Brief history of Bach. Biography of Sebastian Bach

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 St. 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."

Musical works

• "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"

German composer Johann Sebastian Bach created more than 1000 pieces of music in his lifetime. He lived in the Baroque era and in his work summarized everything that was characteristic of the music of his time. Bach wrote in every genre available in the 18th century, with the exception of opera. Today, the works of this master of polyphony and virtuoso organist are listened to in a variety of situations - they are so diverse. One can find ingenuous humor and deep sorrow, philosophical reflections and the sharpest drama in his music.

Johann Sebastian Bach was born in 1685, he was the eighth and youngest child in the family. The father of the great composer Johann Ambrosius Bach was also a musician: the Bach family has been known for its musicality since the beginning of the 16th century. At that time, the creators of music enjoyed special honor in Saxony and Thuringia, they were supported by the authorities, aristocrats and representatives of the church.

Bach lost both parents by the age of 10, and his older brother, who worked as an organist, took up his upbringing. Johann Sebastian studied at the gymnasium, and at the same time received from his brother the skills of playing the organ and clavier. At the age of 15, Bach entered a vocal school and began to write his first works. After leaving school, he was briefly a court musician for the Duke of Weimar, and then became an organist in a church in the city of Arnstadt. It was then that the composer wrote a large number of organ works.

Soon, Bach began to have problems with the authorities: he expressed dissatisfaction with the level of training of the singers in the choir, and then completely left for another city for several months in order to get acquainted with the playing of the authoritative Danish-German organist Dietrich Buxtehude. Bach left for Mühlhausen, where he was invited to the same position - an organist in the church. In 1707, the composer married his cousin, who bore him seven children, three of whom died in infancy, and two later became famous composers.

In Mühlhausen, Bach worked for only a year, and then moved to Weimar, where he became court organist and organizer of concerts. By this time, he already enjoyed great recognition and received a high salary. It was in Weimar that the composer's talent reached its peak - for about 10 years he was continuously composing works for clavier, organ and orchestra.

By 1717, Bach had achieved all possible heights in Weimar and began to look for another job. At first, the old employer did not want to let him go, and even put him under arrest for a month. However, Bach soon left him and went to the city of Köthen. If earlier his music was largely composed for worship, then here, due to the special requirements of the employer, the composer began to write mainly secular works.

In 1720, Bach's wife suddenly died, but a year and a half later he married a young singer again.

From the 19th century to the present day, interest in the works of Johann Sebastian Bach has not subsided. The creativity of an unsurpassed genius is striking in its scale. known all over the world. His name is known not only by professionals and music lovers, but also by listeners who do not show much interest in "serious" art. On the one hand, Bach's work is a kind of result. The composer relied on the experience of his predecessors. He knew very well the choral polyphony of the Renaissance, German organ music, and the peculiarities of the Italian violin style. He carefully got acquainted with new material, developed and generalized the accumulated experience. On the other hand, Bach was an unsurpassed innovator who managed to open up new prospects for the development of world musical culture. The work of Johann Bach had a strong influence on his followers: Brahms, Beethoven, Wagner, Glinka, Taneyev, Honegger, Shostakovich and many other great composers.

Bach's creative legacy

He created over 1000 works. The genres to which he addressed were the most diverse. Moreover, there are such works, the scale of which was exceptional for that time. Bach's work can be divided into four main genre groups:

• Organ music.
• Vocal-instrumental.
• Music for various instruments (violin, flute, clavier and others).
• Music for instrumental ensembles.

The works of each of the above groups belong to a certain period. The most outstanding organ compositions were composed in Weimar. The Keten period marks the appearance of a huge number of clavier and orchestral works. In Leipzig, most of the vocal-instrumental songs were written.

Johann Sebastian Bach. Biography and creativity

The future composer was born in 1685 in the small town of Eisenach, into a musical family. For the whole family, this was a traditional profession. Johann's first music teacher was his father. The boy had an excellent voice and sang in the choir. At the age of 9, he turned out to be an orphan. After the death of his parents, he was raised by Johann Christoph (elder brother). At the age of 15, the boy graduated from the Ohrdruf Lyceum with honors and moved to Lüneburg, where he began to sing in the choir of the "chosen". By the age of 17, he learned to play various harpsichords, organ, and violin. Since 1703 he lives in different cities: Arnstadt, Weimar, Mühlhausen. The life and work of Bach during this period were full of certain difficulties. He constantly changes his place of residence, which is connected with the unwillingness to feel dependent on certain employers. He served as a musician (as an organist or violinist). Working conditions also did not suit him constantly. At this time, his first compositions for clavier and organ appeared, as well as spiritual cantatas.

Weimar period

From 1708, Bach began to serve as court organist to the Duke of Weimar. At the same time he works in the chapel as a chamber musician. The life and work of Bach during this period are very fruitful. These are the years of the first composer's maturity. The best organ works appeared. It:

• Prelude and fugue c-moll, a-moll.
• Toccata C-dur.
• Passacaglia c-moll.
• Toccata and fugue in d-moll.
• "Organ Book".

At the same time, Johann Sebastian is working on compositions in the cantata genre, on arrangements for the clavier of Italian violin concertos. For the first time he turns to the genre of solo violin suite and sonata.

Keten period

Since 1717, the musician settled in Köthen. Here he holds a high-ranking position of head of chamber music. He, in fact, is the manager of all musical life at court. But he is not satisfied with a too small town. Bach is keen to move to a larger and more promising city in order to give his children the opportunity to go to university and get a good education. There was no quality organ in Keten, and there was also no choir. Therefore, Bach's clavier creativity develops here. The composer also pays much attention to ensemble music. Works written in Köthen:

• 1 volume "HTK".
• English suites.
• Sonatas for solo violin.
• "Brandenburg Concertos" (six pieces).

