Johann Sebastian Bach interesting facts from creativity. Facts about baja

Johann Sebastian Bach is a great German composer, a virtuoso of playing the organ, a representative of the Baroque, a talented music teacher.

Biography

Childhood

Johann Sebastian Bach was born into a fairly prosperous German family, in which he was the youngest of eight children. The father, Ambrosius Bach, was a musician and was responsible for the secular and spiritual musical events of the city. Mother, Elizabeth Lemmerhirt, was the daughter of a wealthy official who gave his daughter a considerable dowry, thanks to which the family could exist comfortably. When Johann was 9 years old, Elizabeth died, and a year later Ambrosius died after her. The boy was raised by his older brother, Johann Christoph, who lived next door in Ohrdruf.

Education

In Ohrdruf, Bach studied at the gymnasium and enthusiastically studied music: he learned to play the organ and clavier. In 1700, the future composer moved to Lüneburg, where he studied at a vocal school.

creative way

After graduating from the vocal school, Bach received a court position and entered the disposal of Johann Ernst, Duke of Weimar. In just a few months of work in this city, all of Weimar knew about Bach as an excellent performer. He was invited to work as an organist in the Arnstadt church of St. Boniface. During this period, Bach creates major organ works.

Bach did not have a relationship with the authorities, and he is forced to change his highly paid job. However, in a new place in the salary, he did not lose at all. In 1707, the composer got a job as an organist in Mühlhausen, in the church of St. Blaise. Here the authorities highly appreciate him, satisfy any of his whims (for example, subject the organ system of the temple to a very expensive reconstruction) and pay him a high salary.

However, a year later he again leaves for Weimar to take the place of the court organist and organizer of palace concerts. The Weimar period in Bach's life (1708–1717) is considered the heyday of his work. Here he has open access to a beautiful organ, never tires of composing his musical masterpieces. He borrows a lot from Italian music (dynamic rhythms and harmonic schemes), writes most of his famous fugues.

In 1717, Bach left Weimar to work as a bandmaster for the prince of Anhalt-Köthen, who himself was a musician and knew how to appreciate the composer's talent. Here Bach, using absolute freedom and practically unlimited means, composed 6 suites for cello solo, suites for orchestra, English and French suites for clavier, 3 sonatas and 3 partitas for solo violin, Brandenburg Concertos.

After Bach's John Passion was performed in one of the main churches in Leipzig, the composer was appointed chief musical director of all churches in Leipzig: he selected choirs, taught them and selected music. In Leipzig he composed mainly cantatas. Since 1729, Bach has headed the College of Music, which organized concerts in the famous Zimmermann coffee house.

By the end of the 1930s, Bach's eyesight began to fall sharply, but this did not stop the great composer from writing works: he dictated them to the record, unable to see the notes himself. In 1750, John Taylor, an English ophthalmologist, operated on Bach twice, both times unsuccessfully: Bach became blind.

Personal life

In 1707, the wife of the great composer Bach became his own cousin, Maria Barbara, whom he met in Arnstadt. Of the six children born to them in marriage, three died in infancy, and the three surviving brothers strengthened their father's musical fame and became composers. In 1720, family happiness is suddenly interrupted by the death of Mary.

But the very next year, Bach marries the young court singer Anna Magdalena Wilke.

Death

In 1750, after two unsuccessful eye surgeries, Bach died. His remains lie in the Church of St. Thomas in Leipzig, where he once worked.

Bach's main achievements

• The entire history of music is divided into two periods: pre-Bach and post-Bach.
• He wrote more than 1000 works of all existing musical genres with the exception of opera.
• Summarized all the music of the Baroque era.
• Bach is considered the unsurpassed master of polyphony.
• He had a huge influence on composers of all subsequent generations: many musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries are guided by the master in the world of music - Bach.

Important dates in Bach's biography

• 1685 - birth
• 1694 - death of mother
• 1695 - death of his father, moving to Ohrdruf to his older brother
• 1700–1703 - Lüneburg vocal school
• 1703–1707 - position of organist in the church of Arnstadt
• 1707 - marriage to Maria Barbara, work as an organist in the church of Mühlhausen
• 1708 - position of court organist in Weimar
• 1717 - court bandmaster in Köthen
• 1720 - death of the first wife
• 1721 - marriage to Anna Magdalena Wilka
• 1722 - Volume I of the Well-Tempered Clavier
• 1723 - position of church music director in Leipzig
• 1724 - "Passion according to John"
• 1727 - "Matthew Passion"
• 1729 - head of the College of Music
• 1734 - "Christmas Oratorio"
• 1741 - Goldberg Variations
• 1744 - Volume II of the Well-Tempered Clavier
• 1749 Mass in B minor
• 1750 - death

