Johann Sebastian Bach
![1748 portrait of Bach, showing him holding a copy of the six-part [[Canon (music)|canon]] [[BWV 1076]].{{sfn|Wolff|Emery|2001|loc="10. Iconography"}}](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Johann_Sebastian_Bach.jpg)
The Bach family already counted several composers when Johann Sebastian was born as the last child of a city musician, Johann Ambrosius, in Eisenach. After being orphaned at the age of 10, he lived for five years with his eldest brother Johann Christoph, after which he continued his musical education in Lüneburg. From 1703 he was back in Thuringia, working as a musician for Protestant churches in Arnstadt and Mühlhausen and, for longer periods, at courts in Weimar, where he expanded his organ repertory, and Köthen, where he was mostly engaged with chamber music. From 1723, he was employed as Thomaskantor (cantor at St Thomas's) in Leipzig. There, he composed music for the principal Lutheran churches of the city and its university's student ensemble Collegium Musicum. From 1726, he published some of his keyboard and organ music. In Leipzig, as had happened during some of his earlier positions, he had difficult relations with his employer. This situation was little remedied when his sovereign, Augustus III of Poland, granted him the title of court composer in 1736. In the last decades of his life, he reworked and extended many of his earlier compositions. He died of complications after a botched eye surgery in 1750 at the age of 65.
Bach enriched established German styles through his mastery of counterpoint, harmonic, and motivic organisation, and his adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach's compositions include hundreds of cantatas, both sacred and secular. He composed Latin church music, Passions, oratorios, and motets. He often adopted Lutheran hymns, not only in his larger vocal works but, for instance, also in his four-part chorales and his sacred songs. He wrote extensively for organ and for other keyboard instruments. He composed concertos, for instance for violin and for harpsichord, and suites, as chamber music as well as for orchestra. Many of his works employ contrapuntal techniques like canon and fugue.
Throughout the 18th century, Bach was primarily valued as an organist, while his keyboard music, such as ''The Well-Tempered Clavier'', was appreciated for its didactic qualities. The 19th century saw the publication of some significant Bach biographies, and by the end of that century, all of his known music had been printed. Dissemination of scholarship on the composer continued through periodicals (and later also websites) exclusively devoted to him and other publications such as the ''Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis'' (BWV, a numbered catalogue of his works) and new critical editions of his compositions. His music was further popularised through a multitude of arrangements, including the ''Air on the G String'' and "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring", and of recordings, such as three different box sets with complete performances of the composer's oeuvre marking the 250th anniversary of his death. Provided by Wikipedia
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241by Keirstead Mills, Karen, Mews, Douglas, Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750, Purcell, Henry, 1659-1695, Handel, George Frideric, 1685-1759, Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1756-1791, Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770-1827, Puccini, Giacomo, 1858-1924, Verdi, Giuseppe, 1813-1901, Duparc, Henri, 1848-1933, Debussy, Claude, 1862-1918, Faur�, Gabriel, 1845-1924, Hageman, Richard, 1882-1966, Liebling, Estelle, 1880-1970, Quilter, Roger, 1877-1953Get access
Published 1978
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242by Porter, Devin, Heys, Leslee, Bannister, Matthew, Ward, Josh, Madden, Bradley, Powell, Rebecca, Roberts, Philip, Kao, Heather, Press, Adam, Purcell, Henry, 1659-1695, Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750, Bayly, Thomas Haynes, 1797-1839, Vivaldi, Antonio, 1678-1741, Telemann, Georg Philipp, 1681-1767, Boccherini, Luigi, 1743-1805, Grieg, Edvard, 1843-1907, Capuzzi, Antonio, 1755-1818, Franc�ur, Fran�ois, 1698-1787, Brahms, Johannes, 1833-1897Get access
Published 2002
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243by Harding, Geraldine, Heys, Leslee, Borgaonkar, Maya, LeMessurier, Susan, Caldara, Antonio, 1670-1736, Handel, George Frideric, 1685-1759, Schumann, Robert, 1810-1856, Poulenc, Francis, 1899-1963, Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1756-1791, Gershwin, George, 1898-1937, Chopin, Fr�d�ric, 1810-1849, Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750, Scriabin, Aleksandr Nikolayevich, 1872-1915, Haydn, Joseph, 1732-1809, Ravel, Maurice, 1875-1937, Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990Get access
Published 1997
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244by Snow, Shannon, Heys, Leslee, Colbert, Andrea, Penney, Andrea, Willcott, Valerie, Martin, Ross, Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750, Schumann, Robert, 1810-1856, McDonald, Boyd, 1932-, Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1756-1791, Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770-1827, Chausson, Ernest, 1855-1899, Poulenc, Francis, 1899-1963, Duncan, Chester, Puccini, Giacomo, 1858-1924, Sullivan, Arthur, 1842-1900, Gilbert, W. S. (William Schwenck), 1836-1911, Rossini, Gioacchino, 1792-1868Get access
Published 1996
