Biography of I.S. Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was a great German composer and organist. Born March 21, 1685 in Leipzig. After the death of his parents, Johann Bach was taken in by his brother Johann Christoph. He taught the future composer to play the clavier and organ. Then Bach Sebastian Johann went to study at a singing school in the city of Lüneburg. There he gets acquainted with the work of modern musicians, develops comprehensively. During the years 1700-1703 Bach's first organ music was written.
After completing his studies, Johann Sebastian was sent to Duke Ernst as a musician at the court. Then he was invited to be a caretaker in the organ hall of the church in Arnstadt, after which he became an organist. During this time, many works by Bach were written. Later he became an organist in the city of Mühlhausen. In 1797 Bach married Maria Barbara, his cousin. The authorities were pleased at that time with his work, the composer received a reward for publishing the work.
However, Bach again decided to change jobs, this time becoming court organist in Weimar. In this city, three children are born in the family of a musician. The next employer of Bach, who highly appreciated his talent, was the Duke of Anhalt-Köthen. During the period from 1717 to 1723, Bach's magnificent suites appeared (for orchestra, cello, clavier).
In 1920, Bach's wife died, but a year later the composer married again, now to a singer. The happy family had 13 children. During his stay in Köthen, Bach's Brandenburg Concertos were written.
In 1923, the musician became a teacher at the church, then - music director in Leipzig. The wide repertoire of Johann Sebastian Bach included secular, wind music. For his biography, Johann Sebastian Bach managed to visit the head of the music college. Several cycles of the composer Bach used all kinds of instruments (“Musical Offering”, “The Art of the Fugue”).
In the last years of his life, Bach quickly lost his sight, and after an unsuccessful operation, he became completely blind. But this did not stop the composer - now he dictated his works.
An interesting fact from the life of J.S. Bach
Bach's father died suddenly when Johann Sebastian was nine years old, and the boy was raised by his older brother, the organist of Ohrdruf, Johann Christoph Bach.
Christoph had a collection of works by then famous composers: Froberger, Pachelbel, Buxtehude. But this collection of ‘fashionable’ music was locked in a barred cabinet by the elder brother so that Johann Sebastian would not become corrupt and lose respect for generally accepted musical authorities.
However, at night, young Bach managed in some cunning way to pick up and pull out a music collection from behind the bars ... He secretly rewrote it for himself, but the whole difficulty lay in the fact that it was impossible to get candles and had to use only moonlight.
For six months, ten-year-old Johann Sebastian rewrote notes at night, but, alas ... When the heroic work was nearing completion, Johann Christoph caught his younger brother at the crime scene and took away both the original and the copy from the recalcitrant ...
Bach's grief knew no bounds, in tears he cried out:
- If so, I myself will write such music, I will write even better!
The brother laughed and said:
"Go to sleep, bastard."
But Johann Sebastian did not waste words and kept his childhood promise...
Biography of L.V. Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was a great German composer, pianist and conductor. Beethoven was born on December 17, 1770 in Bonn into a musical family. From childhood, they began to teach him to play the organ, harpsichord, violin, flute.
For the first time, the composer Nefe became seriously engaged with Ludwig. Already at the age of 12, in the biography of Ludwig van Beethoven, the first work of a musical orientation was obtained - an assistant organist at court. Beethoven studied several languages, tried to compose music.
After his mother's death in 1787, he took over the financial responsibilities of the family. Ludwig Beethoven began to play in the orchestra, listen to university lectures. Having accidentally encountered Haydn in Bonn, Beethoven decides to take lessons from him. For this, he moves to Vienna. After some attempts, Haydn sends Beethoven to study with Albrechtsberger. Haydn noted that Beethoven's music was dark and strange. However, in those years, virtuoso piano playing brought Ludwig first glory. Beethoven's works differ from classical clavenist playing. In the same place, in Vienna, well-known compositions were written in the future: Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, Pathetique.
Beethoven's biography of the following years is richly filled with new works: the First, Second Symphonies, "The Creation of Prometheus", "Christ on the Mount of Olives." However, Beethoven's further work was complicated by the development of an ear disease - tinitis.