• When Bach was court organist in Weimar, the famous French musician Louis Marchand came to the city. The composers agreed to arrange a kind of musical duel. However, on the night before the announced concert at which this unusual duel was to take place, Marchand secretly left the city, not wanting to compete with such a great musician as Bach.
• Bach fell asleep only to the music. When the sons learned to play the harpsichord, they alternately daily put their father to sleep with chords on this instrument.
• Bach was a deeply religious man and was for both wives a faithful spouse and a wonderful family man.
• It was thanks to Bach that women's voices sounded in the temples: before him, only men were allowed to sing in the choirs. The first woman to sing in the church choir was his wife, Maria Barbara.
• The great composer knew how to earn good money and was not wasteful. However, there was one thing that Bach always did for free: he never took money for private lessons.
• A contemporary of Bach was Handel, who lived 50 km from Weimar. Both composers dreamed of meeting each other, but each time something prevented them. The meeting never took place, however, shortly before his death, both of them were operated on by John Taylor, whom many considered a simple charlatan, and not a doctor.
• There is a legend, not documented, but mentioned by the composer's first biographer: in order to hear the famous Dietrich Buxtehud, Bach walked on foot from Arnstadt to Lübeck, the distance between which is 300 km.

Johann Sebastian Bach, whose biography is still being carefully studied, is included, according to the New York Times, in the top 10 most interesting biographies of composers.

In the same row with his name are such names as Beethoven, Wagner, Schubert, Debussy, etc.

Let us also get acquainted with this great musician in order to understand why his work has become one of the pillars of classical music.

J. S. Bach - German composer and virtuoso

The name of Bach comes to our minds one of the first when listing the great composers. Indeed, he was outstanding, as evidenced by the more than 1,000 pieces of music left over from his lifetime.

But do not forget about the second Bach - a musician. After all, both of them were true masters of their craft.

In both incarnations, Bach honed his skills throughout his life. With the end of the vocal school, the training did not end. It continued throughout life.

Proof of professionalism, in addition to surviving musical compositions, is an impressive career as a musician: from organist in the first position to director of music.

It is all the more surprising to realize that many contemporaries negatively perceived the composer's musical compositions. At the same time, the names of musicians popular in those years have practically not been preserved to this day. Only later did Mozart and Beethoven rave about the composer's work. From the beginning of the 19th century, the work of the virtuoso musician began to revive thanks to the propaganda of Liszt, Mendelssohn and Schumann.

Now, no one doubts the skill and great talent of Johann Sebastian. Bach's music is an example of the classical school. Books are written about the composer and films are made. The details of life are still the subject of research and study.

Brief biography of Bach

The first mention of the Bach family appeared in the 16th century. Among them were many famous musicians. Therefore, the choice of a profession by little Johann was expected. By the 18th century, when the composer lived and worked, they knew about 5 generations of the musical family.

Father and mother

Father - Johann Ambrosius Bach was born in 1645 in Erfurt. He had a twin brother, Johann Christoph. Along with most members of his family, Johann Ambrosius worked as a court musician and music teacher.

Mother - Maria Elisabeth Lemmerhirt was born in 1644. She was also from Erfurt. Maria was the daughter of a city councilor, a respected person in the city. The dowry left by him for his daughter was solid, thanks to which she could live comfortably in marriage.

The parents of the future musician got married in 1668. The couple had eight children.

Johann Sebastian Bach was born on March 31, 1685, becoming the youngest child in the family. They lived then in the picturesque city of Eisenach with a population of about 6,000 people. Johann's mother and father are Germans, therefore the son is also German by nationality.

When little Johann was 9 years old, Maria Elisabeth died. A year later, a few months after the registration of the second marriage, the father dies.

Childhood

The orphaned 10-year-old boy was taken in by his older brother, Johann Christoph. He worked as a music teacher and church organist.

Johann Christoph taught little Johann to play the clavier and organ. It is the latter that is considered the composer's favorite instrument.

Little is known about this period of life. The boy studied at a city school, which he graduated at the age of 15, although usually young people 2-3 years older became her graduates. So we can conclude that the study was given to the boy easily.

Another fact from the biography is often mentioned. At night, the boy often rewrote the notes of the works of other musicians. One day, the elder brother discovered this and strictly forbade doing such things in the future.

Music training

After graduating from school at the age of 15, the future composer entered the St. Michael vocal school, which was located in the city of Lüneburg.

During these years, the biography of Bach, the composer, begins. During his studies from 1700 to 1703, he wrote the first organ music, gaining knowledge of contemporary composers.

In the same period, for the first time, he travels to the cities of Germany. In the future, he will have this passion for travel. Moreover, all of them were made for the sake of acquaintance with the work of other composers.

After graduating from a vocal school, the young man could go to university, but the need to earn a living forced him to abandon this opportunity.

Service

After graduating, J.S. Bach received a position as a musician at the court of Duke Ernst. He was just a performer, he played the violin. I haven't started writing my own musical compositions yet.

