Johann Sebastian Bach - German composer and a musician of the Baroque era, who collected and combined in his work the traditions and most significant achievements of European musical art, and also enriched all this with the virtuoso use of counterpoint and a subtle sense of perfect harmony. Bach is greatest classic, who left a huge legacy that has become the golden fund of world culture. He is a versatile musician whose work has covered almost all known genres. Creating immortal masterpieces, he turned every beat of his compositions into small works, then combining them into priceless creations of perfect beauty and expressiveness that vividly reflected the diverse spiritual world of man.

short biography

Johann Sebastian Bach was born in the German town of Eisenach into the fifth generation of a family of musicians on March 21, 1685. It should be noted that musical dynasties were quite common in Germany at that time, and talented parents sought to develop appropriate talents in their children. The boy's father, Johann Ambrosius, was an organist in the church of Eisenach and a court accompanist. It is obvious that it was he who gave the first lessons in playing the violin And harpsichord little son.

At the age of 10, Johann Sebastian lost his parents, but was not left homeless, because he was the eighth and youngest child in the family. The little orphan was taken care of by Ohrdruf's respected organist Johann Christoph Bach, Johann Sebastian's older brother. Among his other students, Johann Christoph taught his brother to play the clavier, but the strict teacher safely hid the manuscripts of modern composers under lock and key, so as not to spoil the taste young performers. However, the castle did not prevent little Bach from getting acquainted with forbidden works.

Luneburg

At the age of 15, Bach entered the prestigious Luneburg School of Church Choristers, which was located at the Church of St. Michael, and at the same time, thanks to his beautiful voice, young Bach was able to earn a little extra money in a church choir. In addition, in Luneburg the young man met Georg Böhm, a famous organist, whose communication influenced the early work of the composer. He also traveled to Hamburg several times to listen to the playing of the largest representative of the German organ school, A. Reincken. Bach's first works for clavier and organ date back to the same period. After successfully completing school, Johann Sebastian receives the right to enter the university, but due to a lack of Money he had no opportunity to continue his education.

Weimar and Arnstadt

Johann began his career in Weimar, where he was accepted into the court chapel of Duke Johann Ernst of Saxony as a violinist. However, this did not last long, since such work did not satisfy the creative impulses of the young musician. In 1703, Bach, without hesitation, agreed to move to Arnstadt, where he was in the church of St. Boniface was initially offered the position of organ caretaker, and then the post of organist. A decent salary, work only three days a week, a good modernized instrument configured with the latest system, all this created the conditions for expansion creative possibilities musician not only as a performer, but also as a composer. During this period, he created a large number of organ works, as well as capriccios, cantatas and suites. Here Johann becomes a true organ expert and a brilliant virtuoso, whose playing aroused unbridled delight among listeners. It was in Arnstadt that his gift of improvisation was revealed, which the church leadership really did not like. Bach always strived for perfection and did not miss the opportunity to meet famous musicians, for example, with organist Dietrich Buxtehude, who served in Lübeck. Having received a four-week vacation, Bach went to listen to the great musician, whose playing impressed Johann so much that he, forgetting about his duties, stayed in Lübeck for four months. Upon returning to Arndstadt, the indignant management gave Bach a humiliating trial, after which he had to leave the city and look for a new place of work.

Leipzig

In Leipzig, where Bach moved in 1723, he reached the pinnacle of his career ladder: he was appointed cantor at the Church of St. Thomas and the musical director of all churches in the city. Bach was involved in teaching and preparing performers of church choirs, selecting music, organizing and holding concerts in the main churches of the city. Heading the College of Music from 1729, Bach began organizing 8 two-hour concerts of secular music per month in a coffee house of a certain Zimmermann, adapted for orchestra performances. Having been appointed court composer, Bach handed over the leadership of the College of Music to his former student Karl Gerlach in 1737. In recent years, Bach frequently revised his earlier works. In 1749 he graduated from High Mass in B minor, some parts of which were written by him 25 years ago. The composer died in 1750 while working on The Art of Fugue.

Interesting Facts

• Bach was a recognized expert on organs. He was invited to check and tune instruments in various churches in Weimar, where he lived for quite a long time. Every time he amazed his clients with the amazing improvisations that he played to hear how the instrument in need of his work sounded.
• Johann was bored with performing monotonous chorales during the service, and without holding back his creative impulse, he impromptu inserted his own small decorative variations into the established church music, which caused great dissatisfaction with his superiors.
• Best known for his religious works, Bach also excelled in composing secular music, as evidenced by his “Coffee Cantata.” Bach presented this humorous work as a short comic opera. Originally called "Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht" ("Be quiet, stop chatting"), it describes the lyrical hero's addiction to coffee, and, not coincidentally, this cantata was first performed in the Leipzig coffee house.

• At the age of 18, Bach really wanted to get the position of organist in Lubeck, which at that time belonged to the famous Dietrich Buxtehude. Another contender for this place was G. Handel. The main condition for occupying this position was marriage to one of Buxtehude’s daughters, but neither Bach nor Handel decided to sacrifice themselves in this way.
• Johann Sebastian Bach really enjoyed dressing up as a poor teacher and visiting small churches in this guise, where he asked the local organist to play the organ a little. Some parishioners, hearing the performance, which was unusually beautiful for them, left the service in fear, thinking that the devil himself had appeared in their church in the form of a strange man.
• The Russian envoy to Saxony, Hermann von Keyserling, asked Bach to write a work to which he could quickly fall asleep. This is how the Goldberg Variations appeared, for which the composer received a gold cube filled with a hundred louis d'or. These variations are still one of the best “sleeping pills”.
• Johann Sebastian was known to his contemporaries not only as an outstanding composer and virtuoso performer, but also as a man with a very difficult character, intolerant of the mistakes of others. There is a known case when a bassoonist, publicly insulted by Bach for imperfect performance, attacked Johann. A real duel took place, as both were armed with daggers.
• Bach, who was keen on numerology, loved to weave the numbers 14 and 41 into his musical works, because these numbers corresponded to the first letters of the composer’s name. By the way, Bach also liked to use his last name in his compositions: the musical decoding of the word “Bach” forms a drawing of a cross. It is this symbol that is most important for Bach, who believes that similar coincidences.

• Thanks to Johann Sebastian Bach, today not only men sing in church choirs. The first woman to sing in the church was the composer’s wife Anna Magdalena, who has a beautiful voice.
• In the mid-19th century, German musicologists founded the first Bach Society, whose main task was to publish the composer's works. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the society dissolved itself and the entire collection of Bach’s works was published only in the second half of the twentieth century on the initiative of the Bach Institute, created in 1950. In the world today there are a total of two hundred and twenty-two Bach societies, Bach orchestras and Bach choirs.

Films about Johann Sebastian Bach

Bach, being a major figure in world musical culture, has always attracted close attention, which is why many books have been written about his life and work, as well as feature films and documentaries made. There are quite a large number of them, but the most significant of them are:

• “The Futile Journey of Johann Sebastian Bach to Fame” (1980, GDR) - a biographical film tells about the difficult fate of the composer, who spent his entire life wandering in search of “his” place in the sun.
• “Bach: The Fight for Freedom” (1995, Czech Republic, Canada) is a feature film that tells the story of the intrigues in the palace of the old Duke, which revolved around Bach’s rivalry with the best organist of the orchestra.
• “Dinner for Four Hands” (1999, Russia) is a feature film that shows a meeting of two composers, Handel and Bach, that never took place in reality, but so desired.
• “My name is Bach” (2003) - the film takes viewers to 1747, at the time when Johann Sebastian Bach arrived at the court of the Prussian King Frederick II.
• "The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach" (1968) and "Johann Bach and Anna Magdalena" (2003) - the films depict Bach's relationship with his second wife, a capable student of her husband.
• “Anton Ivanovich is Angry” is a musical comedy in which there is an episode: Bach appears to the main character in a dream and says that he was terribly bored writing countless chorales, and he always dreamed of writing a cheerful operetta.
• “Silence before Bach” (2007) is a film-musical that helps you immerse yourself in the world of Bach’s music, which upended the Europeans’ idea of ​​harmony that existed before him.

From documentaries about the famous composer, it is necessary to note such films as: “Johann Sebastian Bach: life and work, in two parts” (1985, USSR); “Johann Sebastian Bach” (series “German Composers” 2004, Germany); “Johann Sebastian Bach” (series “Famous Composers” 2005, USA); “Johann Sebastian Bach – composer and theologian” (2016, Russia).

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It remains to report on Anna Magdalena. She knew the bitterness of early old age. At first, the magistrate undoubtedly provided some assistance to Bach’s widow; receipts for her receipt of sums of money have been preserved. There is no reliable information about the relationship with the stepmother and mother of Bach’s sons after his death. Anna Magdalena, fifty-nine years old, died on Wednesday February 27, 1760 in Leipzig, on Heinenstrasse, apparently in a shelter for the poor.

For many years, the cantor's loving and caring wife so often hurriedly prepared the notes for her Sebastian's next Sunday cantata! In a handwriting similar to that of her husband, having completed the last line, she wrote in large letters on the page the words that meant “the end” in Italian.

May this sign complete our story of life and short essay works of the great Bach:

A BRIEF LIST OF WORKS BY J. S. BACH

Vocal and instrumental works: about 300 sacred cantatas (199 preserved); 24 secular cantatas (including “Hunting”, “Coffee”, “Peasant”); motets, chorales; Christmas Oratorio; “John Passion”, “Matthew Passion”, “Magnificat”, Mass in B minor (“High Mass”), 4 short masses.

Arias and songs - from the second Notebook of Anna Magdalena Bach.

For orchestra and orchestra with solo instruments:

6 Brandenburg Concertos; 4 suites (“overtures”); 7 concertos for harpsichord (clavier) and orchestra; 3 concertos for two harpsichords and orchestra; 2 concertos for three harpsichords and orchestra; 1 concert for four harpsichords and orchestra; 3 concertos for violin and orchestra; concert for flute, violin and harpsichord.

Works for violin, cello, flute with clavier (harpsichord) and solo: 6 sonatas for violin and harpsichord; 6 sonatas for flute and harpsichord; 3 sonatas for viola da gamba (cello) and harpsichord; trio sonatas; 6 sonatas and partitas for solo violin; 6 suites (sonatas) for solo cello.

For clavier (harpsichord): 6 “English” suites; 6 “French” suites; 6 parts; Chromatic fantasy and fugue; Italian concert; Well-Tempered Clavier (2 volumes, 48 ​​preludes and fugues); Goldberg Variations; Inventions for two and three voices; fantasies, fugues, toccatas, overtures, capriccios, etc.

For organ: 18 preludes and fugues; 5 toccatas and fugues; 3 fantasies and fugues; fugues; 6 concerts; Passacaglia; pastoral; fantasies, sonatas, canzones, trios; 46 chorale preludes (from Wilhelm Friedemann Bach's Organ Book); "Schubler chorales"; 18 chorales (“Leipzig”); several cycles of chorale variations.

Musical offering. The art of fugue.