The composer retires to the city of Heiligenstadt. There he works on the Third - Heroic Symphony. Complete deafness separates Ludwig from the outside world. However, even this event cannot make him stop composing. According to critics, Beethoven's Third Symphony fully reveals his greatest talent. Opera "Fidelio" is staged in Vienna, Prague, Berlin.
In 1802-1812, Beethoven wrote sonatas with special desire and zeal. Then a whole series of works for piano, cello, the famous Ninth Symphony, Solemn Mass were created. However, strong feelings for his nephew, whom Beethoven took under guardianship, quickly aged the composer. On March 26, 1827, Beethoven died.
Interesting facts from the life of Beethoven:
- Once Beethoven and Goethe, while walking, met the Empress, surrounded by her retinue and courtiers. Goethe, stepping aside, bowed deeply, Beethoven passed through the crowd of courtiers, barely touching his hat.
- Beethoven couldn't multiply.
- Each time, before sitting down at the table and starting to compose music, Beethoven put his head in a basin of ice water. This technique became so habitual with him that the composer could not refuse it until the end of his life.
- For some time, Beethoven studied with the Austrian composer and music theorist Johann Albrechtsberger, the author of an excellent textbook on composition. With his stubbornness, Beethoven annoyed his teacher to no end, so that he once said: "This stupid thing has learned nothing and will never learn anything!"
- Beethoven always brewed coffee from 64 beans.
- Once, at one of the rehearsals of the orchestra led by Beethoven, and one of his symphonies was being played, the concertmaster of the orchestra noticed that when playing the wrong notes, Beethoven did not pay any attention to what was happening. The same thing happened at one of the concerts, when the orchestra stopped playing, and Beethoven continued to conduct.
Biography of W. A. Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was a great Austrian composer and conductor. Mozart was born on January 27, 1756 in the city of Salzburg into a musical family. His father taught him to play the organ, violin, harpsichord. In 1762 the family travels to Vienna, Munich. There are concerts by Mozart, his sister Maria Anna. Then, while traveling through the cities of Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Mozart's music amazes listeners with amazing beauty. For the first time the composer's works are published in Paris.
The next few years (1700-1774) Amadeus Mozart lived in Italy. There, for the first time, his operas (“Mithridates the King of Pontus”, “Lucius Sulla”, “The Dream of Scipio”) are staged, which receive great success from the public. In total, by the age of 17, in the biography of Mozart, the composer's wide repertoire included more than 40 major works.
From 1775 to 1780 the composer worked fruitfully. After taking the position of court organist in 1779, Mozart's symphonies, his operas contain more and more new techniques. The marriage of Wolfgang Mozart to Constance Weber was also reflected in his work. The opera The Abduction from the Seraglio is imbued with the romance of those times. Some of Mozart's operas remained unfinished, because the difficult financial situation of the family forced the composer to devote a lot of time to various part-time jobs. Piano concerts by Mozart were held in aristocratic circles, the musician himself was forced to write plays, waltzes to order, and teach.
In 1789, in the biography of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a very lucrative offer was received to lead the court chapel in Berlin. However, the composer's refusal further exacerbated the material shortage.
For Mozart, the works of that time were extremely successful. "Magic Flute", "Mercy of Titus" - these operas were written quickly, but very high quality, expressive, with beautiful shades. Mozart's famous Requiem Mass was never completed before his death. The work was completed by the composer's student Süssmeier.
Interesting facts from the life of Mozart:
1. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart started writing music at the age of 5. The future great Austrian composer, conductor, virtuoso violinist and organist memorized and recorded Miserere by the Italian Gregorio Allegri in childhood, having listened to the chant only once.
2. Once a young man approached Mozart who wanted to become a composer.
How to write a symphony? - he asked.
“But you are still very young for a symphony,” Mozart replied, “why not start with something simpler, like a ballad?”
- But you yourself composed a symphony when you were nine years old ...
“Yes,” agreed Mozart. But I didn't ask anyone how to do it...