Leipzig period and last years of life

Since 1723, the maestro has been living in Leipzig, where he directs the choir (occupies the position of cantor) at the school at the Church of St. Thomas in Thomasschul. He takes an active part in the public circle of music lovers. The "college" of the city constantly arranged concerts of secular music. What masterpieces at that time replenished the work of Bach? Briefly, it is worth pointing out the main works of the Leipzig period, which can rightfully be considered the best. It:

• "Passion according to John".
• Mass in h-moll.
• "Passion according to Matthew".
• About 300 cantatas.
• "Christmas Oratorio"

In the last years of his life, the composer focuses on musical compositions. Writes:

• Volume 2 "HTK".
• Italian concert.
• Partitas.
• "The Art of the Fugue".
• Aria with various variations.
• Organ mass.
• "Musical offering".

After an unsuccessful operation, Bach went blind, but did not stop composing music until his death.

Style characteristic

Bach's creative style was formed on the basis of various musical schools and genres. Johann Sebastian organically wove the best harmonies into his works. In order to understand the musical language of the Italians, he rewrote their compositions. His creations were saturated with texts, rhythms and forms of French and Italian music, North German contrapuntal style, as well as Lutheran liturgy. The synthesis of various styles and genres was harmoniously combined with the deep poignancy of human experiences. His musical thought stood out for its special uniqueness, versatility and a certain cosmic nature. Bach's work belongs to a style that has firmly established itself in the art of music. This is the classicism of the high baroque era. Bach's musical style is characterized by possession of an extraordinary melodic structure, where the main idea dominates the music. Thanks to the mastery of the technique of counterpoint, several melodies can simultaneously interact at once. was a true master of polyphony. He was characterized by a penchant for improvisation and brilliant virtuosity.

Main genres

Bach's work includes various traditional genres. It:

• Cantatas and oratorios.
• Passions and Masses.
• Preludes and Fugues.
• Choral arrangements.
• Dance suites and concerts.

Of course, he borrowed the listed genres from his predecessors. However, he gave them the broadest scope. The maestro skillfully updated them with new musical and expressive means, enriched them with features of other genres. The clearest example is "Chromatic Fantasy in D Minor". The work was created for the clavier, but contains a dramatic recitation of theatrical origin and the expressive properties of large organ improvisations. It is easy to see that Bach's work "bypassed" the opera, which, by the way, was one of the leading genres of its time. However, it is worth noting that many of the composer's secular cantatas are difficult to distinguish from a comedic interlude (at that time in Italy they were reborn as opera buffa). Some of Bach's cantatas, created in the spirit of witty genre scenes, anticipated the German Singspiel.

The ideological content and range of images of Johann Sebastian Bach

The composer's work is rich in its figurative content. From the pen of a real master, both extremely simple and extremely majestic creations come out. Bach's art contains both ingenuous humor, and deep sorrow, and philosophical reflection, and the sharpest drama. The brilliant Johann Sebastian in his music displayed such significant aspects of his era as religious and philosophical problems. With the help of the amazing world of sounds, he reflects on the eternal and very important issues of human life:

• On the moral duty of man.
• About his role in this world and purpose.
• About life and death.

These reflections are directly related to religious themes. And this is not surprising. The composer served almost all his life at the church, so he wrote most of the music for her. At the same time, he was a believer, he knew the Holy Scriptures. His reference book was the Bible, written in two languages ​​(Latin and German). He adhered to fasts, confessed, observed church holidays. A few days before his death, he took communion. The main character of the composer is Jesus Christ. In this ideal image, Bach saw the embodiment of the best qualities inherent in a person: purity of thoughts, fortitude, fidelity to the chosen path. The sacrificial feat of Jesus Christ for the salvation of mankind was the most intimate for Bach. In the composer's work, this theme was the most important.

Symbolism of Bach's works

Musical symbolism appeared in the Baroque era. It is through her that the complex and wonderful world of the composer is revealed. Bach's music was perceived by contemporaries as transparent and understandable speech. This was due to the presence in it of stable melodic turns expressing certain emotions and ideas. Such sound formulas are called musical-rhetorical figures. Some conveyed affect, others imitated the intonations of human speech, and others were pictorial in nature. Here is some of them:

• anabasis - ascent;
• circulatio - rotation;
• catabasis - descent;
• exclamatio - exclamation, rising sixth;
• fuga - running;
• passus duriusculus - a chromatic move used to express suffering or grief;
• suspiratio - breath;
• tirata - an arrow.

Gradually musical-rhetorical figures become a kind of "signs" of certain concepts and feelings. So, for example, the descending figure of catabasis was often used to convey sadness, sadness, grief, death, the position in the coffin. Gradual upward movement (anabasis) was used to express ascension, uplifted spirit and other moments. Motives-symbols are observed in all works of the composer. Bach's work was dominated by the Protestant chorale, to which the maestro turned throughout his life. It also has a symbolic meaning. Work with the chorale was carried out in a wide variety of genres - cantatas, passions, preludes. Therefore, it is quite logical that the Protestant chant is an integral part of Bach's musical language. Among the important symbols found in the music of this artist, stable combinations of sounds that have constant meanings should be noted. Bach's work was dominated by the symbol of the cross. It consists of four multidirectional notes. It is noteworthy that if the composer's surname (BACH) is deciphered in notes, then the same graphic pattern is formed. B - si flat, A - la, C - do, H - si. A great contribution to the development of Bach's musical symbols was made by such researchers as F. Busoni, A. Schweitzer, M. Yudina, B. Yavorsky and others.

"Second birth"

During his lifetime, the work of Sebastian Bach was not appreciated. Contemporaries knew him more as an organist than a composer. Not a single serious book has been written about him. Of the vast number of his works, only a few have been published. After his death, the name of the composer was soon forgotten, and the surviving manuscripts gathered dust in the archives. Perhaps we would never know anything about this brilliant man. But, fortunately, this did not happen. True interest in Bach arose in the 19th century. Once, F. Mendelssohn found in the library the notes of the Matthew Passion, which interested him very much. Under his direction, this work was successfully performed in Leipzig. Many listeners were delighted with the music of the still little-known author. We can say that this was the second birth of Johann Sebastian Bach. In 1850 (on the 100th anniversary of the composer's death) the Bach Society was founded in Leipzig. The purpose of this organization was to publish all Bach's manuscripts found in the form of a complete collection of works. As a result, 46 volumes were collected.