However, dissatisfied with the work, after a few months he decides to change it and becomes the organist of the Church of St. Boniface in Arndstadt. During these years, the composer created many works, mainly for the organ. That is, for the first time in the service I got the opportunity to be not only a performer, but also a composer.

Bach received a high salary, but after 3 years he decided to move because of tense relations with the authorities. Problems arose due to the fact that the musician was absent for a long time due to a trip to Lübeck. According to available information, he was released to this German city for 1 month, and he returned only after 4. In addition, the community expressed complaints about the ability to lead the choir. All this together prompted the musician to change jobs.

In 1707, the musician moved to Mühlhusen, where he continued to work. In the Church of St. Blaise, he had a higher salary. Relations with the authorities developed successfully. The city government was satisfied with the performance of the new worker.

Yet a year later, Bach again moved to Weimar. In this city, he received a more prestigious position as a concert organizer. 9 years spent in Weimar became a fruitful period for the virtuoso, here he wrote dozens of works. For example, he composed "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" for organ.

Personal life

Before moving to Weimar, in 1707, Bach married his cousin Maria Barbare. During their 13 years of marriage, they had seven children, three of whom died in infancy.

After 13 years of marriage, his wife died, and the composer remarried 17 months later. This time Anna Magdalena Wilke became his wife.

She was a talented singer and subsequently sang in a choir led by her husband. They had 13 children.

Two sons from his first marriage - Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emmanuel - became famous composers, continuing the musical dynasty.

creative way

Since 1717, he has been working for the Duke of Anhalt-Köthen as a bandmaster. Numerous suites were written over the next 6 years. The Brandenburg Concertos also belong to this period. If in general to evaluate the direction of the composer's creative activity, then it is worth noting that during this period he wrote mainly secular works.

In 1723, Bach became a cantor (that is, organist and choir conductor), as well as a teacher of music and Latin at the Church of St. Thomas. For the sake of this, he again moves to Leipzig. In the same year, the work "Passion according to John" was performed for the first time, thanks to which the high position was received.

The composer wrote both secular and sacred music. He performed classical spiritual works in a new way. The Coffee Cantata, the Mass in B minor and many other works were composed.

If we briefly characterize the work of a musical virtuoso, then it is impossible to do without mentioning Bach's polyphony. This concept in music was known even before him, but it was during the composer's life that they began to talk about the polyphony of a free style.

In general, polyphony means polyphony. In music, two equal voices sound simultaneously, and not just melody and accompaniment. The skill of the musician is evidenced by the fact that students-musicians are still studying according to his works.

Last years of life and death

For the last 5 years of his life, the virtuoso was rapidly losing his sight. To keep composing, he had to dictate the music.

There were also problems with public opinion. Contemporaries did not appreciate Bach's music, they considered it obsolete. This was due to the flowering of classicism, which began in that period.

In 1747, three years before his death, the Music of the Offering cycle was created. It was written after the composer visited the court of Frederick II, King of Prussia. This music was meant for him.

The last work of the outstanding musician - "The Art of the Fugue" - consisted of 14 fugues and 4 canons. But he didn't get to finish it. After his death, his sons did it for him.

Some interesting moments from the life and work of the composer, musician and virtuoso:

1. After studying the history of the family, 56 musicians were found among the relatives of the virtuoso.
2. The musician's surname is translated from German as "stream".
3. Having once heard a work, the composer could repeat it without error, which he did repeatedly.
4. Throughout his life, the musician moved eight times.
5. Thanks to Bach, women were allowed to sing in church choirs. His second wife became the first chorus girl.
6. He wrote more than 1000 works in his entire life, therefore he is rightfully considered the most "prolific" author.
7. In the last years of his life, the composer was almost blind, and the operations performed on his eyes did not help.
8. The grave of the composer for a long time remained without a tombstone.
9. Until now, not all the facts of the biography are known, some of them are not confirmed by documents. Therefore, the study of his life continues.
10. Two museums dedicated to him were opened in the homeland of the musician. In 1907 a museum was opened in Eisenach, and in 1985 in Leipzig. By the way, the first museum contains a lifetime portrait of the musician, made in pastel, about which nothing was known for many years.

Bach's most famous musical compositions

All works of his authorship were combined into a single list - the BWV catalog. Each composition is assigned a number from 1 to 1127.

The catalog is convenient in that all works are divided by types of works, and not by year of writing.

To count how many suites Bach wrote, just look at their numbering in the catalog. For example, the French suites are numbered from 812 to 817. This means that a total of 6 suites were written within this cycle. In total, 21 suites and 15 parts of suites can be counted.

The most recognizable piece is the Scherzo in B minor from "Suite for Flute and String Orchestra No. 2", called "The Joke". This melody was often used for calling on mobile devices, but despite this, unfortunately, not everyone will be able to name its author.

