Jean Sebastian Bach. Johann Sebastian Bach short biography

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 of 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. The climaxes are built the same way. 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.

Born (21) March 31, 1685 in the city of Eisenach. In little Bach, a passion for music was originally laid down, because his ancestors were professional musicians.

Music training

At the age of ten, 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.

At the age of 15, Bach entered the vocal school named after St. Michael, in the city of Lüneburg. There he gets acquainted with the work of modern musicians, develops comprehensively. During 1700-1703 the musical biography of Johann Sebastian Bach begins. He wrote the first organ music.

In service

After graduation, Johann Sebastian was sent to Duke Ernst as a musician at the court. Dissatisfaction with a dependent position forces him to change jobs. In 1704, Bach received the post of organist of the New Church in Arndstadt. The brief content of the article does not make it possible to dwell in detail on the work of the great composer, but it was at this time that he created many talented works. Collaboration with the poet Christian Friedrich Heinrici, court musician Telemachus enriched the music with new motives. In 1707 Bach moved to Mühlhusen, continued to work as a church musician and engage in creativity. The authorities are satisfied with his work, the composer receives a reward.

Personal life

In 1707 Bach married his cousin Maria Barbara. He again decided to change jobs, this time becoming court organist in Weimar. In this city, six children are born in the musician's family. Three died in infancy, and three become well-known musicians in the future.

In 1720, Bach's wife died, but a year later the composer married again, now to the famous singer Anna Magdalena Wilhelm. The happy family had 13 children.

Continuation of the creative path

In 1717, Bach entered the service of the Duke of Anhalt - Köthen, who highly appreciated his talent. During the period from 1717 to 1723, Bach's magnificent suites appeared (for orchestra, cello, clavier).

Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, English and French suites were written in Köthen.

In 1723, the musician received the position of cantor and teacher of music and Latin in the Church of St. Thomas, then became musical director in Leipzig. Johann Sebastian Bach's wide repertoire included both secular and brass music. During his life, 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")

last years of life

In the last years of his life, Bach was rapidly losing his sight. His music was then considered unfashionable, outdated. Despite this, the composer continued to work. In 1747, he created a cycle of plays called "Music of the Offering", dedicated to the Prussian King Frederick II. The last work was the collection of works "The Art of the Fugue", which included 14 fugues and 4 canons.

Johann Sebastian Bach died on July 28, 1750 in Leipzig, but his musical legacy remains immortal.

A brief biography of Bach does not give a complete picture of the complex life path of the composer, of his personality. You can get acquainted in detail with his fate and work by reading the books of Johann Forkel, Robert Franz, Albert Schweitzer.

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Bach Johann Sebastian (1685-1750)

It is very difficult to write about Bach - the discrepancy between the meager and biographical data that have come down to us and the scale of the composer's creative heritage is too great. These scales at one time surprised Beethoven, who once said: “Not a stream (Bach - in German “stream”), but the sea should be called it!” L. Schweitzer wrote about Bach:

"He is a man of two worlds: his artistic perception and creativity flow, as if not in contact with the almost banal burgher existence, independently of it."

Indeed, the existence of Bach outwardly was burgher, banal. The same as his father, grandfather, numerous relatives - they were all professional musicians who occupied a very modest position.

An organist in the small German town of Ohrdruf was also the elder brother of Johann Sebastian, with whom he was brought up, having lost his parents at the age of ten. The older brother was a strict, harsh teacher. Here is an example: the younger one really wanted to get acquainted with the clavier works of German composers, but he was not allowed to take the precious notebook. Nevertheless, he copied it secretly, on moonlit nights, without lighting a fire, but the copy was also taken away as a punishment for self-will ... Some explanation, if not justification for this cruelty, can only be the high cost of musical publications of that time (due to the laboriousness of copying notes).

Choir boy in the school choir at the church, violinist, violist, organist in various small towns, etc. finally, the court bandmaster (Weimar, Kethen) - these are the milestones of the musical biography of Johann Sebastian Bach until he settled in Leipzig in 1723, already almost forty years old, where he lived until the end of his days. At this time, Bach was the father of a large family, the older children (from his first wife, who had already died) still lived with him, the younger children grew up - from his second wife, Anna Magdalena. (Young musicians know this name: in the music notebook of Anna Magdalena, who herself was a good musician, Bach wrote down easy pieces for teaching younger children. And now none of the students of music pass by this “Notebook”.)

Life was not easy, and therefore it is not surprising that among the few papers preserved in the Bach archive there are a lot of various statements and letters to influential people, and all about one thing: to improve more than a modest financial situation. In Leipzig, Bach received the position of cantor, that is, the head of the school choir at the church of St. Thomas (Thomas Church). The school (Thomaschule), where they taught singing, playing the organ and other instruments, existed since the 13th century and enjoyed a good reputation, but during these years the choir was small in number, and Bach constantly complained that of all its pupils “seventeen are suitable for music, twenty are not yet fit and seventeen are unfit.”