3. Once, on one of the streets of Vienna, a poor man turned to the composer. But the composer did not have any money with him, and Mozart invited the unfortunate man to go to a cafe. Sitting down at the table, he took a piece of paper out of his pocket and wrote a minuet in a few minutes. Mozart gave this composition to a beggar, and advised him to go to one publisher. He took the paper and went to the indicated address, not really believing in success. The publisher looked at the minuet and ... gave the beggar five gold coins, saying that he could bring more such compositions.
Johann Sebastian Bach wrote more than 1000 works during his life, which became world leaders. The composer was not an easy person, he had an incredible musical talent. In his life there were both tragedies and memorable moments. This man became famous as an unsurpassed organist of the 30s.
1. Johann Sebastian Bach's favorite activity was to visit some church in the outback. He went there, dressing up as a poor teacher.
2. Bach is the only one of the musicians who played the accordion well.
3. More than 50 Bach relatives were famous musicians.
4. Bach played the organ.
5. Interesting facts about Bach say that at the age of 9 he lost his mother, and a year later his father died.
7. Of the four surviving children of Bach, only 2 were able to become famous composers.
8. Bach is considered a representative of the Baroque era.
9. Bach was a music teacher.
10. In 1717, Johann Sebastian Bach was invited to a musical duel with Marchand, but as a result he had to perform alone.
11. During his life, Johann Sebastian Bach wrote more than 1000 works.
12. Bach was the youngest of 8 children in the family.
13. Only thanks to Bach, not only men, but also women can sing in the choirs at the church.
14. Johann Sebastian Bach studied at St. Michael's Vocal School. This happened when the famous composer was 15 years old.
15. Bach gained fame, bringing him a good income.
16. This composer never took money for his private lessons.
17. In January 1703, Johann Sebastian Bach received the position of court musician from Johann Ernst.
18. Facts from the life of Johann Sebastian Bach claim that in the last years of his life he lost his sight, and numerous operations did not give a positive result.
19. Georg Friedrich Handel became a contemporary of Bach, but these great composers never met.
20. Johann Sebastian Bach lived in 8 cities throughout his life.
21. Bach's father died suddenly when the great musician was 9 years old.
22. In the town of Weimar, Bach received a position as court organist.
23. Quite often, Bach could break loose and yell at his colleagues.
24. Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emmanuel were born to Bach in the city of Weimar.
25. Johann Sebastian Bach appreciated the possibility of free creativity. This is reminiscent of facts from the life of Bach.
26. Bach spent 1 month in prison for constantly asking for his resignation.
26. Bach's wife became the first chorus girl in the church.
27. Bach was very fond of falling asleep to music.
28. Johann Sebastian Bach considered himself one of the most religious people.
29. Bach played not only the organ, but also the harpsichord.
30. Bach's creativity is striking in its scope.
31. Bach composed music not only for individual instruments, but also for ensembles.
32. In 1720, Bach's wife died suddenly, but a year later he married again.
33. With his second wife, Bach had 13 children.
34. In 1850, the Bach Society was founded. This is evidenced by interesting facts about Bach.
35. In Leipzig there is a monument to this great musician.
36. In 1723, Johann Sebastian Bach became a teacher at the singing school at the Church of St. Thomas.
37. In 1729, the famous composer became the head of the "Musician's College" circle.
38. In 1707, Bach married his own cousin, Maria Barbara Bach.
39. Johann Sebastian Bach decided to be buried in the Johannis cemetery.
40. One day, young Bach went from Lüneburg to Hamburg to listen to the then-famous composer and organist I.A. Reinken.
41. At the end of July 1949, the remains of Bach were transferred to the choirs of the Church of St. Thomas.
42. Johann Sebastian Bach spent quite a lot of time on the musical education of his own children.
43. The musician found gold ducats in herring heads.
44. Bach entered the top 10 greatest composers of all time.
45. In total, Bach had 17 children: from the first wife - 4 children, and from the second - 13.
46. Bach's creativity is the highest point of the era of polyphony in Western European music.
47. Bach's first composing experiences took place at the age of 15.
48. Bach lived for 65 years.
49. Bach died in Leipzig.
50. Johann Sebastian Bach never boasted of his successes and achievements.
51. Nobody bothered to put a tombstone on Bach's grave.
52. Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the greatest representatives of world culture.
