Bach's World

Bach's World

Johann Sebastian Bach was one of the most renowned musicians and composers in history. His work brought together the many differing styles of Italy, France, and Germany in both religious and secular music styles during the Baroque period. He was a revolutionary in harmonic technique and rhythmic texture. Some of his famous works include The Art of Fugue, the Magnificat, and over 200 cantatas.

Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany in 1685 to a family rich in musical tradition. His father, Johann Ambrosius Bach, was a gifted violin player and trumpeter. Both of his parents died within a year around 1694, so he went to live with his older brother in nearby Ohrdruff, Germany. While there, he studied and performed music with the help of his brother's priceless teaching. It was there where young Johann learned the clavichord, an instrument similar to a piano. At 14, Bach was awarded a musical scholarship to the Ritteracademie (literally "knight's academy") in Luneburg, Germany. Most of his education centered around religion. Theology was the most important class in his school. Religion was tied in so closely to the music of that time that they were sometimes taught together or by the same teacher. Because of the intimacy between these subjects, Bach, a lutheran, devoted his life of music to god, even though he wrote and performed both secular and religious songs. He probably also learned basic French and Italian, possibly Latin.

After his time in the academie he took a job as the court musician in Duke Johann Ernst's Chapel in Weimar, Germany. Later that year he became the church organist at St. Boniface's church in Arnstadt. At this time, his compositions lacked the contrapuntal (harmonic) technique that we see in his later works as he hadn't developed his talents fully. Bach did not enjoy his star in Arnstadt for several reasons. He did not approve of the behavior of the boy's in the church quire. He also took an unauthorized leave of absence to study with the great musician Buxtehude in the city of Lubeck. These incidents led to Bach leaving his job at Arnstadt, but not because of the trouble it caused him. His visit with Buxtehude motivated him to further advance his organ skills, which he could not do in the small town he was residing in, so he returned to Weimar. Over the next 10-15 years, Bach became a master of harmonic technique as concert master in the ducal court at Weimar. His playing style began to reflect that of Buxtehude's, with ornaments abound and frequent adornments that greatly increased the complexity of otherwise simple and boring tunes.

In 1717, Bach was appointed Kapellmeister for Prince Leopold. Because the prince was calvinist and did not use elaborate music in services, Bach spent most of the next 6 years writing