Bach worked in almost all musical genres known at that time. The predominance of any particular genre in a particular period can be explained to a certain extent by the working conditions, the tastes of the owners and customers. Thus, in Weimar there was an excellent organ, and during the years of work there Bach wrote his most famous organ works, including organ toccatas, of which the most famous is in D minor, although others are in no way inferior to it.

Bach's organ toccatas, fantasies, preludes and fugues seemed to capture the very process of musical creativity. First - inspired improvisation, as if not bound by any laws, not even having clear contours, a kind of sound nebula, from which a harmonious and harmonious sound world should be born. And he is born - in a fugue. The original musical image - the theme of the fugue, repeating itself, passing from one voice to another, gradually conquers the entire sound space, developing according to the strict laws of musical logic. The contrasting unity of toccata or fantasy and fugue, as it were, confirms the inseparability of inspiration and reason in art.

Bach himself was an unsurpassed organist, and when listeners were surprised at his skill, he usually said that the secret was simple: “You must always strike the right key at the right time ...”

While working in Kothen, Bach wrote many chamber works, suites and sonatas for various instruments, since it was this kind of music that especially attracted his master, Prince Leopold, who himself played the clavier, violin and viola da gamba (an ancient instrument related to the cello) . Apparently, there were excellent musicians in the Keten orchestra, since it is unlikely that the prince himself, being only an amateur musician, could play the famous Chaconne by Bach from the violin suite, because it is to this day the standard of virtuosity for violinists.

Bach's responsibilities in Leipzig provided him with great opportunities for creativity. According to the terms of his work, Bach had to write a new cantata for each Sunday church service (he wrote 265 of them in total). The performance of the cantatas was a kind of concert within the church service. The cantata included arias and choirs, among which were both very simple ones, sung by the whole community, and more complex ones, for Bach's students from Thomasshule. And of course, the opportunity to listen to a new composition by Bach every week attracted not only its regular parishioners, but also other residents of Leipzig to the Thomaskirche. In the same church, they could also listen to how the great organist plays choral preludes, how new, lively and quivering voices of organ registers grow from simple, familiar melodies of German chorales from childhood.

In Leipzig, Bach also wrote the largest choral works. His Mass in B minor (a cycle of choirs for a festive church service) was written as a musical offering to the Saxon king Augustus in the hope of receiving the title of court bandmaster. King Augustus was a Catholic, which is why this mass is so monumental and solemn; in the Protestant churches where Bach worked, the whole ritual was much more modest and simple. During Bach's lifetime, only a few choirs from this composition were performed: there is so much music in the mass that there would simply be no time left for the church service itself.

Another, less solemn, but more penetrating character is Bach's music for the so-called "passions", or "Passion", a dramatized story about the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. This story is known in four versions attributed to four legendary evangelist authors. Bach used two of them: the John Passion and the Matthew Passion.

The composer read the text, created more than one and a half thousand years before Bach, as if he were a contemporary and a witness to the events described. It was as if he personally knew the poor Galilean preacher, who taught love and mercy, became a victim of slander and betrayal and was sentenced to a shameful execution. It was as if he himself saw the grief of his mother, the confusion and fear of the students.

The narration is told in recitative, and Bach makes a surprisingly subtle distinction between the manner of speech of the evangelist narrator and the characters. The parts of Jesus and the Roman governor Pilate are entrusted with homogeneous voices, but the intonations of the first are sublime and noble, the second are rude and arrogant.

In addition to the canonical church text, there are also lyrical digressions in the "Passion" - arias to the words of the contemporary poet Bahu. These arias often turn into a kind of duets of voice with a solo instrument - a violin, a flute. A wonderful example is the alto aria from the Matthew Passion, which follows the story of the denial of one of Jesus' disciples, Peter. The restrained, mournful melody of the voice is accompanied by the sobs of the violin, in which all the bitterness of belated remorse pours out.

The choirs of the "Passion" are varied. In addition to dramatic episodes that convey the cries of an angry crowd demanding execution, there are also strict, majestic in their simplicity chorales.

In Bach's Passions, the touching naivety of ancient folk performances on evangelical themes and the dramatic expressiveness of opera music, much more vivid than in the opera of Bach's time itself, were combined.

We will not find anything equal to the court scene in the Passion according to John either in French or in Italian opera of the 18th century. German opera, however, had not yet emerged from the period of apprenticeship.