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245by Anderson, Paula, Barrett, Heather, Colton, Glenn, Dinn, Catherine, Dinn, Mary, Haydn, Joseph, 1732-1809, Chopin, Fr�d�ric, 1810-1849, Gershwin, George, 1898-1937, Messiaen, Olivier, 1908-1992, Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1756-1791, Debussy, Claude, 1862-1918, Poulenc, Francis, 1899-1963, Coulthard, Jean, 1908-, Liszt, Franz, 1811-1886, Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750, Vivaldi, Antonio, 1678-1741, Bloch, Ernest, 1880-1959, Romberg, Bernhard, 1767-1841Get access
Published 1990
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246by Woodland, Craig, Pritchett, Dwight, Humphrey, David, Cowan, John, Wynne, Peter, Doyle, Michelle, Barfoot, Charlie, Follett, Craig, Raymond, Renee, Knowles, Kenneth, Duff, Jim, Monteverdi, Claudio, 1567-1643, Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750, Maurer, Ludwig Wilhelm, 1789-1878, Pezel, Johann, 1639-1694, Feld, Jind*rich, 1925-, Calvert, Morley, 1928-, Hooper, Les, Culbertson, Brian, Beach, Doug, Nestico, Sammy, Gershwin, George, 1898-1937, Taylor, Mark, Clark, Andy, Mintzer, BobGet access
Published 1995
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247by Rose, Kelly, Wells, Ellen, Head, Peggy, Rowsell, Sally, Deering, Jennifer, Dingle, Paul, Handel, George Frideric, 1685-1759, Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750, Wolf, Hugo, 1860-1903, Purcell, Henry, 1659-1695, Mercure, Pierre, 1927-1966, Haydn, Joseph, 1732-1809, Strauss, Richard, 1864-1949, Rodrigo, Joaqu�n, Snelgrove, Michael C., Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1756-1791, Somers, Harry, 1925-, Schumann, Robert, 1810-1856, Puccini, Giacomo, 1858-1924Get access
Published 1990
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248by Keels, Dan, Way, Brian, Noftall, Michelle, Martin, Ross, Dinn, Laura, Serocki, Kazimierz, McCarty, Patrick, 1928-, Larsson, Lars-Erik, 1908, Vivaldi, Antonio, 1678-1741, Schumann, Robert, 1810-1856, Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1756-1791, Debussy, Claude, 1862-1918, Bernstein, Leonard, 1918-, Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750, Pergolesi, Giovanni Battista, 1710-1736, Schubert, Franz, 1797-1828, Poulenc, Francis, 1899-1963, Head, Michael, 1900-1976, Telson, b.Get access
Published 1998
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249by Snow, Shannon, Feaver, Paul, Heys, Leslee, Fang, Katie, Stainer, John, 1840-1901, Purcell, Henry, 1659-1695, Carissimi, Giacomo, 1605-1674, Haydn, Joseph, 1732-1809, Donizetti, Gaetano, 1797-1848, Schumann, Robert, 1810-1856, Brahms, Johannes, 1833-1897, Hahn, Reynaldo, 1875-1947, Debussy, Claude, 1862-1918, Finzi, Gerald, 1901-1956, Floyd, Carlisle, Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750, Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770-1827, Liszt, Franz, 1811-1886Get access
Published 1997
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250by Fong, Mimi, Lemessurier, Janice, Mills, Trina, Keough, Valerie, Handrigan, Nancy, Hwang, Grace, Keough, Shanna, Fewer, Mark, Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750, Lully, Jean-Baptiste, 1632-1687, Monk, William Henry, 1823-1889, Martini, Giovanni Battista, 1706-1784, Suzuki, Shin'ichi, 1898-1998, Bayly, Thomas Haynes, 1797-1839, Brahms, Johannes, 1833-1897, Paganini, Nicol�, 1782-1840, Dvor?a?k, Anton�n, 1841-1904, Schumann, Robert, 1810-1856Get access
Published 1981
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251by Withers, Karen, Wells, Ellen, Hall, Rebecca, Dingle, Paul, Tucker, Scott, Payne, Mark, Bonnell, Bruce, Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1756-1791, B�hm, Theobald, 1794-1881, Burton, Eldin, Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750, Faur�, Gabriel, 1845-1924, Schubert, Franz, 1797-1828, Fasch, Johann Friedrich, 1688-1758, Hummel, Johann Nepomuk, 1778-1837, Tomasi, Henri, 1901-1971, Clarke, H.L., Gli�re, Reinhold Moritsevich, 1875-1956, Berlioz, Hector, 1803-1869, Donizetti, Gaetano, 1797-1848, Strauss, Franz, 1822-1905Get access
Published 1990
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252by Bella, Mary, Thomson, Heather, Pomeroy, David, Yee, Thomas, Woodland, Craig, Ash, Stephen, Clarke, Penni, Sullivan, Katie, King, Gordon: Pitcher, Michelle, Handel, George Frideric, 1685-1759, Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1756-1791, Tosti, F. Paolo (Francesco Paolo), 1846-1916, Gounod, Charles, 1818-1893, Hunsberger, Donald, Cable, Howard, 1920-, Scheidt, Samuel, 1587-1654, Sousa, John Philip, 1854-1932, Chopin, Fr�d�ric, 1810-1849, Debussy, Claude, 1862-1918, Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750, Liszt, Franz, 1811-1886, Galliard, John Ernest, -1747Get access
Published 1994
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253by Jackman, Sean, Martin, Geoffrey, Green, Peter, Davenport, Benjamin, Reid, Carolyn, Russell, John, Josquin, des Prez, d. 1521, Le Jeune, Claude, d. 1600, Palestrina, Giovanni Pierluigi da, 1525?-1594, Passereau, Pierre, fl. 1509-1547, Fillmore, Henry, 1881-1956, Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750, Shostakovich, Dmitrii Dmitrievich, 1906-1975, Joplin, Scott, 1868-1917, Mulet, Henri, Schroeder, H., Scarlatti, Domenico, 1685-1757, Rachmaninoff, Sergei, 1873-1943, Saint-Sa�ns, Camille, 1835-1921, Handel, George Frideric, 1685-1759, Strauss, Richard, 1864-1949, Puccini, Giacomo, 1858-1924, Ravel, Maurice, 1875-1937, Ives, Charles, 1874-1954Get access
Published 1988
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254by School of Music, Boston UniversityContributors: “...Bach, Johann Sebastian...”
Published 1995
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