JS Bach's - Goldberg Variations #5
Our version of JS Bach's - Goldberg Variations #5
blessings,
Shiloh Worship Music
The Goldberg Variations,
BWV 988, is a work for
harpsichord by
Johann Sebastian Bach, consisting of an
aria and a set of 30
variations. First published in 1741, the work is considered to be one of the most important examples of variation form. The Variationsare named after
Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, who may have been the first performer.
Johann Sebastian Bach from Wikipedia
Johann Sebastian Bach[1] (31 March [
O.S. 21 March] 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist of the
Baroque Period. He enriched many established German styles through his skill in
counterpoint, harmonic and
motivic organisation, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach wrote much music that was revered for its intellectual depth, technical command, and artistic beauty. Many of his
works are still known today, such as the
Brandenburg Concertos, the
Mass in B minor, the
Well-Tempered Clavier, and his
cantatas, chorales,
partitas,
passions, and organ works.
Bach was born in
Eisenach,
Saxe-Eisenach into a very musical family; his father,
Johann Ambrosius Bach was the director of the town's musicians, and all of his uncles were professional musicians. His father taught him to play violin and harpsichord, and his brother,
Johann Christoph Bach taught him the clavichord and exposed him to much contemporary music.[2][3] Bach also sang, and he went to the St Michael's School in
Lüneburg because of his skill in voice. After graduating, he held several musical posts across Germany: he served as
Kapellmeister (director of music) to
Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen, Cantor of
Thomasschule in Leipzig, and Royal Court Composer to
August III.[4][5] Bach's health and vision declined in 1749, and he died on 28 July 1750. Modern historians believe that his death was caused by a combination of stroke and pneumonia.[6][7][8]
Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected throughout Europe during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century. He is now generally regarded as one of the main composers of the Baroque period, and as one of the greatest composers of all time.[9]
Life
Childhood (1685–1703)
Johann Sebastian Bach was born in
Eisenach,
Saxe-Eisenach, on 21 March 1685
O.S. (31 March 1685
N.S.). He was the son of
Johann Ambrosius Bach, the director of the town musicians, and
Maria Elisabeth Lämmerhirt.[10] He was the eighth child of Johann Ambrosius; the eldest son in the family was 14 at the time of Bach's birth.[11] His father taught him violin and
harpsichord.[12] His uncles were all professional musicians, whose posts included church organists, court chamber musicians, and composers. One uncle,
Johann Christoph Bach (1645–93), introduced him to the organ, and an older second cousin,
Johann Ludwig Bach (1677–1731), was a well-known composer and violinist. Bach drafted a genealogy around 1735, titled "Origin of the musical Bach family".[13]
Bach's mother died in 1694, and his father died eight months later.[5] Bach, 10, moved in with his oldest brother,
Johann Christoph Bach (1671–1721), the organist at the
Michaeliskirche in
Ohrdruf,
Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.[14] There he studied, performed, and copied music, including his own brother's, despite being forbidden to do so because scores were so valuable and private and blank ledger paper of that type was costly.[15][16] He received valuable teaching from his brother, who instructed him on the
clavichord. J.C. Bach exposed him to the works of great composers of the day, including South German composers such as
Johann Pachelbel (under whom Johann Christoph had studied)[2] and
Johann Jakob Froberger; North German composers;[3] Frenchmen, such as
Jean-Baptiste Lully,
Louis Marchand,
Marin Marais; and the Italian clavierist
Girolamo Frescobaldi. Also during this time, he was taught theology, Latin, Greek, French, and Italian at the local
gymnasium.[17]
At the age of 14, Bach, along with his older school friend George Erdmann, was awarded a choral scholarship to study at the prestigious St. Michael's School in
Lüneburg in the
Principality of Lüneburg.[18] Although it is not known for certain, the trip was likely taken mostly on foot.[17] His two years there were critical in exposing him to a wider facet of European culture. In addition to singing in the choir he played the School's three-manual organ and harpsichords.[17] He came into contact with sons of noblemen from northern Germany sent to the highly selective school to prepare for careers in other disciplines.