Contemporaries (except, perhaps, those for whom Bach was directly in the service) highly valued the brilliant master, who summed up everything valuable that had been created before him in German (and not only in German) music. But in the last years of Bach's life, in the middle of the 18th century, a noticeable stylistic change took place in music. The ancient polyphonic art that flourished in choral and organ music was replaced by a new, more accessible manner of presentation, clearly separating the background and relief, the main melody and the accompaniment. Monumental choral cycles are obscured by opera, organ fantasies and toccatas - graceful clavier suites from small pieces in dance rhythms. Bach also worked in these genres, but they were not the center of his attention. His sons (Philip Emmanuel and Johann Christian) wrote in a new manner. And although they inherited only some share of their father's talent, for a long time it was Philippe Emmanuel who was considered the great Bach.

Johann Sebastian was born into a family that is considered the largest musical dynasty in Germany. Among the ancestors of Bach, Veit Bach, a baker who played the zither, and Johannes Bach, a city musician in Erfurt, were especially famous. The descendants of the latter became so famous that in some medieval German dialects the surname "Bach" became a household name and received the meaning "city musician".

Bach's father is Johann Amvroysky, a city musician.

Johann Sebastian's uncle, Johann Christoph, served as organist in the city. Naturally, the future greatest representative of the dynasty began to study music from a very early age.

1693 - the younger Bach enters a church school. The boy has a good soprano voice and is making progress.

1695 - In two years, Johann Sebastian loses both parents. He is taken in by his older brother, who served as a musician in Ordfur.

1695 - 1700 - Ohrdruf. Bach goes to school and studies music under the guidance of his brother. At the same time, as a teenager, Johann Bach severely lost his sight - at night, by the light of the moon, he copied notes from his brother.

The school teacher recommends that Bach go to Lüneburg, to the famous school at St. Michael's Church. Johann Sebastian walks 300 kilometers from Central to Northern Germany. In Lüneburg, Bach lives on full board and even receives a small stipend. Master organist Georg Böhm becomes one of the mentors of the future composer in Lünebur.

1702 - after leaving school, Bach has the right to go to university, but he cannot afford it, since he needs to earn a living. After spending some time in Lüneburg, the future composer goes back to Thuringia. Here he manages to serve as a violinist in the private chapel of Prince Johann Ernest of Saxony. Then Bach stops in Arnstadt, where he spends 4 years.

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1703 - 1707 - Arnstadt. Bach serves as a church organist, while not ceasing to study the music and performance style of famous musicians of the time.

1707 - Bach accepts an invitation to serve in Mühlhausen, as organist in the church of St. Blaise. Here he begins to write cantatas and moonlights as an organ repairman. Bach spends a year in Mühlhausen.

1708 - Johann Sebastian Bach marries his cousin, also an orphan, Maria Barbara. Maria Barbara gave birth to Bach 7 children, of whom four survived.

The same year - moving to Weimar. Johann Bach finally stays in the city for a long time, he is the court organist and composer. This time is considered to be the beginning of Bach's creative path as a composer of music. Numerous pieces for organ and harpsichord were written in Weimar.

1717 - 1723 - Keten. Bach receives a place as court bandmaster at the court of Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Keten. The duties of Johann Sebastian included: to accompany the prince's singing (according to contemporaries, who had a good voice), to accompany him playing the harpsichord and gamba, and also to lead the chapel of 18 musicians. Here he wrote the Well-Tempered Clavier (Volume 1), sonatas and suites for violin and cello solo, six Brandenburg Concertos

The appearance of Bach in the position of court bandmaster was preceded by an event in Dresden: there was to be a performance of the "world star" of that time, L. Marchand. The musicians met on the eve of the concert, they even managed to play together, after which Marchand left Dresden, unable to withstand the competition and recognizing Bach as a better musician than himself.

June 1720 - Maria Barbara dies suddenly. Bach becomes a widower.

1721 - Johann Bach marries for the second time the daughter of a court musician from Weissenfeld, Anna Magdalene Wilken. She also represents a musical dynasty, has a beautiful voice and good hearing. Helping her husband, Anna Magdalena rewrote many of his works. The second marriage becomes much more successful for the composer than the first. For the beloved Anna Magdalene, Bach creates the "Notebook for Anna Magdalene Bach". In this marriage, Bach has 13 children, but six of them survive.

1722 - tired of secular music, Bach applies for a vacancy in Leipzig as a cantor. A year later, he gets this place.

1723 - 1750 - Leipzig.

1723 - in Leipzig, the music director of the city and the cantor of the church choir at the school of St. Thomas are waiting for the already famous musician. It is here that Johann Sebastian begins his work as head of the chorister school. Teaching burdens the composer, taking time away from creativity. In addition, the school of choristers is poorly maintained, the students of Johann Sebastian are constantly hungry and poorly dressed. And the school authorities care little about the quality of the boys' singing abilities.