MAIN LIFE DATES

1685, March 21 (Gregorian calendar March 31) Johann Sebastian Bach, the son of the city musician Johann Ambrose Bach, was born in the Thuringian city of Eisenach.

1693-1695 - Studying at school.

1694 - Death of mother, Elisabeth, née Lemmerhirt. Father's remarriage.

1695 - Death of father; moving to his elder brother Johann Christoph in Ohrdruf.

1696 - early 1700- Studying at the Ordruf Lyceum; singing and music lessons.

1700, March 15- Moving to Lüneburg, enrollment as a scholarship student (chanter) at the school of St. Michael.

1703, April- Moving to Weimar, service in the chapel of the Red Castle. August- Moving to Arnstadt; Bach is an organist and singing teacher.

1705-1706, October - February- Trip to Lubeck, studying the organ art of Dietrich Buxtehude. Conflict with the consistory of Arnstadt.

1707, June 15- Confirmation as organist in Mühlhausen. 17 October- Marriage to Maria Barbara Bach.

1708, spring- Publication of the first work, “Elective Cantata”. July- Moving to Weimar to serve as court organist of the Ducal Chapel.

1710, November 22- Birth of the first son, Wilhelm Friedemann (the future “Gallic Bach”).

1714, March 8- Birth of the second son, Carl Philipp Emmanuel (the future “Hamburg Bach”). Trip to Kassel.

1717, July- Bach accepts the offer of Prince Leopold of Köthen to become conductor of the court chapel.

September- A trip to Dresden, his success as a virtuoso.

October- Return to Weimar; resignation letter, by order of the Duke, arrest from November 6 to December 2. Transfer to Keteya. Trip to Leipzig.

1720, May- A trip with Prince Leopold to Carlsbad. Early July- Death of wife Maria Barbara.

1723, February 7- Performance of cantata No. 22 in Leipzig as a test for the position of cantor of the Thomaskirche. 26 March- First performance of the St. John Passion. May- Taking office as cantor of St. Thomas and the school teacher.

1729, February- Performing the “Hunting Cantata” in Weissenfels, receiving the title of court Kapellmeister of Saxe-Weissenfels. April 15- First performance of the St. Matthew Passion in the Thomaskirche. Disagreements with the Thomasshule council and then with the magistrate over school practices. Bach leads the Telemann student circle, Collegium musicum.

1730, October 28- A letter to a former school friend G. Erdmann describing the unbearable circumstances of life in Leipzig.

1732 - Performance of “Coffee Cantata”. 21st of June- Birth of the son Johann Christoph Friedrich (the future “Bückeburg Bach”).

1734, end of December- Performance of the “Christmas Oratorio”.

1735, June- Bach with his son Gottfried Bernhard in Mühlhausen. The son passes the test for the position of organist. September 5 the last son, Johann Christian (the future “London Bach”) was born.

1736 - Beginning of a two-year “struggle for the prefect” with the rector Tomashule I. Ernesti. November 19 A decree was signed in Dresden conferring the title of royal court composer on Bach. Friendship with the Russian ambassador G. Keyserling. December 1- A two-hour concert in Dresden on the Silbermann organ.

1738, April 28- “Night music” in Leipzig. Bach completes the composition of the High Mass.

1740 - Bach ceases to direct the “Music Collegium”.

1741 - In the summer, Bach visited his son Emmanuel in Berlin. Trip to Dresden.

1742 - Publication of the last, fourth volume of “Exercises for the Clavier”. August 30- Performance of “Peasant Cantata”.

1745 - Testing of a new organ in Dresden.

1746 - Son Wilhelm Friedemann becomes director of urban music in Halle. Bach's trip to Zshortau and Naumberg.

1749, January 20- Engagement of daughter Elisabeth to Bach's student Altnikol. The beginning of the essay "The Art of Fugue". In summer- Illness, blindness. Johann Friedirch enters the Bückeburg Chapel.

1750, January- Unsuccessful eye surgeries, complete blindness. Composition of counterpoints of “The Art of Fugue” and fugue on the theme B-A-C-N. Completion of processing of chorales.

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Johann Sebastian Bach

All about Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach (31 March 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque era. He made significant contributions to the development of significant genres of German classical music through his mastery of counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organization, and the adaptation of foreign rhythms, forms and structures, particularly from Italy and France. Bach's musical works include the Brandenburg Concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Mass in B minor, two Passions and more than three hundred cantatas, of which about two hundred survive. His music is renowned for its technical excellence, artistic beauty and intellectual depth.

Bach's abilities as an organist were highly valued during his lifetime, but as a great composer he was not widely recognized until his first half of the 19th century century, when interest in his music and its performance was revived. He is currently considered one of the greatest composers of all time.

Biography of Bach

Bach was born in Eisenach, in the Duchy of Saxe-Eisenach, into a large family of musicians. His father, Johann Ambrosius Bach, was the leader of the city orchestra, and all of his uncles were professional musicians. His father probably taught him to play the violin and harpsichord, and his brother, Johann Christoph Bach, taught him the clavichord and introduced him to the work of many modern composers. Apparently, on his own initiative, Bach entered St. Michael's School in Lüneburg, where he studied for two years. After graduating, he held a number of musical positions throughout Germany: he served as a kapeldiner (musical director) for Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen, and as a Thomaskantor in Leipzig, as a music director in prominent Lutheran churches, and as a teacher at the school of St. Thomas. In 1736, Augustus III awarded him the title of "court composer". In 1749, Bach's health and eyesight deteriorated. On July 28, 1750 he died.

Bach's childhood

Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, the capital of the Duchy of Saxe-Eisenach, located in what is now Germany, on March 21, 1685, Art. style (March 31, 1685 according to new style). He was the son of Johann Abrosius Bach, leader of the city orchestra, and Elisabeth Lemmerhirt. He was the eighth and youngest child in the family of Johann Abrosius, and his father probably taught him to play the violin and the basics of music theory. All of his uncles were professional musicians, among them were church organists, court chamber musicians and composers. One of them, Johann Christoph Bach (1645-93), introduced Johann Sebastian to the organ, and his older cousin, Johann Ludwig Bach (1677-1731), was famous composer and a violinist.

Bach's mother died in 1694, and his father died eight months later. The 10-year-old Bach moved in with his older brother, Johann Christoph Bach (1671-1721), who served as organist at St. Michael's Church in Ohrdruf, Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. There he studied, played and copied music, including that of his own brother, although this was prohibited, since scores at that time were very personal and of great value, and blank office paper of the appropriate type was expensive. He received valuable knowledge from his brother, who taught him to play the clavichord. Johann Christoph Bach introduced him to the works of the great composers of his time, including South German ones such as Johann Pachelbel (under whom Johann Christoph studied) and Johann Jakob Froberger; North German composers; Frenchmen such as Jean-Baptiste Lully, Louis Marchand and Marin Marais; as well as the Italian pianist Girolamo Frescobaldi. At the same time, at the local gymnasium, he studied theology, Latin, Greek, French and Italian.

On April 3, 1700, Bach and his schoolmate Georg Erdmann, who was two years older, entered the prestigious St. Michael's School in Lüneburg, which was two weeks' journey from Ohrdruf. They probably covered most of this distance on foot. The two years Bach spent at this school played a vital role in shaping his interest in a variety of industries. European culture. In addition to singing in the choir, he played the School's three-manual organ and harpsichords. He began to associate with the sons of aristocrats from northern Germany, who were sent to this highly demanding school to prepare for careers in other disciplines.

While in Lüneburg, Bach had access to St. John's Church and may have used the church's famous 1553 organ, as it was played by his organ teacher Georg Böhm. Thanks to his musical talent, Bach was in close contact with Boehm while studying in Lüneburg, and also traveled to nearby Hamburg, where he attended performances of the “great North German organist Johann Adam Reincken.” Stauffer reports the discovery in 2005 of organ tablatures that Bach wrote out for works by Reincken and Buxtehude as a teenager in 2005, revealing “a disciplined, methodical, well-prepared teenager, deeply committed to the study of his art.”

Bach's service as organist

In January 1703, shortly after graduating from St. Michael's School and being rejected for appointment as organist in Sangerhausen, Bach entered service as court musician at the chapel of Duke Johann Ernst III in Weimar. It is not known exactly what his duties were there, but they were probably menial and had nothing to do with music. During his seven months in Weimar, Bach became so famous as a keyboard player that he was invited to inspect the new organ and perform the inaugural concert at the New Church (now Bach Church) in Arnstadt, located about 30 km (19 mi) southwest of Weimar. In August 1703, he took up the position of organist at the New Church, with simple duties, a relatively generous salary and a beautiful new organ, the temperament settings of which allowed it to play music written in a wider keyboard range.

Despite the influential family connections and an employer passionate about music, after several years of service tension arose between Bach and the authorities. Bach was dissatisfied with the level of training of the singers in the choir, and his employer did not approve of his unauthorized absence from Arnstadt - in 1705-06, when Bach left for several months to visit the great organist and composer Dietrich Buxtehude and attend his evening concerts in the church St. Mary's in the northern city of Lübeck. To visit Buxtehude, a distance of 450 kilometers (280 miles) was required - according to available evidence, Bach made this journey on foot.

In 1706, Bach applied for the position of organist at the Church of Blasius (also known as the Church of St. Blasius, or as Divi Blasii) in Mühlhausen. As a demonstration of his skills, he performed a cantata for Easter, April 24, 1707 - this was probably an early version of his composition "Christ lag in Todes Banden" ("Christ lay in the chains of death"). A month later, Bach's application was accepted, and in July he took the desired position. The salary in this service was significantly higher, the conditions and choir were better. Four months after arriving in Mühlhausen, Bach married Maria Barbara Bach, his second cousin. Bach managed to convince the church and city authorities of Mühlhausen to finance the costly restoration of the organ in the Church of Blaise. In 1708, Bach wrote "Gott ist mein König" ("My Lord the King"), a celebratory cantata for the inauguration of the new consul, the publication costs of which were paid by the consul himself.

The beginning of Bach's work

In 1708, Bach left Mühlhausen and returned to Weimar, this time as organist and, from 1714, court accompanist (musical director), where he had the opportunity to work with a large, well-funded cast of professional musicians. Bach and his wife moved to a house not far from the Ducal Palace. Later that year, their first daughter, Katharina Dorothea, was born; Maria Barbara's unmarried older sister also moved in with them. She helped the Bach family with housework and lived with them until her death in 1729. Bach also had three sons in Weimar: Wilhelm Friedemann, Carl Philipp Emmanuel and Johann Gottfried Bernhard. Johann Sebastian and Maria Barbara had three more children, but none of them survived a year, including twins born in 1713.

Bach's life in Weimar marked the beginning of a long period of composing keyboard and orchestral works. He honed his skills and gained the confidence that allowed him to expand the boundaries of traditional musical structures and incorporate foreign musical influences into them. He learned to write dramatic introductions, use dynamic rhythms and harmonic patterns inherent in the music of such Italians as Vivaldi, Corelli and Torelli. Bach partially derived these stylistic aspects from his transcriptions of Vivaldi's string and wind concertos for harpsichord and organ; many of these works, in his adaptations, are regularly performed to this day. Bach was particularly attracted to the Italian style, in which solo parts on one or more instruments alternated with the playing of a full orchestra throughout the movement.