53. Until now, there is no exact evidence that Bach Johann lies in the grave. Interesting facts about this person confirm that his remains were transferred many times from place to place.
54. Only 200 years after Bach's death was a complete catalog of his works published.
55. Bach belonged to a musical family.
56. Bach is considered the representative of the 5th generation of musicians.
57. Having heard Marchand's composition only once, Johann Sebastian Bach performed it without a single mistake.
58. He wrote 8 choral concertos.
59. Bach was the first to feel the versatility of playing the clavier.
60. Bach left a legacy after his death, which consisted of a significant amount of money, 52 church books and many musical instruments.
61. Only in Germany there are 12 monuments to the composer.
62. During the performance of Bach's famous works in churches, either Johann himself or one of his sons was usually behind the organ.
63. Several sons of the musician also became quite famous composers.
64. In order to protect his own independence, Johann Sebastian Bach tried with all his might to get the position of court musician.
65. The surname Bach literally translates from German as "stream".
66. One person ordered Bach to write such a work so that after listening to it, one could fall asleep in a sound and healthy sleep.
67. At the beginning of the 14s, Bach creates the second volume of The Well-Tempered Clavier.
69. In the last years of his life, Johann Sebastian Bach loses interest in musical activities, so he refuses various concerts and meetings.
70. The pedagogical activity of Bach during his lifetime did not receive due appreciation.
In school textbooks and specialized literature, one can find detailed biographies of great composers, which provide detailed information about all the events of their lives. But sometimes minor incidents that remain "behind the scenes" form a much more complete picture of the personalities of the musicians. Most funny stories from the life of the famous composers - Beethoven, Bach, Schubert, Paganini, Haydn, Mozart- further in the review.
These stories sound anecdotal, it is difficult to say which of them actually took place in reality. But knowing what character traits the great composers showed in dealing with others, we can assume that they are reliable. So, everyone was talking about the quarrelsome and gloomy character of Ludwig van Beethoven. He was uncompromising and categorical even in dealing with loved ones. His younger brother Johann saved up money, bought an estate and was very proud of it. One day he sent his older brother a business card, proudly signed “Johann van Beethoven. Landowner". The composer sent the card back, putting his signature on the back: “Ludwig van Beethoven. Mind owner."
Once, one of the listeners, amazed by the virtuoso playing of Johann Sebastian Bach, asked him: “You play any music very naturally, can you tell me how you can learn to play faster like that?”. Bach replied: “In order to play music, you don’t need to study at all. There is, of course, nothing complicated about this. You just need to press the right keys with your fingers at the right time. Bach was generally a well-known joker. Sometimes he disguised himself as a poor school teacher, and in some remote church he asked permission to play the church organ. His music was so magnificent and powerful that many parishioners fled in fright, thinking that the devil had entered the church in disguise.
Franz Schubert lived in constant need. His biggest earnings - 800 florins per concert - were enough for only a few weeks: Schubert bought a piano (he had to rent an instrument before), paid off debts - and the money ran out again. After the death of the composer, an inventory of all his property fit into 4 lines, only clothes and bed linen were mentioned there.
Once, late for a concert, Niccolo Paganini hired a cab and was very surprised when he, instead of the usual fee, called the amount ten times as large. When asked about the reason, the driver replied: “You charge 10 francs for a ticket from everyone who comes to listen to you play on one string.” Paganini replied: "Very well, I will pay you 10 francs, but only if you take me to the theater on one wheel."
Joseph Haydn, conducting an orchestra in London, knew that often listeners come to concerts out of tradition, and not for the love of the music itself. Such connoisseurs of beauty often fell asleep at concerts. Haydn decided to take revenge on the indifferent listeners: performing a new symphony, he included in it a deafening drumbeat in those moments when the audience calmed down and relaxed. Since then, this symphony has been called "Symphony with timpani beats", or "Surprise".