Bach's organ work. Summary

For the organ, the composer created excellent works. This instrument for Bach is a real element. Here he was able to liberate his thoughts, feelings and emotions and convey all this to the listener. Hence the enlargement of the lines, concert quality, virtuosity, dramatic images. The compositions created for the organ are reminiscent of frescoes in painting. Everything in them is presented mainly in close-up. In the preludes, toccatas and fantasies, there is a pathos of musical images in free, improvisational forms. Fugues are characterized by a special virtuosity and unusually powerful development. Bach's organ work conveys the high poetry of his lyrics and the grandiose scope of magnificent improvisations.

Unlike clavier works, organ fugues are much larger in volume and content. The movement of the musical image and its development proceed with increasing activity. The deployment of the material is presented as a layering of large layers of music, but there is no particular discreteness and gaps. On the contrary, continuity (continuity of movement) prevails. Each phrase follows from the previous one with increasing tension. So are the climaxes. Emotional uplift eventually intensifies to the highest point. Bach is the first composer who showed the patterns of symphonic development in major forms of instrumental polyphonic music. Bach's organ work seems to fall into two poles. The first is preludes, toccatas, fugues, fantasies (large musical cycles). The second - one-part They are written mainly in the chamber plan. They reveal mainly lyrical images: intimate and mournful and sublimely contemplative. The best works for organ by Johann Sebastian Bach - and fugue in D minor, prelude and fugue in A minor and many other compositions.

Works for clavier

When writing compositions, Bach relied on the experience of his predecessors. However, here, too, he showed himself as an innovator. Bach's clavier creativity is characterized by scale, exceptional versatility, and the search for expressive means. He was the first composer to feel the versatility of this instrument. When composing his works, he was not afraid to experiment and implement the most daring ideas and projects. When writing, he was guided by the entire world musical culture. Thanks to him, the clavier has expanded significantly. He enriches the instrument with new virtuoso technique and changes the essence of musical images.

Among his works for organ, the following stand out:

• Two-part and three-part inventions.
• "English" and "French" suites.
• "Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue".
• "The Well-Tempered Clavier"

Thus, Bach's work is striking in its scope. The composer is widely known all over the world. His works make you think and reflect. Listening to his compositions, you involuntarily immerse yourself in them, thinking about the deep meaning underlying them. The genres to which the maestro turned throughout his life were the most diverse. This is organ music, vocal-instrumental, music for various instruments (violin, flute, clavier and others) and for instrumental ensembles.

Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the greatest and most famous composers. He wrote many magnificent pieces of music that are still listened to and admired by millions of people around the world. Let's learn more about the life of this outstanding German composer.

Johann Sebastian Bach: biography

Johann Sebastian Bach was born in 1685, March 31, in Germany, in the city of Eisenach. His parents were German musician and conductor Johann Ambrosius Bach and Elisabeth Lemmerhirt. Johann Sebastian's mother died when he was 9 years old, and his father died a year later. Then his elder brother, Johann Christoph, an organist, took him to his care in the city of Ohrdruf. He taught the boy music, in particular, playing the organ and clavier. A few years later he died, and Bach left for Lüneburg, where he entered a vocal school. During his studies, he often visited the cities of Hamburg and Celle, where he heard the works of many of his famous contemporaries.

In 1703, Johann Sebastian Bach became court musician to Duke Johann Ernst in Weimar. After some time, he was invited to Arnstadt to the church of St. Boniface for the position of organist. At this time, the composer created several works for organ. In 1705 Bach traveled to Lübeck to meet the outstanding German organist Dietrich Buxtehude. After 2 years, Johann Sebastian began to work in the church of St. Blaise in Mühlhausen. In the same year, 1707, he married Maria Barbara Bach, his cousin. In the future, they had 7 children, 3 of whom died in childhood.

In 1708 Johann Sebastian Bach returned to Weimar and became court organist. There he worked until 1717. During this time, Bach composed many pieces of music for various instruments. The fame of him as a performer has spread widely. In 1717, the French organist and pianist Louis Marchand arrived in Dresden. Bach and Marchand were invited to take part in a musical competition between them, both agreed, but Marchand, who heard Bach play, unexpectedly left Dresden.

In 1718, the composer received the post of court bandmaster from Prince Anhalt-Ketensky. Bach's wife, Maria Barbara, died in 1720. A year later, Johann Sebastian met the German singer Anna Magdalena Wilke, whom he soon married. Later they had 13 children, 7 of them died in childhood. After 3 years, in 1723, Bach changed his job to the school of St. Thomas in Leipzig, where he became the cantor of the choir. There he worked until his death, and during these years most of his famous musical works were written. Over time, the composer had serious vision problems. In 1750, Bach was operated on, but this did not improve, and he became blind. Johann Sebastian Bach died on July 28 of the same year in Leipzig.

Works by Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach wrote more than a thousand pieces of music in a variety of genres. Known for his music for organ, harpsichord, orchestra, as well as vocal works.

1. Organ works.

Bach's works for organ include preludes, toccatas, fantasies, and fugues. Known for his "Organ Book", which contains 46 preludes, 6 tri-sonatas, Leipzig chorales, the collection "Clavier-Übung" (3rd part).

2. Keyboard works.

Speaking of Bach's works for keyboards, one cannot fail to mention the collection "The Well-Tempered Clavier". It contains 48 preludes and fugues for each key. Johann Sebastian also wrote 15 two-part and 15 three-part inventions. Known for his English and French suites, French-style Overture, Italian Concerto, Goldberg Variations.

3. Works for orchestra.

One of Bach's most famous works for orchestra is the Brandenburg Concertos. Famous for his "Joke" - the last part of the Second Suite - and "Aria" - 2nd part of the Third Suite. The composer also wrote 2 violin concertos, a concerto for 2 violins in D minor, concertos for claviers and chamber orchestra, suites for violin, cello, flute, lute.