In Weimar, Bach continued to play and compose for the organ, and also performed concert music with the Duke's ensemble. In addition, he began to write preludes and fugues, which later became part of a monumental cycle called "The Well-Tempered Clavier" ("Das Wohltemperierte Klavier" - "Klavier" means clavichord or harpsichord). The cycle included two books, compiled in 1722 and 1744, each of which contains 24 preludes and fugues in all major and minor keys.

In addition, in Weimar, Bach began work on the “Organ Book,” containing complex arrangements of traditional Lutheran chorales (melodies of church hymns). In 1713, Bach was offered a post in Halle when he advised the authorities during Christoph Kuntzius's restoration of the main organ in the west gallery of St. Mary's Catholic Church. Johann Kuhnau and Bach played again at its opening in 1716.

In the spring of 1714, Bach was promoted to concertmaster, an honor that entailed monthly performances of church cantatas in the court church. Bach's first three cantatas composed in Weimar were: "Himmelskönig, sei willkommen" ("Heavenly King, welcome") (BWV 182), written for Palm Sunday, which coincided with the Annunciation that year, "Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen , Zagen" ("Moaning, crying, worries and worries") (BWV 12) for the third Sunday after Easter, and "Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten!" (“Sing, ye choirs, shout, ye strings!”) (BWV 172) for Pentecost. Bach's first Christmas cantata, "Christen, ätzet diesen Tag" ("Christians, mark this day") (BWV 63), was first performed in 1714 or 1715.

In 1717, Bach eventually fell out of favor in Weimar and, according to a translation of the court clerk's report, was detained for almost a month and then dismissed with disgrace: "November 6th, former accompanist and organist Bach, by decision of the county judge, was taken into custody for excessive persistence in demanding his dismissal, and further, on December 2, he was released from arrest with notice of disgrace."

Bach's family and children

In 1717, Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen, hired Bach as Kapellmeister (musical director). Being a musician himself, Prince Leopold appreciated Bach's talents, paid him a good salary and provided him with considerable freedom in composing and performing musical works. However, the prince was a Calvinist and did not use complex music in his services. As a consequence, the works Bach wrote during this period were largely secular, including orchestral suites, cello suites, sonatas and scores for solo violin, and the Brandenburg Concertos. Bach also wrote secular court cantatas, notably "Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht" ("Time and days make years") (BWV 134a). An important component musical development Stauffer describes Bach during his years in the Prince's service as "his complete acceptance of dance music, which had perhaps the most important influence on the flowering of his style, along with the music of Vivaldi, mastered by him in Weimar."

Even though Bach and Handel were born in the same year and only about 130 kilometers (80 miles) apart, they never met. In 1719, Bach made a 35-kilometer (22-mile) journey from Köthen to Halle to meet Handel, but Handel had already left the city by then. In 1730, Bach's eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann, went to Halle to invite Handel to visit Bach's family in Leipzig, but the visit did not materialize.

On July 7, 1720, while Bach was with Prince Leopold in Carlsbad, Bach's wife suddenly died. A year later he met Anna Magdalena Wilke, a young and highly gifted soprano singer, who was sixteen years his junior and sang at court in Köthen; On December 3, 1721 they got married. Thirteen more children were born from this marriage, six of whom lived to adulthood: Gottfried Heinrich; Elisabeth Juliana Friederica (1726-81), who married Bach's student Johann Christoph Altnikol; Johann Christoph Friedrich and Johann Christian - both of them, especially Johann Christian, became outstanding musicians; Johanna Caroline (1737-81); and Regina Suzanne (1742-1809).

Bach as a teacher

In 1723, Bach received the position of Thomascantor - cantor at the St. Thomas School at the Thomaskirche (St. Thomas Church) in Leipzig, which provided concerts in four churches in the city: Thomaskirche, Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas Church), and to a slightly lesser extent Neue Kirche (New Church) and Peterskirche (St. Peter's Church). It was the "leading cantorate of Protestant Germany", located in a commercial city in the Electorate of Saxony, where he served for twenty-seven years until his death. During this period, he strengthened his authority through honorary court positions, which he held in Köthen and Weissenfels, as well as at the court of Elector Frederick Augustus (who was also king of Poland) in Dresden. Bach had many disagreements with his actual employers - the city administration of Leipzig, whose members he considered "misers". For example, despite receiving an offer of appointment as a Thomascantor, Bach was, however, invited to Leipzig only after Telemann declared that he was not interested in moving to Leipzig. Telemann went to Hamburg, where he "had his own conflicts with the city senate."

Bach's duties included teaching singing to students at St. Thomas's school and conducting concerts in the main churches of Leipzig. In addition, Bach was obliged to teach Latin, but he was allowed to hire four “prefects” (assistants) who did this in his place. Prefects also provided assistance in musical literacy. Cantatas were performed during Sunday and holiday services throughout the church year. As a rule, Bach himself directed the performances of his cantatas, most of which he composed during the first three years after moving to Leipzig. The very first was "Die Elenden sollen essen" ("Let the poor eat and be satisfied") (BWV 75), first performed in Nikolaikirch on May 30, 1723, the first Sunday after Trinity. Bach collected his cantatas in annual cycles. Of the five such cycles mentioned in obituaries, only three have survived. Of the more than three hundred cantatas written by Bach in Leipzig, more than a hundred were lost to subsequent generations. Basically, these concert works are based on the texts of the Gospel, which in the Lutheran Church were read at every Sunday and holiday service throughout the year. The second annual cycle, which Bach began to compose on the first Sunday after Trinity in 1724, consists exclusively of chorale contatas, each of which is based on a specific church hymn. These include "O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort" ("O eternity, thunderous word") (BWV 20), "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" ("Wake up, a voice calls to you") (BWV 140), "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" ("Come, Savior of Nations") (BWV 62), and "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern" ("Oh, how beautiful morning star the light shines") (BWV 1).

Bach recruited sopranos and altos into the choir from students of the St. Thomas School, and tenors and basses - not only from there, but also from all over Leipzig. Performing at weddings and funerals provided his groups with additional income - he probably wrote at least six motets especially for this, as well as for learning at school. As part of his regular church activities, he performed motets by other composers, and they served sample samples for his own.

Bach's predecessor as cantor, Johann Kuhnau, also directed concerts at the Paulinerkirche, a church at the University of Leipzig. However, when Bach took over this position in 1723, he was given the authority to conduct concerts only for “solemn” (held on church holidays) services in the Paulinerkirche; his petition for concerts and regular Sunday services in this church (with a corresponding increase in salary) reached the Elector himself, but was refused. After this, in 1725, Bach “lost interest” in working even on ceremonial services in the Paulinerkirche and began to appear there only on “special occasions.” The organ in the Paulinerkirche was much better and newer (1716) than in the Thomaskirche or Nikolaikirche. In 1716, when the organ was built, Bach was asked to give an official consultation, for which he arrived from Köthen and presented his report. Bach's formal duties did not include playing any organ, but it is believed that he enjoyed playing the organ at the Paulinerkirche "for his own pleasure."

In March 1729, Bach took over the post of director of the Collegium Musicum, a secular concert ensemble founded by Telemann, and this allowed him to extend his activities as a composer and performer beyond church services. The Music College was one of many closed groups founded in large German-speaking cities by musically gifted university students; at that time such groups acquired more and more important in public musical life; as a rule, they were led by the most prominent professional musicians of the city. According to Christoph Wolf, the adoption of this leadership was a shrewd step that "strengthened Bach's confident grip on the main musical institutions of Leipzig." Throughout the year, the Leipzig Music College held regular concerts in places such as the Zimmermann Café, a coffee shop on Catherine Street near the main market square. Many of Bach's compositions, written in the 1730s and 1740s, were composed for and performed by the College of Music; among them are selected works from the collection "Clavier-Übung" ("Keyboard Exercises"), as well as many of his violin and keyboard concertos.

In 1733, Bach composed a mass for the Dresden court (parts "Kyrie" and "Gloria"), which he later included in his Mass in B minor. He presented the manuscript to the Elector in the hope of persuading the Prince to appoint him court composer, an attempt that was subsequently crowned with success. He later reworked this work into a complete mass, adding parts "Credo", "Sanctus" and "Agnus Dei", the music for which was partly based on his own cantatas, partly composed entirely. Bach's appointment as court composer was part of his long struggle to strengthen his authority in disputes with the Leipzig city council. In 1737-1739, the College of Music was headed by Bach's former student Karl Gotthelf Gerlach.

In 1747, Bach visited the court of King Frederick II of Prussia in Potsdam. The king played a melody for Bach and invited him to immediately improvise a fugue based on the musical theme he had performed. Bach immediately played an improvisation of a three-part fugue on one of Friedrich's pianos, then a new composition, and later presented the king with a "Musical Offering", consisting of fugues, canons and trios, based on the motive proposed by Friedrich. His six-voice fugue includes the same musical theme, making it more suitable for different variations thanks to a number of changes.

In the same year, Bach joined the Society of Musical Sciences (Correspondierende Societät der musikalischen Wissenschafften) of Lorenz Christoph Mitzler. On the occasion of his entry into the society, Bach composed the Canonical Variations on the Christmas hymn "Vom Himmel hoch da komm" ich her" ("From heaven will I descend to earth") (BWV 769). Each member of the society was required to present a portrait, so in 1746 in While Bach was preparing for a performance, the artist Elias Gottlob Hausmann painted his portrait, which later became famous. The Triple Canon for Six Voices (BWV 1076) was presented along with this portrait as a dedication to the Society. It is possible that other later works of Bach were also related to the Society , based on music theory. Among these works is the cycle "The Art of Fugue", which consists of 18 complex fugues and canons based on a simple theme. "The Art of Fugue" was published only posthumously in 1751.

Bach's last significant work was the Mass in B minor (1748-49), which Stauffer describes as "Bach's most comprehensive ecclesiastical work. Composed largely of revised parts of cantatas that were written over a period of thirty-five years, it allowed Bach to examine your vocal parts and select individual parts for subsequent revision and improvement." Although the mass was never performed in its entirety during the composer's lifetime, it is considered one of the greatest choral works of all time.

Bach's illness and death

In 1749, Bach's health began to deteriorate; On June 2, Heinrich von Brühl wrote a letter to one of the burgomasters of Leipzig asking him to appoint his music director, Johann Gottlieb Garrer, to the post of tomaskantor and music director “in connection with the approaching... death of Mr. Bach.” Bach was losing his sight, so British eye surgeon John Taylor operated on him twice during his stay in Leipzig in March and April 1750.

On July 28, 1750, Bach died at the age of 65. Local newspaper reports cited the cause of death as "the tragic consequences of a very unsuccessful eye operation." Spitta provides some details. He writes that Bach died of “apoplexy,” that is, of a stroke. Confirming the newspaper reports, Spitta notes: “The treatment carried out in connection with the [failed eye] operation had such bad consequences that his health ... was greatly deteriorated,” and Bach completely lost his sight. His son Carl Philipp Emmanuel, together with his student Johann Friedrich Agricola, compiled an obituary of Bach, which was published in the Mizler Music Library in 1754.

