 Bach Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist of the Baroque Era. He was born in 1685 in Eisenach, Germany. He is known for his orchestral music such as the Brandenburg Concertos, as well as instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites, keyboard works like the Goldberg Variations and The Well-Tempered Clavier, and especially organ pieces such as the Schubler Chorales and the Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Since the 19th-century Bach revival, he has been regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music. 
In 1703, at the age of eighteen, Bach become the organist at St Boniface's Church in Arnstadt. This gave him a regular salary and allowed him to expand his skills at the keyboard. Bach composed the cantata Gott ist mein König in 1708; he was paid well, and this helped him establish his early career.The Brandenburg Concertos were composed in 1721. However, in his later years Bach faced harsh criticism: During the 1720s and 1730s when he was composing his most important works - the Passions and the Goldberg Variations - a new Italian style of music became popular in Germany, making his work seem outdated. The Well Tempered Clavier was finished in 1744, and comprised two volumes of piano music in every musical key! Bach composed amazing masterpieces in almost every major Baroque genre: sonatas, concertos, suites and cantatas, as well as innumerable keyboard, organ and choral works. His music has been described as both majestic and sublime, virtuosic and versatile, and 'moving beyond words'. Bach died on July 28th 1750 in Leipzig. Bach's music wasn't popular until 1829, when Mendelssohn performed the St Matthew Passion and 'rescued Bach from oblivion'. 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. |