Johann Sebastian Bach

In this article you will learn:

For any lover of real music, this name causes true admiration.

Birth and childhood

The greatest composer was born in 1685, (21) March 31 in the large family of Johann Ambrosius Bach and his wife Elisabeth. The birthplace of little Johann is the small town of Eisenach (at that time the Holy Roman Empire). Sebastian was the eighth child and also the youngest.

The passion for music in Bach was laid down by nature and this is not surprising, because most of his ancestors were professional musicians. Bach's father was also a musician, who, at the time of the birth of his eighth son, organized concerts in Eisenach.

At the age of 9, Sebastian's mother died, and a year later his father left the world. The elder Bach, Johann Christoph, took up the education of his younger brother.

Music lessons

Living with Christoph, Sebastian entered the gymnasium, simultaneously studying music with his brother. Christophe gave him lessons in playing various musical instruments, mainly organ and clavier.

From the age of 15, the future genius began to study at a vocal school. She bore the name of St. Michael and was located in the city of Lüneburg. Bach proved to be an amazingly capable student. He eagerly comprehended the basics of musical art, studied the work of other musicians, and developed comprehensively. In Lüneburg, Johann wrote his first organ pieces.

First job

After graduating in 1703, the young genius went to serve Duke Ernst in Weimar. He served as court musician. This duty burdened Bach, and he changed jobs with great relief, getting a job as organist at St. Boniface's Church in Arndstadt.

The composer's musical talent began to bring him well-deserved fame.

In 1707, Johann decided to move to the city of Mühlhusen, continuing to perform the duties of a church musician in the church of St. Blaise. The city authorities were very pleased with his work.

Weimar

In the same year, Bach married for the first time. The girl's name was Maria Barbara, she was the musician's cousin.

In 1708 the family moved to Weimar. There, Johann again began to serve as court organist. In Weimar, a young couple had 6 children, but unfortunately only three survived. All of them later became talented musicians.

It was in Weimar that Bach became famous as a skilled organist and master of the harpsichord. He absorbed the music of other countries and composed something unimaginable. Even the French organist, famous at that time, Louis Marchand, refused to compete with him. At this time, Bach creates real masterpieces.

Köthen

Tired of Weimar, Bach decided to leave the service. For such a desire, he was even arrested, since the duke did not want to let the musician go. But, soon, Johann, released to freedom, went to give his music to the city of Köthen to the Duke of Anthalt-Köthen. This happened in 1717. During this period, the Well-Tempered Clavier and the famous Brandenburg Concertos were written, the Brandenburg Concertos, English and French suites were composed.

In 1720, while Bach was away, his wife Barbara died.

The second time Bach married a star of the singing scene in 1721. The singer's name was Anna Magdalene Wilhelm. Marriage should be considered happy. The couple had 13 children.

The creative journey continues

In 1723, Bach performed the Passion for John at the Church of St. Thomas. In the same year, he received the position of choir cantor there, and soon became the "musical director" of all the churches in the city.

The periods of Bach's life in Leipzig are considered the most productive.

Composer's last years

At the end of his life, Johann Bach was rapidly losing his sight. The capricious public believed that his time had passed, and now he writes boring and outdated music. And the musician continued to create, in spite of everything. This is how the pieces were born, which received the name "Music of the Offering".

The most interesting of Bach's life is a short biography for children. Famous Bach quotes. All the best of Bach's biography and work.

Bach - biography briefly for children

J. S. Bach (1685-1750)- German composer, teacher, organist. During his life he wrote more than a thousand pieces of music.

Bach's biography briefly:

• Born March 31, 1685.
• Place of birth: Eisenach, Germany.
• Died: July 28, 1750.

The future great composer Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach in 1685 into a family of professional musicians. The boy was gifted with an ear for music, so from childhood, at the behest of his parents, he studied music. The family in every possible way accompanied the development of their son - the older brother, for example, taught his younger brother to play the organ.

From the age of 15, Bach lived in Lüneburg where he studied vocals, playing various musical instruments. In the same place, the future star of the German classics managed to get acquainted with the musical stars of that time - famous composers, whose works Bach looked up to.

At the age of 16, Bach, influenced by the music of idols, created the first piece of music that made the boy popular. Since 1700, he created his organ works, taking step by step on the path of a musical career to independence and glory.