Indeed, the titles of many of Bach's works are not well known, but their melodies will seem familiar to many. For example, Brandenburg Concertos, Goldberg Variations, Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.

In school textbooks and specialized literature, one can find detailed biographies of great composers, which provide detailed information about all the events of their lives. But sometimes minor incidents that remain "behind the scenes" form a much more complete picture of the personalities of the musicians. Most funny stories from the life of the famous composers - Beethoven, Bach, Schubert, Paganini, Haydn, Mozart- further in the review.

These stories sound anecdotal, it is difficult to say which of them actually took place in reality. But knowing what character traits the great composers showed in dealing with others, we can assume that they are reliable. So, everyone was talking about the quarrelsome and gloomy character of Ludwig van Beethoven. He was uncompromising and categorical even in dealing with loved ones. His younger brother Johann saved up money, bought an estate and was very proud of it. One day he sent his older brother a business card, proudly signed “Johann van Beethoven. Landowner". The composer sent the card back, putting his signature on the back: “Ludwig van Beethoven. Mind owner."

Once, one of the listeners, struck by the virtuoso playing of Johann Sebastian Bach, asked him: “You play any music very naturally, can you tell me how you can learn to play faster like that?”. Bach replied: “In order to play music, you don’t need to study at all. There is, of course, nothing complicated about this. You just need to press the right keys with your fingers at the right time. Bach was generally a well-known prankster. Sometimes he disguised himself as a poor school teacher, and in some remote church he asked permission to play the church organ. His music was so magnificent and powerful that many parishioners fled in fright, thinking that the devil had entered the church in disguise.

Franz Schubert lived in constant need. His largest earnings - 800 florins per concert - were enough for only a few weeks: Schubert bought a piano (he had to rent an instrument before), paid off debts - and the money ran out again. After the death of the composer, an inventory of all his property fit into 4 lines, only clothes and bed linen were mentioned there.

Once, late for a concert, Niccolo Paganini hired a cab and was very surprised when he, instead of the usual fee, called the amount ten times as large. When asked about the reason, the driver replied: “You charge 10 francs for a ticket from everyone who comes to listen to you play on one string.” Paganini replied: "Very well, I will pay you 10 francs, but only if you take me to the theater on one wheel."

Joseph Haydn, conducting an orchestra in London, knew that often listeners come to concerts out of tradition, and not for the love of the music itself. Such connoisseurs of beauty often fell asleep at concerts. Haydn decided to take revenge on the indifferent listeners: performing a new symphony, he included in it a deafening drumbeat at those moments when the audience calmed down and relaxed. Since then, this symphony has been called "Symphony with timpani beats", or "Surprise".

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart answered questions about his work with childlike spontaneity. Sometimes this was really due to age: when he was 14 years old, after a performance, a teenager approached him and asked how to learn to play like that. “It’s not difficult at all, you just write down the melody you like with the help of notes. You just have to try,” Mozart replied. The interlocutor said that he was better at writing poetry. The composer suggested that this is even more difficult than writing music. "Stop doing that! It’s quite easy, you just try,” the young man objected to him, which, according to legend, was Goethe.

Domestic composers also had their own habits and quirks:

Biography of I.S. Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was a great German composer and organist. Born March 21, 1685 in Leipzig. After the death of his parents, Johann Bach was taken in by his brother Johann Christoph. He taught the future composer to play the clavier and organ. Then Bach Sebastian Johann went to study at a singing school in the city of Lüneburg. There he gets acquainted with the work of modern musicians, develops comprehensively. During the years 1700-1703 Bach's first organ music was written.

After completing his studies, Johann Sebastian was sent to Duke Ernst as a musician at the court. Then he was invited to be a caretaker in the organ hall of the church in Arnstadt, after which he became an organist. During this time, many works by Bach were written. Later he became an organist in the city of Mühlhausen. In 1797 Bach married Maria Barbara, his cousin. The authorities were pleased at that time with his work, the composer received a reward for publishing the work.

However, Bach again decided to change jobs, this time becoming court organist in Weimar. In this city, three children are born in the family of a musician. The next employer of Bach, who highly appreciated his talent, was the Duke of Anhalt-Köthen. During the period from 1717 to 1723, Bach's magnificent suites appeared (for orchestra, cello, clavier).

In 1920, Bach's wife died, but a year later the composer married again, now to a singer. The happy family had 13 children. During his stay in Köthen, Bach's Brandenburg Concertos were written.

In 1923, the musician became a teacher at the church, then - music director in Leipzig. The wide repertoire of Johann Sebastian Bach included secular, wind music. For his biography, Johann Sebastian Bach managed to visit the head of the music college. Several cycles of the composer Bach used all kinds of instruments (“Musical Offering”, “The Art of the Fugue”).