Bach's possessions included five harpsichords, two lute harpsichords, three violins, three violas, two cellos, a viola da gamba, a lute and a spinet, as well as 52 “sacred books,” including works by Martin Luther and Josephus. The composer was initially buried in the old cemetery at St. John's Church in Leipzig. The inscription on his tombstone was later erased and his grave was lost for almost 150 years, but in 1894 his remains were discovered and moved to a crypt in St. John's Church. During World War II, this church was destroyed by Allied bombing, so in 1950 Bach's ashes were transferred to their current burial site in the Church of St. Thomas. Later studies expressed doubts about whether the remains lying in the grave really belonged to Bach.

Bach's musical style

Bach's musical style largely corresponds to the traditions of his time, which became the final stage in the Baroque era. When his contemporaries such as Handel, Telemann and Vivaldi wrote concertos, he did the same. When they composed suites, he did the same. The same with recitatives, followed by da capo arias, four-part chorales, use of basso continuo, etc. His style is characterized by his mastery of contrapuntal invention and motivic control, as well as his talent for creating densely woven musical compositions with a powerful sound. From an early age, he was inspired by the works of his contemporaries and previous generations, learned everything possible from the work of European composers, including French and Italian, as well as people from all over Germany, and few of them were not reflected in his own music.

Bach devoted most of his life to sacred music. The hundreds of ecclesiastical works he created are usually regarded as manifestations not only of his skill, but also of a truly reverent attitude towards God. As a Thomascantor in Leipzig, he taught the Small Catechism, and this was reflected in some of his works. Lutheran chants served as the basis for many of his compositions. Arranging these hymns for his choral preludes, he created more soulful and integral compositions than all others, and this applies even to the heavier and long works. The large-scale structure of all of Bach's significant ecclesiastical vocal works shows a refined, skillful design capable of expressing all spiritual and musical power. For example, the St. Matthew Passion, like other compositions of its kind, illustrates the Passion by conveying the biblical text in recitatives, arias, choruses and chorales; By writing this work, Bach created a comprehensive experience that, many centuries later, is recognized as both musically exciting and spiritually profound.

Bach published and compiled from manuscripts a large number of collections of works that explored the range of artistic and technical possibilities available to almost all musical genres of his time, with the exception of opera. For example, The Well-Tempered Clavier consists of two books that include preludes and fugues in all major and minor keys, demonstrating a dizzying variety of structural, contrapuntal and fugal techniques.

Bach's harmonic style

Four-part harmonies were invented before Bach, but he lived at a time when modal music in the Western tradition had largely been replaced by the tonal system. According to this system musical part moves from one chord to another according to certain rules, with each chord characterized by four notes. The principles of four-part harmony can be found not only in Bach's four-part chorale works, but also, for example, in the general bass accompaniment he wrote. The new system underlay Bach's entire style, and his compositions are often seen as fundamental components in the formation of the pattern that prevailed in the musical expression of subsequent centuries. Some examples of this characteristic of Bach's style and its influence:

When Bach staged his arrangement of Pergolesi's Stabat Mater in the 1740s, he refined the alto part (which in the original composition is played in unison with the bass line) as a complement to the harmony, thereby bringing the composition into line with his four-part harmonic style.

In the debate that arose in Russia since the 19th century about the authenticity of the presentation of four-part court chants, the presentation of Bach's four-part chorales - for example, the final movements of his chorale cantatas - compared with earlier Russian traditions served as an example of foreign influence: such influence, however, was considered inevitable.

Bach's decisive intervention in the tonal system and his contribution to its formation does not mean that he worked less freely with the old mode system and related genres: more than his contemporaries (virtually all of whom "switched" to the tonal system), Bach returned frequently to out-of-fashion techniques and genres. An example of this is his “Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue” - this work reproduces the genre of chromatic fantasy, in which predecessor composers such as Dowland and Sweelinck worked, and it is written in the D-Dorian mode (which corresponds to D minor in the tonal system).

Modulations in Bach's music

Modulation - changing the key during the course of a piece - is another stylistic feature in which Bach goes beyond the generally accepted traditions of his time. Baroccan musical instruments greatly limited the possibility of modulation: keyboards, the temperament system of which preceded the tuning one, had registers limited in modulation, and wind instruments, especially brass instruments, for example, the trumpet and horn, which existed a hundred years before being equipped with valves, depended on their tuning keys. Bach expanded these possibilities: he added “strange tones” to his organ performances that confused the choristers, according to the accusation he faced in Arnstadt. Louis Marchand, another early experimenter with modulation, apparently only managed to avoid confrontation with Bach because the latter went further in this endeavor than any of his predecessors. In the "Suscepit Israel" section of his work "Magnificat" (1723), the parts for trumpet in E flat include a performance of the melody in the enharmonic scale of C minor.

Another significant technological breakthrough of Bach's time, in which his participation played an important role, is the improvement of temperament keyboard instruments, which allowed them to be used in all keys (12 major and 12 minor), and also made it possible to apply modulation without retuning. His "Capriccio on the Departure of a Beloved Brother" is a very early work, but it already shows a widespread use of modulation, incomparable with any of the works of the time with which this composition was compared. But this technique is most fully revealed only in “The Well-Tempered Clavier,” where all keys are used. Bach worked on its improvement around 1720, the first mention of which is found in his “Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann Bach” (“Wilhelm Friedemann Bach’s Keyboard Book”).

Jewelry in Bach's music

The second page of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach's Keyboard Book contains an explanation of the ornaments and instructions for their performance, written by Bach for his eldest son, who was then nine years old. On the whole, Bach gave enough great importance ornamentation in his works (although at that time ornaments were rarely composed by composers, being rather the privilege of the performer), and his decorations were often quite detailed. For example, the "Aria" from his Goldberg Variations contains rich ornamentation in almost every bar. Bach's attention to decoration can also be seen in the keyboard arrangement he wrote for Marcello's Oboe Concerto: it was he who added notes with those decorations to this work, which oboists play several centuries later in its performance.

Despite the fact that Bach did not write a single opera, he was not an opponent of the genre, nor of its vocal style using decorations. In church music, Italian composers imitated the operatic vocal style of genres such as the Neapolitan mass. Protestant society was more reserved about the idea of ​​using such a style in liturgical music. For example, Kuhnau, Bach's predecessor in Leipzig, is known to have expressed in his recordings a negative opinion about the opera and vocal compositions of Italian virtuosos. Bach was less categorical; According to one of the reviews of the performance of his St. Matthew Passion, the whole work as a whole sounded very much like an opera.

Bach's keyboard music

In concert performances from Bach's time, the basso continuo, consisting of instruments such as organ and/or viola da gamba and harpsichord, was usually assigned the role of accompaniment: providing the harmonic and rhythmic basis of the composition. In the late 1720s, Bach introduced the performance of solo parts for organ and orchestra in the instrumental parts of cantatas, ten years before Handel published his first organ concertos. In addition to the 5th Brandenburg Concerto and the Triple Concerto of the 1720s, which already included harpsichord solos, Bach wrote and arranged his harpsichord concertos in the 1730s, and his sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord one of these instruments does not participate in the continuo parts: they are used as full-fledged solo instruments, which goes far beyond the general bass. In this sense, Bach played a key role in the development of genres such as the keyboard concerto.

Features of Bach's music

Bach wrote virtuoso works for specific instruments, as well as music independent of instrumentation. For example, “Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin” is considered to be the apotheosis of all works written for this instrument, accessible only to skilled musicians: the music corresponds to the instrument, fully revealing its capabilities, and requires a virtuoso, but not a bravura performer. Although music and instrument seem inseparable, Bach adapted some parts of this collection for other instruments. Likewise with the cello suites - their virtuoso music seems created specifically for this instrument, conveying the best of what it is capable of, but Bach managed to arrange one of these suites for the lute. This also applies to much of his most virtuoso keyboard music. Bach revealed the full capabilities of the instrument, while preserving the independence of the core of such music from the performance instrument.

Given this, it is not surprising that Bach's music is often performed with ease on instruments for which it was not always written, that it is so often arranged, and that his melodies appear in the most unexpected cases, such as in jazz. In addition, in a number of compositions Bach did not specify the instrumentation at all: this category includes canons BWV 1072-1078, as well as the main parts of the Musical Offering and the Art of Fugue.

Counterpoint in Bach's music

Another characteristic feature of Bach's style is his extensive use of counterpoint (as opposed to homophony, used, for example, in his presentation of the four-part chorale). Bach's canons and, above all, his fugues are most characteristic of this style: and although Bach is not its inventor, his contribution to this style was so fundamental that it became decisive in many ways. Fugues are as characteristic of Bach's style as, for example, the sonata form is characteristic of composers of the classical period.

However, not only these strictly contrapuntal compositions, but most of Bach's music as a whole is characterized by special musical phrases for each of the voices, where the chords, which consist of notes sounded at a certain time, follow the rules of four-part harmony. Forkel, the first biographer of Bach, gives the following description of this feature of Bach's works, which distinguishes them from all other music:

If the language of music is only pronunciation musical phrase, simple sequence musical notes, such music can rightfully be accused of poverty. The addition of bass gives the music a harmonic basis and clarifies it, but overall it defines rather than enriches it. A melody with such an accompaniment, although all its notes did not belong to a real bass, or decorated with simple ornaments or simple chords in the parts of the upper voices, it was customary to call it “homophony.” However, it is a completely different case when two melodies are so closely intertwined that they carry on a conversation with each other, like two people sharing a pleasant equality. In the first case, the accompaniment is subordinate and serves only to support the first or main part. In the second case, the parties have a different connection. Their interweaving serves as a source of new melodic combinations, giving rise to new forms of musical expression. If more parts are intertwined in the same free and independent manner, the linguistic mechanism expands accordingly, and with the addition of a variety of forms and rhythms it becomes practically inexhaustible. Consequently, harmony is no longer simply an accompaniment to the melody, but rather a powerful tool for adding richness and expressiveness to musical conversation. Mere accompaniment is not enough for this purpose. True harmony lies in the interweaving of several melodies, which occurs first in the upper, then in the middle, and finally in the lower parts.

From about 1720, when he was thirty-five years old, until his death in 1750, Bach's harmony consisted of this melodic interweaving of independent motives, so perfect in their fusion that every detail seems integral to the true melody. In this, Bach surpasses all composers in the world. At least I have not met anyone equal to him in the music I know. Even in his four-voice presentation, it is often possible to discard the upper and lower parts, and the middle one will not become less melodic and acceptable.

