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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01Suiten für Violoncello solo Nr.1-6, Suite Nr.1 G-Dur Bwv 1007: I. Prélude1:56Johann Sebastian Bach
026 Suites (Sonatas) For Cello Bwv1007-12, Suite No.1 In G Major, Bwv1007: Allemande3:57Johann Sebastian Bach
036 Suites (Sonatas) for Cello BWV1007-12, Suite No.1 in G major, BWV1007: Courante2:42Johann Sebastian Bach
046 Suites (Sonatas) For Cello Bwv1007-12, Suite No.1 In G Major, Bwv1007: Sarabande3:13Johann Sebastian Bach
056 Suites (Sonatas) for Cello BWV1007-12, Suite No.1 in G major, BWV1007: Menuett I & II3:12Johann Sebastian Bach
066 Suites (Sonatas) For Cello Bwv1007-12, Suite No.1 In G Major, Bwv1007: Gigue1:44Johann Sebastian Bach
076 Suites (Sonatas) for Cello BWV1007-12, Suite No.2 in D minor, BWV1008: Prélude2:59Johann Sebastian Bach
086 Suites (Sonatas) for Cello BWV1007-12, Suite No.2 in D minor, BWV1008: Allemande3:13Johann Sebastian Bach
096 Suites (Sonatas) for Cello BWV1007-12, Suite No.2 in D minor, BWV1008: Courante2:11Johann Sebastian Bach
106 Suites (Sonatas) for Cello BWV1007-12, Suite No.2 in D minor, BWV1008: Sarabande4:21Johann Sebastian Bach
116 Suites (Sonatas) for Cello BWV1007-12, Suite No.2 in D minor, BWV1008: Menuett I & II3:00Johann Sebastian Bach
126 Suites (Sonatas) for Cello BWV1007-12, Suite No.2 in D minor, BWV1008: Gigue2:39Johann Sebastian Bach
136 Suites (Sonatas) for Cello BWV1007-12, Suite No.3 in C major, BWV1009: Prélude3:14Johann Sebastian Bach
146 Suites (Sonatas) for Cello BWV1007-12, Suite No.3 in C major, BWV1009: Allemande3:40Johann Sebastian Bach
156 Suites (Sonatas) for Cello BWV1007-12, Suite No.3 in C major, BWV1009: Courante3:02Johann Sebastian Bach
166 Suites (Sonatas) for Cello BWV1007-12, Suite No.3 in C major, BWV1009: Sarbande5:26Johann Sebastian Bach
176 Suites (Sonatas) for Cello BWV1007-12, Suite No.3 in C major, BWV1009: Bourrée I & II3:42Johann Sebastian Bach
186 Suites (Sonatas) for Cello BWV1007-12, Suite No.3 in C major, BWV1009: Gigue3:15Johann Sebastian Bach
196 Suites (Sonatas) for Cello BWV1007-12, Suite No.4 in E flat, BWV1010: Prélude3:09Johann Sebastian Bach
206 Suites (Sonatas) for Cello BWV1007-12, Suite No.4 in E flat, BWV1010: Allemande3:35Johann Sebastian Bach
216 Suites (Sonatas) for Cello BWV1007-12, Suite No.4 in E flat, BWV1010: Courante3:11Johann Sebastian Bach
226 Suites (Sonatas) for Cello BWV1007-12, Suite No.4 in E flat, BWV1010: Sarabande3:33Johann Sebastian Bach
236 Suites (Sonatas) for Cello BWV1007-12, Suite No.4 in E flat, BWV1010: Bourrée I & II4:47Johann Sebastian Bach
246 Suites (Sonatas) for Cello BWV1007-12, Suite No.4 in E flat, BWV1010: Gigue2:57Johann Sebastian Bach
256 Suites (Sonatas) For Cello Bwv1007-12, Suite No.5 In C Minor, Bwv1011: Prélude5:06Johann Sebastian Bach
266 Suites (Sonatas) For Cello Bwv1007-12, Suite No.5 In C Minor, Bwv1011: Allemande4:40Johann Sebastian Bach
276 Suites (Sonatas) For Cello Bwv1007-12, Suite No.5 In C Minor, Bwv1011: Courante2:21Johann Sebastian Bach
286 Suites (Sonatas) For Cello Bwv1007-12, Suite No.5 In C Minor, Bwv1011: Sarabande3:18Johann Sebastian Bach
296 Suites (Sonatas) for Cello BWV1007-12, Suite No.5 in C minor, BWV1011: Gavotte I & II4:18Johann Sebastian Bach
306 Suites (Sonatas) For Cello Bwv1007-12, Suite No.5 In C Minor, Bwv1011: Gigue2:22Johann Sebastian Bach
316 Suites (Sonatas) for Cello BWV1007-12, Suite No.6 in D major, BWV1012: Prélude4:28Johann Sebastian Bach
326 Suites (Sonatas) for Cello BWV1007-12, Suite No.6 in D major, BWV1012: Allemande5:45Johann Sebastian Bach
336 Suites (Sonatas) for Cello BWV1007-12, Suite No.6 in D major, BWV1012: Courante3:23Johann Sebastian Bach
346 Suites (Sonatas) for Cello BWV1007-12, Suite No.6 in D major, BWV1012: Sarabande4:25Johann Sebastian Bach
356 Suites (Sonatas) for Cello BWV1007-12, Suite No.6 in D major, BWV1012: Gavotte I & II4:19Johann Sebastian Bach
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Bach: Cello Suites
Johann Sebastian Bach Lyrics
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