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart answered questions about his work with childlike spontaneity. Sometimes this was really due to age: when he was 14 years old, after a performance, a teenager approached him and asked how to learn to play like that. “It’s not difficult at all, you just write down the melody you like with the help of notes. You just have to try,” Mozart replied. The interlocutor said that he was better at writing poetry. The composer suggested that this is even more difficult than writing music. "Stop doing that! It’s quite easy, you just try,” the young man objected to him, which, according to legend, was Goethe.
Domestic composers also had their own habits and quirks:
1. young delinquent
Bach's father died suddenly when Johann Sebastian was nine years old, and the boy was given to be raised by his older brother, the organist of the city of Ohrdruf, Johann Christoph Bach.
Christoph had a collection of works by then famous composers: Froberger, Pachelbel, Buxtehude. But this collection of ‘fashionable’ music was locked in a barred cabinet by the elder brother so that Johann Sebastian would not become corrupt and lose respect for generally accepted musical authorities.
However, at night, young Bach managed in some cunning way to pick up and pull out a music collection from behind the bars ... He secretly rewrote it for himself, but the whole difficulty lay in the fact that it was impossible to get candles and had to use only moonlight.
For six months, ten-year-old Johann Sebastian rewrote notes at night, but, alas ... When the heroic work was nearing completion, Johann Christoph caught his younger brother at the crime scene and took away both the original and the copy from the recalcitrant ...
Bach's grief knew no bounds, in tears he cried out:
- If so, I myself will write such music, I will write even better!
The brother laughed and said:
- Go to sleep, bastard.
But Johann Sebastian did not waste words and kept his childhood promise...
2. the secret of the three herrings
Somehow, young Bach went from Lüneburg to Hamburg - to listen to the play of the then famous organist and composer I.A. Reinken. He was an ordinary schoolboy, with a skinny wallet and a good appetite. In the noisy and cheerful Hamburg, the money quickly ran out and Johann Sebastian set off on his way back, burdened with new musical impressions and a miserable handful of small coins.
Somewhere halfway between Hamburg and Lüneburg, the music of a hungry stomach already godlessly drowned out the work of I.A. Reinken. And then another inn on the road met. And the smells from there were so appetizing, so dizzying. Starved, Bach stood in front of this magnificent building and hopelessly sorted out a trifle. There was not enough money even for the most modest dinner.
Suddenly a window opened and someone's hand threw several herring heads into a pile of garbage. The future genius, without any hesitation, picked up the food that had fallen on him and was about to have a bite to eat. Biting the first herring head, he already imagined how to get rid of the second, and almost lost a tooth. There was a golden ducat hidden in the herring! The astonished Bach quickly gutted the second head - still golden! And the third head was just as admirably stuffed.
What did Johann Sebastian do? I had a hearty lunch and immediately went to Hamburg to listen to I.A. Reinken.
Well, where did the money in the herring heads come from, so far no one knows this.
3. well, I have nothing to do with it ...
Contemporaries admired Bach's unsurpassed organ playing. However, constantly hearing rave reviews addressed to him, Bach invariably answered:
- My game does not deserve such lofty attention and praise, my lords! After all, all I need is just to hit the right keys with my fingers at a certain time - and then the instrument plays itself ...
4. harmony above all!
None of the mortals could compare with Bach in the knowledge of harmony. Perhaps that is why he did not tolerate unresolved chords at all ... Fragments of a musical phrase tormented the ear of a genius, and, according to contemporaries, there was no surer means to piss him off. Once Bach entered some society where a very mediocre amateur played music. Seeing the great composer, he was so confused that he jumped up, interrupted the game and, to his misfortune, stopped at a dissonant chord. Greeting no one, not paying the slightest attention to the frightened performer, the angry Bach rushed to the instrument ... An angry lion attacking a gladiator, and he would look like a sheep compared to Johann Sebastian. Without even sitting down, he brought the damned chord to the proper cadence. He sighed, straightened his wig and went to greet the owner.
5. where is the opponent?..