In the last years of his life, Bach quickly lost his sight, and after an unsuccessful operation, he became completely blind. But this did not stop the composer - now he dictated his works.

An interesting fact from the life of J.S. Bach

Bach's father died suddenly when Johann Sebastian was nine years old, and the boy was given to be raised by his older brother, the organist of Ohrdruf, Johann Christoph Bach.
Christoph had a collection of works by then famous composers: Froberger, Pachelbel, Buxtehude. But this collection of ‘fashionable’ music was locked up by the older brother in a barred cabinet so that Johann Sebastian would not become corrupt and lose respect for generally accepted musical authorities.
However, at night, young Bach managed in some cunning way to pick up and pull out a music collection from behind the bars ... He secretly rewrote it for himself, but the whole difficulty lay in the fact that it was impossible to get candles and had to use only moonlight.
For six months, ten-year-old Johann Sebastian rewrote notes at night, but, alas ... When the heroic work was nearing completion, Johann Christoph caught his younger brother at the crime scene and took away both the original and the copy from the recalcitrant ...
Bach's grief knew no bounds, in tears he cried out:
- If so, I myself will write such music, I will write even better!
The brother laughed in response and said:
"Go to sleep, bastard."
But Johann Sebastian did not waste words and kept his childhood promise...

Biography of L.V. Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was a great German composer, pianist and conductor. Beethoven was born on December 17, 1770 in Bonn into a musical family. From childhood, they began to teach him to play the organ, harpsichord, violin, flute.

For the first time, the composer Nefe became seriously engaged with Ludwig. Already at the age of 12, in the biography of Ludwig van Beethoven, the first work of a musical orientation was obtained - an assistant organist at court. Beethoven studied several languages, tried to compose music.

After his mother's death in 1787, he took over the financial responsibilities of the family. Ludwig Beethoven began to play in the orchestra, listen to university lectures. Having accidentally encountered Haydn in Bonn, Beethoven decides to take lessons from him. For this, he moves to Vienna. After some attempts, Haydn sends Beethoven to study with Albrechtsberger. Haydn noted that Beethoven's music was dark and strange. However, in those years, virtuoso piano playing brought Ludwig first glory. Beethoven's works differ from classical clavenist playing. In the same place, in Vienna, well-known compositions were written in the future: Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, Pathetique.

Beethoven's biography of the following years is richly filled with new works: the First, Second Symphonies, "The Creation of Prometheus", "Christ on the Mount of Olives." However, Beethoven's further work was complicated by the development of an ear disease - tinitis.

The composer retires to the city of Heiligenstadt. There he works on the Third - Heroic Symphony. Complete deafness separates Ludwig from the outside world. However, even this event cannot make him stop composing. According to critics, Beethoven's Third Symphony fully reveals his greatest talent. Opera "Fidelio" is staged in Vienna, Prague, Berlin.

In 1802-1812, Beethoven wrote sonatas with special desire and zeal. Then a whole series of works for pianoforte, cello, the famous Ninth Symphony, Solemn Mass were created. However, strong feelings for his nephew, whom Beethoven took under guardianship, quickly aged the composer. On March 26, 1827, Beethoven died.

Interesting facts from the life of Beethoven:

• Once Beethoven and Goethe, walking, met the Empress, surrounded by retinue and courtiers. Goethe, stepping aside, bowed deeply, Beethoven passed through the crowd of courtiers, barely touching his hat.
• Beethoven couldn't multiply.
• Each time, before sitting down at the table and starting to compose music, Beethoven put his head in a basin of ice water. This technique became so habitual with him that the composer could not refuse it until the end of his life.
• For some time, Beethoven studied with the Austrian composer and music theorist Johann Albrechtsberger, the author of an excellent textbook on composition. With his stubbornness, Beethoven annoyed his teacher to no end, so that he once said: "That stupid thing has learned nothing and will never learn anything!"
• Beethoven always brewed coffee from 64 beans.
• Once, at one of the rehearsals of the orchestra led by Beethoven, and one of his symphonies was being played, the concertmaster of the orchestra noticed that when playing the wrong notes, Beethoven did not pay any attention to what was happening. The same thing happened at one of the concerts, when the orchestra stopped playing, and Beethoven continued to conduct.

Biography of W. A. ​​Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was a great Austrian composer and conductor. Mozart was born on January 27, 1756 in the city of Salzburg into a musical family. His father taught him to play the organ, violin, harpsichord. In 1762 the family travels to Vienna, Munich. There are concerts by Mozart, his sister Maria Anna. Then, while traveling through the cities of Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Mozart's music amazes listeners with amazing beauty. For the first time the composer's works are published in Paris.

The next few years (1700-1774) Amadeus Mozart lived in Italy. There, for the first time, his operas (“Mithridates the King of Pontus”, “Lucius Sulla”, “The Dream of Scipio”) are staged, which receive great success from the public. In total, by the age of 17, in the biography of Mozart, the composer's wide repertoire included more than 40 major works.

