Bach Johann Sebastian, whose biography is of interest to many music lovers, became one of the greatest composers in its entire history. In addition, he was a performer, a virtuoso organist, and a talented teacher. In this article we will look at the life of Johann Sebastian Bach and also introduce his work. The composer's works are often performed in concert halls around the world.
Johann Sebastian Bach (March 31 (21 - Old Style) 1685 - July 28, 1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque era. He enriched created in Germany musical style Thanks to his mastery of counterpoint and harmony, he adapted foreign rhythms and forms, borrowed, in particular, from Italy and France. Bach's works are the Goldberg Variations, the Brandenburg Concertos, the Mass in B Minor, more than 300 cantatas, of which 190 have survived, and many other works. His music is considered very technically complex, full of artistic beauty and intellectual depth.
Johann Sebastian Bach. Brief biography
Bach was born in Eisenach into a family of hereditary musicians. His father, Johann Ambrosius Bach, was the founder of the city music concerts, and all his uncles were professional performers. The composer's father taught his son to play the violin and harpsichord, and his brother, Johann Christoph, taught him to play the clavichord, and also introduced Johann Sebastian to modern music. Partly according own initiative Bach attended St. Michael's vocal school in Lüneburg for 2 years. After certification, he held several musical positions in Germany, in particular, the court musician of Duke Johann Ernst in Weimar, caretaker of the organ in the church named after St. Boniface, located in Arnstadt.
In 1749, Bach's eyesight and overall health deteriorated, and he died in 1750, on July 28. Modern historians believe that the cause of his death was a combination of stroke and pneumonia. Johann Sebastian's fame as an excellent organist spread throughout Europe during Bach's lifetime, although he was not yet so popular as a composer. He became famous as a composer a little later, in the first half of the 19th century, when interest in his music was revived. Currently, Bach Johann Sebastian, whose biography is presented in full below, is considered one of the greatest musical creators in history.
Childhood (1685 - 1703)
Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach in 1685, on March 21 according to the old style (new style - on the 31st of the same month). He was the son of Johann Ambrosius and Elisabeth Lemmerhirt. The composer became the eighth child in the family (the eldest son was 14 years older than him at the time of Bach’s birth). The future composer's mother died in 1694, and his father eight months later. Bach was 10 years old at that time, and he went to live with Johann Christoph, his older brother (1671 - 1731). There he studied, performed and transcribed music, including his brother's compositions, despite the ban on doing so. From Johann Christoph he adopted a lot of knowledge in the field of music. At the same time, Bach studied theology, Latin, Greek, French, Italian at the local gymnasium. As Johann Sebastian Bach later admitted, the classics inspired and amazed him from the very beginning.
Arnstadt, Weimar and Mühlhausen (1703 - 1717)
In 1703, after finishing his studies at St. Michael's School in Lüneburg, the composer was appointed court musician to the chapel of Duke Johann Ernst III in Weimar. During his seven-month stay there, Bach's reputation as an excellent keyboard player was established, and he was invited to a new position as caretaker of the organ at the church of St. Boniface, located in Arnstadt, 30 km southwest of Weimar. Despite good family connections and his own musical enthusiasm, tensions with his superiors arose after several years of service. In 1706, Bach was offered the post of organist at the Church of St. Blaise (Mühlhausen), which he took the following year. The new position paid much higher, included much best conditions labor, as well as a more professional choir with which Bach had to work. Four months later, Johann Sebastian's wedding to Maria Barbara took place. They had seven children, four of whom lived to adulthood, including Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emmanuel, who later became famous composers.
In 1708, Bach Johann Sebastian, whose biography took a new direction, left Mühlhausen and returned to Weimar, this time as an organist, and from 1714 as a concert organizer, and had the opportunity to work with more professional musicians. In this city, the composer continues to play and compose works for the organ. He also began writing preludes and fugues, which were later included in his monumental work The Well-Tempered Clavier, consisting of two volumes. Each of them includes preludes and fugues, written in all possible minor and major keys. Also in Weimar, composer Johann Sebastian Bach began working on the work “Organ Book,” containing Lutheran chorales, a collection of choral preludes for organ. In 1717 he fell out of favor in Weimar, was arrested for almost a month and subsequently removed from office.
