In search of interesting creative work, Bach moved around. Johann Sebastian Bach: biography, video, interesting facts, creativity

Johann Sebastian Bach, eminent German composer, one of the most influential composers in history, died on July 28, 1750 - to the day, exactly 9 years after the death of Antonio Vivaldi. Bach's creative baggage includes more than 1000 works, among which there are representatives of, perhaps, all genres, in addition to opera.

Biography of Johann Sebastian

Johann Sebastian Bach was born on March 31, 1685 in the small town of Eisenach. He was the sixth child in the family of the then famous violinist Johann Ambrose Bach. This was a musically gifted family with rich traditions. Among the composer's ancestors there were organists, flutists, violinists, trumpeters, and bandmasters. On his 5th birthday, his father gave Bach his first violin, which the boy very quickly learned to play.

In addition to his talented violin playing, the young Bach was also famous for his magnificent voice, which allowed him to sing in the church choir. However, it is difficult to call his childhood happy, since at the age of nine he lost his mother, and a year later, his father. Until 1700, he lived with his older brother, but when the latter’s own family grew quite large, Sebastian was forced to move out and settle in Lunerbrurg. There he studied at the church choir school.

Bach wanted to go to university after graduating from school, but was forced to postpone this idea because he needed to earn money for food. He got a job as an organist in the new church of the city of Arnstadt, but due to disagreements with the local environment and authorities, he soon left the city and at the beginning of 1707 moved to Mühlhausen, where he got a job as an organist in the church of St. Vlasiya.

Composer Bach

In 1708-1717, Bach lived in the city of Weimar, where he not only worked as a local organist, but also received the position of court musician for the Duke of Weimar. At the same time, Bach created many compositions for the organ in such genres as fugues, fantasies, preludes, and toccatas, which would later be considered the pinnacle of organ musical art.

After Weimar, Bach moved to Köthen, where he devoted a lot of time to writing music - mainly orchestral. He paid great attention to the clavier and was one of the first to compose concert works specifically for this instrument.

The last years of Bach's life

The last period of his life, from 1723 to 1750, Bach lived in Leipzig, where he served as “musical director” of all churches. His responsibilities included supervising the training and work of new musicians and singers, as well as assigning works that were allowed to be performed.

By the end of the 1740s, the composer's health had deteriorated significantly, most of all he was worried about the sharp deterioration of his vision. Bach underwent two operations to remove cataracts, but both were unsuccessful and ultimately led to complete blindness. True, this did not stop Bach, and he continued to write, dictating notes to his assistant.

Literally ten days before his death, the composer unexpectedly regained his sight, but within a few hours he was struck down. Despite the titanic efforts of doctors, great composer died July 28, 1750.

A huge number of people came to Bach's funeral. He was buried near the Church of St. Tom, where he served for 27 years. In 1894, the composer’s body was reburied due to the fact that a road was built at the place of his previous burial.

Childhood

Johann Sebastian Bach was the youngest, sixth child in the family of a musician Johanna Ambrosius Bach and Elisabeth Lemmerhirt. Genus Bakhov known for his musicality with early XVI centuries: many ancestors and relatives Johann Sebastian were professional musicians. During this period, the Church, local authorities and the aristocracy supported musicians, especially in Thuringia and Saxony. Father Bach lived and worked in Eisenach. At this time the city had about 6,000 inhabitants. Johannes Ambrosius's work included organizing secular concerts and performing church music.

When Johann Sebastian was 9 years old, his mother died, and a year later his father passed away. The boy was taken in by his older brother, Johann Christophe, who served as organist in nearby Ohrdruf. Johann Sebastian entered the gymnasium, his brother taught him to play the organ and clavier. Johann Sebastian He loved music very much and never missed an opportunity to practice it or study new works.

Studying in Ohrdruf under the guidance of his brother, Bach became acquainted with the work of contemporary South German composers - Pachelbel, Froberger and others. It is also possible that he became acquainted with the works of composers from Northern Germany and France.

At the age of 15, Bach moved to Lüneburg, where he studied at the vocal school St. Michael. During his studies, he visited Hamburg, the largest city in Germany, as well as Celle (where French music was held in high esteem) and Lubeck, where he had the opportunity to get acquainted with the work of famous musicians of his time. Bach's first works for organ and clavier date back to the same years. In addition to singing in the acapella choir, Bach probably played the school's three-manual organ and the harpsichord. Here he received his first knowledge of theology, Latin, history, geography and physics, and may also have begun to learn French and Italian languages. At school Bach had the opportunity to communicate with the sons of famous North German aristocrats and famous organists, primarily with Georg Böhm in Luneburg and Reincken in Hamburg. With their help Johann Sebastian, may have had access to the largest instruments he has ever played. During this period, Bach expanded his knowledge of the composers of the era, most notably Dietrich Buxtehude, whom he greatly respected.

Arnstadt and Mühlhausen (1703-1708)

In January 1703, after completing his studies, he received the position of court musician to the Weimar Duke Johann Ernst. It is not known exactly what his duties included, but most likely this position was not related to performing activities. During his seven months of service in Weimar, his fame as a performer spread. Bach was invited to the position of organ caretaker at the Church of St. Boniface in Arnstadt, located 180 km from Weimar. With this oldest German city the family Bakhov there were long-standing connections. In August Bach took the post of organist of the church. He had to work three days a week, and the salary was relatively high. In addition, the instrument was maintained in good condition and was tuned to new system, expanding the capabilities of the composer and performer. In this period Bach created many organ works.

Family ties and a music-loving employer could not prevent tension between Johann Sebastian and the authorities, which arose a few years later. Bach was dissatisfied with the level of training of the singers in the choir. In addition, in 1705-1706 Bach he left without permission to Lübeck for several months, where he became acquainted with Buxtehude's game, which displeased the authorities. First biographer Bach Forkel writes that Johann Sebastian walked 50 km to listen to the outstanding composer, but today some researchers question this fact.

In addition, the authorities presented Bahu accusations of “strange choral accompaniment” that confused the community, and of inability to manage the choir; the latter accusation apparently had some basis.

In 1706 Bach decides to change jobs. He was offered a more lucrative and higher position as organist at the Church of St. Blaise in Mühlhausen, a large city in the north of the country. Next year Bach accepted this offer, taking the place of organist Johanna Georg Ale. His salary was increased compared to the previous one, and the standard of the singers was better. Four months later, October 17, 1707 Johann Sebastian married his cousin Maria Barbara from Arnstadt. They subsequently had seven children, three of whom died in childhood. Two of the survivors - Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emmanuel - later became famous composers.