From 1775 to 1780 the composer worked fruitfully. After taking the position of court organist in 1779, Mozart's symphonies, his operas contain more and more new techniques. The marriage of Wolfgang Mozart to Constance Weber was also reflected in his work. The opera The Abduction from the Seraglio is imbued with the romance of those times. Some of Mozart's operas remained unfinished, because the difficult financial situation of the family forced the composer to devote a lot of time to various part-time jobs. Piano concerts by Mozart were held in aristocratic circles, the musician himself was forced to write plays, waltzes to order, and teach.

In 1789, in the biography of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a very lucrative offer was received to lead the court chapel in Berlin. However, the composer's refusal further exacerbated the material shortage.

For Mozart, the works of that time were extremely successful. "Magic Flute", "Mercy of Titus" - these operas were written quickly, but very high quality, expressive, with beautiful shades. Mozart's famous Requiem Mass was never completed before his death. The work was completed by the composer's student Süssmeier.

Interesting facts from the life of Mozart:

1. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart started writing music at the age of 5. The future great Austrian composer, conductor, virtuoso violinist and organist memorized and recorded Miserere by the Italian Gregorio Allegri in his childhood, having listened to the chant only once.

2. Once a young man approached Mozart who wanted to become a composer.
How to write a symphony? - he asked.

“But you are still very young for a symphony,” Mozart replied, “why not start with something simpler, like a ballad?”

- But you yourself composed a symphony when you were nine years old ...

“Yes,” agreed Mozart. “But I didn’t ask anyone how to do it…

3. Once, on one of the streets of Vienna, a poor man turned to the composer. But the composer did not have any money with him, and Mozart invited the unfortunate man to go to a cafe. Sitting down at the table, he took a piece of paper out of his pocket and wrote a minuet in a few minutes. Mozart gave this composition to a beggar, and advised him to go to one publisher. He took the paper and went to the indicated address, not really believing in success. The publisher looked at the minuet and ... gave the beggar five gold coins, saying that one could bring more such compositions.

Johann Sebastian Bach is the greatest figure in world culture. The work of a universal musician who lived in the 18th century is genre-wide: the German composer combined and generalized the traditions of the Protestant chant with the traditions of the music schools of Austria, Italy and France.

200 years after the death of the musician and composer, interest in his work and biography has not cooled down, and contemporaries use Bach's works in the 20th century, finding relevance and depth in them. The composer's chorale prelude is heard in Solaris. The music of Johann Bach, as the best creation of mankind, was recorded on the Voyager Golden Record attached to a spacecraft launched from Earth in 1977. According to The New York Times, Johann Sebastian Bach is the first in the world's top ten composers who have created masterpieces that stand above time.

Childhood and youth

Johann Sebastian Bach was born on March 31, 1685 in the Thuringian city of Eisenach, located between the hills of the Heinig National Park and the Thuringian Forest. The boy became the youngest and eighth child in the family of professional musician Johann Ambrosius Bach.

There are five generations of musicians in the Bach family. The researchers counted fifty relatives of Johann Sebastian, who connected life with music. Among them was the composer's great-great-grandfather Veit Bach, a baker who carried a zither everywhere, a box-shaped plucked musical instrument.

The head of the family, Ambrosius Bach, played the violin in churches and organized secular concerts, so he taught the first music lessons to his youngest son. Johann Bach sang in the choir from an early age and pleased his father with his abilities and greed for musical knowledge.

At the age of 9, Johann Sebastian's mother, Elisabeth Lemmerhirt, died, and a year later the boy became an orphan. The younger brother was taken care of by the older one, Johann Christoph, a church organist and music teacher in the nearby town of Ohrdruf. Christophe sent Sebastian to the gymnasium, where he taught theology, Latin, and history.

The older brother taught the younger to play the clavier and organ, but these lessons were not enough for the inquisitive boy: secretly from Christophe, he took out a notebook with works by famous composers from the closet and rewrote the notes on moonlit nights. But his brother discovered Sebastian in an illegal activity and took away the records.

At the age of 15, Johann Bach became independent: he got a job in Lüneburg and brilliantly graduated from the vocal gymnasium, opening his way to the university. But poverty and the need to earn a living put an end to my studies.

In Lüneburg, curiosity pushed Bach to travel: he visited Hamburg, Celle and Lübeck, where he got acquainted with the work of famous musicians Reinken and Georg Boehm.

Music

In 1703, after graduating from the gymnasium in Lüneburg, Johann Bach got a job as a court musician in the chapel of the Weimar Duke Johann Ernst. Bach played the violin for six months and gained his first popularity as a performer. But soon Johann Sebastian got tired of pleasing the ears of the masters by playing the violin - he dreamed of developing and opening up new horizons in art. Therefore, without hesitation, he agreed to take the vacant position of court organist in the church of St. Boniface in Arnstadt, which is 200 kilometers from Weimar.