Although little supporting historical evidence exists at this time, it is almost certain that while in Lüneburg, Bach visited the
Johanniskirche (Church of St. John) and heard (and possibly played) the church's famous organ (built in 1549 by
Jasper Johannsen, and played by
Georg Böhm). Given his musical talent, Bach had significant contact with prominent organists of the day in Lüneburg, most notably Böhm, but also including organists in nearby Hamburg, such as
Johann Adam Reincken.[19]
Weimar, Arnstadt, and Mühlhausen (1703–08)
In January 1703, shortly after graduating from St. Michael's and being turned down for the post of organist at
Sangerhausen,[20] Bach was appointed court musician in the chapel of
Duke Johann Ernst in
Weimar. His role there is unclear, but likely included menial, non-musical duties. During his seven-month tenure at Weimar, his reputation as a keyboardist spread so much that he was invited to inspect the new organ, and give the inaugural recital, at St. Boniface's Church in
Arnstadt, located about 40 km southwest of Weimar.[21] In August 1703, he became the organist at St Boniface's, with light duties, a relatively generous salary, and a fine new organ tuned in the modern tempered system that allowed a wide range of keys to be used.
Despite strong family connections and a musically enthusiastic employer, tension built up between Bach and the authorities after several years in the post. Bach was dissatisfied with the standard of singers in the choir, while his employer was upset by his unauthorised absence from Arnstadt; Bach was gone for several months in 1705–06, to visit the great organist and composer
Dieterich Buxtehude and his
Abendmusiken at the
Marienkirche in the northern city of
Lübeck. The visit to Buxtehude involved a 400 kilometre (250 mi) journey on foot each way. The trip reinforced Buxtehude's style as a foundation for Bach's earlier works. Bach wanted to become
amanuensis (assistant and successor) to Buxtehude, but did not want to marry his daughter, which was a condition for his appointment.[22]
In 1706, Bach was offered a post as organist at St. Blasius's in
Mühlhausen, which he took up the following year. It included significantly higher remuneration, improved conditions, and a better choir. Four months after arriving at Mühlhausen, Bach married
Maria Barbara Bach, his second cousin. They had seven children, four of whom survived to adulthood, including
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach and
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach who both became important composers as well. Bach was able to convince the church and city government at Mühlhausen to fund an expensive renovation of the organ at St. Blasius's. Bach, in turn, wrote an elaborate, festive
cantata—
Gott ist mein König, BWV 71—for the inauguration of the new council in 1708. The council paid handsomely for its publication, and it was a major success.[17]
Return to Weimar (1708–17)
In 1708, Bach left Mühlhausen, returning to Weimar this time as organist and
concertmaster at the ducal court, where he had an opportunity to work with a large, well-funded contingent of professional musicians.[17] Bach moved with his family into an apartment very close to the ducal palace. In the following year, their first child was born and Maria Barbara's elder, unmarried sister joined them. She remained to help run the household until her death in 1729.
Bach's time in Weimar was the start of a sustained period of composing keyboard and orchestral works. He attained the proficiency and confidence to extend the prevailing structures and to include influences from abroad. He learned to write dramatic openings and employ the dynamic motor-rhythms and harmonic schemes found in the music of Italians such as
Vivaldi,
Corelli, and
Torelli. Bach absorbed these stylistic aspects in part by transcribing Vivaldi's string and wind
concertos for harpsichord and organ; many of these transcribed works are still played in concert often. Bach was particularly attracted to the Italian style in which one or more solo instruments alternate section-by-section with the full orchestra throughout a movement.[24]
In Weimar, Bach continued to play and compose for the organ, and to perform concert music with the duke's ensemble.[17] He also began to write the preludes and fugues which were later assembled into his monumental work
Das Wohltemperierte Clavier ("The Well-Tempered Clavier"—Clavier meaning clavichord or harpsichord),[25] consisting of two books, compiled in 1722 and 1744,[26] each containing a prelude and fugue in every
major and
minor key.
Also in Weimar Bach started work on the
Little Organ Book for his eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann, containing traditional
Lutheran chorales (
hymn tunes) set in complex textures to train organists. In 1713 Bach was offered a post in Halle when he advised the authorities during a renovation by Christoph Cuntzius of the main organ in the west gallery of the
Marktkirche Unser Lieben Frauen.