Since 1705, J. Bach has been writing music for the church choir of his city, receiving material rewards. Gradually, the fame of the gifted young man spread among the nearest towns - more and more people come to Bach's concerts, eager to hear another brilliant organ work.

In 1708 Bach takes a permanent job church bandmaster and composer, increases the circle of professional contacts, gets to know a greater number of talented figures, gathering around him an environment permeated with creative, constructive energy.

Personal life of J.S. Bach

In 1707 the composer married on a second cousin, Mary Barbara. In the same year, Bach changes jobs, moving with his family to Weimar. The marriage turned out to be surprisingly successful in the first years - the wife gave birth to the composer 6 children, three of whom, unfortunately, died in infancy. The children from Bach's first marriage also became musicians.

Wife dies in 1720. Children had to be brought up, so a year later Bach marries again. Bach's second wife was a young, previously unknown singer, Anna Magdalena Wilhelm, who became the star of the bandmaster's choir. Second wife Bach gave birth to 13 children.

Since 1717, Bach worked and created under the leadership of the Duke of Anhalt-Ketenesky - a normal practice for the 18-19 century. In the period from 1717 to 1725, suites, cello parts, and compositions for the orchestra were born.

In 1723 Bach became director of the music school in Leipzig.. Until the end of his life, the composer was extremely in demand - the musical talent of the genius Bach was always welcomed by the audience and patrons.

By the end of his life, Bach was gradually losing his sight, so he dictated the last fugues to an assistant. J.S. Bach died on July 28, 1750 in the last city where he worked, in Leipzig.

Bach quotes:

• "Where there is pious music, there is always the gracious presence of God."
• "The purpose of music is to touch hearts."

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Born (21) March 31, 1685 in the city of Eisenach. In little Bach, a passion for music was originally laid down, because his ancestors were professional musicians.

Music training

At the age of ten, 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.

At the age of 15, Bach entered the vocal school named after St. Michael, in the city of Lüneburg. There he gets acquainted with the work of modern musicians, develops comprehensively. During 1700-1703 the musical biography of Johann Sebastian Bach begins. He wrote the first organ music.

In service

After graduation, Johann Sebastian was sent to Duke Ernst as a musician at the court. Dissatisfaction with a dependent position forces him to change jobs. In 1704, Bach received the post of organist of the New Church in Arndstadt. The brief content of the article does not make it possible to dwell in detail on the work of the great composer, but it was at this time that he created many talented works. Collaboration with the poet Christian Friedrich Heinrici, court musician Telemachus enriched the music with new motives. In 1707 Bach moved to Mühlhusen, continued to work as a church musician and engage in creativity. The authorities are satisfied with his work, the composer receives a reward.

Personal life

In 1707 Bach married his cousin Maria Barbara. He again decided to change jobs, this time becoming court organist in Weimar. In this city, six children are born in the musician's family. Three died in infancy, and three become well-known musicians in the future.

In 1720, Bach's wife died, but a year later the composer married again, now to the famous singer Anna Magdalena Wilhelm. The happy family had 13 children.

Continuation of the creative path

In 1717, Bach entered the service of the Duke of Anhalt - Köthen, who highly appreciated his talent. During the period from 1717 to 1723, Bach's magnificent suites appeared (for orchestra, cello, clavier).

Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, English and French suites were written in Köthen.

In 1723, the musician received the position of cantor and teacher of music and Latin in the Church of St. Thomas, then became musical director in Leipzig. Johann Sebastian Bach's wide repertoire included both secular and brass music. During his life, 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")

last years of life

In the last years of his life, Bach was rapidly losing his sight. His music was then considered unfashionable, outdated. Despite this, the composer continued to work. In 1747, he created a cycle of plays called "Music of the Offering", dedicated to the Prussian King Frederick II. The last work was the collection of works "The Art of the Fugue", which included 14 fugues and 4 canons.

Johann Sebastian Bach died on July 28, 1750 in Leipzig, but his musical legacy remains immortal.

A brief biography of Bach does not give a complete picture of the complex life path of the composer, of his personality. You can get acquainted with his fate and work in detail by reading the books of Johann Forkel, Robert Franz, Albert Schweitzer.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) - the great German composer, bandmaster, virtuoso organist. More than two centuries have passed since his death, and interest in the written works does not fade away. The New York Times has compiled a ranking of world composers who have created masterpieces that stand above time, and Bach takes the first place in this list. His music, as the best that mankind could create, was recorded on the Voyager Golden Record, attached to a spacecraft and launched from Earth into Space in 1977.