The city and church authorities of Mühlhausen were pleased with the new employee. They without hesitation approved his plan for the restoration of the church organ, which required large expenses, and for the publication of the festive cantata “The Lord is my King”, BWV 71 (this was the only one printed during his lifetime Bach cantata), written for the inauguration of the new consul, he was given a large reward.

Weimar (1708-1717)

After working in Mühlhausen for about a year, Bach changed jobs again, this time receiving the position of court organist and concert organizer - a much higher position than his previous position - in Weimar. Probably, the factors that forced him to change jobs were the high salary and a well-selected line-up of professional musicians. Family Bach settled in a house just a five-minute walk from the Ducal Palace. The following year, the first child in the family was born. At the same time to Baham Maria Barbara's older unmarried sister moved in and helped them run the household until her death in 1729. In Weimar Bach Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emmanuel were born. In 1704 Bach met the violinist von Westhof, who helped big influence for activities Bach. Von Westhof's works inspired Bach to create his sonatas and partitas for solo violin.

A long period of composing keyboard and orchestral works began in Weimar, in which talent Bach reached its peak. In this period Bach absorbs musical trends from other countries. The works of the Italians Vivaldi and Corelli taught Bach write dramatic introductions, of which Bach learned the art of using dynamic rhythms and decisive harmonic patterns. Bach studied the works of Italian composers well, creating transcriptions of Vivaldi concertos for organ or harpsichord. He could have borrowed the idea of writing transcriptions from the son of his employer, Hereditary Duke Johann Ernst, a composer and musician. In 1713, the Crown Duke returned from a trip abroad and brought with him a large number of notes that showed Johann Sebastian. IN Italian music hereditary duke (and, as can be seen from some works, the Bach) was attracted by the alternation of solo (playing one instrument) and tutti (playing the entire orchestra).

In Weimar Bach there was the opportunity to play and compose organ works, as well as use the services of the ducal orchestra. In Weimar Bach wrote most of his fugues (the largest and most famous collection of fugues Bach is "The Well-Tempered Clavier"). While serving in Weimar Bach began work on the “Organ Book” - a collection of organ chorale preludes, possibly for the training of Wilhelm Friedemann. This collection consists of arrangements of Lutheran chorales.

Towards the end of his service in Weimar Bach was already a well-known organist and harpsichord master. The episode with Marchand dates back to this time. In 1717, the famous French musician Louis Marchand arrived in Dresden. Dresden accompanist Volumier decided to invite Bach and arrange a musical competition between two famous harpsichordists, Bach and Marchand agreed. However, on the day of the competition it turned out that Marchand (who, apparently, had previously had the opportunity to listen to Bach play) hastily and secretly left the city; the competition did not take place and Bahu I had to play alone.

Köthen (1717-1723)

Over time Bach I went back in search of a more suitable job. The old master did not want to let him go, and on November 6, 1717 he was even arrested for constantly asking for his resignation, but on December 2 he was released “with disgrace.” Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen, hired Bach for the position of bandmaster. The prince, himself a musician, appreciated talent Bach, paid him well and gave him great freedom of action. However, the prince was a Calvinist and did not welcome the use of sophisticated music in worship services, so most of the Köthen works Bach were secular. Among other things, in Köthen Bach composed suites for orchestra, six suites for solo cello, English and French suites for clavier, as well as three sonatas and three partitas for solo violin. The famous Brandenburg Concertos were also written during this period.

July 7, 1720, while Bach was abroad with the prince, his wife Maria Barbara suddenly died, leaving four young children. Next year Bach met Anna Magdalena Wilke, a young highly gifted singer (soprano), who sang at the ducal court. They married on December 3, 1721.

Leipzig (1723-1750)

In 1723, his Passion for John was performed in the Church of St. Thomas in Leipzig, and on June 1 Bach received the position of cantor of the St. Thomas choir while simultaneously performing the duties of a teacher at the church school, replacing Johann Kuhnau in this post. In charge Bach included teaching singing and holding weekly concerts in the two main churches of Leipzig, St. Thomas and St. Nicholas. Job title Johann Sebastian also provided for the teaching of Latin, but he was allowed to hire an assistant to do this work for him, so Pezold taught Latin for 50 thalers a year. Bach received the position of “musical director” of all churches in the city: his duties included selecting performers, supervising their training and choosing music for performance. While working in Leipzig, the composer repeatedly came into conflict with the city administration.

The first six years of life in Leipzig turned out to be very productive: Bach composed up to 5 annual cycles of cantatas (two of them, in all likelihood, were lost). Most of these works were written on gospel texts, which were read in the Lutheran church every Sunday and on holidays throughout the year; many (such as "Wachet auf! Ruft uns die Stimme" or "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland") are based on traditional church hymns- Lutheran chorales.

During execution Bach, apparently, sat at the harpsichord or stood in front of the choir on the lower gallery under the organ; on the side gallery to the right of the organ were located wind instruments and timpani, with strings on the left. The city council made available Bach only about 8 performers, and this often became the cause of disputes between the composer and the administration: Bahu I had to hire up to 20 musicians myself to perform orchestral works. The composer himself usually played the organ or harpsichord; if he led the choir, then this place was occupied by the staff organist or one of the eldest sons Bach.

Sopranos and altos Bach recruited from among the students, and tenors and basses - not only from school, but also from all over Leipzig. In addition to regular concerts paid for by the city authorities, Bach with their choir they earned extra money by performing at weddings and funerals. Presumably, at least 6 motets were written precisely for these purposes. Part of his regular work in the church was to perform motets by composers Venetian school, as well as some Germans, for example, Schutz; while composing his motets Bach focused on the works of these composers.

Writing cantatas for most of the 1720s, Bach collected an extensive repertoire for performance in the main churches of Leipzig. Over time, he wanted to write and perform more secular music. In March 1729 Johann Sebastian became the head of the Collegium Musicum, a secular ensemble that had existed since 1701, when it was founded by an old friend Bach Georg Philipp Telemann. At that time, in many large German cities, gifted and active university students created similar ensembles. Such associations played an increasingly important role in public life. musical life; they were often led by famous professional musicians. For most of the year, the College of Music held two-hour concerts twice a week at Zimmerman's Coffee House, located near the market square. The owner of the coffee shop provided the musicians with a large hall and purchased several instruments. Many of secular worksBach, dating from the 1730s to the 1750s, were composed specifically for performance in Zimmermann's coffee house. Such works include, for example, the “Coffee Cantata” and, possibly, keyboard pieces from the “Clavier-Übung” collections, as well as many concertos for cello and harpsichord.