Structure of Bach's compositions

Bach paid more attention to the structure of his compositions than all his contemporaries. This is noticeable in the minor adjustments he made when rearranging other people's compositions, for example in his early version of the "Kaiser" from the Passion of St. Mark, where he strengthened the transitions between scenes, and in the construction of his own compositions, for example, the Magnificat, and his Passions written in Leipzig. In the last years of his life, Bach made changes to some of his earlier compositions, often the most significant consequence of which was an expansion of the structure of previously composed works, such as the Mass in B minor. Bach's well-known emphasis on structure led to various numerological studies of his compositions, which peaked around the 1970s. Subsequently, however, many of these overly detailed interpretations were rejected, especially when their meaning was lost in the full symbolism of hermeneutics.

Bach attached great importance to the libretto, that is, to the texts of his vocal works: to work on his cantatas and basic vocal compositions, he sought collaboration with various composers, and at times, when he could not rely on the talents of other authors, he wrote or adapted such texts with his own hand so that include them in the composition that he created. His collaboration with Picander in writing the libretto for the St. Matthew Passion is the most famous, but a similar process had taken place several years earlier, resulting in the multi-layered structure of the libretto for the St. John Passion.

List of works by Bach

In 1950, Wolfgang Schmieder published a thematic catalog of Bach's compositions entitled Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (Catalogue of Bach's Works). Schmieder borrowed heavily from the Bach-Gesellschaft-Ausgabe, a complete edition of the composer's works published between 1850 and 1900. The first edition of the catalog contained 1,080 surviving compositions, undoubtedly composed by Bach.

BWV 1081-1126 were added to the catalog in the second half of the 20th century, and BWV 1127 and above were even more recent additions.

Bach's Passions and Oratorios

Bach wrote the Passion for Good Friday services and oratorios such as the Christmas Oratorio, which includes a set of six cantatas for performance during the liturgical season of Christmas. More short works in this form are his “Easter Oratorio” and “oratorio for the Feast of the Ascension”.

Bach's longest work

The St. Matthew Passion, with double choir and orchestra, is one of Bach's longest works.

Oratorio "St. John's Passion"

The St. John Passion was the first Passion Bach wrote; he composed them while serving as a Thomascantor in Leipzig.

Bach's sacred cantatas

According to Bach's obituary, he composed five annual cycles of sacred cantatas, as well as additional church cantatas, such as those for weddings and funerals. Of these sacred works, about 200 are currently known, that is, approximately two-thirds of the total number of church cantatas he composed. The Bach Digital website lists 50 of the composer's known secular cantatas, about half of which survive or are largely recoverable.

Bach cantatas

Bach's cantatas vary widely in form and instrumentation. Among them are written for solo performance, separate choirs, small ensembles and large orchestras. Many consist of a large choral introduction, followed by one or more recitative-aria pairs for soloists (or duets) and a closing chorale. The melody of the closing chorale often acted as the cantus firmus of the opening movement.

The earliest cantatas date from the years that Bach spent in Arnstadt and Mühlhausen. The earliest of these whose date of composition is known is "Christ lag in Todes Banden" ("Christ lay in the chains of death") (BWV 4), composed for Easter 1707, which is one of his chorale cantatas. "Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit" ("God's time - best time") (BWV 106), also known as Actus Tragicus - a funeral cantata of the Mühlhausen period. About 20 church cantatas written in more than late period in Weimar, for example “Ich hatte Viel Bekümmernis” (“The sorrows in my heart increased”) (BWV 21).

After taking up the post of Thomascantor at the end of May 1723, at every Sunday and holiday service Bach performed a cantata that corresponded to the material of each week's lectures. The first cycle of his cantatas lasted from the first Sunday after Trinity in 1723 until Trinity Sunday in the following year. For example, the cantata for the day of the Virgin Mary's visit to Elizabeth, "Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben" ("With our lips, our hearts, our deeds, our whole life") (BWV 147), containing a chorale known in English as "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" ("Jesus, my joy"), belongs to this first cycle. The cycle of cantatas written in the second year of his stay in Leipzig is called the "cycle of chorale cantatas", since it mainly included works in the form of a chorale cantata The third cycle of his cantatas was composed over several years, and in 1728-29 it was followed by the Picander cycle.

Later church cantatas include the chorale cantatas "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" ("The Lord is our stronghold") (BWV 80) (final version) and "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" ("Wake up, a voice calls to you" ) (BWV 140). Only the first three Leipzig cycles are relatively completely preserved. In addition to his own, Bach also performed cantatas by Telemann and his distant relative Johann Ludwig Bach.

Secular music of Bach

Bach also wrote secular cantatas, for example, for members of the Royal Polish and Prince-Elector Saxon families (e.g. "Trauer-Ode" - "Mourning Ode") or on other public or private occasions (e.g. "Hunting Cantata") . The text of these cantatas was sometimes written in dialect (eg "Peasant Cantata") or in Italian (eg "Amore traditore"). Many of the secular cantatas were subsequently lost, but the reasons for their composition and the text of some of them were nevertheless preserved, in particular thanks to the publication of their libretto by Picander (eg BWV Anh. 11-12). The plots of some secular cantatas involved mythical heroes of Greek antiquity (for example, “Der Streit zwischen Phoebus und Pan” - “The Dispute between Phoebus and Pan”), others were practically miniature buffoonery (for example, “The Coffee Cantata”).

A cappella

Bach's a cappella music includes motets and chorale harmonizations.

Motets by Bach

Bach's motets (BWV 225-231) are works on sacred themes for choir and continuo with solo instrumental parts. Some of them were composed for funerals. Six motets composed by Bach are reliably known: “Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied” (“Sing a new song to the Lord”), “Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf” (“The Spirit strengthens us in our weaknesses”), “Jesu, Meine Freude” ("Jesus, my joy"), "Fürchte Dich Nicht" ("Do not be afraid..."), "Komm, Jesu, komm" ("Come, Jesus"), and "Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden" (" Praise the Lord, all you nations." The motet "Sei Lob und Preis mit Ehren" ("Praise and Honor") (BWV 231) is part of the composite motet "Jauchzet dem Herrn, alle Welt" ("Praise the Lord all the world") (BWV Anh. 160), the other parts of which , possibly based on the work of Telemann.

Bach chorales

Church music of Bach

Bach's ecclesiastical works in Latin include his Magnificat, four Kyrie-Gloria masses, and the Mass in B minor.

Bach's Magnificat

The first version of Bach's Magnificat dates from 1723, but the most famous version of the work in D major is from 1733.

Bach's Mass in B minor

In 1733, Bach composed the mass "Kyrie-Gloria" for the Dresden court. In the last years of his life, around 1748-49, he refined this composition into the grandiose Mass in B minor. During Bach's lifetime this work was never performed in its entirety.

Claver music of Bach

Bach wrote for the organ and other keyboard instruments of his time, mainly the harpsichord, but also the clavichord and his personal favorite: the lute-harpsichord (works presented as compositions for lute, BWV 995-1000 and 1006a, were probably written for this tool).

Organ works by Bach

During his lifetime, Bach was best known as an organist, organ consultant, and composer of organ works, both in the free genres of the German tradition - preludes, fantasies and toccatas, and in more strict forms, such as chorale preludes and fugues. In his youth, he became famous for his enormous creativity and ability to integrate foreign styles into his organ works. His undeniable North German influences were Georg Böhm, whom Bach met in Lüneburg, and Buxtehude, whom the young organist visited in Lübeck in 1704 during an extended absence from his post in Arnstadt. Around this time, Bach transcribed the works of numerous French and Italian composers to gain insight into their compositional languages, and later arranged the violin concertos of Vivaldi and others for organ and harpsichord. During his most productive period (1708-14), he wrote about a dozen paired preludes and fugues, five toccatas and fugues, and the Little Organ Book, an unfinished collection of forty-six short chorale preludes that demonstrates compositional techniques in performance choral melodies. After leaving Weimar, Bach wrote less for organ, although some of his best-known works (the six trio sonatas, the "German Organ Mass" in Clavier-Übung III of 1739, and the great Eighteen Chorales, expanded in later years) he composed after his departure from Weimar. In later life, Bach took an active part in consulting organ projects, testing newly built organs, and incorporating organ music into daytime rehearsals. The canonical variations on the theme "Vom Himmel hoch da komm" ich her" ("From heaven I descend to earth") and "Schübler chorales" are organ works that Bach published in the last years of his life.

Bach's music for harpsichord and clavichord

Bach wrote many works for the harpsichord; some of them may have been played on clavichords. Larger works are usually intended for a harpsichord with two keyboards, since when performed on a keyboard instrument with one keyboard (for example, a piano), technical difficulties with crossing hands may arise. Many of his keyboard works are almanacs that cover entire theoretical systems in an encyclopedic manner.

"The Well-Tempered Clavier", books 1 and 2 (BWV 846-893). Each book consists of a prelude and fugue in each of 24 major and minor keys, in chromatic order from C major to B minor (because of this, the collection as a whole is often referred to as "the 48"). The phrase "well tempered" in the name refers to the temperament (tuning system); Many temperaments of the period preceding Bach's time lacked flexibility and did not allow the use of more than two tonalities in works.

"Inventions and Symphonies" (BWV 772-801). These short two- and three-voice contrapuntal works are arranged in the same chromatic order as the parts of the Well-Tempered Clavier, with the exception of a few rare keys. These parts, according to Bach's plan, were intended for educational purposes.

Three collections of dance suites: "English Suites" (BWV 806-811), "French Suites" (BWV 812-817), and "Keyboard Scores" ("(Clavier-Übung I", BWV 825-830). Each collection consists of of six suites built on standard models (allemande-courante-sarabande-(free movement)-gigue). The "English Suites" strictly adhere to the traditional model with the addition of a prelude before the allemande and a single free movement between the sarabande and the gigue. In the "French Suites" the preludes are omitted, but there are several movements between the sarabande and the gigue.The Partitas show further modifications of the standard principles in the form of complex opening movements and varied movements between the main elements of the model.

The Goldberg Variations (BWV 988) is an aria with thirty variations. The collection has a complex and non-standard structure: the variations are built on the bass line of the aria, and its melodies and musical canons are interpolated in accordance with the grandiose plan. Thirty variations contain nine canons, that is, the third variation is a new canon. These variations are arranged sequentially from the first canon to the ninth. The first eight are doubles (first and fourth, second and seventh, third and sixth, fourth and fifth). The ninth canon, due to its compositional differences, is located separately. The last variation, instead of the expected tenth canon, is quarterbet.

Various works such as "Overture in french style" ("French Overture", BWV 831) and "Italian Concerto" (BWV 971) (together published as "Clavier-Übung II"), as well as "Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue" (BWV 903).

Bach's lesser-known keyboard works include seven toccatas (BWV 910-916), four duets (BWV 802-805), keyboard sonatas (BWV 963-967), Six Little Preludes (BWV 933-938), and Aria variata alla maniera italiana" (BWV 989).

Orchestral and chamber music of Bach

Bach wrote for individual instruments, duets and small ensembles. Many of his solo works, such as the six sonatas and partitas for violin (BWV 1001-1006) and six suites for cello (BWV 1007-1012), are widely regarded as among the strongest works in the repertoire. He wrote sonatas for solo performance on instruments such as viola de gamba with harpsichord or continuo accompaniment, as well as trio sonatas (two instruments and continuo).