Childhood

Johann Sebastian was born on March 31, 1685 in the German town of Eisenach. In a large Bach family, he was the youngest, eighth child (four of them died in infancy). Since the beginning of the 16th century, their family was famous for its musicality, many of his relatives and ancestors were professionals in music (researchers counted about fifty of them). The great-great-grandfather of the composer, Veit Bach, was a baker and played the zither very well (this is such a plucked musical instrument in the form of a box).

The boy's father, Johann Ambrosius Bach, played the violin in the Eisenach Church and worked as a court accompanist (in this position he organized secular concerts). The elder brother, Johann Christoph Bach, served as an organist in the church. So many trumpeters, organists, violinists and flutists came out of their family that the surname "Bach" became a household name, as any more or less worthy musician was called, first in Eisenach, and then throughout Germany.

With such relatives, it is natural that little Johann Sebastian began to study music before he learned to speak. He received his first violin lessons from his father and greatly pleased his parent with his greed for musical knowledge, diligence and abilities. The boy had an excellent voice (soprano) and, while still very young, soloed in the choir of the city school. No one doubted his future profession; Sebastian must have turned out to be a musician.

When he was nine years old, his mother Elizabeth Lemmerhirt died. A year later, the father also died, but the child was not left alone, his older brother Johann Christoph took him to him. He was a sedate and respected musician and teacher in Ohrdruf. Together with his students, Johann Christoph taught his younger brother to play church music on the harpsichord.

However, to young Sebastian, these activities seemed monotonous, boring and painful. He began to educate himself, especially when he found out that his older brother had a notebook with works by famous composers in a closed closet. At night, young Bach entered the closet, took out a notebook and copied notes by the light of the moon.

From such a tedious night work, the young man's eyesight began to deteriorate. What a shame it was when the elder brother found Sebastian doing such an activity and took away all the records.

Education

In Ohrdruf, young Bach graduated from the gymnasium, where he studied theology, geography, history, physics, and Latin. The school teacher advised him to continue his studies at the famous vocal school at St. Michael's Church in the city of Lüneburg.

When Sebastian was fifteen years old, he decided that he was already completely independent, and went to Lüneburg, walking from Central Germany to the north for almost 300 kilometers. Here he entered school and for three years (from 1700 to 1703) was on a full board and even received a small scholarship. During his studies, he visited Hamburg, Celle, Lübeck, where he got acquainted with the work of contemporary musicians. At the same time, he tried to create his own works for clavier and organ.

After graduating from a vocal school, Sebastian had the right to enter the university, but did not use it, as it was necessary to raise funds for a living.

creative way

Bach went to Thuringia, where he got a job as a court musician in the private chapel of Duke Johann Ernst of Saxony. Within six months he played the violin for gentlemen and gained his first performing popularity. But the young musician wanted to develop, discover new creative horizons, and not please the ears of the rich. He went to Arnstadt, which is 200 kilometers from Weimar, where he began to work as a court organist in the church of St. Boniface. Bach worked only three days a week and at the same time received a fairly high salary.

The church organ was tuned according to the new system, the young composer had a lot of new opportunities, which he took advantage of and wrote about thirty capriccios, suites, cantatas and other organ works. However, after three years, Johann had to leave the city of Arnstadt, as he had tense relations with the authorities. The church authorities did not like his innovative approach to the performance of cult spiritual works. At the same time, the fame of a talented organist spread across Germany faster than the wind, and Bach was offered lucrative positions in many German cities.

In 1707, the composer arrived in Mühlhausen, where he entered the service in the church of St. Blaise. Here he began to earn extra money as an organ repairman and wrote a festive cantata "The Lord is my king."

In 1708 he and his family moved to Weimar, where he stayed for a long time as court composer and organist. It is believed that it was here and during this period that his creative path as a composer of music began.