At the same time, the composer takes an active part in the activities of the "Music Collegium" of Leipzig.

In Leipzig, three sons of Johann Sebastian Bach are born: Wilhelm Friedemann, Philip Emmanuel, John Christian. All of them were gifted musicians.

Leipzig period of creativity - Bach writes "Passion according to Matthew", "Passion according to John", "High Mass", "Magnificent Oratorio", Mass in B minor, "Christmas Oratorio", etc. The authorities are dissatisfied with the works of Johann Sebastian - they are "not churchly" , they lack proper rigor, but there is an abundance of brilliance of earthly music. Mutual dissatisfaction between the composer and his superiors eventually spills over into an open conflict.

1740 - Bach, formally remaining in the service, actually goes into his own work. He writes instrumental music, tries to publish some of his work.

1747 - a trip to Berlin. Philip Emmanuel, son of Bach, serves under Frederick II. He provides his father with a speech at the royal court. Bach plays for Friedrich and his entourage, improvises on a theme given by the king. Returning to Leipzig, Bach puts this improvisation at the heart of his work "Musical Offering" and dedicates it to Frederick II of Prussia.

Johann Sebastian Bach - the most talented composer of the 18th century. More than 250 years have passed since his death, and interest in his music has not faded to this day. But during his lifetime, the composer never received a well-deserved recognition.

Interest in his work appeared only a century after his death.

Bach Johann Sebastian. Biography: childhood

Johann was born in 1685 in Eisenach, a provincial town in Germany. His father was a violinist. From him, Johann learned the basics of playing this instrument. In addition, Bach Jr. had an excellent soprano and sang in the school choir. The future profession of Johann was predetermined. At the age of 9, the boy was left without parents. He was taken in by his older brother to be raised. In Orduf, he served as an organist at the church and moved the boy there, put him in a gymnasium. Musical lessons continued, but they were too monotonous, unproductive.

Bach Johann Sebastian. Biography: the beginning of an independent life

Fifteen-year-old Johann moved to Lüneburg. Successful completion of the gymnasium gave him the right to enter the university. However, the lack of livelihood did not allow the young man to use this opportunity. He had to move more than once in his life. The reason has always been poor working conditions, a humiliating position. But no environment distracted Bach from studying new music, the manner of performance of contemporary composers. Whenever possible, he tried to get to know them personally. At that time, everyone bowed to foreign music. He also had the courage to defend and study his national works.

Bach Johann Sebastian. Biography: additional talents

Johann's abilities were not limited only to composing skills. Among his contemporaries, he was considered the best performer of the harpsichord and organ. It was for improvising on these instruments that he received recognition (even from his rivals) during his lifetime. It is said that when Louis Marchand, a harpsichordist and organist from France, on the eve of the Dresden competition in playing these instruments, heard a performance of Bach, he hastily left the city.

Bach Johann Sebastian. Biography: court musician

From 1708, Johann served in Weimar as a court musician. During this period, he wrote many famous works. Bach soon started a family and moved with her in 1717 at the invitation of the prince to Keten. It turned out that there is no body. The composer was obliged to lead a small orchestra, entertain the prince and accompany his singing. In this city, Bach wrote three-part and two-part inventions, as well as "English" and "French suites". The fugues and preludes completed in Keten made up the 1st volume of The Well-Tempered Clavier, a huge work.

Bach Johann Sebastian. Brief biography: justification in Leipzig

Bach moved to this city in 1723 and stayed there forever. At the Church of St. Thomas, he received the position of director of the choir. Conditions for Bach were again shy. In addition to many duties (educator, composer, teacher), he was ordered not to travel outside the city without the permission of the burgomaster. He also had to write music according to the rules: not too operatic and long, but at the same time such that would arouse reverence in listeners.

But, despite all the restrictions, Bach, as always, continued to create. He created his best compositions in Leipzig. The authorities of the church considered the music of Johann Sebastian too colorful, humane and bright, they allocated little money for the maintenance of the school. The only consolation of the composer was creativity and family. His three sons also turned out to be excellent musicians. Anna Magdalena, Bach's second wife, had a great soprano voice. His eldest daughter also sang well.

Johann Bach. Biography: end of life

In recent years, the composer suffered from a serious eye disease. The operation was unsuccessful, and Bach was completely blind. But even in this state, he continued to compose. His works were recorded from dictation. The musical community almost did not notice the death. Everyone forgot about him pretty quickly. Anna Magdalena, Johann's second wife, died in an orphanage. Regina, the youngest daughter of Bach, lived like a beggar, only in recent years she was helped by Beethoven.