Johann Kuhnau and Bach played again when it was inaugurated in 1716.[27][28] Musicologists debate whether his first Christmas cantata
Christen, ätzet diesen Tag, BWV 63, was premiered here in 1713[29], or if it was performed for the bicentennial of the Reformation in 1717.[30] Bach eventually fell out of favour in Weimar and was, according to a translation of the court secretary's report, jailed for almost a month before being unfavourably dismissed:
“
On November 6, [1717], the quondam concertmaster and organist Bach was confined to the County Judge's place of detention for too stubbornly forcing the issue of his dismissal and finally on December 2 was freed from arrest with notice of his unfavourable discharge.[31]
”
Köthen (1717–23)
Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen hired Bach to serve as his
Kapellmeister (director of music) in 1717. Prince Leopold, himself a musician, appreciated Bach's talents, paid him well, and gave him considerable latitude in composing and performing. The prince was
Calvinist and did not use elaborate music in his worship; accordingly, most of Bach's work from this period was secular,[32] including the
Orchestral Suites, the
Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello, the
Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, and the
Brandenburg Concertos.[33] Bach also composed secular cantatas for the court such as the
Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht, BWV 134a.
Despite being born in the same year and only about 80 miles apart, Bach and
Handel never met. In 1719 Bach made the 20 mile journey from Köthen to Halle with the intention of meeting Handel, however Handel had recently departed the city.[34] In 1730, Bach's son Friedmann travelled to Halle to invite Handel to visit the Bach family in Leipzig, however the visit did not eventuate.[35]
On 7 July 1720, while Bach was abroad with Prince Leopold, Bach's first wife suddenly died. The following year, he met
Anna Magdalena Wilcke, a young, highly gifted soprano 17 years younger than he was who performed at the court in
Köthen; they married on 3 December 1721.[36] Together they had 13 more children, six of whom survived into adulthood:
Gottfried Heinrich,
Johann Christoph Friedrich, and
Johann Christian, all of whom became significant musicians; Elisabeth Juliane Friederica (1726–81), who married Bach's pupil Johann Christoph Altnikol; Johanna Carolina (1737–81); and Regina Susanna (1742–1809).[37]
Leipzig (1723–50)
In 1723, Bach was appointed Cantor of the
Thomasschule at
Thomaskirche in
Leipzig, and Director of Music in the principal churches in the town, namely the
Nikolaikirche and the
Paulinerkirche, the church of the University of Leipzig.[38] This was a prestigious post in the mercantile city in the
Electorate of Saxony, which he held for 27 years until his death. It brought him into contact with the political machinations of his employer, Leipzig's city council.
Bach was required to instruct the students of the
Thomasschule in singing and to provide church music for the main churches in Leipzig. Bach was required to teach Latin, but he was allowed to employ a deputy to do this instead. A
cantata was required for the church service on Sundays and additional church holidays during the
liturgical year. He usually performed his
own cantatas, most of which were composed during his first three years in Leipzig. The first of these was
Die Elenden sollen essen, BWV 75, first performed in the Nikolaikirche on 30 May 1723, the first Sunday after
Trinity. Bach collected his cantatas in annual cycles. Five are mentioned in obituaries, three are extant.[39] Most of these concerted works expound on the Gospel readings prescribed for every Sunday and feast day in the Lutheran year. Bach started a second annual cycle the first Sunday after Trinity of 1724, and composed only
Chorale cantatas, each based on a single church hymn. These include
O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 20,
Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140,
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61, and
Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BWV 1.