During the same period Bach wrote parts Kyrie and Gloria of the famous Mass in B minor, later completing the remaining parts, the melodies of which were almost entirely borrowed from the composer’s best cantatas. Soon Bach achieved appointment to the position of court composer; Apparently, he sought this high post for a long time, which was a strong argument in his disputes with the city authorities. Although the entire mass was never performed during the composer's lifetime, it is today considered by many to be one of the best choral works of all time.

In 1747 Bach visited the court of the Prussian king Frederick II, where the king offered him musical theme and asked me to immediately compose something for it. Bach was a master of improvisation and immediately performed a three-part fugue. Later he composed a whole cycle of variations on this theme and sent it as a gift to the king. The cycle consisted of ricercars, canons and trios, based on a theme dictated by Frederick. This cycle was called the "Musical Offering".

Another major cycle, "The Art of Fugue", was not completed Bach, despite the fact that it was most likely written long before his death (according to modern research - before 1741). During his lifetime he was never published. The cycle consists of 18 complex fugues and canons based on one simple theme. In this cycle Bach used all my rich writing experience polyphonic works. After death Bach The Art of Fugue was published by his sons, together with the chorale prelude BWV 668, which is often mistakenly called the last work Bach- in fact it exists in at least two versions and is a reworking of an earlier prelude to the same tune, BWV 641.

Over time, vision Bach It was getting worse. Nevertheless, he continued to compose music, dictating it to his son-in-law Altnikkol. In 1750, the English ophthalmologist John Taylor, whom many modern researchers consider a charlatan, came to Leipzig. Taylor operated twice Bach, but both operations were unsuccessful, Bach remained blind. On July 18, he unexpectedly regained his sight for a short time, but in the evening he suffered a stroke. Bach died July 28; it is possible that the cause of death was complications after surgery. His estate was valued at more than 1,000 thalers and included 5 harpsichords, 2 lute harpsichords, 3 violins, 3 violas, 2 cellos, a viola da gamba, a lute and a spinet, as well as 52 sacred books.

During life Bach wrote more than 1000 works. In Leipzig Bach maintained friendly relations with university professors. Particularly fruitful was the collaboration with the poet Christian Friedrich Henrici, who wrote under the pseudonym Picander. Johann Sebastian and Anna Magdalena often hosted friends, family members and musicians from all over Germany in their home. Frequent guests were court musicians from Dresden, Berlin and other cities, including Telemann, godfather of Carl Philipp Emmanuel. Interestingly, George Frideric Handel, the same age Bach from Halle, 50 km from Leipzig, have never met Bach, Although Bach I tried to meet him twice in my life - in 1719 and 1729. The fates of these two composers, however, were linked by John Taylor, who operated on both shortly before their deaths.

The composer was buried near St. John's Church (German: Johanniskirche), one of two churches where he served for 27 years. However, the grave was soon lost, and only in 1894 the remains Bach were accidentally found during construction work to expand the church, where they were reburied in 1900. After the destruction of this church during World War II, the ashes were transferred on July 28, 1949 to the Church of St. Thomas. In 1950, which was named the year J. S. Bach, a bronze tombstone was installed above his burial place.

Bach studies

The first description of life and creativity Bach became a work published in 1802 Johann Forkel. Biography compiled by Forkel Bach based on obituary and stories from sons and friends Bach. In the mid-19th century, general public interest in music Bach increased, composers and researchers began work on collecting, studying and publishing all of his works. Honored Promoter of Works Bach Robert Franz has published several books about the composer's work. The next major work Bache became a book by Philip Spitta, published in 1880. At the beginning of the 20th century, the German organist and researcher Albert Schweitzer published a book. In this work, in addition to the biography Bach, descriptions and analysis of his works, much attention is paid to the description of the era in which he worked, as well as the theological issues related to his music. These books were the most authoritative until the middle of the 20th century, when, with the help of new technical means and careful research, new facts about life and work were established Bach, which in some places conflicted with traditional ideas. For example, it was found that Bach wrote some cantatas in 1724-1725 (previously it was believed that this happened in the 1740s), unknown works have been found, and some previously attributed Bahu turned out to be not written by him. Some facts of his biography were established. In the second half of the 20th century, many works were written on this topic - for example, books by Christoph Wolf. There is also a work called a hoax of the 20th century, “Chronicle of Life Johann Sebastian Bach, compiled by his widow Anna Magdalena Bach", written by the English writer Esther Meinel on behalf of the composer's widow.

Creation

Bach wrote more than 1000 pieces of music. Today, each of the famous works is assigned a number BWV (abbreviated from Bach Werke Verzeichnis - catalog of works Bach). Bach wrote music for various instruments, both sacred and secular. Some works Bach are adaptations of works by other composers, and some are revised versions of their own works.

Organ creativity

Organ music in Germany by the time Bach and already had long-standing traditions that had developed thanks to its predecessors Bach- Pachelbel, Böhm, Buxtehude and other composers, each of whom influenced him in their own way. With many of them Bach was personally acquainted.

During life Bach was best known as a first-class organist, teacher and composer of organ music. He worked both in the “free” genres traditional for that time, such as prelude, fantasy, toccata, passacaglia, and in more strict forms - chorale prelude and fugue. In his works for organ Bach skillfully combined features of different musical styles, with whom he became acquainted throughout his life. The composer was influenced by the music of North German composers (Georg Böhm, with whom Bach met in Lüneburg, and Dietrich Buxtehude in Lübeck), and the music of southern composers: Bach he copied the works of many French and Italian composers for himself in order to understand their musical language; later he even transcribed several Vivaldi violin concertos for organ. During the most fruitful period for organ music (1708-1714) Johann Sebastian not only wrote many pairs of preludes, toccatas and fugues, but also composed an unfinished Organ Book - a collection of 46 short choral preludes, which demonstrated various techniques and approaches to composing works on chorale themes. After leaving Weimar Bach began to write less for the organ; nevertheless, after Weimar many famous works were written (6 trio sonatas, the collection “Clavier-Übung” and 18 Leipzig chorales). All life Bach not only composed music for the organ, but also consulted in the construction of instruments, testing and tuning new organs.