The Musical Offering and The Art of Fugue are later contrapuntal works that contain parts for unspecified instruments (or combinations thereof).

Bach's works for violin

Extant concert works include two violin concertos (BWV 1041 in A minor and BWV 1042 in E major) and a concerto for two violins in D minor (BWV 1043), often called Bach's "double" concerto.

Bach's Brandenburg Concertos

Bach's most famous orchestral works are the Brandenburg Concertos. They received this name because they were introduced by the author in the hope of obtaining a position from Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Schwedt in 1721, although his expectations were not realized. These works serve as examples of the concerto grosso genre.

Bach keyboard concertos

Bach wrote and arranged concertos for harpsichords ranging from one to four. Many of the harpsichord concertos were not original works, but arrangements of his own concertos for other instruments are now lost. Of these, only a few concertos for violin, oboe and flute were restored.

Bach's orchestral suites

In addition to the concertos, Bach wrote four orchestral suites - each of them represented by a series of stylized dances for orchestra, preceded by an introduction in the form of a French overture.

Bach's self-education

In his early youth, Bach copied the works of other composers in order to learn from them. He later copied and arranged the music for performance and/or as teaching material for his students. Some of these works, for example, "Bist du bei mir" ("You are with me") (copied not even by Bach himself, but by Anna Magdalena), managed to become famous before they were no longer associated with Bach. Bach copied and arranged the works of such Italian masters as Vivaldi (eg BWV 1065), Pergolesi (BWV 1083) and Palestrina (Missa Sine Nomine), French masters such as François Couperin (BWV Anh. 183), as well as living in greater reach of German masters, including Telemann (for example, BWV 824 = TWV 32:14) and Handel (arias from the Brockes Passion), as well as the music of his own relatives. In addition, he often copied and arranged his own music (for example, BWV 233-236), and his music was also copied and arranged by other composers. Some of these arrangements, for example, "Aria on the G String", created in late XIX centuries, helped Bach's music become famous.

Sometimes it was unclear who copied whom. For example, Forkel mentions a mass for double choir among the works created by Bach. The composition was published and performed at the beginning of the 19th century, and although there is some evidence that the handwriting in which it was written belonged to Bach, the work was subsequently considered a fake. Such works were not included in the catalog "Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis" published in 1950: if there were serious reasons to believe that the work belongs to Bach, such works were published in an appendix to the catalog (in German: Anhang, abbreviated as "Anh."), so that the aforementioned Mass for double choir, for example, received the designation "BWV Anh. 167". The problems of authorship, however, did not end there; attributions, for example, “Schlage doch, gewünschte Stunde” (“Strike, the desired hour”) (BWV 53) were later re-attributed to the work of Melchior Hoffmann. In the case of other works, doubts about the authenticity of Bach's authorship have never been unequivocally confirmed or refuted: even the most famous organ composition in the BWV catalogue, Toccata and Fugue in D minor (BWV 565) fell into the category of these uncertain works at the end of the twentieth century.

Appreciation of Bach's work

In the 18th century, Bach's music was appreciated only in narrow circles of prominent experts. The 19th century began with the publication of the first biography of the composer and ended with the complete publication of all known works of Bach by the German Bach Society. The Bach revival began with Mendelssohn's performance of the St. Matthew Passion in 1829. Soon after the 1829 performance, Bach began to be considered one of the greatest composers of all time, if not the greatest, a reputation he continues to this day. An extensive new biography of Bach was published in the second half of the 19th century.

In the 20th century, Bach's music was widely performed and recorded; at the same time, the New Bach Society published, among other works, its study of the composer's work. Modern adaptations of Bach's music contributed greatly to the popularization of Bach in the second half of the 20th century. These include versions of Bach's works performed by the Swingle Singers (for example, "Air" from Orchestral Suite No. 3, or chorale prelude from "Wachet Auf..."), as well as Wendy Carlos' album "Switched On Bach" (1968), which featured the Moog electronic synthesizer.

By the end of the 20th century, more classical performers gradually moved away from the performance style and instruments popular in the Romantic era: they began to perform Bach's music on historical Baroque instruments, studied and practiced the techniques and tempos characteristic of Bach's time, and reduced the size of instrumental ensembles and choirs before the one used by Bach. The B-A-C-H motif, used by the composer in his own compositions, was used in dozens of dedications to Bach, created from the 19th century to the 21st century. In the 21st century, a complete collection of his surviving works has become available online on websites dedicated to the great composer.

Recognition of Bach's work by contemporaries

In his time, Bach was no less famous than Telemann, Graun and Handel. During his lifetime, he received public recognition, in particular, the title of court composer from Augustus III of Poland, and the approval of Frederick the Great and Hermann Karl von Keyserling for his work. This high regard for influential people contrasted with the humiliations he had to endure, for example, in his native Leipzig. In addition, in the press of his time, Bach had detractors, such as Johann Adolf Scheibe, who suggested that he write “less complex” music, but also supporters, such as Johann Mattheson and Lorenz Christoph Mitzler.

After Bach's death, his reputation first began to decline: his work began to be considered old-fashioned in comparison with the new gallant style. Initially he was more famous as a virtuoso organist and as a music teacher. Of all the music published during the composer's lifetime, the most famous were his works written for organ and harpsichord. That is, initially his fame as a composer was limited to keyboard music, and even its importance in music teaching was greatly underestimated.

Not all of Bach's relatives who inherited most of his manuscripts attached equal importance to their preservation, and this resulted in significant losses. Carl Philip Emmanuel, his second son, most carefully guarded his father's legacy: he co-authored his father's obituary, contributed to the publication of his four-part chorales, staged some of his compositions; Most of my father’s previously unpublished works were also preserved only thanks to his efforts. Wilhelm Friedemann, the eldest son, performed many of his father's cantatas in Halle, but subsequently, having lost his position, sold part of the large collection of Bach works that belonged to him. Some of the old master's students, in particular his son-in-law Johann Christoph Altnikol, Johann Friedrich Agricola, Johann Kirnberger and Johann Ludwig Krebs, contributed to the spread of his legacy. Not all of his early admirers were musicians; for example, one admirer of his music in Berlin was Daniel Itzich, a high-ranking official at the court of Frederick the Great. His older daughters took lessons from Kirnberger; their sister Sarah studied music with Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, who lived in Berlin from 1774 to 1784. Sarah Itzich-Levi subsequently became an avid collector of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and his sons; She also acted as the “patron” of Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach.

Although in Leipzig the performance of Bach's church music was limited to only some of his motets and, under the direction of Cantor Dohle, a few of his Passions, a new generation of Bach's followers soon emerged: they carefully collected and copied his music, including a number of major works, e.g. The Mass is in B minor, and it was performed informally. One such connoisseur was Gottfried van Swieten, a high-ranking Austrian official who played an important role in transmitting Bach's legacy to composers of the Viennese school. Haydn owned handwritten copies of the Well-Tempered Clavier and the Mass in B Minor, and Bach's music influenced his work. Mozart had a copy of one of Bach's motets, arranged some of his instrumental works (K. 404a, 405), and wrote contrapuntal music influenced by his style. Beethoven played the entire Well-Tempered Clavier at the age of eleven, and spoke of Bach as the "Urvater der Harmonie" ("progenitor of harmony").

The first biography of J. S. Bach

In 1802, Johann Nikolaus Forkel published his book Über Johann Sebastian Bachs Leben, Kunst und Kunstwerke (On the Life, Art and Works of Johann Sebastian Bach), the first biography of the composer, which helped to make him famous among the general public. In 1805, Abraham Mendelssohn, married to one of Itzich's granddaughters, acquired an extensive collection of Bach manuscripts, preserved through the efforts of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and donated them to the Berlin Singing Academy. The Singing Academy occasionally held public concerts at which Bach's music was performed, such as his first keyboard concerto, with Sarah Itzich-Levy as pianist.

In the first few decades of the 19th century, the number of first publications of Bach's music increased: Breitkopf began publishing his chorale preludes, Hoffmeister - works for harpsichord, and in 1801 "The Well-Tempered Clavier" was published simultaneously by Simrock (Germany), Nägeli (Switzerland) and Hoffmeister (Germany and Austria). The same applies to vocal music: "Motets" were published in 1802-1803, then a version of the "Magnificat" in E flat major, the mass "Kyrie-Gloria" in A major, as well as the cantata "Ein feste Burg ist unser" Gott" ("Our God is a stronghold") (BWV 80). In 1818, Hans Georg Nägeli called the Mass in B minor the greatest composition of all time. Bach's influence was felt in the next generation of early Romantic composers. In 1822, when Abraham Mendelssohn's son Felix composed his first arrangement of the Magnificat at the age of 13, it was obvious that he was inspired by Bach's D major version of the Magnificat, then unpublished.

Felix Mendelssohn contributed significantly to the renewed interest in Bach's work with his performance of the St. Matthew Passion in Berlin in 1829, a key moment in the organization of what would become known as the Bach Revival. The 19th-century premiere of the St. John's Passion took place in 1833, followed by the first performance of the Mass in B minor in 1844. In addition to these and other public performances and the increasing number of publications of biographies of the composer and his works, the 1830s and 40s also saw the first publications of Bach's other vocal works: six cantatas, the St. Matthew Passion, and the Mass in B minor. In 1833, some organ works were published for the first time. In 1835, Chopin, inspired by the Well-Tempered Clavier, began composing his 24 Preludes, Op. 28, and in 1845 Schumann published his "Sechs Fugen über den Namen B-A-C-H" ("Six Fugues on the Theme B-A-C-H"). Bach's music was rearranged and arranged according to the tastes and performance practices of their times by composers such as Karl Friedrich Zelter, Robert Franz and Franz Liszt, and also combined with new music, as in the melody to Charles Gounod's "Ave Maria". Composers who contributed to the spread of Bach's music and who spoke enthusiastically about it include Brahms, Bruckner and Wagner.

In 1850, the Bach-Gesellschaft (Bach Society) was created to further promote Bach's music. In the second half of the 19th century, the Society published an extensive edition of the composer's works. Also in the second half of the 19th century, Philip Spitta published his book Johann Sebastian Bach, the standard account of Bach's life and music. By then, Bach was known as the first of the "three big B's in the history of music" (an English expression referring to the three greatest composers of all time whose last names began with the letter B - Bach, Beethoven and Brahms). In total, 200 books dedicated to Bach were published in the 19th century. By the end of the century, local societies dedicated to Bach had been founded in many cities, and his works were performed in all important musical institutions.

In Germany, throughout the century, Bach's work served as a symbol of national feelings; The composer's important role in the religious revival was also captured. In England, Bach was associated with the revival of church and Baroque music that already existed at that time. By the end of the century, Bach had established a strong reputation as one of the greatest composers, recognized in both instrumental and vocal music.

The value of Bach's works

In the 20th century, the process of recognition of the musical and pedagogical value of Bach's works continued. Probably the most famous are the cello suites performed by Pablo Casals, the first outstanding musician to record these suites. Subsequently, Bach's music was recorded by other famous classical music performers, such as Herbert von Karajan, Arthur Grumio, Helmut Walcha, Wanda Landowska, Karl Richter, I Muzichi, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Glenn Gould and many others.