Köthen (1717 - 1723)
Leopold ( important person- Prince of Anhalt-Köthen) offered Bach the job of bandmaster in 1717. Prince Leopold, being a musician himself, admired Johann Sebastian's talent, paid him well and gave him considerable freedom in composition and performance. The prince was a Calvinist, and they do not use complex and refined music in worship, accordingly, the work of Johann Sebastian Bach of that period was secular and included orchestral suites, suites for solo cello, for clavier, as well as the famous “Brandenburg Concertos”. In 1720, on July 7, his wife Maria Barbara, who bore him seven children, dies. The composer meets his second wife the following year. Johann Sebastian Bach, whose works were gradually beginning to gain popularity, married a girl named Anna Magdalena Wilcke, a soprano singer, in 1721, December 3.
Leipzig (1723 - 1750)
In 1723, Bach received a new position, beginning to work as cantor of the St. Thomas Choir. This was a prestigious service in Saxony, which the composer carried out for 27 years, until his death. Bach's duties included teaching students to sing and writing church music for the main churches of Leipzig. Johann Sebastian was also supposed to give Latin lessons, but had the opportunity to hire a special person in his place. During Sunday services, as well as on holidays, cantatas were required for worship in the church, and the composer usually performed his own compositions, most of whom were born in the first 3 years of his stay in Leipzig.
Johann Sebastian Bach, whose classics are now well known to many people, expanded his compositional and performing capabilities in March 1729 by taking over the leadership of the College of Music, a secular assembly under the direction of the composer Georg Philipp Telemann. The college was one of dozens of private societies popular at that time in large German cities, created on the initiative of students musical institutions. These associations played an important role in German musical life, being led for the most part by outstanding specialists. Many of Bach's works from the 1730s-1740s. were written and performed at the Music College. Johann Sebastian's last major work was “Mass in B Minor” (1748-1749), which was recognized as his most global church work. Although the entire “Mass” was never performed during the author’s lifetime, it is considered one of the composer’s most outstanding creations.
Death of Bach (1750)
In 1749, the composer's health deteriorated. Bach Johann Sebastian, whose biography ends in 1750, suddenly began to lose his sight and turned for help to the English ophthalmologist John Taylor, who performed 2 operations in March-April 1750. However, both were unsuccessful. The composer's vision never returned. On July 28, at the age of 65, Johann Sebastian died. Contemporary newspapers wrote that "death occurred as a result of unsuccessful eye surgery." Currently, historians consider the cause of the composer’s death to be a stroke complicated by pneumonia.
Carl Philipp Emmanuel, son of Johann Sebastian, and his student Johann Friedrich Agricola wrote an obituary. It was published in 1754 by Lorenz Christoph Mitzler in music magazine. Johann Sebastian Bach, whose brief biography is presented above, was originally buried in Leipzig, near the Church of St. John. The grave remained untouched for 150 years. Later, in 1894, the remains were transferred to a special repository in the Church of St. John, and in 1950 - to the Church of St. Thomas, where the composer still rests.
Organ creativity
During his lifetime, Bach was best known as an organist and composer of organ music, which he wrote in all traditional German genres (preludes, fantasies). Johann Sebastian Bach's favorite genres were toccata, fugue, and chorale preludes. His organ creativity is very diverse. At a young age, Johann Sebastian Bach (we have already touched upon his biography briefly) earned a reputation as a very creative composer, capable of adapting many foreign styles to the requirements of organ music. He was greatly influenced by the traditions of Northern Germany, in particular Georg Böhm, whom the composer met in Lüneburg, and Dietrich Buxtehude, whom Johann Sebastian visited in 1704 during a long vacation. Around the same time, Bach rewrote the works of many Italian and French composers, and later Vivaldi's violin concertos, in order to breathe life into them. new life already as works for organ performance. During the most productive creative period(from 1708 to 1714) Bach Johann Sebastian wrote fugues and tocattas, several dozen pairs of preludes and fugues and the “Organ Book” - an unfinished collection of 46 chorale preludes. After leaving Weimar, the composer wrote less organ music, although he created a number of famous works.