Other keyboard works

Bach He also wrote a number of works for the harpsichord, many of which could also be performed on the clavichord. Many of these creations are encyclopedic collections demonstrating various techniques and methods for composing polyphonic works. Most keyboard works Bach, published during his lifetime, were contained in collections called "Clavier-Übung" ("clavier exercises").

“The Well-Tempered Clavier” in two volumes, written in 1722 and 1744, is a collection, each volume of which contains 24 preludes and fugues, one for each common key. This cycle was very important in connection with the transition to instrument tuning systems that make it equally easy to perform music in any key - primarily to the modern equal temperament scale.
15 two-voice and 15 three-voice inventions are small works, arranged in order of increasing number of signs in the key. They were intended (and are still used to this day) for teaching how to play keyboard instruments.
Three collections of suites: English Suites, French Suites and Partitas for Clavier. Each cycle contained 6 suites, built according to a standard scheme (allemande, courante, sarabande, gigue and an optional part between the last two). In English suites, the allemande is preceded by a prelude, and between the sarabande and the gigue there is exactly one movement; in French suites the number of optional parts increases, and there are no preludes. In the partitas, the standard scheme is expanded: in addition to the exquisite introductory parts, there are additional ones, and not only between the sarabande and the gigue.
Goldberg Variations (circa 1741) - melody with 30 variations. The cycle has a rather complex and unusual structure. The variations are built more on the tonal plan of the theme than on the melody itself.
Various plays like "Overture in french style", BWV 831, "Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue", BWV 903, or "Italian Concerto", BWV 971.

Orchestral and chamber music

Bach wrote music both for individual instruments and for ensembles. His works for solo instruments - 3 sonatas and partitas for solo violin, BWV 1001-1006, 6 suites for cello, BWV 1007-1012, and partita for solo flute, BWV 1013 - are considered by many to be among the composer's most profound works. Besides, Bach composed several works for solo lute. He also wrote trio sonatas, sonatas for solo flute and viola da gamba, accompanied only by a general bass, as well as a large number of canons and ricercars, mostly without specifying the instruments for performance. The most significant examples of such works are the cycles “The Art of Fugue” and “Musical Offering”.

Bach wrote many works for orchestra and solo instruments. Some of the most famous are the Brandenburg Concertos. They were so named because Bach, having sent them to Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Schwedt in 1721, thought to get work at his court; this attempt was unsuccessful. These six concertos are written in the genre of concerto grosso. Orchestral masterpieces Bach includes two violin concertos (BWV 1041 and 1042), a concerto for 2 violins in D minor BWV 1043, the so-called “triple” A minor concerto (for flute, violin, harpsichord, strings and continuous (digital) bass) BWV 1044 and concertos for claviers and chamber orchestra: seven for one clavier (BWV 1052-1058), three for two (BWV 1060-1062), two for three (BWV 1063 and 1064) and one - in A minor BWV 1065 - for four harpsichords. Nowadays, these concertos with orchestra are often performed on the piano, so they can be called piano concertos Bach, but do not forget that in times Bach there was no piano. In addition to concerts, Bach composed 4 orchestral suites (BWV 1066-1069), some individual parts of which are especially widely popular in our time and have popular arrangements, namely: the so-called “Bach joke” - the last part, the badinerie of the second suite and the second part of the third suite - aria.

Vocal works

Cantatas.

For a long period of my life, every Sunday Bach in the Church of St. Thomas he led the performance of a cantata, the theme of which was chosen according to the Lutheran church calendar. Although Bach He also performed cantatas by other composers; in Leipzig he composed at least three complete annual cycles of cantatas, one for each Sunday of the year and each church holiday. In addition, he composed a number of cantatas in Weimar and Mühlhausen. Total Bach More than 300 cantatas on spiritual themes were written, of which only 200 have survived to this day (the last one in the form of a single fragment). Cantatas Bach vary greatly in form and instrumentation. Some of them are written for one voice, some for choir; some require execution big orchestra, and some are just a few tools. However, the most commonly used model is this: the cantata opens with a solemn choral introduction, then alternates recitatives and arias for soloists or duets, and ends with a chorale. The same words from the Bible that are read this week according to the Lutheran canons are usually taken as recitative. The final chorale is often anticipated by a chorale prelude in one of the middle movements, and is also sometimes included in the opening movement in the form of a cantus firmus. The most famous of the spiritual cantatas Bach are "Christ lag in Todesbanden" (number 4), "Ein' feste Burg" (number 80), "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" (number 140) and "Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben" (number 147) . Besides, Bach He also composed a number of secular cantatas, usually timed to coincide with some event, for example, a wedding. Among the most famous secular cantatas Bach- two Wedding cantatas and a comic Coffee Cantata and a Peasant Cantata.

Passions, or passions.

Passion for John(1724) and the St. Matthew Passion (c. 1727) - works for choir and orchestra on the gospel theme of the suffering of Christ, intended for performance at vespers on Good Friday in the churches of St. Thomas and St. Nicholas. Passions are one of the largest vocal works Bach. It is known that Bach wrote 4 or 5 passions, but only these two have fully survived to this day.

Oratorios and Magnificats.

The most famous is the Christmas Oratorio (1734) - a cycle of 6 cantatas for performance during the Christmas period of the liturgical year. The Easter Oratorio (1734-1736) and Magnificat are rather extensive and elaborate cantatas and have a smaller scope than the Christmas Oratorio or Passions. The Magnificat exists in two versions: the original (E-flat major, 1723) and the later and famous (D major, 1730).

Masses.

The most famous and significant mass Bach- Mass in B minor (completed in 1749), representing a complete cycle of the Ordinary. This mass, like many of the composer’s other works, included revised early works. The Mass was never performed in its entirety during his lifetime Bach- for the first time this happened only in the 19th century. In addition, this music was not performed as intended due to its inconsistency with the Lutheran canon (it included only Kyrie and Gloria), as well as due to the duration of the sound (about 2 hours). In addition to the Mass in B minor, 4 short two-part Masses have reached us Bach(Kyrie and Gloria), as well as individual parts like Sanctus and Kyrie.
Rest vocal works Bach's works include several motets, about 180 chorales, songs and arias.

Execution

Today's music performers Bach divided into two camps: those who prefer authentic performance (or "historically oriented performance"), that is, using the tools and methods of the era Bach, and performing Bach on modern instruments. During times Bach there were no such large choirs and orchestras as, for example, in the time of Brahms, and even his most ambitious works, such as the Mass in B minor and the passions, are not intended to be performed by large groups. In addition, in some chamber works Bach The instrumentation is not indicated at all, so today very different versions of the same works are known. IN organ works Bach almost never indicated registration and change of manuals. From stringed keyboard instruments Bach I preferred the clavichord. He met with Silberman and discussed with him the design of his new instrument, contributing to the creation of the modern piano. Music Bach for some instruments it was often arranged for others, for example, Busoni arranged the organ toccata and fugue in D minor and some other works for piano.

