen kids. His sons Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, Johann Gottfried Bernhard Bach, Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, Johann Christian Bach, and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach became accomplished musicians, & deuce-ace (CPE, JC, and WF Bach) were crucial composers in the rococo style that followed the baroqueness. Virtually all of Sebastian's manuscripts were passed in across his kids, particularly CPE & WF Bach.

At Leipzig, Sebastian seems to stand maintained active relationships sustaining many members of the faculty of the university. He enjoyed a particularly profitable relationship by having the poet Picander. Sebastian & Anna Magdalena welcomed friends, personal, & fellow musicians from either tons across Germany into their page. Court musicians at Dresden & Berlin, & musicians including George Philipp Telemann (one of CPE's godfathers) made frequent visits to Bach's home & will keep around saved higher frequent correspondence using him. Interestingly, Georg Friedrich Händel, who wwhen innate inside the equivalent season as Bach in Halle, merely Fifty kilometre from either Leipzig, processed many trips to Germany, however Bach was unable to meet him, the fact that he appears to use at times deeply regretted.

Later life
With spent great deal of the 1720s composing oratorio, Bach experienced assembled the sizeable repertoire of religious music that allowed him to prove my point performing telling Sunday music computer program when pursuing more genre. Numerous one late works were collaborations using Leipzig's Collegium Musicum. Among a babies were the quaternity volumes of the Clavier-Übung (Keyboard Practice), a big collection of works for organ & cembalo that includes a Six Partitas (Vol. We), a Italian Concerto, a French Overture (Vol. Deuce), & a Goldberg variations (Vol. IV).

In a period of time of this period, he completed the Mass in B Minor, which incorporated newly composed movements using area of earliest works. Around 1735, he presented a manuscript to the elector of Saxony around a successful bid to persuade the monarch to appoint him when Royal Court Composer. Although a mass was never performed when you took a composer's life-time, these are considered to exist as among a greatest choral works ever.

Around 1747, Bach attend Frederick the Great's court in Potsdam, where the king played the theme for Bach & challenged him to improvise a fugue according to his theme. Bach improvised the 3-a portiin fugue on Frederick's pianoforte, then the novelty, & late conferred the king sustaining a Musical Offering which consists of fugues, canons and a trio according to the "royal theme", nominated by the monarch. Its six-the share fugue includes a slightly altered subject extra suitable for extensive elaboration.

The Art of Fugue, was written months before his dying, & was bare. It consists of Xviii complex fugues & canons according to the elementary theme. a magnum opus of thematic transformation & contrapuntal hardware, this function is typically cited when the summation of polyphonic techniques.

the final act Bach completed was a chorale prelude for organ, dictated to his boy-within-law, Altnikol, from his deathbed. Entitled Vor deinen Thron tret ich hiermit (Prior to thy potty I personally nowadays pop up); while a notes of a final cadence come counted & mapped onto a Roman alphabet, the word "BACH" is again noticed. A choral is typically played fallowing a bare Fourteenth fugue to conclude performances of The Art of Fugue.

Bach spent his day of judgement witharound Leipzig & died there in 1750, at a age of 65. In the period of his life he got composed across 1,000 works.

Works

Style
Bach’s imaginative & unique melodies combine the finest of Italian, French & German styles when remaining fully & contrapuntal; notwithstanding, his melodies typically indicate emotion like than convey it—something that numbers of humans in todays world own condition understanding.

Bach’s counterpoint is among a virtually totally careful & accurate ever conceived; the complexness of these are captivating to composers & non-composers like, & contains when numerous when 5 melodies all harmonizing using both more at when. This combinatiin of original melodic style & masterful contrast forged the right influence on late composers. Many notable composers like Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann and Mendelssohn increased their attention to harmony and wrote additional complex works fallowing existence introduced to Bach. Present, his styles & melodies come a basis for music ranging from either anthem & religious music to pop & rock. Several of Bach’s themes—particularly a theme from either Toccata and Fugue in D minor—own been used inside rock songs repeatedly & have standard notable popularity.

Although a works of Bach typically influence more composers, 1 would run easily to remember that inside Bach's erthe, greatness was decided per ability to master a system, does'nt by cleverness. His music genre reflects a customs & conventions of his day, & was affected per works of Couperin and Domenico Scarlatti. Vivaldi also inspired Bach a great deal every bit may be seen by Bach's transcriptions of Vivaldi's violin concerti into harpsichord works.