4. Vocal works.

Bach wrote over 300 cantatas, including "Christ lag in Todesbanden", "Ein' feste Burg", "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme", "Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben". secular, it is, for example, "Coffee" and "Peasant. " Known works "Passion according to John" and "Passion according to Matthew", as well as Christmas and Easter oratorios, Mass in B minor.

Childhood

Johann Sebastian Bach was the youngest, sixth child in the family of a musician Johanna Ambrosius Bach and Elisabeth Lemmerhirt. Genus Bakhov known for its musicality since the beginning of the 16th century: many ancestors and relatives Johann Sebastian were professional musicians. During this period, the Church, local authorities and the aristocracy supported the musicians, especially in Thuringia and Saxony. Father Bach lived and worked in Eisenach. At that time, the city had about 6,000 inhabitants. The work of Johann Ambrosius included organizing secular concerts and performing church music.

When Johann Sebastian was 9 years old, his mother died, and a year later his father died. The boy was taken in by his elder brother, Johann Christoph, who served as organist in nearby Ohrdruf. Johann Sebastian entered the gymnasium, his brother taught him to play the organ and clavier. Johann Sebastian He was very fond of music and did not miss the opportunity to study it or study new works.

Studying in Ohrdruf under the guidance of a brother, Bach got acquainted with the work of contemporary South German composers - Pachelbel, Froberger and others. It is also possible that he became acquainted with the works of composers from Northern Germany and France.

At the age of 15, Bach moved to Lüneburg, where in 1700-1703 he studied at the vocal school of St. Michael. During his studies, he visited Hamburg - the largest city in Germany, as well as Celle (where French music was held in high esteem) and Lübeck, where he had the opportunity to get acquainted with the work of famous musicians of his time. The first works by Bach for organ and clavier belong to the same years. In addition to singing in the acapella choir, Bach probably played the school's three-manual organ and harpsichord. Here he received his first knowledge of theology, Latin, history, geography and physics, and also, possibly, began to learn French and Italian. At school Bach had the opportunity to communicate with the sons of famous North German aristocrats and famous organists, especially with Georg Böhm in Lüneburg and Reinken in Hamburg. With their help Johann Sebastian arguably got access to the biggest instruments he has ever played. During this period, Bach expanded his knowledge of the composers of that era, most notably Dietrich Buxtehude, whom he greatly respected.

Arnstadt and Mühlhausen (1703-1708)

In January 1703, after finishing his studies, he received the position of court musician from the Weimar Duke Johann Ernst. It is not known exactly what his duties were, but, most likely, this position was not related to performing activities. For seven months of service in Weimar, the fame of him as a performer spread. Bach was invited to the post of superintendent of the organ in the church of St. Boniface in Arnstadt, located 180 km from Weimar. With this oldest German city in the family Bakhov there were long-term connections. In August Bach became organist of the church. He had to work three days a week, and the salary was relatively high. In addition, the instrument was maintained in good condition and was tuned to a new system that expanded the possibilities of the composer and performer. In this period Bach created many organ works.

Family ties and a music-loving employer could not prevent tension between Johann Sebastian and the authorities, which arose a few years later. Bach was dissatisfied with the level of training of singers in the choir. In addition, in the years 1705-1706 Bach arbitrarily left for Lübeck for several months, where he got acquainted with the game of Buxtehude, which caused discontent of the authorities. First biographer Bach Forkel writes that Johann Sebastian walked 50 km on foot to listen to an outstanding composer, but today some researchers question this fact.

In addition, the authorities presented Bahu accusations of "strange choral accompaniment" that embarrassed the community, and inability to direct the choir; The latter accusation appears to have been justified.

In 1706 Bach decides to change jobs. He was offered a more profitable and high position as organist at St. Blaise's Church in Mühlhausen, a large city in the north of the country. Next year Bach accepted this offer, taking the place of organist Johanna George Ale. His salary was increased compared to the previous one, and the level of the choristers was better. Four months later, October 17, 1707 Johann Sebastian married his cousin Maria Barbara of Arnstadt. They subsequently had seven children, three of whom died in childhood. Two of the survivors - Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emmanuel - later became well-known composers.

The city and church authorities of Mühlhausen were pleased with the new employee. They approved without hesitation his plan for the restoration of the church organ, which required large expenditures, and for the publication of the festive cantata "The Lord is my king", BWV 71 (it was the only one printed during his lifetime Bach cantata), written for the inauguration of the new consul, he was given a large reward.

Weimar (1708-1717)

After working at Mühlhausen for about a year, Bach changed his job again, this time getting the position of court organist and concert organizer - a much higher position than his previous position - in Weimar. Probably, the factors that forced him to change jobs were high salaries and a well-chosen composition of professional musicians. A family Bach settled in a house just a five-minute walk from the ducal palace. The following year, the first child in the family was born. At the same time to baham Maria Barbara's older unmarried sister moved in and helped them run the household until her death in 1729. In Weimar at Bach Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emmanuel were born. In 1704 Bach met the violinist von Westhof, who had a great influence on the activities Bach. Von Westhof's writings inspired Bach to create his sonatas and scores for violin solo.

In Weimar, a long period of composing clavier and orchestral works began, in which talent Bach has flourished. In this period Bach absorbs musical influences from other countries. The works of the Italians Vivaldi and Corelli taught Bach write dramatic introductions, of which Bach learned the art of using dynamic rhythms and strong harmonic patterns. Bach he studied the works of Italian composers well, creating transcriptions of Vivaldi's concertos for organ or harpsichord. He could borrow the idea of ​​writing arrangements from the son of his employer, Crown Duke Johann Ernst, a composer and musician. In 1713, the crown duke returned from a trip abroad and brought with him a large number of notes, which he showed Johann Sebastian. In the Italian music of the crown duke (and, as can be seen from some works, Bach) attracted the alternation of solo (playing one instrument) and tutti (playing the whole orchestra).

