"The aim and final
reason of all music
should be none else but
the glory of God and
the refreshment of the mind.
Where this is not observed,
there will be no real music
but only a devilish
hubbub.“
1685 - 1750
https://youtu.be/3G5017-HPeI
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J. S. Bach wrote at the
end of all of his
religious compositions
(and many of his
secular ones) S. D. G.,
an abbreviation of Solo
Deo Gloria, which means
“glory to God alone.”
While he did write a lot
of well-known secular
music, the worship of
God and the stimulation
of the mind were
always chief aims of
Bach in his music.
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Bach was born in the town of
Eisenach, (in Germany, Holy
Roman Empire) in 1685.
Overlooking Eisenach was
Wartburg Castle. It was
famous in the middle ages
for holding legendary
singing contests.
Later, it was a Protestant
stronghold where Martin
Luther hid out over 100
years earlier to escape from
the pope and translate the
Bible into German.
https://youtu.be/enJgKeut98M
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Bach was born into a
family of musicians. His
father was the director of
the town musicians and
all of his uncles were
professional musicians
whose posts included
church organists, court
chamber musicians, and
composers.
His father probably taught
him to sing, and play
violin and harpsichord at
a very young age.
At age 10, Bach’s father and
mother died and he moved in
with his brother who was a church
organist.
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His brother gave him valuable
lessons on the clavichord and
organ, and he progressed quickly.
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Bach wanted to play out of an
expensive book his brother kept in
the library but his brother forbid
it. So he got up on moonlit nights
and copied the music while
everyone else was asleep.
From his brother, Bach studied the works of many great composers of
the day including the German Johann Pachelbel (his brother’s teacher)
and the French Jean-Baptiste Lully. https://youtu.be/ipzR9bhei_o?t=14s
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Bach had no money to pay for
schooling, but fortunately he got
a scholarship for his singing and
studied music at the elite St.
Michael’s school.
One of his first jobs was as
organist and teacher at St.
Boniface's Church in Arnstadt.
Unfortunately, this didn’t go so
well. Bach fought with his
students and complained about
the mediocre choir. After
getting permission to go visit a
famous organist, he remained
away for several months longer
than he was allowed.
Bach soon left for a position in
another city, married and began
a family.
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Soon, he was the music director
for the Duke in Weimar.
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He would spend the next 9 years
there, composing hundreds of
pieces for keyboard and
orchestra.
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He studied the works of Italian
Baroque composers like Vivaldi
and incorporated their driving rhythms and harmonic patterns into his
own music.
He began writing two important music collections that are still used
today: The Well-Tempered Clavier and The Little Organ Book.
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Bach performed frequently
on the organ and in the
Duke’s orchestra and became
famous for his playing.
However, Bach again
became dissatisfied with
court politics and wanted to
take a job in another city.
When he told the Duke,
however, he was angry and
locked Bach in prison for a
month. Bach used his
incarceration time to write 46
musical pieces, many which
are still performed today.
https://youtu.be/wiRpUtVByxU
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Soon Bach moved
his big family (7
children survived to
adulthood) and took
the position of music
director in the very
big city of Leipzig.
As part of his job, he
was expected to
teach Latin and
music to the boys at
St. Tomas’ Church.
He also had the huge job of providing worship music for most of the
churches in the town. Each Sunday, he and his musicians and singers
had to perform a new cantata for the Lutheran services. Often he
performed one that he wrote himself.
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Bach’s cantatas usually
involved vocal soloists, a
small choir, an organ, and
additional instruments.
They were always based on
an existing Lutheran hymn
(like “A Mighty Fortress is
Our God”) which was mixed
in with new melodies in
complex counterpoint.
Bach composed more than
300 cantatas in all;
unfortunately only about 100
survive today.
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Bach was happy that his
cantatas were being played so
much, but he wanted to do
still more.
He became the director of
Collegium Musicum, the city’s
premiere orchestra which
played some of his secular
pieces.
He wrote many more pieces
for choirs, orchestras, and solo
organ, harpsichord/ piano,
violin, and cello that are often
played today.
https://youtu.be/ma2g_mOL-A4?t=1s
Near the end of his life, Bach was
visited the court of King Frederick
II of Prussia, himself a musician.
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The king listened to Bach perform
and try out his new piano.
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Then the King played Bach a short
but tricky melody that he had
made up himself and challenged
Bach to improvise a set of
variations on it. Bach not only did
so with great success, but then
went home and wrote 6-part canon
on the theme displaying his
virtuosity of compositional skills.
Still not finished, he wrote and published a lengthy collection of fugues
and canons “A Musical Offering” based on the King’s theme.
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Bach died in 1750, and so historians
mark that year as the end of the
Baroque period.
By then, a new style of music had
become popular. (“Galant” and
“Classical”)
While 5 of Bach’s sons went on to
be famous international composers
and musicians, Bach’s own music
was considered old fashioned and
was never played. Many of his
works had never even been
published.
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Starting around 1800, famous
composers including Mozart,
Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, and
Mendelssohn rediscovered Bach’s
music and praised them for their
superior craftsmanship.
More and more Bach’s music was
published and played and he has
since gain the reputation as one of
the greatest composers ever.
When a golden record of mankind’s
greatest sound achievements was
created to send out into space on
the Voyager space probes, 3 of his
works were included, more than
any other composer.