To popularize music Bach in the 20th century, numerous “lightened” and “modernized” versions of his works contributed. Among them are today's well-known tunes performed by the Swingle Singers and Wendy Carlos' 1968 recording of "Switched-On Bach", which used the newly invented synthesizer. Processed music Bach and jazz musicians such as Jacques Loussier. The New Age arrangement of the Goldberg Variations was performed by Joel Spiegelman. Among Russian contemporary performers Fyodor Chistyakov tried to pay tribute to the great composer in his 1997 solo album “When he wakes up” Bach».

The fate of Bach's music

Contrary to popular myth, Bach after death he was not forgotten. True, this concerned works for the clavier: his works were performed and published, and were used for didactic purposes.

IN last years life and after death Bach his fame as a composer began to wane: his style was considered old-fashioned compared to the burgeoning classicism.

He was better known and remembered as a performer, teacher and father Bakhov-younger, primarily Carl Philip Emmanuel, whose music was more famous. However, many major composers, such as Mozart and Beethoven, knew and loved creativity Johann Sebastian.

Works continued to be played in the church Bach for organ, harmonizations of chorales were in constant use.

Cantata-oratorio compositions Bach were rarely played (although the notes were carefully preserved in the Church of St. Thomas), as a rule, on the initiative of Karl Philip Emmanuel Bach, however, already in 1800, the Berlin Singing Academy (German) Russian was organized by Karl Friedrich Zelter. (Singakademie), the main goal of which was precisely the promotion of Bach's singing heritage.

The performance of Zelter's disciple, twenty-year-old Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, on March 11, 1829 in Berlin, of the St. Matthew Passion, gained great public attention. Even the rehearsals conducted by Mendelssohn became an event - they were attended by many music lovers. The performance was such a success that the concert was repeated on his birthday. Bach. “The St. Matthew Passion” was also performed in other cities - Frankfurt, Dresden, Königsberg. Creation Bach had a strong influence on the music of subsequent composers, including in the 21st century.

In Russia early XIX centuries as music experts and performers Bach Filda's student Maria Shimanovskaya and Alexander Griboyedov especially stand out. For example, while visiting the St. Thomas School, Mozart heard one of the motets (BWV 225) and exclaimed: “There is something to learn here!” - after which, asking for the notes, he studied them for a long time and enthusiastically.

Beethoven valued music very much Bach. As a child he played the preludes and fugues from The Well-Tempered Clavier, and later called Bach“the true father of harmony” and said that “his name is not the Brook, but the Sea” (the word Bach in German means “stream”). Works Johann Sebastian influenced many composers. Some themes from the works Bach, for example, the theme of the toccata and fugue in D minor, were repeatedly used in the music of the 20th century.

Biography written in 1802 Johann Nikolaus Forkel, spurred the interest of the general public in his music. More and more people discovered his music. For example, Goethe, who became acquainted with his works quite late in his life (in 1814 and 1815 some of his keyboard and choral works were performed in Bad Berka), in a letter of 1827 compared the feeling of music Bach with “eternal harmony in dialogue with oneself.” But the real revival of music Bach began with the performance of the St. Matthew Passion in 1829 in Berlin, organized by Felix Mendelssohn. Hegel, who attended the concert, later called Bach“a great, true Protestant, a strong and, so to speak, erudite genius, whom we have only recently learned to fully appreciate again.” In subsequent years, Mendelssohn's work to popularize music continued Bach and the rise of the composer's fame.

Founded in 1850 Bakhovskoe society whose purpose was the collection, study and dissemination of works Bach. Over the next half century, this society carried out significant work on the compilation and publication of a corpus of the composer’s works.

In the 20th century, awareness of the musical and pedagogical value of his compositions continued. Interest in music Bach gave birth to a new movement among performers: the idea of authentic performance became widespread. Such performers, for example, use a harpsichord instead of a modern piano and smaller choirs than was common in the 19th and early 20th centuries, wanting to accurately recreate the music of Bach's era.

Some composers expressed their respect Bahu, including the BACH motif (B-flat - A - C - B in Latin notation) in the themes of his works. For example, Liszt wrote a prelude and fugue on the theme BACH, and Schumann wrote 6 fugues on the same theme. From creativity modern composers on the same theme can be called “Variations on the Theme BACH” by Roman Ledenev. I used the same theme myself Bach, for example, in the XIV counterpoint from The Art of Fugue.

Many composers took their cue from the works Bach or used themes from them. Examples are Beethoven's Variations on a Theme Diabelli, the prototype of which is the Goldberg Variations, Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues, written under the influence of The Well-Tempered Clavier, and Brahms's Cello Sonata in D major, the finale of which inserts musical quotations from Art fugues."

The chorale prelude “Ich ruf’ zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ” (BWV 177) performed by Leonid Roizman is heard in the film “Solaris” (1972).

Music Bach among the best creations of mankind, recorded on the Voyager gold disc.

Johann Sebastian Bach Topped the top ten greatest composers of all time (New York Times).

Bach monuments in Germany

Monument to J. S. Bach at the Church of St. Thomas in Leipzig.
Monument in Leipzig, erected on April 23, 1843 by Hermann Knaur on the initiative of Felix Mendelssohn according to the drawings of Eduard Bendemann, Ernst Ritschel and Julius Hübner.
Bronze statue on the Frauenplan in Eisenach, designed by Adolf von Donndorff, erected on September 28, 1884. At first it stood on the Market Square near the Church of St. George; On April 4, 1938 it was moved to Frauenplan with a shortened pedestal.
Monument on Bach Square in Köthen, erected on March 21, 1885. Sculptor - Heinrich Pohlmann
Bronze statue by Karl Seffner on the south side of St. Thomas Church in Leipzig - 17 May 1908.
Bust by Fritz Behn in the Valhalla monument near Regensburg, 1916.
Statue by Paul Birr at the entrance to St. George's Church in Eisenach, erected on April 6, 1939.
Monument to the arch. Bruno Eiermann in Weimar, first installed in 1950, then removed for two years and reopened in 1995 on Democracy Square.
Relief in Köthen (1952). Sculptor - Robert Propf.
The monument near the Arnstadt market was erected on March 21, 1985. Author - Bernd Goebel
Wooden stele by Ed Garison on Johann Sebastian Bach Square in front of St. Blaise Church in Mühlhausen - August 17, 2001.
The monument in Ansbach, designed by Jürgen Goertz, was erected in July 2003.