In the second half of the 20th century, the impetus for significant development came from the practice of historically competent performance, whose pioneers, such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt, became famous for their performances of Bach's music. Bach's keyboard works began to be performed again on instruments characteristic of Bach's time, instead of modern pianos and romantic organs of the 19th century. The ensembles that performed Bach's instrumental and vocal compositions not only adhered to the instrumentation and performance style of Bach's time, but their composition was reduced to the size that Bach used in his concerts. But this is by no means the only reason why Bach's music came to the fore in the 20th century: his works became famous in a wide variety of performances, ranging from piano arrangements to romantic style Ferruccio Busoni, jazz interpretations such as the Swindle Singers, orchestrations such as the intro to Walt Disney's Fantasia, to synthesizer renditions such as Wendy Carlos' recording of "Switched-On Bach".

Bach's music has received recognition in other genres. For example, jazz musicians often adapted works by Bach; jazz versions of his compositions were performed, in particular, by Jacques Lussier, Ian Anderson, Uri Kane and the Modern Jazz Quartet. Many 20th-century composers relied on Bach to create their works, such as Eugene Ysaÿe in his Six Sonatas for Solo Violin, Dmitri Shostakovich in his 24 Preludes and Fugues, and Heitor Villa-Lobos in his Brazilian Bachians. Bach has been mentioned in a wide variety of publications: this applies not only to the annual almanac "Bach Jahrbuch", published by the New Bach Society and other studies and biographies, including the authorship of Albert Schweitzer, Charles Sanford Terry, John Butt, Christoph Wolff, as well as the first edition of the catalog "Bach Werke Verzeichnis" in 1950, but also books such as "Gödel, Escher, Bach" by Douglas Hofstadter viewed the composer's art from a broader perspective. In the 1990s, Bach's music was actively listened to, performed, broadcast on radio and television, arranged, arranged and commented on. Around 2000, three record companies released commemorative sets of the complete recordings of Bach's works to mark the 250th anniversary of his death.

Recordings of Bach's works take up three times more space than those of any other composer on the Voyager Golden Record, a gramophone record containing a vast array of images, common sounds, languages ​​and the music of Earth that was sent into outer space with the two Voyager probes. . In the 20th century, many statues were erected in honor of Bach; Many things are also dedicated to his name, including streets and space objects. In addition, such musical ensembles as "Bach Aria Group", "Deutsche Bachsolisten", "Bachchor Stuttgart" and "Bach Collegium Japan" were named in honor of the composer. Bach festivals were held in different parts of the world; in addition, many competitions and prizes are named in his honor, for example, international competition named after Johann Sebastian Bach and the Bach Prize of the Royal Academy of Music. If at the end of the 19th century Bach's work symbolized national and spiritual revival, then at the end of the 20th century Bach was seen as an object of unspiritual art as religion (Kunstreligion).

Online Bach Library

In the 21st century, Bach's compositions have become available online, for example, on the website of the International Library Project musical scores(International Music Score Library Project). High-resolution facsimiles of Bach's autographs have become available on a website dedicated to Bach. Websites dedicated solely to the composer or specific parts of his work include jsbach.org and the Bach Cantatas Website.

Twenty-first century biographers of Bach include Peter Williams and conductor John Eliot Gardiner. Additionally, in the current century, reviews of the best works of classical music tend to include many of Bach's works. For example, in The Telegraph's ranking of the 168 best classical music recordings, Bach's music occupies more positions than the work of any other composer.

The attitude of the Protestant Church to the work of Bach

The liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church annually commemorates Bach along with George Frideric Handel and Henry Purcell on the feast day of July 28; The Lutheran Church Calendar of Saints commemorates Bach, Handel and Heinrich Schütz on the same day.

Eidam, Klaus (2001). The True Life of Johann Sebastian Bach. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-01861-0. 7

The influence of music on a person 03.12.2017

Dear readers, today in our column there will be a meeting with the greatest of composers, J. S. Bach. Take the time to communicate with him, and he will respond immediately. The article was prepared by Liliya Szadkowska, a music teacher, who continues to open the wonderful world of music to readers. I give the floor to Lilia.

Hello, dear readers of Irina Zaitseva’s blog. The first days of winter pleased us with light frost and snowfalls. The first snowfall is the most beautiful. Like white fluff, soft, clean snow transformed everything around. Beautiful landscapes pleasing to the eye. What can please our soul and heart on these long winter evenings? Of course, music!

The embodiment of divine beauty

Today we will go to visit Johann Sebastian Bach himself. Each generation discovers something new in Bach's music, in tune with its time. Perhaps you too will rediscover this composer and his music. We will listen to the best works of J. S. Bach.

The music that will sound at the beginning of our meeting creates an atmosphere of sublimity, expectation of a miracle and anticipation of the holiday. But in this work J. S. Bach only plays the accompaniment part. Could the composer have foreseen that based on his prelude French composer Will the 19th century Charles Gounod compose a vocal melody?

Inspired by Bach's divine harmony, C. Gounod wrote variations for violin and piano. After adding the words of the Latin prayer “Ave Maria” to the melody, this work becomes another masterpiece of musical art.

C. Gounod – J. S. Bach “Ave Maria”

I suggest listening to the original prelude by Bach. Please note that the entire melodic sphere is dispersed in chords that replace each other continuously. Bach managed to create an incredible image of the Annunciation, touching the strings of our soul, reviving the good, the eternal, the beautiful.

J. S. Bach “Prelude and Fugue in C major”

The purpose of music is to touch hearts!
J. S. Bach

J. S. Bach, a German composer, the greatest genius in the history of music, lived and worked in the Baroque era. Bach's musical heritage has entered the golden fund of world culture, and his immortal masterpieces are timeless. Bach's music is the history of humanity expressed in sounds. His talent was multifaceted - composer, unsurpassed master of polyphony, organist, harpsichordist, violinist, teacher. Bach's work belongs to intellectual music, in a word - it is an eternal and beautiful art!

The most musical family in history

J. S. Bach was born in 1685 in Eisenach, a small Thuringian town in Germany. He was the eighth child in the family of musician Johann Ambrosius Bach. His father taught him to play the violin. Young Bach had a beautiful voice and sang in the church choir. Music filled his whole life, and his father laid big hopes for his youngest son.

By the way, if ever there was a family in which reverence for music was inherited from generation to generation, it was the Bach family. The composer himself compiled a pedigree of his family, and researchers counted fifty relatives of Johann Sebastian who connected their lives with music.

Musical biography of I.S. Bach

A happy childhood ended when he lost his mother, and a year later his father.
After the death of his parents at the age of ten, Johann was taken in by his older brother Johann Christoph. The elder brother taught the future composer to play the clavier, organ, and the basics of music.

At the age of 15, Johann continued his musical education in vocal school city ​​of Luneburg. Here he gets acquainted with the work of composers and receives a comprehensive education. During the same period, J. S. Bach wrote his first works. This is how it begins musical biography great composer and organist.

Having brilliantly graduated from the vocal gymnasium, he receives the right to enter the university. But due to lack of funds, he is unable to continue his studies. He is invited to the position of court musician at the Weimar court, but dissatisfaction with his dependent position forces him to look for a new job. So he gets a position as organist at the New Church in Arnstadt.

Organ virtuoso

J. S. Bach writes many musical works, but his fame primarily spreads as a virtuoso performer. He was a big fan of keyboard instruments and played the harpsichord and clavichord. But it was the organ that allowed him to fully reveal his talent as a composer. Johann Sebastian Bach mastered it perfectly, his skill was unsurpassed. Even his rivals recognized this fact.

Plunging into this vast ocean of sounds, we are distracted from the everyday hustle and bustle and remain alone with the divine. The bright sounds of this organ prelude give us a feeling of silence, peace and tranquility. This music was performed in A. Tarkovsky’s film “Solaris”.

J. S. Bach “Organ Chorale Prelude in F minor”

There is a holy silence in music,
Heartbreaking, like faith in the Almighty,
And this silence is embodied
In the night prayers of a sinful musician.
The silence of the night chills the soul,
The glow of the stars sways slightly,
Among the stars in the night the most pure face burns,
The prayer lasts and is heard in prayer...
Oh God, I'm sorry...

From a young age, J. S. Bach became acquainted with the work of various musicians. But he thoroughly studies the work of Italian composers, processing their music. Thus, the author of the following work is Alessandro Marcello, a composer of Italy during the Baroque era. Although he was an amateur composer, his works were very popular. The most famous of them was “Adagio” arranged by J. S. Bach. Sounding in a new way, it captivates us with the power and depth of feeling.

A. Marcello, J. S. Bach “Adagio”

“Great Bach, you are the music of the Universe...”

Very often the composer’s music is compared to space. Why do you think? After all, Bach lived long before the space age. After watching the video and hearing the sound of the organ, you will be able to answer this question. I think that J. S. Bach was allowed to hear the music of the celestial spheres. Is it because the divine harmony of the composer and the piercing power of the organ, falling upon us, excite our souls and create truly stellar and cosmic associations?

Many musicians believe that if we could hear the sounds of the universe, they would be similar to the music of Bach.

J. S. Bach “Toccata in D minor”

Great Bach, you are the music of the Universe,
Having curbed the breathing of the organ,
And in the 21st century modern
You will be in people's hearts.
A powerful sound flows like a stream
In the last triumphant chord,
And man is a particle of the universe -
Feel the delight of immortality.

Bach's Message to Extraterrestrial Civilizations

In 1977, an unusual golden disc was released with a message on behalf of the inhabitants of our planet to extraterrestrial civilizations. This golden disc contains not only the sounds of the Earth, but also music, including the music of J. S. Bach. This disk, placed on board the Voyager spacecraft, is already at a distance of about 20 billion kilometers from Earth, that is, outside the Solar System.

Model family

I would like to note that Johann Sebastian was an exemplary family man, and family life was as dear to him as music. The house was filled with music; concerts were often held here, in which Bach’s children took part. He taught his gifted children himself. Four of Bach's children later became famous composers: Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emanuel from his first marriage, Johann Christoph Friedrich and Johann Christian from his second.

Bach suffered severe trials when he lost his first wife and children. Under the difficult impressions of his wife’s death, “Siciliana” was written - music permeated with grief and deep sadness.

J. S. Bach "Siciliana"

Soon he fell in love again. This time his chosen one was the very young Anna Magdalena. She managed the house well and became a caring stepmother for the children. But the most important thing is that she was sincerely interested in her husband’s successes, helped rewrite notes, and was keenly interested in music.

The Bach family began to grow again. Anna gave her husband 13 children. The new family also often got together in the evenings, organizing concerts. The house was filled with happiness again.

“A Musical Joke” by J. S. Bach embodies everything that the composer wanted to give to children. Like the bright smile of a father watching the carefree fun of his children, it captivates us with its light, gentle sound of the flute and the silvery ringing of string instruments in different variations.

J. S. Bach “Musical Joke” (Suite No. 2 for flute and orchestra)

Oh! How sweet the taste of coffee is!