Johann Bach worked three days a week and received a high salary. The church organ, tuned according to the new system, expanded the possibilities of the young performer and composer: in Arnstadt, Bach wrote three dozen organ works, capriccios, cantatas and suites. But tense relations with the authorities pushed Johann Bach to leave the city after three years.

The last straw that outweighed the patience of the church authorities was the long excommunication of the musician from Arnstadt. The inert churchmen, who already disliked the musician for his innovative approach to the performance of cult spiritual works, gave Bach a humiliating trial for a trip to Lübeck.

The famous organist Dietrich Buxtehude lived and worked in the city, whose improvisations on the organ Bach dreamed of listening to from childhood. Having no money for a carriage, Johann went to Lübeck on foot in the autumn of 1705. The play of the master shocked the musician: instead of the allotted month, he stayed in the city for four.

After returning to Arnstadt and arguing with his superiors, Johann Bach left his "familiar place" and went to the Thuringian city of Mühlhausen, where he found work as an organist in the church of St. Blaise.

The city authorities and the church authorities favored the talented musician, his earnings were higher than in Arnstadt. Johann Bach proposed an economical plan for the restoration of the old organ, approved by the authorities, and wrote a festive cantata "The Lord is my king", dedicated to the inauguration of the new consul.

But a year later, the wind of wandering "removed" Johann Sebastian from his place and transferred him to the previously abandoned Weimar. In 1708, Bach took the place of court organist and settled in a house next to the ducal palace.

The "Weimar period" of Johann Bach's biography turned out to be fruitful: the composer composed dozens of clavier and orchestral works, got acquainted with the work of Corelli, learned to use dynamic rhythms and harmonic schemes. Communication with the employer - Crown Duke Johann Ernst, a composer and musician, influenced Bach's work. In 1713, the duke brought from Italy the notes of musical works by local composers, which opened up new horizons in art for Johann Bach.

In Weimar, Johann Bach began work on the Organ Booklet, a collection of choral preludes for organ, composed the majestic organ Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, Passacaglia in C Minor, and 20 spiritual cantatas.

By the end of his service in Weimar, Johann Sebastian Bach had become a well-known harpsichord maker and organist. In 1717, the famous French harpsichordist Louis Marchand arrived in Dresden. The concertmaster Volumier, having heard about Bach's talent, invited the musician to compete with Marchand. But on the day of the competition, Louis ran away from the city, afraid of failure.

The desire for change called Bach on the road in the autumn of 1717. The Duke released his beloved musician "with an expression of disgrace." The organist was hired as bandmaster by Prince Anhalt-Ketensky, who was well versed in music. But the prince's commitment to Calvinism did not allow Bach to compose refined music for worship, so Johann Sebastian wrote mainly secular works.

In the "Keten" period, Johann Bach composed six suites for cello, French and English clavier suites, three sonatas for violin solos. The famous "Brandenburg Concertos" and a cycle of works, including 48 preludes and fugues, called "The Well-Tempered Clavier" appeared in Kothen. At the same time, Bach wrote two-part and three-part inventions, which he called "symphonies".

In 1723, Johann Bach took a job as cantor of the choir of St. Thomas in the church of Leipzig. In the same year, the audience heard the composer's work, The Passion According to John. Soon Bach took the position of "music director" of all city churches. For 6 years of the "Leipzig period" Johann Bach wrote 5 annual cycles of cantatas, two of which are lost.

The city council gave the composer 8 choral performers, but this number was extremely small, so Bach hired up to 20 musicians himself, which caused frequent clashes with the authorities.

In the 1720s, Johann Bach composed mainly cantatas for performance in the churches of Leipzig. Wishing to expand the repertoire, the composer wrote secular works. In the spring of 1729, the musician was appointed head of the College of Music, a secular ensemble founded by Bach's friend Georg Philipp Telemann. The ensemble held two-hour concerts twice a week throughout the year at the Zimmerman Coffee House next to the market square.

Most of the secular works composed by the composer from 1730 to 1750, Johann Bach wrote for performance in a coffee house.

These include the playful "Coffee Cantata", the comic "Peasant Cantata", clavier pieces and concertos for cello and harpsichord. During these years, the famous "Mass in B minor" was written, which is called the best choral work of all time.

For spiritual performance, Bach created the High Mass in B Minor and the Matthew Passion, receiving from the court as a reward for his work the title of Royal Polish and Saxon Court Composer.

In 1747, Johann Bach visited the court of King Frederick II of Prussia. The grandee offered the composer a musical theme and asked him to write an improvisation. Bach, a master of improvisation, immediately composed a three-voice fugue. Soon he supplemented it with a cycle of variations on this theme, called it "Musical Offering" and sent it as a gift to Frederick II.