In Weimar at Bach there was an opportunity to play and compose organ works, as well as to use the services of the ducal orchestra. In Weimar Bach wrote most of his fugues (the largest and most famous collection of fugues Bach is the Well-Tempered Clavier). While serving in Weimar Bach began work on the "Organ Book" - a collection of organ choral preludes, possibly for the training of Wilhelm Friedemann. This collection consists of adaptations of Lutheran chants.

Towards the end of his service in Weimar Bach was already a well-known organist and harpsichord maker. The episode with Marchand belongs to this time. In 1717, the famous French musician Louis Marchand arrived in Dresden. Dresden concertmaster Volumier decided to invite Bach and arrange a musical contest between two famous harpsichordists, Bach and Marchand agreed. However, on the day of the competition, it turned out that Marchand (who, apparently, had previously had the opportunity to listen to Bach play) hastily and secretly left the city; the competition did not take place, and Bahu had to play alone.

Köthen (1717-1723)

Over time Bach again went in search of a more suitable job. The old owner did not want to let him go, and on November 6, 1717, he even arrested him for constant requests for resignation, but on December 2 he released him "with an expression of disgrace." Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen, hired Bach to the post of bandmaster. The prince, himself a musician, appreciated the talent Bach, paid him well and provided him with great freedom of action. However, the prince was a Calvinist and did not welcome the use of sophisticated music in worship, so most of the Köthen works Bach were secular. Among other things, in Köthen Bach composed suites for orchestra, six suites for solo cello, English and French suites for clavier, as well as three sonatas and three partitas for solo violin. The famous Brandenburg Concertos were written in the same period.

July 7, 1720, while Bach was abroad with the prince, his wife Maria Barbara suddenly died, leaving four young children. Next year Bach met Anna Magdalena Wilke, a young highly gifted singer (soprano), who sang at the ducal court. They married on December 3, 1721.

Leipzig (1723-1750)

In 1723, the performance of his "Passion according to John" took place in the church of St. Thomas in Leipzig, and on June 1 Bach received the position of cantor of the choir of St. Thomas with the simultaneous fulfillment of the duties of a school teacher at the church, replacing Johann Kuhnau in this post. In charge Bach included teaching singing and holding weekly concerts in the two main churches of Leipzig, St. Thomas and St. Nicholas. Job title Johann Sebastian also provided for the teaching of Latin, but he was allowed to hire an assistant to do this work for him, so Petzold taught Latin for 50 thalers a year. Bach received the position of "music director" of all the churches of the city: his duties included the selection of performers, supervision of their training and selection of music for performance. While working in Leipzig, the composer repeatedly came into conflict with the city administration.

The first six years of life in Leipzig were very productive: Bach composed up to 5 annual cycles of cantatas (two of them, in all likelihood, were lost). Most of these works were written in gospel texts, which were read in the Lutheran church every Sunday and on holidays throughout the year; many (such as "Wachet auf! Ruft uns die Stimme" or "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland") are based on traditional church chants - Lutheran chants.

During execution Bach, apparently, sat at the harpsichord or stood in front of the choir on the lower gallery under the organ; wind instruments and timpani were located on the side gallery to the right of the organ, strings were located to the left. The City Council provided Bach only about 8 performers, and this often became the cause of disputes between the composer and the administration: Bahu I had to hire up to 20 musicians myself to perform orchestral works. The composer himself usually played the organ or harpsichord; if he led the choir, then this place was occupied by a full-time organist or one of the eldest sons Bach.

Soprano and alto Bach recruited from among the students, and tenors and basses - not only from school, but from all over Leipzig. In addition to regular concerts paid for by the city authorities, Bach with their choir, they earned money by performing at weddings and funerals. Presumably, at least 6 motets were written for these purposes. Part of his usual work in the church was the performance of motets by composers of the Venetian school, as well as some Germans, such as Schütz; while composing my motets Bach focused on the works of these composers.

Writing cantatas for most of the 1720s, Bach collected an extensive repertoire for performance in the main churches of Leipzig. Over time, he wanted to compose and perform more secular music. In March 1729 Johann Sebastian became the head of the College of Music (Collegium Musicum), a secular ensemble that had existed since 1701, when it was founded by an old friend Bach Georg Philip Telemann. At that time, in many large German cities, gifted and active university students created similar ensembles. Such associations played an ever greater role in public musical life; they were often led by renowned professional musicians. For most of the year, the College of Music held two-hour concerts twice a week at Zimmermann's Coffee House, located near the market square. The owner of the coffee shop provided the musicians with a large hall and purchased several instruments. Many of the secular works Bach, dated between the 1730s and 1750s, were composed specifically for performance in Zimmermann's coffee shop. Such works include, for example, the Coffee Cantata and possibly the clavier pieces from the Clavier-Übung collections, as well as many concertos for cello and harpsichord.

During the same period Bach wrote parts of Kyrie and Gloria of the famous Mass in B minor, later adding the remaining parts, the melodies of which are almost entirely borrowed from the best cantatas of the composer. Soon Bach achieved appointment to the post of court composer; apparently, he had long sought this high post, which was a weighty argument in his disputes with the city authorities. Although the entire mass was never performed in its entirety during the composer's lifetime, today it is considered by many to be one of the finest choral works of all time.

In 1747 Bach visited the court of the Prussian king Frederick II, where the king offered him a musical theme and asked him to compose something on it right away. Bach was a master of improvisation and immediately performed a three-voice fugue. Later, he composed a whole cycle of variations on this theme and sent it as a gift to the king. The cycle consisted of ricercars, canons and trios based on the theme dictated by Friedrich. This cycle was called "The Musical Offering".

Another major cycle, The Art of the Fugue, was not completed. Bach, despite the fact that it was written, most likely, long before his death (according to modern research - before 1741). During his lifetime, he was never published. The cycle consists of 18 complex fugues and canons based on one simple theme. In this cycle Bach used all his rich experience in writing polyphonic works. After death Bach The Art of Fugue was published by his sons, along with the chorale prelude BWV 668, which is often erroneously called the last work. Bach- it actually exists in at least two versions and is a reworking of an earlier prelude to the same melody, BWV 641.