The BWV numbering system
Johann Sebastian Bach's works come indexed by having BWV counts, an initialism for Bach Werke Verzeichnis (Bach Works Catalogue). A catalogue, published inside 1950, was compiled by Wolfgang Schmieder. A catalogue is organised thematically, like than chronologically: BWV One–224 come cantatas, BWV 225–48 the big-shell chorale works, BWV 250–524 chorales and sacred songs, BWV 525–748 organ works, BWV 772–994 other keyboard works, BWV 995–1000 lute music, BWV 1001–40 chamber music, BWV 1041–71 orchestral music, and BWV 1072–1126 canons and fugues. Inside compiling the catalogue, Schmieder largely followed a Bach Gesellschaft Ausgabe, a comprehensive edition of the composer's works that was produced between 1850 and 1905. For the listings of works catalogued by BWV total, look at List of compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Organ works
Bach was better known in the period of his life-time as an organist, organ adviser, & composer of organ works two in the traditional German loose genres like preludes, fantasias, and toccatas, and nonindulgent forms like chorale preludes and fugues. He established the reputation at the immature age for his low creative thinking & ability to integrate aspects of many different national styles into his organ works. The by all odds Northward German influence was exerted by Georg Böhm, whom Bach came withinside call for by owning in Lüneburg, and Dietrich Buxtehude in Lübeck, whom the immature organist visited withwithin 1704 in a long leave of absence from either his job in Arnstadt. Around this period Bach likewise copied a works of many French & Italian composers sequentially to benefit insights into their compositional languages, & afterwards potentially intended many fiddle concertos by Vivaldi and others for organ. His virtually all productive time (1708–14) saw non sole a composition of many pairs of preludes & fugues & toccatas and fugues, however likewise a writing of the Orgelbüchlein ("Little Organ Book"), an bare collection of 49 short choral preludes arranged to demonstrate various compositional techniques that can be utilized around setting chorale tunes. When he left Weimar, Bach's output for organ fell off, although his virtually all easily-known works (a 6 trio sonatas, a Clavierübung III of 1739, & the "Great Eighteen" choral, revised super late within his life) were 100% composed when this instance. Bach was too extensively engaged late withinside his life within consulting in various organ projects, researching newly-built organs, & dedicating organs in afternoon recitals.

Other keyboard works
Bach wrote numerous works for "clavier," unremarkably understood to mean an unspecified keyboard. Although a piano ("Klavier" within German) was invented in Bach's life, virtually all scholars doubt he got 1 or even arranged any of his music for it. His keyboard works might use been designed for harpsichord or clavichord instead.

The Two-part inventions and Three-part inventions (or "sinfonias") were probably arranged for instructional purposes like than concert utilise. He too wrote the placed of English suites and a placed of French suites, complex and hard music depending loosely in dance forms. He likewise wrote a total of more solo dances, suites, partitas, & the such as. Among a right-known one is The Well-Tempered Clavier, a placed of preludes & fugues inside every of the 12 major & minor keys. A word "well-tempered" refers to the temperament in which the keyboard is tuned; tuning systems prior to Bach's instance were non flexible plenty to allow compositions altogether keys to become played while forgoing retuning. These are, all the same, uncertain what temperament he intended. An additional noted function is The Goldberg Variations; while somewhat cerebral, their emotional content & range is progressively existence appreciated.

Chamber music
Bach wrote music for lone instruments, duets, & more little ensembles. For alone solo fiddle he composed the placed of sextet sonatas & partitas, & he likewise produced the similar placed for violoncello & a second for lute. He wrote trio sonatas, solo sonatas (accompanied by continuo) for the flute and for the viola da gamba, and the heavy total of canons and ricercare, mostly for unspecified instrumentation. A virtually all important examples of the latter come contained in The Art of Fugue and The Musical Offering.