Other works for clavier
Bach wrote a lot of music for the harpsichord, some of which can be performed on the clavichord. Many of these works are encyclopedic, incorporating theoretical methods and techniques that Johann Sebastian Bach loved to use. The works (list) are presented below:
- "The Well-Tempered Clavier" is a two-volume work. Each volume contains preludes and fugues in all common 24 major and minor keys, arranged in chromatic order.
- Inventions and overtures. These two- and three-voice works are arranged in the same order as the Well-Tempered Clavier, with the exception of some rare keys. They were created by Bach for educational purposes.
- 3 collections of dance suites, "French Suites", "English Suites" and partitas for clavier.
- "Goldberg Variations".
- Various pieces such as "Overture in French style", "Italian concerto".
Orchestral and chamber music
Johann Sebastian also wrote works for individual instruments, duets and small ensembles. Many of them, such as partitas and sonatas for solo violin, six different suites for solo cello, partita for solo flute, are considered among the most outstanding in the composer's repertoire. Bach Johann Sebastian wrote symphonies, and also created several compositions for solo lute. He also created trio sonatas, solo sonatas for flute and viola da gamba, large number ricercars and canons. For example, the cycles “The Art of Fugue”, “Musical Offering”. Bach's most famous orchestral work is the Brandenburg Concertos, so named because Johann Sebastian presented it in hopes of obtaining work from Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Swedish in 1721. His attempt, however, was unsuccessful. The genre of this work is concerto grosso. Other surviving works by Bach for orchestra: 2 violin concertos, a concerto written for two violins (key "D minor"), concertos for clavier and chamber orchestra (from one to four instruments).
Vocal and choral works
- Cantatas. Beginning in 1723, Bach worked in the Church of St. Thomas, and every Sunday, as well as on holidays, he led the performance of cantatas. Although he sometimes staged cantatas by other composers, Johann Sebastian wrote at least 3 cycles of his works in Leipzig, not counting those composed in Weimar and Mühlhausen. In total, more than 300 cantatas devoted to spiritual themes were created, of which approximately 200 have survived.
- Motets. Motets, authored by Johann Sebastian Bach, are works on spiritual themes for choir and basso continuo. Some of them were composed for funeral ceremonies.
- Passions, or passions, oratorios and magnificata. Bach's major works for choir and orchestra are the St. John Passion, the St. Matthew Passion (both written for Good Friday in the churches of St. Thomas and St. Nicholas) and the Christmas Oratorio (a cycle of 6 cantatas intended for the Christmas service ). Shorter works are "Easter Oratorio" and "Magnificat".
- "Mass in B Minor". Bach created his last great job, "Mass in B Minor", between 1748 and 1749. The Mass was never staged in its entirety during the composer's lifetime.
Musical style
Bach's musical style was shaped by his talent for counterpoint, his ability to lead a tune, his flair for improvisation, his interest in the music of Northern and Southern Germany, Italy and France, and his devotion to the Lutheran tradition. Thanks to the fact that Johann Sebastian had access to many instruments and works in his childhood and youth, and thanks to his ever-increasing talent for writing dense music with stunning sonority, the features of Bach's work were filled with eclecticism and energy, in which foreign influences were skillfully combined with already existing advanced German music school. During the Baroque period, many composers composed mainly only frame works, and the performers themselves supplemented them with their own melodic embellishments and developments. This practice varies considerably among European schools. However, Bach composed most or all of the melodic lines and details himself, leaving little room for interpretation. This feature reflects the density of contrapuntal textures to which the composer gravitated, limiting the freedom to spontaneously change musical lines. For some reason, some sources mention the works of other authors, which were allegedly written by Johann Sebastian Bach. "Moonlight Sonata", for example. You and I, of course, remember that Beethoven created this work.