In 1717, Bach left Weimar to get a job as a court bandmaster in Köthen with Prince Leopold Anhalt, who appreciated the talent of the composer. The prince paid Bach well, gave him complete freedom of action, but he professed Calvinism in religion, which excluded the use of sophisticated music in worship. Therefore, in Köthen, Bach was mainly engaged in writing secular works:

• suites for orchestra;
• six Brandenburg Concertos;
• French and English suites for clavier;
• Volume 1 of The Well-Tempered Clavier;
• suites for cello solo;
• two-part and three-part inventions;
• sonatas;
• three partitas for solo violin.

In 1723, Sebastian moved to Leipzig, where he got a job in the church of St. Thomas as a choir cantor. Soon he was offered the position of "Music Director" of all Leipzig churches. This period of his creative activity was marked by the writing of the following works:

• "Passion according to Matthew";
• "Christmas Oratorio";
• "Passion according to John";
• Mass in B minor;
• "High Mass";
• "Magnificent Oratorio".

Throughout his life, the composer wrote more than a thousand works.

Family

In the autumn of 1707, Johann married his second cousin Maria Barbara. Only seven children were born in the family, but three of them died in infancy.

Two of those who survived went on to become quite famous people in the music world:

• Wilhelm Friedemann, like his father, was an organist and composer, improviser and master of counterpoint.
• Carl Philipp Emmanuel also became a musician, composer, known as the Berlin or Hamburg Bach.

In June 1720, Maria Barbara died suddenly, and Bach was left a widower with four young children.

When the pain of loss subsided a little, Sebastian again thought about a full-fledged family. He did not want to bring a stepmother into the house for his children, but he was already unbearable alone. It was during this period that the singer Anna Magdalena Wilke, the daughter of his old friend, the court musician in Weissenfeld, performed with concerts in Köthen. Young Anna visited Bach several times and played nicely with his children. Sebastian hesitated for a long time, but, in the end, he proposed to her. Despite the sixteen-year age difference, the girl agreed to become the composer's wife.

In 1721, Bach and Anna Magdalena got married. His young wife belonged to a musical dynasty, had an amazing voice and hearing. This marriage became happier for the composer than the first. Kind and accommodating Anna accepted the children as her own, and besides, she was an excellent hostess. In their house now it was always clean and comfortable, tasty, noisy and fun. For his beloved, Johann Sebastian created the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach.

In the evenings, candles were lit in the house, they gathered in the living room, Bach played the violin, and Anna sang. At such moments, crowds of listeners gathered under their windows, who were then allowed into the house to dine with the owners. The Bach family was very generous and hospitable.

In this marriage, thirteen children were born, only six of them survived.

Unfortunately, after the death of Johann, disagreements began between his children. Everyone left, only two youngest daughters remained with Anna Magdalena - Regina Susanna and Johanna Carolina. None of the children provided financial assistance, and the rest of the life of the wife of the great composer spent in complete poverty. After her death, she was even buried in an unmarked pauper's grave. Bach's youngest daughter Regina eked out a terrible existence, at the end of her life she was helped by Ludwig van Beethoven.

Last years of life and death

Johann Sebastian lived to be 65 years old. In recent years, his eyesight, spoiled in his youth, has greatly deteriorated. The composer decided to have an operation performed by the British ophthalmologist John Taylor. The doctor's reputation was not good, but Sebastian clung to the last hope. However, the surgery was unsuccessful, and Bach became completely blind. At the same time, he did not stop composing, now he dictated his works to his wife or son-in-law.

Ten days before his death, a miracle happened, and Bach regained his sight, as if for the last time he could see the faces of his beloved wife and children, the light of the sun.

On July 28, 1750, the heart of the great musician stopped. He was buried in Leipzig in the church cemetery.

After the death of his father (his mother died earlier), he was taken into the family of his older brother Johann Christoph, who served as a church organist at St. Michaeliskirche in Ohrdruf. In 1700-03. studied at the school of church choristers in Lüneburg. During his studies, he visited Hamburg, Celle and Lübeck to get acquainted with the work of famous musicians of his time, new French music. The first compositional experiments of Bach belong to the same years - works for organ and clavier.

Wandering years (1703-08)

After graduation, Bach was busy looking for a job that would provide his daily bread and leave time for creativity. From 1703 to 1708 he served in Weimar, Arnstadt, Mühlhausen. In 1707 he marries his cousin Maria Barbara Bach. His creative interests were concentrated then mainly on music for organ and clavier. The most famous work of that time is Capriccio for the Departure of a Beloved Brother (1704).