In 1717, the famous French organist Marchand arrived in Dresden. With his play, he turned everyone's heads, even the Elector King. According to everyone, Marchand decisively outshone all German performers. But the elector was told that the organist Bach lived in Weimar, whose art allowed no rivalry.
The competition between Marchand and Bach was arranged by the royal bandmaster Volumier. On the appointed day, in a large gathering, Marchand played a brilliant French aria, accompanying the melody with numerous embellishments and brilliant variations. When Marchand struck the last chord, the audience burst into loud applause. Following that, they asked to play Bach.
Johann Sebastian suddenly played the same aria that Marchand had just sung. Moreover, despite the fact that he had just heard it for the first time in his life, Bach unmistakably repeated all the variations, one after another, and played with the preservation of all the decorations of the French virtuoso, and then moved on to variations of his own invention, much more elegant, difficult and brilliant ... When he finished and got up from the instrument, there was a deafening thunder of applause, which left no doubt who played better - the French or the German. However, it was decided that the musicians would meet again for a musical competition.
But Marchand did not appear on the appointed evening. Later it turned out that the Frenchman left the city in the morning, without even making farewell visits, that is, he simply ran away ...
6. Leipzig healthy air
Serving as cantor at St. Thomas, Bach received additional income from the performance of church services (weddings and funerals), which were well paid by the parishioners. Once, when all the citizens of the city were in perfect health for a long time and did not want to die, and therefore, Bach's income became meager, his wife complained to him that soon they would have money in the house not only for stew, but also for bread ... Johann Sebastian threw up his hands:
- My dear, the healthy air of Leipzig is to blame for everything, that's why there are not enough dead people, and I, the living one, have nothing to live on ...
7. bang angry
Despite all the boundless kindness and innocence, Bach was sometimes grumpy and quick-tempered. Once, at a rehearsal, the second organist of St. Foma, while playing, made a small mistake ... Getting angry and not finding at hand what to throw at the clumsy musician, Bach, in irritation, tore off his wig and threw it at the organist.
- You need to sew boots, not play the organ! shouted Johann Sebastian.
8. prodigal son and music
It is not clear why, but Bach liked to fall asleep to the music.
In the evening, when he went to bed, his three sons took turns playing the harpsichord for him. Such obligatory activities annoyed the children very much, and the sweetest sound for them was the melodious father's snoring. They noticed that he fell asleep the fastest to the game of Christian. Lucky! Having quickly put his father to sleep, he broke free.
Somehow it was Emmanuel's turn. He could not stand these evening exercises and, as soon as he heard the long-awaited whistling, he instantly ran away from the harpsichord, stopping the game right on the unresolved chord. Already immersed in a sweet slumber, Bach immediately woke up. The dissonance tortured his ears! The dissonance was killing his sleep. At first he thought that the child had gone to urinate and would be back soon. It wasn't there. Emmanuel did not return!
Bach tossed and turned in his warm bed for a long time, then with one jerk threw back the blanket, in total darkness, bumping into furniture and stuffing bumps, made his way to the instrument and resolved the chord.
A minute later, the composer was sleeping peacefully.
9. joker
Bach liked to disguise himself as a poor school teacher and appear in this form in some provincial church. There he asked the church organist for permission to play the organ. Having received this, the great organist sat down at the instrument and ... Those present in the church were so amazed by the splendor and power of his playing that some, believing that an ordinary person could not play so beautifully, ran away in fright ... They thought that he looked into their church ... disguised devil.
10. dynasty
All Bachs were musicians, except for the 'founder' of the dynasty, Feit Bach, who lived in the 16th century, who was a baker and ran a mill. However, the legend says that he also played beautifully on some kind of stringed instrument resembling a guitar, and was very fond of music.
Father, uncle, grandfather, great-grandfather, brothers, all the numerous sons, grandson and great-grandson of Johann Sebastian Bach were some organist, some church cantor, some bandmaster or accompanist in various German cities ...
Bach himself said at the end of his life:
- All my music belongs to God, and all my abilities are intended for Him.
11. bang and student
Once Johann Sebastian Bach was playing one of his preludes in the presence of his students. One of the students began to admire the maestro's playing, but Bach interrupted him:
"There is nothing surprising! You just need to know which keys to press and when, and the organ will do the rest.”
