Johann Sebastian Bach -Offered singing scholarship in Luneburg.
Stayed until he was 18y/o
-Greatest of all the late Baroque Composers
-walked to Luneburg with Georg Erdmann-
-Master of fugue and counterpoint
180 miles
-Did not travel much outside Germany
Georg Böhm-former teacher in Luneburg.
-Played organ, harpsichord, and violin
-Had a religious education
1703- returned to Eisenach
-Devote Christian
Arnstadt – Bach tested organ and earned a
-Had a musical family lot of money but had to compose a lot.
-Youngest of 8 children -had a scuffle with Geyersbach
Born-March 21 or 31, 1685 in Eisenach
Baptized 2days later at St. George's church 1705 – asked for 4 weeks leave to visit
Eisenach Buxtehude. Turned to 4 months. Bach
walked all the way to Lubeck. 250 miles
St George- Bach sang in choir. He had a
good treble voice
Bach was influenced by Martin Luther 1707- new job at st Muhlhausen didn’t last
1 year
Maria Elisabeth Lämmerhirt Bach-mother.
Died when Bach was around 8-9y/o
Johann Ambrosius Bach -father. Died 9 1708-Weinmar
months after mother
-Wilhelm Ernst imprisoned Bach for 1
Johann Christoph Bach father’s cousin. 1 st
month for wanting to leave
organ teacher
Old Dominican Cloister – Bach’s childhood
1708 Kapellmeister prince Leopold of
school
Cöthen
Ohrdruf – J. Sebastian and J. Jacob Bach
-5 ½ years
went to live with J. Christoph Bach after
parents’ death -Did solo cello suites and Brandenburg
concertos
J. Christoph Bach – church organist in
Ohrdruf. Guardian of Sebastian and Jacob. -Brandenburg concertos probably most
famous work
22y/o married Maria Barbara Bach (cousin)
Spring 1700- 15y/o
-7 children. 3 died -wrote no operas.
-Handel came close to Bach
-Bach 35y/o Maria Barbara Bach died 1720
while Bach and Prince Leopold were in
1725
Bohemia
-St. Matthew passion first
Anna Magdalena Bach - 2nd wife. performance (2 ½ hours)
-double choir and orchestra
-Married 1 year after Maria Barbara’s death
-Good Friday in Thomaskirche,
-13 children. 7 died in infancy Leipzig
-Emotional center-Peter’s plea for
-16 years younger than Bach
forgiveness after denying Jesus.
-Requested Anna Magdalena Notebooks Violin carries the emotion. Produces
lamentation/ horror/grief before
Prince Leopold terminated Bach because his
voice comes in
wife didn’t like music
3 years after st. Matthew passion-
Bach relationship with masters start
to fall apart
1723 – moved to Leipzig
Canter of Leipzig (4 churches) candidates: 1730- wrote a letter memorandum
to Leipzig council because he
1. George Philipp Telemann -said no
couldn’t work with insufficient
2. Christoph Graupner -said no
musicians with bad quality. No
3. J.S. Bach
response from the council
Leipzig – Thomaskantor or Cantor of
Thomasnerchor (st. Thomas choir
Coffee house – had better musicians
founded 1212)
and relaxed atmosphere
-Wrote and produced 200 cantatas
and 2 passions in 3 years.
B minor mass (Missa 1733) – saw
opportunity to compose for a latin
St. John Passion
catholic mass on a grand scale
-revised after 1st performance
because Leipzig clergy was
50 y/o had a fascination with his
suspicious of it stealing their
family tree
thunder but near end of Bach’s life it
returned close to the original
The letters Bach are inscribed in the
version
art of Fugue. Stopped because Bach
died
Cycle Chorale
-new cantatas every week
Cause of death - stroke 1750. 65
-moods varied from serious to
years old at Thomas school.
cheeky, etc.
-2 operations by an English Quack
doctor ended him
-Work fell out of favor but Haydn,
Mozart, and Beethoven loved them.
1829 Mendelssohn performed
Matthew Passion and Bach regained
attention.