Over time, vision Bach it got worse. However, he continued to compose music, dictating it to his son-in-law Altnikkol. In 1750, the English ophthalmologist John Taylor, whom many modern researchers consider a charlatan, arrived in Leipzig. Taylor operated on twice Bach, but both operations were unsuccessful, Bach remained blind. On July 18, he suddenly regained his sight for a short time, but in the evening he had a stroke. Bach died July 28; the cause of death may have been complications from surgery. The fortune that remained after him was estimated at more than 1000 thalers and included 5 harpsichords, 2 lute harpsichords, 3 violins, 3 violas, 2 cellos, a viola da gamba, a lute and a spinet, as well as 52 sacred books.

Throughout life Bach wrote over 1000 works. In Leipzig Bach maintained friendly relations with university professors. Especially fruitful was the collaboration with the poet Christian Friedrich Heinrici, who wrote under the pseudonym Pikander. Johann Sebastian and Anna Magdalena often hosted friends, family members and musicians from all over Germany. Frequent guests were court musicians from Dresden, Berlin and other cities, including Telemann, the godfather of Carl Philipp Emmanuel. Interestingly, Georg Friedrich Handel, the same age Bach from Halle, which is 50 km from Leipzig, never met Bach, although Bach twice in his life he tried to meet him - in 1719 and 1729. The fates of these two composers, however, were brought together by John Taylor, who operated on both shortly before their deaths.

The composer was buried near the Church of St. John (German: Johanniskirche), one of the two churches where he served for 27 years. However, the grave was soon lost, and only in 1894 the remains Bach were accidentally found during construction work to expand the church, where they were reburied in 1900. After the destruction of this church during the Second World War, the ashes were transferred on July 28, 1949 to the Church of St. Thomas. In 1950, which was named the year J. S. Bach, a bronze tombstone was installed over the place of his burial.

Bach studies

The first description of life and work Bach became a work published in 1802 Johann Forkel. Forkel's compiled biography Bach based on obituary and stories from sons and friends Bach. In the middle of the 19th century, the interest of the general public in music Bach grew, composers and researchers began to collect, study and publish all of his works. Honored Art Propagator Bach Robert Franz has published several books on the composer's work. The next major work on Bahe became the book of Philip Spitta, published in 1880. At the beginning of the 20th century, the German organist and researcher Albert Schweitzer published a book. In this work, in addition to the biography Bach, description and analysis of his works, much attention is paid to the description of the era in which he worked, as well as theological issues related to his music. These books were the most authoritative until the middle of the 20th century, when, with the help of new technical means and careful research, new facts about life and work were established. Bach, which in some places came into conflict with traditional ideas. For example, it was found that Bach wrote some cantatas in 1724-1725 (it was previously believed that this happened in the 1740s), unknown works have been found, and some previously attributed Bahu were not written by him. Some facts of his biography were established. In the second half of the 20th century, many works were written on this topic - for example, books by Christoph Wolf. There is also a work called the hoax of the 20th century, The Chronicle of the Life Johann Sebastian Bach compiled by his widow Anna Magdalena Bach”, written by the English writer Esther Meynel on behalf of the composer's widow.

Creation

Bach wrote over 1000 pieces of music. Today, each of the famous works has been assigned a BWV number (short for Bach Werke Verzeichnis - catalog of works Bach). Bach wrote music for various instruments, both spiritual and secular. Some works Bach are adaptations of works by other composers, and some are revised versions of their own works.

Organ creativity

Organ music in Germany by the time Bach but already had long-standing traditions established thanks to its predecessors Bach- Pachelbel, Boehm, Buxtehude and other composers, each of whom influenced him in his own way. With many of them Bach was personally acquainted.

Throughout life Bach was best known as a first-class organist, teacher and composer of organ music. He worked both in the "free" genres traditional for that time, such as prelude, fantasy, toccata, passacaglia, and in more strict forms - chorale prelude and fugue. In his works for organ Bach skillfully combined the features of different musical styles with which he became acquainted throughout his life. The composer was influenced both by the music of North German composers (Georg Böhm, with whom Bach met in Lüneburg, and Dietrich Buxtehude in Lübeck), and the music of southern composers: Bach rewrote for himself the works of many French and Italian composers in order to understand their musical language; later he even transcribed some of Vivaldi's violin concertos for organ. During the most fruitful period for organ music (1708-1714) Johann Sebastian not only wrote many pairs of preludes, toccatas and fugues, but also composed an unfinished Organ booklet - a collection of 46 short choral preludes, which demonstrated various techniques and approaches to composing works on choral themes. After leaving Weimar Bach began to write less for the organ; however, many famous works were written after Weimar (6 trio sonatas, the Clavier-Übung collection and 18 Leipzig chorales). All life Bach not only composed music for the organ, but also consulted in the construction of instruments, checking and tuning new organs.

Other clavier works

Bach He also wrote a number of works for harpsichord, many of which could also be played on the clavichord. Many of these creations are encyclopedic collections, demonstrating various techniques and methods for composing polyphonic works. Most clavier works Bach published during his lifetime were contained in collections called "Clavier-Übung" ("clavier exercises").

The Well-Tempered Clavier, in two volumes, written in 1722 and 1744, is a collection containing 24 preludes and fugues in each volume, one for each key used. This cycle was very important in connection with the transition to instrument tuning systems that make it easy to play music in any key - first of all, to the modern equal temperament system.
15 two-voice and 15 three-voice inventions are small works, arranged in order of increasing number of characters in the key. They were intended (and are used to this day) for learning to play the keyboard instruments.
Three collections of suites English suites, French suites and Partitas for clavier. Each cycle contained 6 suites built according to the standard scheme (allemande, courante, sarabande, gigue and an optional part between the last two). In the English suites, the allemande is preceded by a prelude, and there is exactly one movement between the sarabande and the gigue; in the French suites, the number of optional movements increases, and there are no preludes. In partitas, the standard scheme is expanded: in addition to exquisite introductory parts, there are additional ones, and not only between the sarabande and the gigue.
Goldberg Variations (circa 1741) - a melody with 30 variations. The cycle has a rather complex and unusual structure. Variations are built more on the tonal plane of the theme than on the melody itself.
Varied pieces such as Overture in the French Style, BWV 831, Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue, BWV 903, or Concerto Italien, BWV 971.