Execution
Modern performers of Bach's works usually follow one of two traditions: the so-called authentic (historically oriented performance) or modern (involving modern instruments, often in large ensembles). In Bach's time, orchestras and choirs were much more modest than they are today, and even his most ambitious works - the passions and the Mass in B minor - were written for a much smaller number of performers. In addition, today you can hear very different versions of the sound of the same music, since in some of Johann Sebastian’s chamber works there was initially no instrumentation at all. Modern "lite" versions of Bach's works have made a great contribution to the popularization of his music in the 20th century. Among them are famous tunes performed by the Swinger Singers and Wendy Carlos' 1968 recording of Switched-On-Bach, using the newly invented synthesizer. Jazz musicians, such as Jacques Loussier, also showed interest in Bach's music. Joel Spiegelman performed an adaptation of his famous “Goldberg Variations”, creating his own work in the New Age style.
March 31 is the birthday of the outstanding German composer Johann Sebastian Bach. His musical heritage has entered the golden fund of world culture and is well known to connoisseurs of the classics, but his personal fate is rarely discussed. But Johann Bach was a representative of one of the most “musical” families in history: in total he had There are 56 musicians and composers in the family. Johann Bach himself became father of 20 children!
Johann Sebastian Bach was born into the family of musician Johann Ambrosius. The boy was the youngest in the family, he had 7 brothers and sisters, among whom Johann Christoph also showed outstanding abilities. Johann Christoph served as an organist, and after the death of his father and mother he decided to teach his younger brother music. Following in the footsteps of his father and older brother, Johann Sebastian also chose the path of composing for himself; he studied at the vocal school of St. Michael. Starting his search for work, Johann Sebastian first found a job as a court musician in Weimar, and later was caretaker of the organ in Arnstadt.
In Arnstadt, Bach falls in love with his cousin Maria Barbara. Despite the family connection, the lovers decide to get married. Their life together was short-lived (Maria died at the age of 36), but the marriage produced 7 children, four of whom survived. Among them were two future composers - Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emmanuel.
Johann Sebastian took the loss of his wife hard, but a little later less than a year fell in love again. This time his chosen one was a very young person - Anna Magdalena. The girl was then 20 years old, and the eminent musician was 36. Despite the large age difference, Anna Magdalena coped well with her responsibilities: she ran the household, became a caring stepmother for the already grown children, and, most importantly, was sincerely interested in her husband’s successes. Bach saw remarkable talent in the girl and began to give her singing and music lessons. Anna enthusiastically mastered a new area for herself, learned scales, and practiced singing with children. The Bach family gradually expanded; in total, Anna Magdalena gave her husband 13 children. The huge family often got together in the evenings, holding impromptu concerts.
In 1723, concerned about the future of his children, Bach moved his family to Leipzig. Here his sons were able to receive good education and start musical career. Anna Magdalena continued to take care of her husband, in addition to household chores, she found time to rewrite notes and make copies choral parts. Anna Magdalena undoubtedly had a musical gift, as the Australian scientist Martin Jarvis speaks about in his studies of Bach’s creative heritage. In his opinion, the composer’s wife even wrote several works for him (in particular, the aria from the “Goldberg Variations” and the first prelude to the cycle of works “The Well-Tempered Clavier” raise doubts). He came to such conclusions on the basis of a handwriting examination.
Be that as it may, Anna Magdalena devoted herself entirely to caring for her husband. At the end of his life, Bach's vision deteriorated sharply; cataract surgery led to complete blindness. Anna Magdalena continued to record his works, and her husband highly appreciated her dedication.
Johann Sebastian Bach died in 1750 and was buried near the Church of St. John. Ironically, the grave of the genius was lost, and only in 1894 his remains were accidentally discovered during the reconstruction of the church. The reburial took place six years later.
You can find out what Johann Sebastian Bach might have looked like from our photo review.
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH – THE CHOSEN ONE OF MUSIC
The surname Bach and the word “musician” were synonymous in Germany for several centuries, because this ancient family gave the world 56 musicians, but only in the fifth generation was born the one who was destined to glorify the surname -. His biographer later wrote that Johann's work radiated so much bright light that its reflection fell on all representatives of the family. This man became the pride of his fatherland; it seemed as if the art of music itself patronized him. However, during the life of the great composer he could hardly be considered the chosen one of fate.