Orchestral works
Bach's right-known orchestral works come a Brandenburg concertos, so known as because he submitted the two as a job audition for the Margrave of Brandenburg in 1721 (he did not acquire a job). These works come examples of the concerto grosso genre. More living works in the concerto form include 2 fiddle concertos, the concerto for two fiddle (typically known as Bach's "double" concerto), & concertos for a single, ii, leash, & potentially quaternity cembalo. These are widely accepted that numerous of the cembalo concertos were non original works however arrangements of nowadays misplaced concertos for more instruments. The total of fiddle, hautboy, & flute concertos stand been reconstructed from either these. Additionally to concertos, Bach as well wrote quartet orchestral suites, a series of stylised dances for orchestra. A function currently called a Air on a G String is an excerpt from either Orchestral Suite #3.

Vocal and choral works
Cantatas
Bach performed the cantata every Sunday at the Thomaskirche, on the theme corresponding to the lectionary readings of the week. Although he performed oratorio by more composers, he too composed at least 3 entire sets of oratorio, 1 for every Sunday & holiday of the church month, at Leipzig, additionally to victims composed at Mühlhausen and Weimar. Inside sum he wrote terminated 300 oratorio, of which single 195 hold out.

His oratorio diverge greatly inside form & instrumentation. the bit of of the children come merely for a solo singer; two or three come individual choruses; a few come for grand orchestras, occasionally simply a few instruments. The super most common format, yet, includes the big opening chorus followed by 1 or even even additional recitative-arithe pairs for soloists (or duets), & a final chorale. A recitative occurs as share of a corresponding Bible reading for the week & the aria is a contemporary reflection thereon. A terminal choral typically as well appears as a chorale prelude in a central movement, & now and then as a cantus firmus in the opening chorus as well. A better known one oratorio are Cantata No. 4 ("Christ lag in Todesbanden"), Cantata No. 80 ("Ein feste Burg"), Cantata No. 140 ("Wachet auf") and Cantata No. 147 ("Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben").

Additionally, Bach wrote the total of lay oratorio, ordinarily for civic cases like weddings. A Coffee Cantata, concerning the girl whose father may non let her marry until she gives higher her coffee addiction, is the better known one.

Motets
When a portion of Bach's regular church act, he copied & performed motets by many more composers (indeed, he normally began from each 1 Sunday service by having one). These motets were mostly double-choir motets of the Venetian school, or further contemporary imitations of the style.

Bach wrote many motets himself, & it is too mostly for double choir, though a largest of the children, Jesu, meine Freude, is written for one, 5-voice choir. Exactly how else numbers of motets occurs as matter of dispute; there are captain hicks undoubted motets by Bach, two or three others of doubtful authorship, & a few works classified in the BWV as cantatas however considered by a bit of scholars to exist as motets. These are non certain for what occasion Bach wrote these works, however these are thought that virtually all were for funerals.

No subservient area for these motets (except Lobet den Herrn, which has a thorough bass a share), however it was average of performance practice of the time to double vocal works by using instruments & accompany the children sustaining basthen continuo, so this method is typically followed for modern performances; more performing artist run the children able.

Large works
Bach's big choral-orchestral works include a famous St. Matthew Passion and St. John Passion, both written for Holy Week services at the Thomaskirche, the Christmas Oratorio (a set of six cantatas for use in the Liturgical season of Christmas), a Magnificat in two versions, one in D major for a substantial orchestra with trumpets and timpani, and one for a smaller orchestra in E-flat major, with extra movements interpolated among the movements of the Magnificat text.

Bach's more big function, a Mass in B minor, was assembled by Bach near a prevent of his life, mostly from either pieces composed earliest (such as Cantata 191 and Cantata 12). It was never performed inside Bach's life-time, or when his demise until a 19th century.

100% these works, unlike a motets, own real solo area also when choruses.

Performances
Inside Bach's period musical ensembles were typically non when big when, say, around Brahms's. Couple of his works were composed for to the higher degree a xii musicians. This leaves a wonder when to whether present-contemporary performing artist should attach to authentic performance, or order big, modern orchestrations to which numbers of of his works keep close at hand been adopted. Occasionally of his additional crucial chamber musics don't suggest favorite instruments, allowing possibly big space for arrangements.

Extremely influential interpreters of Bach include Glenn Gould and Edwin Fischer (piano), Helmut Walcha and E. Power Biggs (organ), Pablo Casals and Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Nathan Milstein (violin), Karl Richter (chorus and orchestra), Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Gustav Leonhardt (cantatas, authentic performance), Joshua Rifkin and Andrew Parrott (choral works, one per part).

