Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

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Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
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The Life of J.S. Bach

• Born in Eisenach, Germany, which was also the
  birthplace of Martin Luther.
• Bachs family supplied musicians.
• Musicians agent, or broker.
• Orphaned at age of ten, raised by his older
  brother.
• Brother was an organist and Bachs first music
  teacher (family apprenticeship)

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Background

• J. S. Bach is one of the most well-researched
  composers with more each year

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• The Bach family was made up of more than 70
  composers and performers in Germany from the 16th
  to the early 19th centuries.

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• His father, Johann Ambrosius Bach (1645-1695),
  was a renowned violinist and was employed as a
  court trumpeter and music director in the town of
  Eisenach. Bach probably learned to play the
  violin at an early age from his father.

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• His mother, Maria Elisabeth Lämmerhirt
  (1644-1694), also came from a musical family.

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Bach as a young man
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Johann Sebastian Bach

• Over 1000 musical pieces in every genre except
  opera
• Cantatas (1 per week for 8 years)
• Public complained for his flowery music
• Protestant themes (in search of God)
• Musicians felt his
• music too difficult

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Bachs Signature
J.S.Bach (musical) cross. Bach signed himself
with a single note (using 4 different
pitches) B Left staff (treble clef) A Upper
staff (tenor clef) C Right staff (alto clef)
H Lower staff (treble clef)
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Bachs Work

• Church Musician
• Write music for services
• Play organ
• Teach choirs
• Teach soloists
• Conduct orchestra, choirs
• Court Musician
• Wrote music for entertainment
• Wrote commissioned pieces
• School teacher
• Organ teacher
• Organ construction consultant
• Composersacred secular music
• Husband/father

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Bachs Career

• Early positions
• Arnestadt, Germany 1703-07
• Organist
• Muhlhausen
• Organist.
• These were not significant positions but rather
  churches with small forces for music.
• A good starting point for his career.

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• Bach became an organist in Arnstant in 1703 and
  stayed there until 1707, when he went to
  Muhlhausen until 1708. He showed a bit of his
  temper, having arguments with both employers.
• In 1707, he married his cousin, Maria Barbara.
• They went on to have 7 children, before she died
  in 1721.

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The Big Three

• Weimar, Germany
• Secular position
• Employed by the Duke of Weimar
• There were many differences between the Duke and
  J. S. Bach.

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Weimar

• Bach serves as an organist to the Ducal Chapel
  and as a chamber musician.
• Duke preferred the older style of hymns and
  accompaniment in worship. He was not interested
  in Bachs innovations.
• Bach was resolved not to change his personal
  style of composition.

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Weimar

• Bach, as a member of the patronage system was in
  fact considered the property of the Duke.
• He was imprisoned for almost a month for trying
  to leave the Dukes employment without the Dukes
  permission.
• Finally he was allowed to leave after Bach simply
  made the life of the Duke miserable.

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Bachs second position Cothen.

• 1717-23
• Secular position for the Prince of Anhalt-Cothen
  (cousin to the Duke of Weimar)
• Here Bach wrote his famous suites, concerti,
  sonatas, and a large amount of keyboard music.
• The six Brandenburg Concerti for the Margrave of
  Brandenburg.

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Leipzig The third great position

• Leipzig was a musical and cultural center of
  southeastern Germany.
• St. Thomas Kirche (church) was the center of
  religious music in Leipzig.
• Bachs position.
• Music director
• Organist
• Cantor
• Responsible for all of the music for every large
  Lutheran church in the district.
• Director of the collegium musicum

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Bach at Leipzig

• St. Thomas Church and School

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• Since the best man could not be obtained,
  mediocre ones would have to be accepted.
• -Leipzig town council member commenting on the
  hiring of Bach

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During the earlier years at Leipzig, Bachs work
demonstrated his ability of storytelling using
dramatic melodies or chords to represent
different events of life. Example of this style
include The Passion of St. John
(1723) Magnificant (1723) The Passion According
to St. Matthew (1729) Christmas Oratoro (1734)
Bach composed many pieces of music and they are
often listed with the letters BWV followed by a
number. Such as BWV 212 or such.
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In 1721, Bach married Anna Magdalena Wilken, who
was a professional singer. They ended up having
13 more children during their marriage.
Bach made a final move to Leipzig in 1723. There
he became the Director of Music at the St.Thomas
School and the Cantor for the St. Thomas Church.
He was responsible for all music in all 4
churches in the town.
It is interesting to see that Bach did not travel
much during his lifetime and stayed within a
small area of Germany.
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Places Bach lived
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Germany
Bachs life and work
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Bach and Symmetry
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The Late Baroque Concerto of J.S. Bach