Influenced by brother
At first glance life path Johann Sebastian Bach may seem no different from the biographies of other German musicians who lived in XVII-XVIII centuries. He was born in 1685 in the small town of Eisenach in Thuringia. Bach was orphaned early - he was only 9 years old when his mother died, and a year later his father. He was taken in by his older brother Johann Christoph, who was an organist in a neighboring town. First Johann Sebastian 
He studied music under the guidance of his brother and school cantors; he later moved to the Lower Saxon city of Lüneburg, where he attended a church school. He mastered the technique of playing the harpsichord, violin, viola, organ; in addition, Johann Sebastian was a singer in the choir, and later became an assistant cantor after a voice mutation.
Already in his youth, Bach clearly realized his calling in organ music. He constantly studied the art of organ improvisation from the best German masters of that time. Subsequently, these skills will become the basis of his mastery. It is worth adding to this the acquaintance of Johann Sebastian with various genres European music. He participated in concerts of the court chapel of the city of Celle, which was distinguished by its love for French music, visited Lubeck and Hamburg, had the opportunity to study the works of Italian masters in the school library.
Young perfectionist
Johann Sebastian was already a fairly educated and experienced musician after school, but the thirst for learning did not leave him throughout his life. He was interested in everything that could expand his professional horizons even a little. Bach's career was characterized by perfectionism and an eternal desire for self-improvement. It was not at all by chance that he occupied this or that position, every level of his musical hierarchy (from organist to cantor) 
earned through perseverance and hard work. And with every step, the practicing musician turned into a composer, whose creative impulses and achievements went far beyond the goals that were set for Bach.
In 1703 he became court musician to Duke Johann Ernst in Weimar. A few months later they started talking about him as a prominent performer. Bach was then invited to Arnstadt to take up the position of church organ caretaker. In the Church of St. Boniface, Johann Sebastian worked with a well-tuned instrument, which expanded his performing and composing capabilities. In Arnstadt he wrote a lot organ works, but over time he had problems communicating with local authorities. Bach was not satisfied with the level of training of choir singers, and local officials showed dissatisfaction with him musical accompaniment choral performance that allegedly confuses the parishioners.
Bach's large family
In Arnstadt, Johann Sebastian fell in love with his cousin Maria. Despite their relationship, the lovers decided to get married, but they 
the family union was short-lived. Maria lived only 36 years, although she gave birth to the composer 7 children. Only four of them survived. Bach's second wife was Anna Magdalena, who was 16 years younger than him. But such an age difference did not prevent Anna from becoming a caring mother for her husband’s already grown-up children. She gave Johann Sebastian 13 more heirs and did an excellent job managing household and was sincerely interested in her husband’s achievements in the musical field.
In search of prospects
When Bach was offered the position of organist in Mühlhausen in 1706, he without a doubt changed his job. The position was profitable and provided Johann Sebastian with clearly greater opportunities than in Arnstadt, but it turned out to be insufficient to contribute to the development of church music, as Bach believed. By this time he had already accumulated an extensive repertoire and, without seeing 
for his own prospects, he wrote a resignation letter to the city magistrate.
A variety of activities awaited Johann Sebastian Bach in the castle church and chapel at the court of Duke Ernst of Saxe-Weimar. In Weimar, the composer managed to complete several of his iconic works - Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Passacaglia in C minor, as well as the famous "Organ Book" - a guide for beginning organists. Bach became famous far beyond the city as an expert in improvisation and the best adviser on organ construction. The Weimar period also dates back to the failed competition between Johann Sebastian and the famous French organist Louis Marchand, which was overgrown with myths and decided to give in to his opponent even before the meeting.
Experience of Weimar and Köthen
The composer's dream of regularly writing church music came true after his appointment as vice-kapellmeister in 1714. According to the terms of the contract, Bach had to create new works every month. Johann Sebastian was no less active in his role as accompanist. The intense musical life of Weimar gave the composer the opportunity not only to become closely acquainted with European music, but also to create under its influence. He made organ arrangements of concertos, keyboard arrangements by Tomaso Albinoni and Alessandro Marcello.
