Johaan Sebastian Bach

By: Ashley Hicks

Johaan Sebastian Bach

Brief History of Bach

• Born and died in Germany.

• Worked as a organist, teacher, and composer.

• He married twice and had 20 children of which 10 died in infancy.

• Died at the age of 65.

Bach’s Childhood

• Born on March 21, 1685 in Germany.

• Youngest of eight children.

• Father is Johann Ambrosius Bach.

• Mother is Maria Elisabetha.

• His mother and father died within a year of eachother and he was orphaned at age 10.

Bach’s Early Career

• Bach’s earliest career began in 1703.

• This career involved playing violin and organ at a low-level position in the ruling court of Weimar and Neukirche, Arnstadt.

Bach’s First Marriage

Bach’s First Marriage

• In October 1707 Bach married his cousin Maria Barbara.

• In the years after this marriage the two would have seven children together.

Bach’s Life In Saxe-Weimar• In 1708 Bach was appointed organist and

chamber musician to the Duke of Saxe-Weimar.• In the next nine years Bach composed his some

of his best works and became known as a fine organist.

• Bach’s major works in this time included Toccata and Fugue in D minor (1705), Cantata (1713) and The Little Organ Book (1714).

Kapellmeister at Anhalt-Cothen

• In 1717 Bach became Kappelmeister (the chapel master who directed and/or composed music for a church or chapel) in the court of the music-lover Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cothen.

• During this time Bach’s works included Brandenburg Concertos (1721) and The Well-Tempered Clavier (first book, 1722).

Bach’s Second Marriage

Bach’s Second Marriage

• Bach’s first wife Maria died in 1720.

• In 1721 Bach married Anna Magdalena Wilcke (the daughter of the town trumpeter).

• They would have thirteen children together.

Bach’s Children

• After Bach marries Anna, the two have thirteen more children.

• Bach has 20 children between his two wives but 10 died in infancy.

• Four of his children went on to become well-known composers and musicians.

Bach’s Well-known Children

• Three of the four of Bach’s children that went on to become well-known composers and musicians are Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (sons of Maria) and Johann Christian Bach (son of Anna).

Life in Leipzig

• Bach left Anhalt-Cothen in 1723 for Leipzig.

• He became Kantor (teacher and director of music) at St. Thomas’s in Leipzig.

• Bach remained in Leipzig for the rest of his life.

Bach’s Works in Leipzig

• Bach’s works in his time in Leipzig include St. John’s Passion (1723), St. Matthew’s Passion (1727), Suite No. 3 in D (1729), Magnificat in D Major (1731), Christmas Oratorio (1734), Italian Concerto (1735), Goldberg Variations (1741-1742, originally called "Aria With Diverse Variations," but later nicknamed after Bach's student Johann Gottlieb Goldberg), The Well-Tempered Clavier (second book, 1742), the Musical Offering (1747), and The Art of the Fugue (unfinished, 1749).

Bach’s Life Before His Death

• By 1740 Bach’s eyesight was failing.

• Bach had two eye operations but, they resulted in Bach’s complete blindness.

• These operations may also have damaged his health and hastened his death.

Bach’s Death

• Johaan Sebastian Bach died of a stroke on July 28, 1750 at the age of 65.

• Bach is buried at the St. John’s cemetery in Leipzig.

• Bach’s widow Anna lived for another ten years before dying in poverty in 1760.

• Bach’s death marks the end of the Baroque period of music.

The Rediscovery of Bach’s Work

• When Bach died most of his work was forgotten (most were unknown in his lifetime too.).

• In March 1829 (almost 100 years after his death) the composer Felix Mendelssohn performed Bach’s St. Mathew’s Passion.

• This spurred a world-wide interest in Bach.• Soon Bach’s works were appreciated by the

world- essentially for the first time.

Bach’s Lifetime of Work

• In Bach’s Life time he composed 1315 musical works.

• These include the piano, organ, orchestral, choral and chamber works.

Credits• Information and pictures courtesy of:

» http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006031913206

» http://www.enchantedlearning.com/music/bios/bach/

» http://intermezzo.typepad.com/.a/6a00d834ff890853ef010535833be7970c-500wi