Johann Sebastian Bach
Years of life: 1685-1750

Bach was a genius of such magnitude that even today he seems an unsurpassed, exceptional phenomenon. His creativity is truly inexhaustible: after the “discovery” of Bach’s music in XIX century interest in it is steadily increasing, Bach's works are winning an audience even among listeners who usually do not show interest in “serious” art.

Bach's work, on the one hand, was a kind of summing up. In his music, the composer relied on everything that had been achieved and discovered in the art of music before him. Bach had an excellent knowledge of German organ music, choral polyphony, and the peculiarities of German and Italian violin style. He not only became acquainted with, but also copied the works of contemporary French harpsichordists (primarily Couperin), Italian violinists (Corelli, Vivaldi), and major representatives of Italian opera. Possessing an amazing sensitivity to everything new, Bach developed and generalized his accumulated creative experience.

At the same time, he was a brilliant innovator who opened up the development of the world musical culture new perspectives. His powerful influence was reflected in the work of the great composers of the 19th century century (Beethoven, Brahms, Wagner, Glinka, Taneyev), and in the works of outstanding masters of the 20th century (Shostakovich, Honegger).

Bach's creative heritage is almost immense, it includes more than 1000 works of various genres, and among them there are those whose scale is exceptional for their time (MP). Bach's works can be divided into three main genre groups:

vocal and instrumental music;
organ music,
music for other instruments (clavier, violin, flute, etc.) and instrumental ensembles (including orchestral).

The works of each group are mainly associated with a specific period creative biography Bach. The most significant organ works were created in Weimar, keyboard and orchestral works mainly belong to the Köthen period, vocal and instrumental works were mostly written in Leipzig.

The main genres in which Bach worked are traditional: masses and passions, cantatas and oratorios, choral arrangements, preludes and fugues, dance suites and concertos. Having inherited these genres from his predecessors, Bach gave them a scope that they had never known before. He updated them with new means of expression, enriched them with features borrowed from other genres musical creativity. A striking example can serve . Created for the clavier, it incorporates the expressive properties of large organ improvisations as well as dramatic recitation of theatrical origins.

Bach's work, for all its universality and inclusiveness, “passed by” one of the leading genres of its time - opera. At the same time, there is little that distinguishes some of Bach's secular cantatas from the comedic interlude, which was already being reborn at that time in Italy in opera-buffa. The composer often called them, like the first Italian operas, “dramas on music.” It can be said that such works of Bach as “Coffee” and “Peasant” cantatas, solved as witty genre scenes from Everyday life, anticipated the German Singspiel.

Circle of images and ideological content

The figurative content of Bach's music is limitless in its breadth. The majestic and the simple are equally accessible to him. Bach's art contains deep sorrow, simple-minded humor, acute drama and philosophical reflection. Like Handel, Bach reflected the essential aspects of his era - the first half of the XVIII centuries, but others - not effective heroics, but religious and philosophical problems put forward by the Reformation. In his music he reflects on the most important eternal questions human life - about the purpose of man, about his moral duty, about life and death. These reflections are most often associated with religious themes, because Bach served in the church almost all his life, wrote a huge part of the music for the church, and was himself a deeply religious person who knew the Holy Scriptures very well. He complied church holidays, fasted, confessed, and took communion a few days before his death. The Bible in two languages - German and Latin - was his reference book.

Bach's Jesus Christ is the main character and ideal. In this image, the composer saw the personification of the best human qualities: fortitude, loyalty to the chosen path, purity of thoughts. The most sacred thing in the history of Christ for Bach is Calvary and the cross, the sacrificial feat of Jesus for the salvation of humanity. This theme, being the most important in Bach's work, receives ethical, moral interpretation.

Musical symbolism

The complex world of Bach's works is revealed through musical symbolism that developed in line with Baroque aesthetics. Bach's contemporaries perceived his music, including instrumental, “pure” music, as understandable speech due to the presence in it of stable melodic turns expressing certain concepts, emotions, and ideas. By analogy with classical oratory, these sound formulas are called musical and rhetorical figures. Some rhetorical figures were of a figurative nature (for example, anabasis - ascent, catabasis - descent, circulatio - rotation, fuga - run, tirata - arrow); others imitated the intonations of human speech (exclamatio - exclamation - ascending sixth); still others conveyed affect (suspiratio - sigh, passus duriusculus - chromatic move used to express grief, suffering).

Thanks to stable semantics, musical figures turned into “signs”, emblems certain feelings and concepts. For example, descending melodies (catadasis) were used to symbolize sadness, dying, and entombment; ascending scales expressed the symbolism of resurrection, etc.

Symbolic motifs are present in all of Bach’s works, and these are not only musical and rhetorical figures. Melodies often have a symbolic meaning Protestant chorales, their segments.

Bach was associated with the Protestant chorale throughout his life - both by religion and by occupation as a church musician. He constantly worked with the chorale in a variety of genres - organ choral preludes, cantatas, passions. It is quite natural that P.Kh. became an integral part of Bach's musical language.

The chorales were sung by the entire Protestant community; they were part of spiritual world human being as a natural, necessary element of worldview. Chorale melodies and the religious content associated with them were known to everyone, so people of Bach’s time easily formed associations with the meaning of the chorale, with a specific event in the Holy Scriptures. Permeating all of Bach’s work, the melodies of P.H. fill his music, including instrumental music, with a spiritual program that clarifies the content.

Symbols are also stable sound combinations that have constant meanings. One of Bach's most important symbols is cross symbol, consisting of four notes in different directions. If you graphically connect the first with the third, and the second with the fourth, a cross pattern is formed. (It is curious that the surname BACH, when transcribed into music, forms the same pattern. Probably, the composer perceived this as a kind of finger of fate).

Finally, there are numerous connections between Bach’s cantata-oratorio (i.e. textual) works and his instrumental music. Based on all the listed connections and analysis of various rhetorical figures, a system musical symbols Bach. A. Schweitzer, F. Busoni, B. Yavorsky, M. Yudina made a huge contribution to its development.

"Second birth"

Bach's brilliant work was not truly appreciated by his contemporaries. While enjoying fame as an organist, during his lifetime he did not attract due attention as a composer. Not a single serious work has been written about his work, only an insignificant part of the works has been published. After Bach's death, his manuscripts gathered dust in the archives, many were irretrievably lost, and the composer's name was forgotten.