In Weimar, Bach first turned to the genre of suite and solo violin sonata. The master’s instrumental experiments were not in vain - in 1717 he was invited to Köten and offered 
take the post of Grand Duke's bandmaster. The most favorable creative atmosphere reigned here. Prince Leopold was a passionate music lover and also a musician who played the viol and harpsichord and had extraordinary vocal abilities. Johann Sebastian was supposed to accompany the prince's singing and playing, but his main responsibility was to lead the chapel orchestra. Here the composer's creative interests moved to the instrumental sphere. In Köthen he wrote orchestral suites, concertos, and sonatas for violin and cello. There he continued his teaching work and created compositions, as he said, for musical youth who strive to learn. The first among them is “The Music Book of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach.” He began it in 1720 for his first-born son and future composer. In addition to arrangements of chorales and dance miniatures, it contains prototypes of the “Well-Tempered Clavier” and two and three-voice “Inventions”. In a couple of years he will complete these meetings.
Simultaneously with the annual increase in the number of Bach's students, his teaching repertoire was also replenished. This legacy of Johann Sebastian became a school of performing skills for many generations of musicians.
The end of Bach's wanderings
With a wealth of experience and an enviable repertoire, Bach took another step higher in his career and became music director of Leipzig and cantor of the school of St. Thomas. 
This city became the last point on the map of Bach's wanderings. Here he reached the top of the service hierarchy. While the magistrate allocated funding for the creation of liturgical music, Johann Sebastian's energy as a cantor knew no bounds. He attracted experienced professional musicians to perform. His Leipzig work combined the knowledge and skills acquired in Weimar and Köthen. He created cantatas weekly and wrote more than one and a half hundred of them, at the same time he composed two of his own famous works on the theme of the Gospel - “The Passion according to John” and “The Passion according to Matthew”. In total, he wrote four or five passions, but only these have been fully preserved to this day.
In Leipzig, the composer again took on the duties of bandmaster and headed the student “Musical Commonwealth”. With this group, Bach gave weekly concerts for secular audiences, making an invaluable contribution to the musical life of the city. Researchers believe that it was in Leipzig that a special type of piano concerto by Johann Sebastian arose. These were, in modern terminology, remixes - adaptations of his own concertos for violin or violin and oboe.
Unforgotten genius
In 1747, Johann Sebastian was invited to visit the royal residence in Potsdam to improvise on a novelty among musical instruments– piano. I asked the composer the theme 
Frederick II himself. Inspired by this idea, Bach created the grandiose cycle “Musical Offering”, which is considered an incomparable monument of contrapuntal (polyphonic) art. In parallel with this creation, the composer completed the cycle “The Art of Fugue”, conceived many years ago, which contained all types of canons and counterpoints.
Towards the end of his life, Johann Sebastian lost his sight, and she helped him in his work loving Anna Magdalena. His name gradually began to be lost among other musicians, but, contrary to popular myth, the great composer was not completely forgotten. died 1750. His grave was lost over time and only in 1894 the composer’s remains were accidentally discovered during the reconstruction of the church.
Numerous published and handwritten works by Bach were collected by his students and simple connoisseurs of the composer’s work, because he, like no one else, in a time generous with talent, managed to connect the incompatible, completing the evolution of many genres.
Surname Johann Sebastian Bach translated from German means “stream”. Once using this analogy, he said that “it’s not a stream, but a sea 
there must be a name for him,” meaning the entire scale of the genius’s creativity.
Bach's older brother had a collection of works by famous composers of the time, which he hid from Johann Sebastian in a closet with bars. Nine-year-old Bach somehow pulled out at night music collection and rewrote it under the moonlight. One day his brother found him, took the notes and sent him to bed. In tears, Johann Sebastian shouted that he himself would write such music or even better. Time has shown that the boy kept his promise.
Updated: April 7, 2019 by: Elena
Bach's work represents all the main genres of the late Baroque era with the exception of opera. His legacy includes works for soloists and choirs with instruments, organ compositions, keyboard and orchestral music.
His powerful creative imagination brought to life an extraordinary wealth of forms: for example, in numerous Bach cantatas it is impossible to find two fugues of the same structure. However, there is a structural principle that is very characteristic of Bach: the symmetrical concentric form. Continuing a centuries-old tradition, Bach uses polyphony as his main means of expression, but at the same time his most complex contrapuntal constructions are based on a clear harmonic basis - this was undoubtedly a trend new era. In general, the “horizontal” (polyphonic) and “vertical” (harmonic) principles in Bach are balanced and form a magnificent unity.