Another large cycle, called The Art of the Fugue, Johann Bach did not finish. The sons published the cycle after the death of their father.

In the last decade, the composer's fame has faded: classicism flourished, contemporaries considered Bach's style old-fashioned. But young composers, brought up on the works of Johann Bach, revered him. The work of the great organist was loved and.

The surge of interest in the music of Johann Bach and the revival of the composer's fame began in 1829. In March, pianist and composer Felix Mendelssohn organized a concert in Berlin, where the work "St. Matthew Passion" was performed. An unexpectedly loud resonance followed, the performance gathered thousands of spectators. Mendelssohn went with concerts to Dresden, Konigsberg and Frankfurt.

The work of Johann Bach "Musical Joke" is still one of the favorites for thousands of performers in the world. Fervent, melodic, gentle music sounds in different variations, adapted to playing on modern instruments.

Bach's music is popularized by Western and Russian musicians. The Swingle Singers released their debut album, Jazz Sebastian Bach, which brought the group of eight vocalists worldwide fame and a Grammy Award.

The music of Johann Bach and jazz musicians Jacques Loussier and Joel Spiegelman were processed. The Russian performer tried to pay tribute to the genius.

Personal life

In October 1707, Johann Sebastian Bach married a young cousin from Arnstadt, Maria Barbara. The couple had seven children, but three died in infancy. Three sons - Wilhelm Friedemann, Carl Philipp Emmanuel and Johann Christian - followed in the footsteps of their father and became famous musicians and composers.

In the summer of 1720, when Johann Bach and Prince Anhalt-Ketensky were abroad, Maria Barbara died, leaving four children.

The personal life of the composer improved a year later: at the court of the Duke, Bach met the young beauty and talented singer Anna Magdalena Wilke. Johann married Anna in December 1721. They had 13 children, but 9 outlived their father.

In his advanced years, the family for the composer was the only consolation. For his wife and children, Johann Bach composed vocal ensembles, arranged chamber concerts, enjoying the songs of his wife (Anna Bach had a beautiful soprano) and the playing of grown-up sons.

The fate of the wife and youngest daughter of Johann Bach was sad. Anna Magdalena died ten years later in a house of contempt for the poor, and the youngest daughter, Regina, eked out a semi-beggarly existence. In the last years of her life, Ludwig van Beethoven helped the woman.

Death

In the last 5 years, Johann Bach's eyesight has been rapidly deteriorating, but the composer composed music by dictating works to his son-in-law.

In 1750, the British ophthalmologist John Taylor arrived in Leipzig. The doctor's reputation can hardly be called impeccable, but Bach clung to straws and took a chance. After the operation, the vision did not return to the musician. Taylor operated on the composer for the second time, but a short-term return of vision worsened. On July 18, 1750, a stroke occurred, and on July 28, 65-year-old Johann Bach died.

The composer was buried in Leipzig in the church cemetery. The lost grave and remains were found in 1894 and reburied in a stone sarcophagus in the Church of St. John, where the musician served for 27 years. The temple was destroyed by bombing during World War II, but the ashes of Johann Bach were found and moved in 1949, buried at the altar of the Church of St. Thomas.

In 1907, a museum was opened in Eisenach, where the composer was born, and in 1985 a museum appeared in Leipzig.

• Johann Bach's favorite pastime was considered to be visiting provincial churches in the clothes of a poor teacher.
• Thanks to the composer, both men and women sing in church choirs. Johann Bach's wife became the first church chorus girl.
• Johann Bach did not take money for private lessons.
• The surname Bach is translated from German as "stream".

• Johann Bach spent a month in prison for constantly asking for his resignation.
• Georg Friedrich Handel is a contemporary of Bach, but the composers did not meet. The fates of the two musicians are similar: both became blind as a result of an unsuccessful operation performed by the charlatan doctor Taylor.
• A complete catalog of Johann Bach's works published 200 years after his death.
• The German nobleman ordered the composer to write a work, after listening to which he could fall asleep soundly. Johann Bach fulfilled the request: the famous Goldberg variations - and now a good "sleeping pill".

Bach's aphorisms

• “To get a good night’s sleep, you should go to bed on a different day than you need to wake up.”
• "Keyboarding is easy: you just need to know which keys to press."
• "The purpose of music is to touch hearts."

Discography

• "Ave Maria"
• "English Suite N3"
• "Brandenburg concert N3"
• "Italian Influence"
• "Concert N5 F-Minor"
• "Concert N1"
• "Concerto for Cello and Orchestra D-Minor"
• "Concerto for flute, cello and harp"
• "Sonata N2"
• "Sonata N4"
• "Sonata N1"
• "Suite N2 B-Minor"
• "Suite N2"
• "Suite for orchestra N3 D-Major"
• "Toccata and Fugue D-Minor"