Johann Sebastian Bach (31 March [O.S. 21 March] 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a … Read Full Bio ↴Johann Sebastian Bach (31 March [O.S. 21 March] 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He is known for instrumental compositions such as the Brandenburg Concertos and the Goldberg Variations, and vocal music such as the St Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor. Since the 19th-century Bach Revival he has been generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.
The Bach family already counted several composers when Johann Sebastian was born as the last child of a city musician in Eisenach. Having become an orphan at age 10, he lived for five years with his eldest brother, after which he continued his musical formation in Lüneburg. From 1703 he was back in Thuringia, working as a musician for Protestant churches in Arnstadt and Mühlhausen and, for longer stretches of time, at courts in Weimar—where he expanded his repertoire for the organ—and Köthen—where he was mostly engaged with chamber music. From 1723 he was employed as Thomaskantor (cantor at St. Thomas) in Leipzig. He composed music for the principal Lutheran churches of the city, and for its university's student ensemble Collegium Musicum. From 1726 he published some of his keyboard and organ music. In Leipzig, as had happened in some of his earlier positions, he had a difficult relation with his employer, a situation that was little remedied when he was granted the title of court composer by the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland in 1736. In the last decades of his life he reworked and extended many of his earlier compositions. He died of complications after eye surgery in 1750.
Bach enriched established German styles through his mastery of counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and his adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach's compositions include hundreds of cantatas, both sacred and secular. He composed Latin church music, Passions, oratorios and motets. He often adopted Lutheran hymns, not only in his larger vocal works, but for instance also in his four-part chorales and his sacred songs. He wrote extensively for organ and for other keyboard instruments. He composed concertos, for instance for violin and for harpsichord, and suites, as chamber music as well as for orchestra. Many of his works employ the genres of canon and fugue.
Throughout the 18th century Bach was primarily valued as an organist, while his keyboard music, such as The Well-Tempered Clavier, was appreciated for its didactic qualities. The 19th century saw the publication of some major Bach biographies, and by the end of that century all of his known music had been printed. Dissemination of scholarship on the composer continued through periodicals and websites exclusively devoted to him, and other publications such as the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (BWV, a numbered catalogue of his works) and new critical editions of his compositions. His music was further popularised through a multitude of arrangements, including for instance the Air on the G String, and of recordings, for instance three different box sets with complete performances of the composer's oeuvre marking the 250th anniversary of his death.
The Bach family already counted several composers when Johann Sebastian was born as the last child of a city musician in Eisenach. Having become an orphan at age 10, he lived for five years with his eldest brother, after which he continued his musical formation in Lüneburg. From 1703 he was back in Thuringia, working as a musician for Protestant churches in Arnstadt and Mühlhausen and, for longer stretches of time, at courts in Weimar—where he expanded his repertoire for the organ—and Köthen—where he was mostly engaged with chamber music. From 1723 he was employed as Thomaskantor (cantor at St. Thomas) in Leipzig. He composed music for the principal Lutheran churches of the city, and for its university's student ensemble Collegium Musicum. From 1726 he published some of his keyboard and organ music. In Leipzig, as had happened in some of his earlier positions, he had a difficult relation with his employer, a situation that was little remedied when he was granted the title of court composer by the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland in 1736. In the last decades of his life he reworked and extended many of his earlier compositions. He died of complications after eye surgery in 1750.
Bach enriched established German styles through his mastery of counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and his adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach's compositions include hundreds of cantatas, both sacred and secular. He composed Latin church music, Passions, oratorios and motets. He often adopted Lutheran hymns, not only in his larger vocal works, but for instance also in his four-part chorales and his sacred songs. He wrote extensively for organ and for other keyboard instruments. He composed concertos, for instance for violin and for harpsichord, and suites, as chamber music as well as for orchestra. Many of his works employ the genres of canon and fugue.
Throughout the 18th century Bach was primarily valued as an organist, while his keyboard music, such as The Well-Tempered Clavier, was appreciated for its didactic qualities. The 19th century saw the publication of some major Bach biographies, and by the end of that century all of his known music had been printed. Dissemination of scholarship on the composer continued through periodicals and websites exclusively devoted to him, and other publications such as the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (BWV, a numbered catalogue of his works) and new critical editions of his compositions. His music was further popularised through a multitude of arrangements, including for instance the Air on the G String, and of recordings, for instance three different box sets with complete performances of the composer's oeuvre marking the 250th anniversary of his death.
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38Prelude and Fugue in G Minor, BWV 535 - for Preston-Recording: Alternative registration: Fugue4:43Johann Sebastian Bach
95Organ Concerto in D minor, BWV 596 after Vivaldi's Concerto Op.3 No. 11: 1. (without tempo indication)1:29Johann Sebastian Bach
96Organ Concerto in D minor, BWV 596 after Vivaldi's Concerto Op.3 No. 11: 2. Grave0:28Johann Sebastian Bach
97Organ Concerto in D minor, BWV 596 after Vivaldi's Concerto Op.3 No. 11: 3. Fuga3:31Johann Sebastian Bach
98Organ Concerto in D Minor, BWV 596 After Vivaldi's Concerto Op.3 No. 11: 4. Largo E Spiccato2:33Johann Sebastian Bach
99Organ Concerto in D minor, BWV 596 after Vivaldi's Concerto Op.3 No. 11: 5. (Without tempo indication)3:05Johann Sebastian Bach
100Organ Concerto in A minor, BWV 593 after Vivaldi's Concerto Op.3 No. 8: 1. (Without Tempo Indication)4:20Johann Sebastian Bach
101Organ Concerto in A Minor, BWV 593 After Vivaldi's Concerto Op.3 No. 8: 2. Adagio4:02Johann Sebastian Bach
102Organ Concerto in A minor, BWV 593 after Vivaldi's Concerto Op.3 No. 8: 3. Allegro4:10Johann Sebastian Bach
103Organ Concerto in C, BWV 594 after Vivaldi's Concerto Op.7, No. 11: 1. -7:21Johann Sebastian Bach
104Organ Concerto in C, BWV 594 after Vivaldi's Concerto Op.7, No. 11: 2. Recitativ adagio4:04Johann Sebastian Bach
105Organ Concerto in C, BWV 594 after Vivaldi's Concerto Op.7, No. 11: 3. Allegro - solo7:53Johann Sebastian Bach
156Wachet Auf, Ruft Uns Die Stimme, BWV 645 ('Sleepers, Awake'): Wachet Auf, Ruft Uns Die Stimme, BWV 645 ('Sleepers, Awake')4:55Johann Sebastian Bach
254Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BWV 764 - Completed by Wolfgang Stockmeier2:55Johann Sebastian Bach
261Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her, BWV 769: Variatio 1: Nel Canone All'ottava1:30Johann Sebastian Bach
262Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her, BWV 769: Variatio 2: Alio Modo, Nel Canone Alla Quinta1:30Johann Sebastian Bach
263Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her, BWV 769: Variatio 3: Canone alla settima2:24Johann Sebastian Bach
264Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her, BWV 769: Variatio 4: Per Augementationem. Nel Canone All'ottava2:54Johann Sebastian Bach
265Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her, BWV 769: Variatio 5: L'altra sorte del canone al rovescio: 1) alla sesta, 2) alla terza, 3) alla seconda e 4) alla nona3:04Johann Sebastian Bach
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Bach, J.S.: The Organ Works
Johann Sebastian Bach Lyrics
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