This amazing story about coffee and music began when the owner of a coffee house ordered a piece of music to be written about coffee in the cantata genre. The composer was Johann Sebastian, the lyrics were written by H. F. Henricki.

In those distant times, coffee was a little-known drink, many treated it with distrust. To draw attention to this drink, J. S. Bach wrote a cantata in a humorous manner.

“Coffee Cantata” is especially pleasant to listen to when you are enjoying the magical taste of coffee. I am sure that every time you pour yourself a cup of aromatic drink, you will remember the music of Bach!

J. S. Bach “Coffee Cantata”

Quite a lot of secular cantatas and music of other genres were written to order, because they helped to earn additional income. But at the same time, the composer unswervingly defended his views on music. It is known that J. S. Bach was a deeply religious man and was convinced that music is an expression of the divine. He said: “All my music belongs to God, and all my abilities are intended for Him.”

From the abyss of troubles I call to you

Through music he reflects on the most important, eternal issues of human life. And these reflections are most often associated with religious themes, because Bach served in the church for most of his life. He wrote many cantatas based on spiritual texts. The composer knew the Holy Scriptures very well, and Jesus was the main character and ideal in music. He even decorated his scores with inscriptions: “Glory to God alone!”, “Jesus, help!”

J. S. Bach “Jesus remains my joy”

Bach also has truly tragic works. But don't be scared by this word. Find strength and listen to one of the most grandiose, sublime and majestic works. This is the scene of the last farewell to Christ. “Sleep well. Away, rather away from earthly sorrows...” The door to eternity is open.

Indescribable and exciting, it awakens the greatest feelings in the soul
human. I had the opportunity to visit a concert in Leipzig that was dedicated to the work of Bach, and I must say that even the men who were stingy with emotions could not hold back their tears during the sound of the final choir.

J. S. Bach “St. Matthew Passion”. Final chorus "We sit with tears"

But again I rise to heaven,
Carried by the vibration of the Father's love,
Where God is, where the light of home is
The path of ascent illuminates for us
To the source of existence, to the divine feet.

In 1723, Bach moved his family to Leipzig. Here his sons were able to get a good education and start musical career. The composer himself received the position of cantor of the main churches of the city. He worked a lot, his creative list of works expanded significantly.

But in the last years of his life, Bach’s health deteriorated sharply, due to eye strain suffered in his youth. As a result of an unsuccessful operation, Bach became blind. But he continues to compose music, dictating his works to his son-in-law. After some time, he decides to undergo a second operation, which only worsens his condition. July 28, 1759 J. S. Bach dies.

The composer was buried in Leipzig in a church cemetery. But during the Second World War the temple was destroyed. In 1949, the composer’s ashes were transferred and buried at the altar of the Church of St. Thomas.

After the composer's death, his name was forgotten. And only the accidental discovery of the old clavier of the St. Matthew Passion resurrected the undeserved forgotten name. The triumphant march of Bach's music around the world began with the St. Matthew Passion, performed in 1829 in Berlin. Conducted
performance of the oratorio by the young composer Felix Mendelssohn.

Moreover, a biography of Bach was published in one of the popular newspapers. It further stimulated interest in the composer’s work among the general public. People discovered Bach's music. The complete collection of the composer's works was published, catalogs were compiled, and concerts were held. And in order to pay tribute and admiration to the genius, musicians, sheet music copyists, and members of the Bach Society worked for free. A monument to the great composer was made with the money of Felix Mendelssohn.

During his entire life, Bach wrote more than 1000 works in all genres except opera. Bach's work is the pinnacle of the universe and once again proves that man is capable of creating magical objects of art and beauty.

Did you know that:

• One day, having no money for the trip, young Bach went to another city on foot. He traveled 350 km to hear organist Dietrich Buxtehude play;
• In Dresden, there was to be a performance by the “world star” of that time, L. Marchand. He and Bach met on the eve of the concert, they even managed to play together, after which Marchand left Dresden, unable to withstand the competition and recognizing Bach as the best musician;
• Bach sometimes dressed up as a poor man school teacher and in a church in some small town he asked permission to play the church organ. His playing always made such a strong impression on the parishioners that they could not believe that this was a simple teacher;
• It is known that J. S. Bach was an excellent teacher. But he never charged for his private lessons;
• Bach had a unique ear. He could perform a piece he had heard once without a single mistake;
• Bach music festivals are held all over the world, and in Leipzig, one of the largest organ competitions in the world, named after J. S. Bach, is held every 4 years;
• “I loved the long autumn and winter evenings when the children went to bed. Sebastian and I sat down to do our usual activity - copying music. Two candles stood between us. So quietly and joyfully we worked side by side, maintaining deep silence. Inspiration often descended on him, he took a blank sheet of music from the stack that I always put next to him, and sketched out what was born in his soul - this inexhaustible source of music.” (From the memoirs of Anna Magdalena).

The great musician and composer left us not only his creations - he left us the whole world of his music - the world of Bach. This is the height at which human genius can dwell. This is the height at which man is equal to God.

Szadkowska Lilia

I thank Liliya for the story about J. S. Bach, about his musical geniuses. We have all heard something about him, because he was an extraordinary person, but still every time you are anew surprised by the facts from his life - both professional and personal. She was so full of music, love, piety that it cannot but arouse respect and admiration, like all his great works.

Articles about music and musicians

see also

List of major works by Bach

A. Vocal works (accompanied by orchestra):

I. 198 church cantatas

II. 12 secular cantatas

III. 6 motets

IV. Christmas and Easter oratorios

V. Great Mass h-minor

VI. 4 small masses and 5 sancti VII. Magnificat D major

VIII. Passion according to Matthew and John

IX. Funeral ode

X. Church arias and songs

B. Works for orchestra and chamber music:

I. 4 overtures (suites) and 6 Brandenburg concertos

II. 7 concertos for clavier and orchestra

3 concertos for two claviers and orchestra

2 concertos for three claviers and orchestra

1 concert for four claviers and orchestra

III. 3 concertos for violin and orchestra

IV. 6 solo violin sonatas

8 sonatas for violin and clavier

6 sonatas for flute and clavier

6 solo sonatas (suites) for cello

3 sonatas for viola da gamba and clavier

3 sonatas for trio

V. Musical Sacrifice

B. Works for the clavier:

I. Partitas, French and English suites, inventions for two and three voices, symphonies, preludes, fugues, fantasies, overtures, toccatas, capriccios, sonatas, duets, Italian concerto, Chromatic fantasia and fugue

II. Well-tempered clavier

III. Goldberg Variations

IV. The Art of Fugue

G. Works for organ:

I. Preludes, fantasies, toccatas, fugues, canzones, sonatas, passacaglia, concertos on Vivaldi themes

II. Chorale preludes

III. Chorale Variations

From the book Bach author Morozov Sergey Alexandrovich

A BRIEF LIST OF WORKS BY J. S. BACH Vocal and instrumental works: about 300 sacred cantatas (199 preserved); 24 secular cantatas (including “Hunting”, “Coffee”, “Peasant”); motets, chorales; Christmas Oratorio; “Passion according to John”, “Passion according to

From the book Memories of Russia author Sabaneev Leonid L

From the book Notes of a Survivor author Golitsyn Sergey Mikhailovich

LIST OF MAIN LITERARY WORKS OF L. L. SABANEEV: Scriabin. M., 1916; 2nd ed.: M., 1923 Claude Debussy. M., 1922Music of speech. Aesthetic research. M., 1923Psychology of the musical creative process // Art. 1923. No. 1 Maurice Ravel. Characteristics of his creative activity and

From the book of Odysseus by Vasily Kuk author Vedeneev Dmitry Valerievich

List of basic books by S. M. Golitsyn 1. I want to be a topographer. Editions 1936, 1953 and 1954. Published also in Chinese and Czech.2. Forty prospectors. 1959 and 4 more editions, the last in 1989. Translated into Polish (3 editions), Czech, Bulgarian, Romanian, Slovak,

From the book A Sailor's Life author Lukhmanov Dmitry Afanasyevich

From the book by Antonin Dvorak author Gulinskaya Zoya Konstantinovna

Bibliography of the main works of D.A. Lukhmanova Sea stories. Petrovsk, type. A.M. Mikhailova, 1903. Guide to maritime practice. SPb., Imp. Shipping Society. 1908.On land and at sea (Poems). Mariupol, type. br. E. and A. Goldrin, 1911. About the voluntary fleet. Nagasaki, Ugai,

From the book of Scipio Africanus author Bobrovnikova Tatyana Andreevna

From Chopin's book author Ivashkevich Yaroslav

From the book Alexandre Dumas the Great. Book 2 author Zimmerman Daniel

LIST OF MAIN SOURCES AND ABBREVIATIONS All fragments of ancient Roman orators are given in the book: Oratorum romanonim fragmenta liberae rei publicae. Coll. E. Malcovatti. Sec. Ed., Torino, 1955 (in text by Malcovatti). All fragments of the Roman annalists are given from the book: Historicorum romanorum reliquae. Ed. H. Peter. Leipzig, 1870 (in the text by Peter). Fragments

From the book Radishchev author Zizhka Mikhail Vasilievich

From the book Liszt author Gaal Gyorgy Sandor

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WORKS The choice of 102 titles from the 606 included in the list by Dominique Fremy and Claude Schopp, or from the 646 analyzed by Reginald Hamel and Pierrette Mete, is highly controversial and dictated entirely by subjective taste. In its entirety

From the book TerpIliad. Life and work of Heinrich Terpilovsky author Gladyshev Vladimir Fedorovich

LIST OF A. N. RADISHCHEV’S WORKS Radishchev’s complete literary heritage amounts to three voluminous volumes. What has been published so far is far from complete. Below we list the works included in the two-volume collected works, and those not included, but

From the book Mosin - the creator of the Russian rifle author Ashurkov Vadim Nikolaevich

From the book Liszt author Gaal Gyorgy Sandor

Appendix List of the main works of the composer G. R. Terpilovsky Ballets1. Queen of the Fields (Wonder). Libr. K. Esaulova. 1961.2. Shot in the forest (Forest Tale). Libr. V. Vorobyov and K. Esaulova. 1966.3. Shot (Forty-first). Libr. M. Gazieva. 1963.4. Ural. Libr. M. Gazieva.

From the author's book

List of main sources used in the work on the brochure Archive of the Artillery Historical Museum of the Academy of Artillery Sciences (Leningrad): op 46 d. 542; op. 48/1 d.d. 26, 29, 34, 37, 40, 53, 108. Central State Military Historical Archive (Moscow): f. 310 d.d. 764, 2863; f. 516

From the author's book

LIST OF MAIN WORKS BY FERENZ LIZZT For symphony orchestra:12 symphonic poems: “What is Heard on the Mountain”, “Tasso”, “Preludes”, “Orpheus”, “Prometheus”, “Mazeppa”, “Festive Sounds”, “Lament for Heroes”, “Hungary”, “Hamlet”, “Battle of the Huns” ", "Ideals" (completion of the entire cycle