Weimar period (1708-17)

Having received in 1708 a place as a court musician from the Duke of Weimar, Bach settled in Weimar, where he spent 9 years. These years were a time of intense creativity, in which the main place belonged to compositions for organ, including numerous choral preludes, organ toccata and fugue in D minor, passacaglia in C minor. The composer wrote music for the clavier, spiritual cantatas (more than 20). Using traditional forms, he brought them to the highest perfection. In Weimar, Bach's sons were born, the future famous composers Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emmanuel.

Service in Köthen (1717-23)

In 1717, Bach accepted an invitation to the service of Leopold, Duke of Anhalt-Keten. Life in Keten was at first the happiest time in the life of the composer: the prince, an enlightened person for his time and a good musician, appreciated Bach and did not interfere with his work, invited him on his trips. Three sonatas and three partitas for solo violin, six suites for solo cello, English and French suites for clavier, six Brandenburg concertos for orchestra were written in Koethen. Of particular interest is the collection "The Well-Tempered Clavier" - 24 preludes and fugues, written in all keys and in practice proving the advantages of the tempered musical system, around the approval of which there were heated debates. Subsequently, Bach created the second volume of the Well-Tempered Clavier, also consisting of 24 preludes and fugues in all keys. But the cloudless period of Bach's life was cut short in 1720: his wife dies, leaving four young children. In 1721 Bach married for the second time to Anna Magdalena Wilcken. In 1723, the performance of his "Passion according to John" took place in the church of St. Thomas in Leipzig, and soon Bach received the position of cantor of this church while simultaneously acting as a school teacher at the church (Latin and singing).

In Leipzig (1723-50)

Best of the day

Bach becomes the "music director" of all the churches in the city, overseeing the staff of musicians and singers, observing their training, assigning the pieces necessary for performance, and doing much more. Not knowing how to cheat and skimp and not being able to perform everything conscientiously, the composer repeatedly found himself in conflict situations that darkened his life and distracted him from creativity. By that time, the artist had reached the pinnacle of mastery and created magnificent examples in various genres. First of all, this is sacred music: cantatas (about two hundred survived), "Magnificat" (1723), masses (including the immortal "High Mass" in B minor, 1733), "Matthew Passion" (1729), dozens of secular cantatas (among them the comic "Coffee" and "Peasant"), works for organ, orchestra, harpsichord (among the latter it is necessary to highlight the cycle "Aria with 30 variations", the so-called "Goldberg Variations", 1742). In 1747, Bach created a cycle of plays "Musical Offerings", dedicated to the Prussian King Frederick II. The last work was a work called "The Art of the Fugue" (1749-50) - 14 fugues and 4 canons on one topic.

The fate of the creative heritage

In the late 1740s, Bach's health deteriorated, with a sudden loss of sight particularly worrying. Two unsuccessful cataract surgeries resulted in complete blindness. About ten days before his death, Bach suddenly regained his sight, but then he had a stroke that brought him to the grave. The solemn funeral caused a huge gathering of people from different places. The composer was buried near the church of St. Thomas, in which he served for 27 years. However, later a road was laid through the territory of the cemetery, the grave was lost. Only in 1894 the remains of Bach were accidentally found during construction work, then the reburial took place. The fate of his legacy was also difficult. During his lifetime, Bach enjoyed fame. However, after the death of the composer, his name and music began to fall into oblivion. Genuine interest in his work arose only in the 1820s, which began with the performance in 1829 in Berlin of the St. Matthew Passion (organized by F. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy). In 1850, the "Bach Society" was created, striving to identify and publish all the composer's manuscripts (46 volumes were published in half a century).

Bach is the largest figure in world musical culture. His work is one of the pinnacles of philosophical thought in music. Freely crossing the features of not only different genres, but also national schools, Bach created immortal masterpieces that stand above time. Being the last (along with G. F. Handel) great composer of the Baroque era, Bach at the same time paved the way for the music of the new time.

Among the followers of Bach's searches are his sons. In total, he had 20 children: seven from his first wife, Maria Barbara Bach (1684 - 1720), and 13 from his second, Anna Magdalena Wilken (1701 - 1760), only nine of them survived their father. Four sons became composers. In addition to those mentioned above - Johann Christian (1735-82), Johann Christoph (1732-95).