Bach's work, on the one hand, was a kind of summing up the results of clavicinists and virginalists of the 16th - early 18th centuries, such as William Bird, John Bull, Francois Couperin, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Louis Daquin, Alessandro and Domenico Scarlatti, Girolamo Frescobaldi and others. In his music, the composer relied on everything that had been achieved and discovered in musical art before him. Bach had an excellent knowledge of German organ music, choral polyphony of the Renaissance, and the peculiarities of German and Italian violin style. He not only became acquainted, but also copied the works of contemporary French harpsichordists (primarily Couperin), Italian violinists (Corelli, Vivaldi), largest representatives Italian opera. Possessing an amazing sensitivity to everything new, Bach developed and generalized his accumulated creative experience.
His powerful influence was reflected in the work of the great composers of the 19th century (Beethoven, Brahms, Wagner, Glinka, Taneyev), and in the works outstanding masters XX century (Shostakovich, Honegger).
Bach's works can be divided into three main genre groups:
· vocal and instrumental music;
· organ music,
· music for other instruments (clavier, violin, flute, etc.) and instrumental ensembles (including orchestral).
The works of each group are mainly associated with a specific period creative biography Bach. The most significant organ works were created in Weimar, keyboard and orchestral works mainly belong to the Köthen period, vocal and instrumental works were mostly written in Leipzig.
The main genres in which Bach worked are traditional: masses and passions, cantatas and oratorios, choral arrangements, preludes and fugues, dance suites and concertos. Having inherited these genres from his predecessors, Bach gave them a scope that they had never known before.
Bach's brilliant work was not truly appreciated by his contemporaries. While enjoying fame as an organist, during his lifetime he did not attract due attention as a composer. Not a single serious work has been written about his work, only an insignificant part of the works has been published. After Bach's death, his manuscripts gathered dust in the archives, many were irretrievably lost, and the composer's name was forgotten.
Genuine interest in Bach arose only in the 19th century. It was started by F. Mendelssohn, who accidentally found the notes of the St. Matthew Passion in the library. Under his direction this work was performed in Leipzig. Most listeners, literally shocked by the music, have never heard the name of the author. This was Bach's second birth.
Features of the keyboard style of I.S. Bach
Most of Bach's keyboard works were created in adulthood and owe their appearance to his deep interest in musical education. J. S. Bach's keyboard work includes: suites, inventions, concertos, 2 volumes of the HTC, "Goldberg Variations", "Musical Offering" (11 pieces for the keyboard and a sonata for three different instruments), "Capriccio on the departure of my beloved brother." “The Art of Fugue” (14 fugues and 4 canons on one theme, chromatic fantasy and fugue), etc. These plays were written mainly for teaching their own sons and other gifted students.
During the Köthen period, in addition to the English and French keyboard suites, Bach composed suites for orchestra, six suites for solo cello, as well as three sonatas and three partitas for solo violin.
Bach created a new genre - the keyboard concerto (the creator of the solo instrumental concert is Antonio Vivaldi). As a prerequisite for the emergence solo concert appeared in the 5th Brandenburg Concerto. Despite the fact that in addition to the chamber orchestra there are three solo instruments (violin, flute, piano), the piano plays the leading role.
Klavier was creative laboratory Bach. By the time Bach turned to it, keyboard music had come a long way in development: there were already many types of instruments - clavichords, harpsichords, cymbals, spinets, etc. Such genres as suites, variations, symphonies, inventions, etc. were developed. Program miniatures were written for claviers for modest home music playing. Bach worked a lot to improve the clavier (he had 10 claviers in his house), tried to overcome the percussion and abruptness of its sound, and introduce it into musical music vocal plasticity and tempered tuning, which opens up endless possibilities for the composer. He invented new types of clavier and harpsichord, on which lute works could be played; wrote several collections of pedagogical plays, invented a new technique of playing with five fingers rather than four, which made it possible to play coherently (and the piano was invented in 1709 by Bartolomeo Cristofori).
The most important thing is that Bach introduced new lyrical and philosophical content into keyboard music, new circle images that were much deeper and more dramatic than existed in his time not only in clavier works, but even in operas.