Genuine interest in Bach arose only in the 19th century. It was started by F. Mendelssohn, who accidentally found the notes of the “St. Matthew Passion” in the library. Under his direction this work was performed in Leipzig. Most listeners, literally shocked by the music, have never heard the name of the author. This was Bach's second birth.

On the centenary of his death (1850), a Bach Society, which set the goal of publishing all the surviving manuscripts of the composer in the form full meeting works (46 volumes).

Several of Bach's sons became prominent musicians: Philipp Emmanuel, Wilhelm Friedemann (Dresden), Johann Christoph (Bückenburg), Johann Christian (the youngest, "London" Bach).

Biography of Bach

YEARS	LIFE	CREATION
	Was born in Eisenach in the family of a hereditary musician. This profession was traditional for the entire Bach family: almost all of its representatives were musicians for several centuries. Johann Sebastian's first musical mentor was his father. Moreover, having beautiful voice, he sang in the choir.
At 9 years old	He remained an orphan and was taken into care by the family of his older brother, Johann Christoph, who served as an organist in Ohrdruf.
	At the age of 15 he graduated with honors from the Ohrdruf Lyceum and moved to Luneburg, where he entered the choir of “selected singers” (at Michaelschule). By the age of 17, he owned the harpsichord, violin, viola, and organ.
	Over the next few years, he changed his place of residence several times, serving as a musician (violinist, organist) in small German cities: Weimar (1703), Arnstadt (1704), Mühlhausen(1707). The reason for moving is the same every time - dissatisfaction with working conditions, dependent position.	The first works appear - for organ, clavier (“Capriccio on the Departure of the Beloved Brother”), the first spiritual cantatas.
	WEIMAR PERIOD He entered the service of the Duke of Weimar as a court organist and chamber musician in the chapel.	The years of Bach's first maturity as a composer were very fruitful creatively. Climax reached organ creativity- all the best that Bach created for this instrument appeared: Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Prelude and Fugue in A minor, Prelude and Fugue in C minor, Toccata in C major, Passacaglia in C minor, as well as the famous "Organ book". In parallel with organ compositions, he works on the cantata genre, on transcriptions for the clavier of Italian violin concertos (especially Vivaldi). The Weimar years are also characterized by the first turn to the genre of solo violin sonata and suite.
	KETEN PERIOD Becomes a "director" chamber music”, that is, the leader of the entire court musical life at the court of the Köthen prince. In an effort to give his sons a university education, he tries to move to a large city.	Since there was no good organ and choir in Köthen, he focused his attention on the clavier (I volume of the KhTK, Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue, French and English Suites) and ensemble music (6 Brandenburg concertos, sonatas for solo violin).
	LEIPZIG PERIOD Becomes a cantor (choir director) at Thomaschul - a school at the Church of St. Thomas. In addition to his enormous creative work and service in the church school, he took an active part in the activities of the “Musical College” of the city. It was a society of music lovers that organized secular music concerts for city residents.	The time of the greatest flowering of Bach's genius. Were created best works for choir and orchestra: Mass in B minor, Passion according to John and Passion according to Matthew, Christmas oratorio, most cantatas (about 300 in the first three years). In the last decade, Bach concentrated most heavily on music free of any applied purpose. These are the II volume of “HTK” (1744), as well as the partitas, “Italian Concerto. Organ Mass, Aria with Various Variations" (after Bach's death called the Goldberg Variations).
	Recent years have been marred by eye disease. After an unsuccessful operation he became blind, but continued to compose.	Two polyphonic cycles - “The Art of Fugue” and “Musical Offering”.

The outstanding German composer, organist and harpsichordist Johann Sebastian Bach was born on March 21, 1685 in the city of Eisenach, Thuringia, Germany. He belonged to an extensive German family, most of whose members had been professional musicians in Germany for three centuries. Initial musical education(playing the violin and harpsichord) Johann Sebastian received under the guidance of his father, a court musician.

In 1695, after the death of his father (his mother had died earlier), the boy was taken into the family of his older brother Johann Christoph, who served as a church organist at St. Michaelis Church in Ohrdruf.

In the years 1700-1703, Johann Sebastian studied at the church choir school in Lüneburg. During his studies, he visited Hamburg, Celle and Lubeck to get acquainted with the work of famous musicians of his time and new French music. During these same years he wrote his first works for organ and clavier.

In 1703, Bach worked in Weimar as a court violinist, in 1703-1707 as a church organist in Arnstadt, then from 1707 to 1708 in the Mühlhasen church. His creative interests were then focused mainly on music for organ and clavier.

In 1708-1717, Johann Sebastian Bach served as court musician for the Duke of Weimar in Weimar. During this period he created numerous chorale preludes, organ toccata and fugue in D minor, passacaglia in C minor. The composer wrote music for the clavier and more than 20 spiritual cantatas.

In 1717-1723, Bach served with Duke Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen in Köthen. Three sonatas and three partitas for solo violin, six suites for solo cello, English and French suites for clavier, and six Brandenburg concertos for orchestra were written here. Of particular interest is the collection “The Well-Tempered Clavier” - 24 preludes and fugues, written in all keys and in practice proving the advantages of the tempered musical system, the approval of which was hotly debated. Subsequently, Bach created the second volume of The Well-Tempered Clavier, also consisting of 24 preludes and fugues in all keys.

The “Note Book of Anna Magdalena Bach” was begun in Köthen, which includes, along with plays by various authors, five of the six “French Suites”. During these same years, “Little Preludes and Fugettas. English Suites, Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue” and other keyboard works were created. During this period, the composer wrote a number of secular cantatas, most of which were not preserved and received a second life with a new, spiritual text.

In 1723, his “St. John Passion” (a vocal-dramatic work based on the Gospel texts) was performed in the Church of St. Thomas in Leipzig.

In the same year, Bach received the position of cantor (regent and teacher) at the Church of St. Thomas in Leipzig and the school at this church.

In 1736, Bach received the title of Royal Polish and Saxon Electoral Court Composer from the Dresden court.