Transcriptions

Bach's music has inspired numbers of composers to produce music according to his themes, or even transcribe his works for other instruments. His complete works for even cembalo use been edited or transcribed by Busoni, and Liszt wrote both the praeludium & fugue on the BACH motif. A second familiar transcription is the Ave Maria by Charles Gounod, based on a 1st prelude of the Well-Tempered Clavier.

Legacy

Within his late years & fallowing his dying, Bach's reputation as a composer declined: his function was look on old-fashioned in comparison a emerging classical style. He wwhen far from either forgotten, still: he wwhen remembered as a streaming video player & teacher (too, course, as composer), & as father of his babies (virtually all notably C. P. E. Bach). His right-appreciated compositions therein time period were his keyboard works, where field more composers continued to acknowledge his mastery. Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin were among his virtually all large admirers. within the visit to the Thomasschule in Leipzig, Mozart heard a performance of one of a motets (BWV 225) and exclaimed, "Now, here is something one can learn from!"; in existence given a area of the motets, "Mozart sat down, the parts all around him, held in both hands, on his knees, on the nearest chairs. Forgetting everything else, he did not stand up again until he had looked through all the music of Sebastian Bach". Beethoven was too a lover, learning the Easily-Tempered Clavier as a tike & late calling Bach "Urvater der Harmonie" ("original father of harmony") & "nicht Bach, sondern Meer" ("not a stream but a sea", wordplay on the literal meaning of the composer's title). Chopin utilized to lock himself away prior to his concerts & play Bach's music.

A revival in the composer's reputation among a wider public was prompted around a portion by Johann Nikolaus Forkel's 1802 biography, which was scan by Beethoven among others. Goethe became acquainted with Bach's works comparatively late within life, across the series of performances of keyboard & choral work on Bad Berka within 1814 and 1815; in a letter of 1827 he likened the own experience of listening to Bach's music to "eternal harmony in dialogue with itself". . Mendelssohn's promotion of Bach, & a incubation of the composer's stature, continued within subsequent years. A Bach Gesellschaft (or Bach Society) was founded inside 1850 to promote the works, & all over a next half century it published a comprehensive edition. Thereafter Bach's reputation has remained systematically high. When you took a 20th century a process of recognising a musical theater besides when the pedagogical value of a few of the works has continued, peradventure virtually all notably in the promotion of the Cello Suites by Pablo Casals. An additional development has been a incubation of the authentic or even period performance movement, which attempts to present a music when a composer meant it. Examples include a swimming of keyboard works on the harpsichord rather than a modern grand piano, and a utilize of little choirs or lone voices instead of the big forces favoured by 19th and early 20th century performers.

Johann Sebastian Bach's contributions to music, or even, to borrow the term popularised by his student Lorenz Christoph Mizler, "musical science" are often in comparison a "original geniuses" of William Shakespeare in English literature and Isaac Newton in physics.

Media

J.S. Bach Home Page
An extensive biography, tour of Bach's life in Germany, catalog of his works, bibliography, recommended recordings, and links. Award-winning site, maintained by Jan Hanford in North America and Jan Koster in Europe.

Riemenschneider Bach Institute
Archive and research institute at Baldwin-Wallace College. Organization, contact, and journal subscription information provided, along with links and festival details.

J. S. Bach: Canons and Fugues
Tim Smith's studies of the composer's life and music, concentrating on the contrapuntal music.

J.S. Bach Archive and Bibliography
Biographical information, pictures and the full texts of over forty cantatas.

J. S. Bach Texts
Complete vocal works with English translations. Limited permission to copy in programs and program notes.

Johann Sebastian Bach 1685-1750
Basic information on the composer. Drop-down menu allows focus on specific periods of his life. Links to lives of other composers.

Exeter Bach Society
News of Bach concerts in the Cathedral which support its Music Foundation Trust. Includes contact and membership information and an events diary.

Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician
Review of the biography by Christoph Wolff details the book's contents and points out highlights.

Biography of J.S. Bach
Brief sketch of his life, focusing on his rapidity of composition and technical skills both in playing and maintaining various instruments.

Dave's J.S. Bach Works Catalog
Complete works catalog, directory of internet resources, recommended recordings, MIDI and RealAudio files, images, icons, links, and a monthly quiz and CD giveaway.


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