Orchestral and chamber music

Bach He wrote music both for individual instruments and for ensembles. His works for solo instruments - 3 sonatas and partitas for solo violin, BWV 1001-1006, 6 suites for cello, BWV 1007-1012, and a partita for solo flute, BWV 1013 - are considered by many to be among the composer's most profound works. Besides, Bach composed several works for lute solo. He also wrote trio sonatas, sonatas for solo flute and viola da gamba, accompanied only by a general bass, as well as a large number of canons and ricercars, mostly without specifying the instruments for performance. The most significant examples of such works are the cycles "Art of the Fugue" and "Musical Offering".

Bach wrote many works for orchestra and solo instruments. One of the most famous is the Brandenburg Concertos. They were so named because Bach, having sent them to Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Schwedt in 1721, he thought of getting a job at his court; this attempt was unsuccessful. These six concertos are written in the concerto grosso genre. Orchestral masterpieces Bach includes two violin concertos (BWV 1041 and 1042), a concerto for 2 violins in D minor BWV 1043, the so-called “triple” A minor concerto (for flute, violin, harpsichord, strings and continuous (digital) bass) BWV 1044 and concertos for claviers and chamber orchestra: seven for one clavier (BWV 1052-1058), three for two (BWV 1060-1062), two for three (BWV 1063 and 1064) and one in A minor BWV 1065 for four harpsichords. Nowadays, these concertos with the orchestra are often performed on the piano, so they can be called piano concertos. Bach, but do not forget that during Bach there was no piano. In addition to concerts Bach composed 4 orchestral suites (BWV 1066-1069), some individual parts of which are especially popular nowadays and have popular arrangements, namely: the so-called "Bach's joke" - the last part, the badinerie of the second suite and the second part of the third suite - aria.

Vocal works

Cantatas.

For a long period of my life every Sunday Bach in the church of St. Thomas led the performance of the cantata, the theme of which was chosen according to the Lutheran church calendar. Although Bach he also performed cantatas by other composers, in Leipzig he composed at least three complete annual cycles of cantatas, one for each Sunday of the year and each church holiday. In addition, he composed a number of cantatas in Weimar and Mühlhausen. Total Bach more than 300 cantatas were written on spiritual themes, of which only 200 have survived to this day (the last - in the form of a single fragment). Cantatas Bach vary greatly in form and instrumentation. Some of them are written for one voice, some for a choir; some require a large orchestra to perform, and some require only a few instruments. However, the most commonly used model is this: the cantata opens with a solemn choral introduction, then alternate recitatives and arias for soloists or duets, and ends with a chorale. As a recitative, the same words from the Bible are usually taken that are read this week according to the Lutheran canons. The final chorale is often preceded by a chorale prelude in one of the middle parts, and is also sometimes included in the introductory part in the form of a cantus firmus. The most famous of the spiritual cantatas Bach are "Christ lag in Todesbanden" (number 4), "Ein' feste Burg" (number 80), "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" (number 140) and "Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben" (number 147) . Besides, Bach He also composed a number of secular cantatas, usually timed to coincide with some events, for example, a wedding. Among the most famous secular cantatas Bach- two Wedding Cantatas and a humorous Coffee Cantata and a Peasant Cantata.

Passions, or passions.

passion for John(1724) and St. Matthew's Passion (c. 1727) - works for choir and orchestra on the gospel theme of the suffering of Christ, intended to be performed at Vespers on Good Friday in the churches of St. Thomas and St. Nicholas. Passions are one of the most ambitious vocal works Bach. It is known that Bach wrote 4 or 5 passions, but only these two have completely survived to this day.

Oratorios and Magnificats.

The most famous is the Christmas Oratorio (1734) - a cycle of 6 cantatas to be performed during the Christmas period of the liturgical year. The Easter Oratorio (1734-1736) and the Magnificat are rather extensive and elaborate cantatas and are of a smaller scope than the Christmas Oratorio or Passions. The Magnificat exists in two versions: the original (E-flat major, 1723) and the later and well-known (D major, 1730).

Masses.

The most famous and significant mass Bach- Mass in B minor (completed in 1749), which is a complete cycle of the ordinary. This mass, like many other works of the composer, included revised early compositions. The Mass was never performed in its entirety while alive Bach- for the first time it happened only in the XIX century. In addition, this music was not performed as intended due to inconsistency with the Lutheran canon (it included only Kyrie and Gloria), and also because of the duration of the sound (about 2 hours). In addition to the mass in B minor, 4 short two-movement masses have come down to us Bach(Kyrie and Gloria), as well as parts like Sanctus and Kyrie.
The rest of Bach's vocal works include several motets, about 180 chorales, songs and arias.

Execution

Music performers today Bach divided into two camps: those who prefer authentic performance (or "historically oriented performance"), that is, using the tools and methods of the era Bach, and performing Bach on modern instruments. At times Bach there were no such large choirs and orchestras as, for example, in the time of Brahms, and even his most ambitious works, such as the mass in B minor and passions, do not involve the performance of large groups. In addition, in some chamber works Bach instrumentation is not indicated at all, so today very different versions of the performance of the same works are known. In organ works Bach almost never indicated registration and change of manuals. From string keyboards Bach preferred the clavichord. He met Zilberman and discussed with him the structure of his new instrument, contributing to the creation of the modern piano. Music Bach for some instruments it was often rearranged for others, for example, Busoni arranged the organ toccata and fugue in D minor and some other works for the piano.

To popularize music Bach in the 20th century, numerous "lightened" and "modernized" versions of his works contributed. Among them are today's well-known tunes performed by the Swingle Singers and Wendy Carlos' 1968 recording of "Switched-On Bach", which used a newly invented synthesizer. Processed the music Bach and jazz musicians such as Jacques Loussier. Joel Spiegelman handled the New Age Goldberg Variations. Among Russian contemporary performers, Fyodor Chistyakov tried to pay tribute to the great composer in his 1997 solo album “When Bach».