They are divided into instrumental and vocal. The first include: for organ - sonatas, preludes, fugues, fantasies and toccatas, chorale preludes; for piano – 15 inventions, 15 symphonies, French and English suites, “Klavierübung” in four movements (partitas, etc.), a number of toccatas and other works, as well as “The Well-Tempered Clavier” (48 preludes and fugues in all keys); “Musical Offering” (a collection of fugues on themes of Frederick the Great) and the cycle “The Art of Fugue”. In addition, Bach has sonatas and partitas for violin (among them the famous Chaconne), for flute, cello (gamba) with piano accompaniment, concertos for piano and orchestra, as well as for two or more pianos, etc., concerts and suites for strings and wind instruments, as well as a suite for the five-string viola pomposa invented by Bach ( medium instrument between viola and cello).
Portrait of Johann Sebastian Bach. Artist E. G. Haussmann, 1748
All these works are characterized by high degree skillful polyphony, not found in a similar form either before or after Bach. With amazing skill and perfection, Bach solves the most complex problems of contrapuntal technique, both in large and small forms. But it would be a mistake to deny his melodic ingenuity and expressiveness at the same time. Counterpoint was for Bach not something memorized and difficult to apply, but was his natural language and form of expression, the comprehension and understanding of which must first be acquired in order for the manifestations of deep and versatile spiritual life expressed in this form to be fully understood and so that the gigantic the mood of his organ works, as well as the melodic charm and richness of changing moods in the fugues and suites for piano, were fully appreciated. Therefore, in most of the works related here, especially in individual numbers from the “Well-Tempered Clavier,” we have, along with completeness of form, characteristic plays of extremely varied content. It is this connection that determines their special and unique position in musical literature.
Despite all this, for a long time after his death, Bach's works were known and appreciated only by a few experts, while the public almost forgot them. Per share Mendelssohn It fell, thanks to the performance in 1829 under his baton of Bach's St. Matthew Passion, to once again arouse general interest in the late composer and to win his great vocal works their rightful place of honor in musical life - and not only in Germany.
Johann Sebastian Bach. Best works
This includes, first of all, those intended for worship. spiritual cantatas, written by Bach (for all Sundays and holidays) in the amount of five complete annual cycles. Only about 226 cantatas have survived to us, quite reliable. The Gospel texts served as their text. The cantatas consist of recitatives, arias, polyphonic choruses and a chorale that concludes the entire work.
Next comes “music of passions” ( Passions), of which Bach wrote five. Of these, unfortunately, only two have reached us: Passion by John and Passion by Matthew; of these, the first was first performed in 1724, the second in 1729. The reliability of the third - the Passion according to Luke - is subject to great doubt. Musically dramatic portrayal of a story of suffering Christ in these works he achieves the highest completeness of form, the greatest musical beauty and power of expression. In a form mixed with epic, dramatic and lyrical elements, the story of the suffering of Christ passes before our eyes plastically and convincingly. The epic element appears in the person of the reciting evangelist, the dramatic element in the interrupting words of biblical figures, especially Jesus himself, as well as in the lively choirs of the people, the lyrical element in arias and choruses of a contemplative nature, and the chorale, contrasted with the whole presentation, indicates the direct relationship of the work to the divine service and hints at the community's participation in it.
Bach. St. Matthew Passion
A similar work, but of a lighter mood, is “ Christmas Oratorio"(Weihnachtsoratorium), written in 1734. It has also reached us" Easter Oratorio" Along with these large works associated with Protestant worship, adaptations of ancient Latin church texts are at the same height and just as perfect: Masses and five-voice Magnificat. Among them, the first place is taken by large Mass in B minor(1703). Just as Bach delved with faith into the words of the Bible, here he took up with faith the ancient words of the text of the Mass and depicted them in sounds with such richness and variety of feeling, with such power of expression that even now, clothed in a strict polyphonic fabric, they deeply captivating and deeply moving. The choirs in this work are among the greatest that has ever been created in the field of church music. The demands placed on the choir here are extremely high.
(Biographies of other great musicians - see the “More on the topic...” block below the article text.)