• Absolute Music music written for musics sake.
  Void of poetic, prosaic, or mental images.
• Emotion gleaned from this type of music is taken
  from the sheer beauty, conflict, key, tempo,
  rhythm, of the music.
• MUSIC FOR MUSICS SAKE

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Chorale Prelude Ein Feste Burg ist Unser Gott.
J.S. Bach

• Same theme as the cantata.
• A Mighty fortress is our God.
• Piece for organ using different registrations.
• Different sets of pipes within the organ
• Different manuals (keyboards) and pedals (feet)
  play different combinations of pipes.
• Listen for how Bach develops the chorale melody.

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The Cantata

• A multi-movement work for the Lutheran worship
  service that is a musical statement backing the
  text of the current days liturgy.
• Based upon famous hymn or chorale tunes.
• Aria
• Recitative
• Instrumental accompaniment (small orchestra)

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Fugue Form
Fugue Form- A B A1
A Exposition Exposes the subject in all voices
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Picture this fugue
Subject alone
Episode
Subject inalto
Subject intenor
Subject inbass
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The Fugue Components

• Exposition the opening section of a fugue.
• Displays the subject in all voices.
• Details the melody in each voice so that the
  listener clearly understands the subject
  material. The countersubject will also be
  displayed here.

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The Fugue Components

• Subject the original melody of a fugue
• Countersubject a counter-melody. Normally this
  is another independent melody.
• Answer the imitation of a subject or a
  countersubject in another voice.

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The Fugue

• Episode a section of music in contrapuntal style
  that simply develops the subjects motives, or
  displays freely composed new music. The episode
  is an area of contrast which balances out the
  exposition.
• Stretto a section of a fugue where tension is
  built up through the quick imitation of the
  subject in all four or more voices.

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Other Instrumental Forms

• French overture slow-fast (Handels Sinfony to
  Messiah.
• Italian overture fast-slow-fast (opera overture
  standing alone. Precursor to the symphony in the
  classical period.

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The Fugue Voices

• Each melodic line. Compared to the soprano, alto,
  tenor and bass of a choir.
• Each hand and each foot can play one or more
  melody or fugal voice at one time.

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Considerations

• Notice the difference between a Free Prelude and
  the Fugue.
• Bound to rules vs. free improvisation.
• The Genius of Bach The fugue was also improvised
  and then written out later.

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The Chorale

• A hymn sung in 4 part harmony with organ
  accompaniment.
• Form AAB
• Stollen I
• Stollen II
• Abgasang
• Fulfills Martin Luthers reformationist views
  that the congregation should be allowed to join
  in the music of the liturgy.

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Innovations in Orchestra

• Concertos
• Solo instruments
• Grosso led to orchestra works
• Composers notation
• Specified instrumental parts
• Dynamic markings and speed
• Key signature in the title

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Prelude and Fugue in C Minor, From the Well
Tempered Clavier

• J.S. Bach, Cothen, 1722
• Prelude
• Perpetuum Mobile Perpetual Motion
• Arpeggiated chords over a single note melody.
• Fugue

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Brandenburg Concerto No 2 in F Major First and
Second Mvts.

• Concerto grosso
• Concertino violin, oboe, recorder, trumpet.
• Solos by each instrument occur during tutti
  statements.
• Solos are bound together by a ritornello
• Form ABACADA

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• Two forms of improvisation Figured Bass (cello
  and harpsichord) and Ornamentation (decorating a
  melody with additional notes)

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J.S.Bachs Goldberg Variations

• Theme (original melody) and 32 variations of the
  melody.
• Written around 1730
• Exploited capabilities of new keyboards by using
  many different playing techniques
• Glenn Goulds 1956 recording is the 1
  classical piano recording of all time

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• By 1748 Bach was nearly blind from cataracts.
• In March and April of 1750, he was operated on by
  the English oculist John Taylor. The operations
  and the treatment that followed them may have
  hastened Bach's death.
• Johann Sebastian Bach died on July 28, 1750.

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• Did you know?

Bach shares his birth year with G.F.Handel.
Handel also had cataract surgery performed by
oculist John Taylor. American composer, Edward
MacDowell said, "Bach and Handel were in every
way quite different, except that both were born
in the same year and killed by the same doctor.