The fate of Bach's music

Contrary to popular myth, Bach after death was not forgotten. True, this applied to works for the clavier: his compositions were performed and published, used for didactic purposes.

In the last years of life and after death Bach his fame as a composer began to decline: his style was considered old-fashioned compared to the burgeoning classicism.

He was more known and remembered as a performer, teacher and father Bakhov-younger ones, first of all Carl Philipp Emmanuel, whose music was more famous. However, many major composers, such as Mozart and Beethoven, knew and loved the work of Johann Sebastian.

Works continued to sound in the church Bach for the organ, harmonizations of chorales were in constant use.

Cantata-oratorio compositions Bach rarely sounded (although the notes were carefully preserved in the church of St. Thomas), as a rule, at the initiative of Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach, however, already in 1800, Karl Friedrich Zelter organized the Berlin Singing Academy (German) Russian. (Singakademie), the main purpose of which was precisely the promotion of Bach's singing heritage.

The performance of the 20-year-old Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy by Zelter's student Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy on March 11, 1829 in Berlin acquired the St. Matthew Passion. Even the rehearsals conducted by Mendelssohn became an event - they were visited by many music lovers. The performance was such a success that the concert was repeated on his birthday. Bach. "Passion according to Matthew" was also heard in other cities - in Frankfurt, Dresden, Koenigsberg. Creation Bach had a strong influence on the music of subsequent composers, including in the 21st century.

In Russia at the beginning of the 19th century, as connoisseurs and performers of music Bach Field's student Maria Shimanovskaya and Alexander Griboyedov stand out in particular. For example, when visiting the St. Thomas School, Mozart heard one of the motets (BWV 225) and exclaimed: "There is much to learn here!" - after which, asking for notes, he studied them for a long time and rapturously.

Beethoven really appreciated music Bach. As a child, he played the preludes and fugues from the Well-Tempered Clavier, and later called Bach“the true father of harmony” and said that “not the Stream, but the Sea is his name” (the word Bach in German means “stream”). Artworks Johann Sebastian influenced many composers. Some themes from the works Bach, for example, the theme of the toccata and fugue in D minor, were repeatedly used in the music of the 20th century.

Biography written in 1802 Johann Nikolaus Forkel, spurred the interest of the general public in his music. More and more people were discovering his music. For example, Goethe, who became acquainted with his works quite late in his life (in 1814 and 1815, some of his clavier and choral works were performed in the city of Bad Berka), in a letter of 1827 he compared the feeling of music Bach with "eternal harmony in dialogue with oneself." But the real renaissance of music Bach began with the performance of the St. Matthew Passion in 1829 in Berlin, organized by Felix Mendelssohn. Hegel, who attended the concert, later called Bach"a great, true Protestant, a strong and, so to speak, erudite genius, whom we have only recently learned to fully appreciate again." In subsequent years, Mendelssohn's work to popularize music continued. Bach and the rise of the composer's fame.

Founded in 1850 Bakhovskoe society, the purpose of which was the collection, study and distribution of works Bach. In the next half century, this society carried out significant work on compiling and publishing a corpus of the composer's works.

In the 20th century, awareness of the musical and pedagogical value of his compositions continued. Interest in music Bach spawned a new movement among performers: the idea of ​​authentic performance became widespread. Such performers, for example, use the harpsichord instead of the modern piano and smaller choirs than was customary in the 19th and early 20th centuries, wanting to accurately recreate the music of the Bach era.

Some composers paid their respects Bahu, including the BACH motif (B-flat - la - do - si in Latin notation) in the themes of his works. For example, Liszt wrote a prelude and fugue on BACH, and Schumann wrote 6 fugues on the same theme. From the works of modern composers on the same theme, one can name “Variations on a Theme BACH” by Roman Ledenev. I used the same theme myself. Bach, for example, in XIV counterpoint from The Art of Fugue.

Many composers took their cue from the works Bach or used themes from them. Examples are Beethoven's Variations on a Theme of Diabelli, inspired by the Goldberg Variations, Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues inspired by the Well-Tempered Clavier, and Brahms' Cello Sonata in D Major, with musical quotations from Iskusstvo fugue."

The chorale prelude “Ich ruf’ zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ” (BWV 177) performed by Leonid Roizman is featured in the film Solaris (1972).

Music Bach among the best creations of mankind recorded on the golden disc of Voyager.

Johann Sebastian Bach topped the top ten greatest composers of all time (New York Times).

Bach monuments in Germany

• Monument to J.S. Bach at the Church of St. Thomas in Leipzig.
• Monument in Leipzig, erected on April 23, 1843 by Hermann Knaur at the initiative of Felix Mendelssohn according to the drawings of Eduard Bendemann, Ernst Rietschel and Julius Hübner.
• Bronze statue on the Frauenplan in Eisenach, designed by Adolf von Donndorf, erected on September 28, 1884. First stood on the Market Square near the Church of St. George; On April 4, 1938, it was moved to Frauenplan with a shortened pedestal.
• Monument on Bach Square in Köthen, erected on March 21, 1885. Sculptor - Heinrich Polman
• Bronze statue by Carl Seffner from the south side of the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig - May 17, 1908.
• Bust by Fritz Behn in the Walhalla near Regensburg, 1916.
• Statue by Paul Birr at the entrance to St. George's Church in Eisenach, erected on April 6, 1939.
• Monument to arch. Bruno Eiermann in Weimar, first installed in 1950, then removed for two years and reopened in 1995 on Democracy Square.
• Relief in Köthen (1952). Sculptor - Robert Propf.
• Monument near the Arnstadt market, erected on March 21, 1985. Author -Bernd Goebel
• Wooden stele by Ed Harrison on Johann Sebastian Bach Square in front of St. Blaise's Church in Mühlhausen - 17 August 2001.
• The monument in Ansbach, designed by Jurgen Görtz, was erected in July 2003.