During this period, the composer reached the heights of his mastery, creating magnificent examples in different genres - sacred music: cantatas (about 200 survived), Magnificat (1723), masses, including the immortal "High Mass" in B minor (1733), "Matthew Passion" (1729); dozens of secular cantatas (among them the comic "Coffee" and "Peasant"); works for organ, orchestra, harpsichord, among the latter - "Aria with 30 variations" ("Goldberg Variations", 1742). In 1747, Bach wrote a cycle of plays, “Musical Offerings,” dedicated to the Prussian king Frederick II. The composer's last work was The Art of Fugue (1749-1750) - 14 fugues and four canons on one theme.

Johann Sebastian Bach is a major figure in world musical culture; his work represents one of the pinnacles of philosophical thought in music. Freely crossing features not only of different genres, but also of national schools, Bach created immortal masterpieces that stand above time.

At the end of the 1740s, Bach's health deteriorated, and he was particularly concerned about the sudden loss of his vision. Two unsuccessful cataract surgeries resulted in complete blindness.

He spent the last months of his life in a darkened room, where he composed the last chorale “I stand before Thy throne,” dictating it to his son-in-law, organist Altnikol.

On July 28, 1750, Johann Sebastian Bach died in Leipzig. He was buried in the cemetery near St. John's Church. Due to the lack of a monument, his grave was soon lost. In 1894, the remains were found and reburied in a stone sarcophagus in the Church of St. John. After the church was destroyed by bombing during World War II, his ashes were preserved and reburied in 1949 in the chancel of St. Thomas Church.

During his lifetime, Johann Sebastian Bach was famous, but after the composer's death his name and music were forgotten. Interest in Bach's work arose only in the late 1820s; in 1829, the composer Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy organized a performance of the St. Matthew Passion in Berlin. In 1850, the Bach Society was created, which sought to identify and publish all the composer's manuscripts - 46 volumes were published over half a century.

Through the mediation of Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, the first monument to Bach was erected in Leipzig in 1842 in front of the old school building at the Church of St. Thomas.

In 1907, the Bach Museum was opened in Eisenach, where the composer was born, and in 1985 in Leipzig, where he died.

Johann Sebastian Bach was married twice. In 1707 he married his cousin Maria Barbara Bach. After her death in 1720, in 1721 the composer married Anna Magdalena Wilken. Bach had 20 children, but only nine of them survived their father. Four sons became composers - Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710-1784), Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach (1714-1788), Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782), Johann Christoph Bach (1732-1795).

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Biography and episodes of life Johann Sebastian Bach. When born and died Johann Sebastian Bach, memorable places and dates important events his life. Composer and musician quotes, images and videos.

Years of life of Johann Sebastian Bach:

born March 21, 1685, died July 28, 1750

Epitaph

“They say that when Orpheus touched the strings of his lute,
At the sounds of it, animals came running from the forest.
But Bach's art is rightfully considered superior,
Because the whole world marveled at him.”
From a poem by the poet Kittel-Mikrander dedicated to Bach

Biography

He was a great composer, a virtuoso musician and a talented teacher, but until the end of his life, Johann Bach believed that his merit lay only in hard work, and his talent belonged to God.

He was born into a wealthy family, his father was responsible for all the musical events of the city. But little Johann's parents died when he was still a child, so the boy was raised by his older brother. Johann studied at the gymnasium, studied music, and then graduated from vocal school. Immediately after school, the young musician received a court position in Weimar, and soon the whole city knew about the wonderful young performer. Bach had no shortage of work - first he worked as an organist in the Church of St. Boniface, then moved to the position of organist in Mühlhausen, where he was highly valued and paid a high salary. But the heyday of Bach’s work was the period when he returned to Weimar and took the place of court organist, and was also responsible for organizing palace concerts. Bach was given complete freedom in his creativity by the Prince of Anhalt-Keten, who invited the composer to work as his bandmaster. When Bach performed his St. John Passion in one of the main churches in Leipzig, he was appointed chief musical director of all the churches in the city.

It is unknown how many more great works Johann Sebastian Bach would have created, how many more brilliant students he would have given to the world, if not for the illness that tormented him in the last years of his life. In the 1730s, his eyesight began to fail. He continued to write and dictated new works to his students while recording them. Finally, I decided to have an operation, then another, but, alas, none of them surgical interventions could not save the composer's vision. On July 28, 1750, Johann Sebastian Bach died; the cause of Bach’s death was complications after his operations. Bach's funeral was held with great honors. At first, the composer was buried near the Church of St. John, but then Bach’s grave was lost, and years later his remains were found and reburied. During the Second World War the church was destroyed; today Bach's ashes are kept in the Church of St. Thomas, where Bach worked.

Life line

March 21, 1865 Date of birth of Johann Sebastian Bach.
1700-1703 Studying at the St. Michael's Vocal School in Lüneburg.
1703-1707 Work as an organist in the church of Arnstadt.
October 17, 1707 Marriage to Maria Barbara.
1708 Court conductor in Köthen.
1720 Death of Bach's wife, Maria.
December 3, 1721 Marriage to Anna Magdalena Wilke.
1722 Bach's writing of the first volume of The Well-Tempered Clavier.
1723 Church music director in Leipzig.
1724 Bach's writing of the St. John Passion.
1727 Bach's writing of the St. Matthew Passion.
1729 Head of the Music Board.
1744 Release of the second volume of The Well-Tempered Clavier.
July 28, 1750 Bach's date of death.
July 31, 1750 Bach's funeral.

Memorable places

1. St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, where Bach's remains are today.
2. St. Nicholas Church in Leipzig, where Bach first performed his “Christmas Oratorio.”
3. Monument to Bach in Leipzig.
4. Bach House Museum in Eisenach, next to which there is a monument to Bach.
5. Bach House Museum in Leipzig.
6. Leipzig School of Music Johann Sebastian Bach, where the composer served as cantor of the choir.

Episodes of life

Bach's ancestors and descendants were musicians, except Veit Bach, the "founder" of the dynasty. He was a baker, ran a mill, but was very fond of music and played some string instrument. But Johann Sebastian Bach’s grandfather, father, grandfather, brothers, children, as well as his grandson and great-grandson were musicians. At the end of his life, Johann Bach said that all his music belongs to God and all his abilities are intended for him.

Johann Sebastian Bach had one quirk. He dressed up as if he were a poor school teacher, came to village church and asked permission to play the organ. When he started playing, everyone present was simply amazed. Some even ran out of the church in fright, believing that an ordinary person could not play like that and that the devil himself was probably sitting at the organ.

Johann Sebastian Bach was modest and did not like praise. One day he played his prelude to the students. When one of them began to admire the teacher’s work and performance, he interrupted him: “There is nothing surprising in this! You just need to know which keys to press and when, and the organ will do the rest.”