Johann Sebastian Bach
“... Bach's ancestors have long been famous for their musicality. It is known that the composer's great-great-grandfather, a baker by profession, played the zither. Flutists, trumpeters, organists, violinists came out of the Bach family. In the end, every musician in Germany began to be called Bach and every Bach a musician ... "
Young criminal
Bach's father died suddenly when Johann Sebastian was nine years old, and the boy was raised by his older brother, the organist of Ohrdruf, Johann Christoph Bach.
Christoph had a collection of works by then famous composers: Froberger, Pachelbel, Buxtehude. But this collection of ‘fashionable’ music was locked in a barred cabinet by the elder brother so that Johann Sebastian would not become corrupt and lose respect for generally accepted musical authorities.
However, at night, young Bach managed in some cunning way to pick up and pull out a music collection from behind the bars ... He secretly rewrote it for himself, but the whole difficulty lay in the fact that it was impossible to get candles and had to use only moonlight.
For six months, ten-year-old Johann Sebastian rewrote notes at night, but, alas ... When the heroic work was nearing completion, Johann Christoph caught his younger brother at the crime scene and took away both the original and the copy from the recalcitrant ...
Bach's grief knew no bounds, in tears he cried out:
- If so, I myself will write such music, I will write even better!
The brother laughed and said:
"Go to sleep, bastard."
But Johann Sebastian did not waste words and kept his childhood promise...
The mystery of the three herrings
Somehow, young Bach went from Lüneburg to Hamburg - to listen to the play of the then famous organist and composer I.A. Reinken. He was an ordinary schoolboy, with a skinny wallet and a good appetite. In the noisy and cheerful Hamburg, the money quickly ran out and Johann Sebastian set off on his way back, burdened with new musical impressions and a miserable handful of small coins.
Somewhere halfway between Hamburg and Lüneburg, the music of a hungry stomach already godlessly drowned out the work of I.A. Reinken. And then another inn on the road met. And the smells from there were so appetizing, so dizzying. Starved, Bach stood in front of this magnificent building and hopelessly sorted out a trifle. There was not enough money even for the most modest dinner.
Suddenly a window opened and someone's hand threw several herring heads into a pile of garbage. The future genius, without any hesitation, picked up the food that had fallen on him and was about to have a bite to eat. Biting the first herring head, he already imagined how to get rid of the second, and almost lost a tooth. There was a golden ducat hidden in the herring! The astonished Bach quickly gutted the second head - still golden! And the third head was just as admirably stuffed.
What did Johann Sebastian do? I had a hearty lunch and immediately went to Hamburg to listen to I.A. Reinken.
Well, where did the money in the herring heads come from, so far no one knows this.
Well, I don't care...
Contemporaries admired Bach's unsurpassed organ playing. However, constantly hearing rave reviews addressed to him, Bach invariably answered:
- My game does not deserve such lofty attention and praise, my lords! After all, all I need is just to hit the right keys with my fingers at a certain time - and then the instrument plays itself ...
Harmony first!
None of the mortals could compare with Bach in the knowledge of harmony. Perhaps that is why he did not tolerate unresolved chords at all ... Fragments of a musical phrase tormented the ear of a genius, and, according to contemporaries, there was no surer means to piss him off. Once Bach entered some society where a very mediocre amateur played music. Seeing the great composer, he was so confused that he jumped up, interrupted the game and, to his misfortune, stopped at a dissonant chord. Greeting no one, not paying the slightest attention to the frightened performer, the angry Bach rushed to the instrument ... An angry lion attacking a gladiator, and he would look like a sheep compared to Johann Sebastian. Without even sitting down, he brought the damned chord to the proper cadence. He sighed, straightened his wig and went to greet the owner.
Where is the opponent?
In 1717, the famous French organist Marchand arrived in Dresden. With his play, he turned everyone's heads, even the Elector King. According to everyone, Marchand decisively outshone all German performers. But the elector was told that the organist Bach lived in Weimar, whose art allowed no rivalry.
The competition between Marchand and Bach was arranged by the royal bandmaster Volumier. On the appointed day, in a large gathering, Marchand played a brilliant French aria, accompanying the melody with numerous embellishments and brilliant variations. When Marchand struck the last chord, the audience burst into loud applause. Following that, they asked to play Bach.
Johann Sebastian suddenly played the same aria that Marchand had just sung. Moreover, despite the fact that he had just heard it for the first time in his life, Bach unmistakably repeated all the variations, one after another, and played with the preservation of all the decorations of the French virtuoso, and then moved on to variations of his own invention, much more elegant, difficult and brilliant ... When he finished and got up from behind the instrument, there was a deafening thunder of applause, which left no doubt who played better - the French or the German. However, it was decided that the musicians would meet again for a musical competition.
But Marchand did not appear on the appointed evening. Later it turned out that the Frenchman left the city in the morning, without even making farewell visits, that is, he simply ran away ...
Healthy air in Leipzig
Serving as cantor at St. Thomas, Bach received additional income from the performance of church services (weddings and funerals), which were well paid by the parishioners. Once, when all the citizens of the city were in perfect health for a long time and did not want to die, and therefore, Bach's income became meager, his wife complained to him that soon they would have money in the house not only for stew, but also for bread ... Johann Sebastian threw up his hands:
“My dear, the healthy air of Leipzig is to blame for everything, that’s why there are not enough dead people, and I, the living one, have nothing to live on ...
Bach gets angry
Despite all the boundless kindness and innocence, Bach was sometimes grumpy and quick-tempered. Once, at a rehearsal, the second organist of St. Foma, while playing, made a small mistake ... Getting angry and not finding at hand what to throw at the clumsy musician, Bach, in irritation, tore off his wig and threw it at the organist.
“You need to sew boots, not play the organ!” shouted Johann Sebastian.
Prodigal Son and Music
It is not clear why, but Bach liked to fall asleep to the music.
In the evening, when he went to bed, his three sons took turns playing the harpsichord for him. Such obligatory activities annoyed the children very much, and the sweetest sound for them was the melodious father's snoring. They noticed that he fell asleep the fastest to the game of Christian. Lucky! Having quickly put his father to sleep, he broke free.
Somehow it was Emmanuel's turn. He could not stand these evening exercises and, as soon as he heard the long-awaited whistling, he instantly ran away from the harpsichord, stopping the game right on the unresolved chord. Already immersed in a sweet slumber, Bach immediately woke up. The dissonance tortured his ears! The dissonance was killing his sleep. At first he thought that the child had gone to urinate and would be back soon. It wasn't there. Emmanuel did not return!
Bach tossed and turned in his warm bed for a long time, then with one jerk threw back the blanket, in total darkness, bumping into furniture and stuffing bumps, made his way to the instrument and resolved the chord.
A minute later, the composer was sleeping peacefully.
Joker
Bach liked to disguise himself as a poor school teacher and appear in this form in some provincial church. There he asked the church organist for permission to play the organ. Having received this, the great organist sat down at the instrument and ... Those present in the church were so amazed by the splendor and power of his playing that some, believing that an ordinary person could not play so beautifully, ran away in fright ... They thought that he looked into their church ... disguised devil.
Dynasty
All Bachs were musicians, except for the 'founder' of the dynasty, Feit Bach, who lived in the 16th century, who was a baker and ran a mill. However, the legend says that he also played beautifully on some kind of stringed instrument resembling a guitar, and was very fond of music.
Father, uncle, grandfather, great-grandfather, brothers, all the numerous sons, grandson and great-grandson of Johann Sebastian Bach were some organist, some church cantor, some bandmaster or accompanist in various German cities ...
Bach himself said at the end of his life:
- All my music belongs to God, and all my abilities are intended for Him.
Bach and student
Once Johann Sebastian Bach was playing one of his preludes in the presence of his students. One of the students began to admire the maestro's playing, but Bach interrupted him:
"There is nothing surprising! You just need to know which keys and when to press, and the organ will do the rest.