Bach drew the soprano and alto choristers from the School, and the tenors and basses from the School and elsewhere in Leipzig. Performing at weddings and funerals provided extra income for these groups; it was probably for this purpose, and for in-school training, that he wrote at least six
motets, at least five of which are for
double choir.[40] As part of his regular church work, he performed other composers' motets, which served as formal models for his own.[17]
Bach broadened his composing and performing beyond the liturgy by taking over, in March 1729, the directorship of the
Collegium Musicum, a secular performance ensemble started by the composer
Georg Philipp Telemann. This was one of the dozens of private societies in the major German-speaking cities that was established by musically active university students; these societies had become increasingly important in public musical life and were typically led by the most prominent professionals in a city. In the words of
Christoph Wolff, assuming the directorship was a shrewd move that "consolidated Bach's firm grip on Leipzig's principal musical institutions".[41] Year round, the Leipzig's Collegium Musicum performed regularly in venues such as the Zimmermannsches Caffeehaus, a
Coffeehouse on Catherine Street off the main market square. Many of Bach's works during the 1730s and 1740s were written for and performed by the Collegium Musicum; among these were parts of his
Clavier-Übung (Keyboard Practice) and many of his violin and
harpsichord concertos.[17]
In 1733, Bach composed the Kyrie and Gloria of the
Mass in B minor. He presented the manuscript to the King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and Elector of Saxony,
August III in an eventually successful bid to persuade the monarch to appoint him as Royal Court Composer.[4] He later extended this work into a full Mass, by adding a Credo, Sanctus and Agnus Dei, the music for which was almost wholly taken from his own cantatas. Bach's appointment as court composer was part of his long-term struggle to achieve greater bargaining power with the Leipzig Council. Although the complete mass was probably never performed during the composer's lifetime,[42] it is considered to be among the greatest choral works of all time. Between 1737 and 1739, Bach's former pupil
Carl Gotthelf Gerlach took over the directorship of the Collegium Musicum.
In 1747, Bach visited the court of the
King of Prussia in
Potsdam. There the king played a theme for Bach and challenged him to improvise a fugue based on his theme. Bach improvised a three-part fugue on Frederick's
pianoforte, then a novelty, and later presented the king with a
Musical Offering which consists of fugues, canons and a trio based on this theme. Its six-part fugue includes a slightly altered subject more suitable for extensive elaboration. Bach wrote another fugue,
The Art of Fugue, shortly before his death, but never completed the final fugue. It consists of 18 complex fugues and canons based on a simple theme.[43] It was only published posthumously in 1751.[44]
The final work Bach completed was a chorale prelude for organ, entitled Vor deinen Thron tret ich hiermit (Before thy throne I now appear,
BWV 668a) which he dictated to his son-in-law,
Johann Altnikol, from his deathbed. When the notes on the three staves of the final cadence are counted and mapped onto the Roman alphabet, the initials "JSB" are found.[45]
Death (1750)
Bach's health declined in 1749; on 2 June,
Heinrich von Brühl wrote to one of the Leipzig
burgomasters to request that his music director, Gottlob Harrer, fill the Thomascantor and Director musices posts "upon the eventual ... decease of Mr. Bach."[29] Bach became increasingly blind, so the British eye surgeon
John Taylor operated on Bach while visiting Leipzig in March or April of 1750.[46]
On 28 July 1750 Bach died at the age of 65. A contemporary newspaper reported "the unhappy consequences of the very unsuccessful eye operation" as the cause of death.[47] Modern historians speculate that the cause of death was a stroke complicated by pneumonia.[6][7][8] His son Emanuel and his pupil
Johann Friedrich Agricola wrote an obituary of Bach.[48]
Bach's estate included five
Clavecins, two lute-harpsichords, three violins, three violas, two cellos, a
viola da gamba, a
lute and a
spinet, and 52 "sacred books", including books by
Martin Luther and
Josephus.[49] He was originally buried at Old St. John's Cemetery in Leipzig. His grave went unmarked for nearly 150 years. In 1894 his coffin was finally found and moved to a vault in St. John's Church. This building was destroyed by Allied bombing during World War II, so in 1950 Bach's remains were taken to their present grave at
Leipzig's Church of St. Thomas.[17]
Legacy
A detailed obituary of Bach was published (without attribution) four years later in 1754 by
Lorenz Christoph Mizler (a former student) in Musikalische Bibliothek, a music periodical. The obituary remains probably "the richest and most trustworthy"[50] early source document about Bach. After his death, Bach's reputation as a composer at first declined; his work was regarded as old-fashioned compared to the emerging
classical style.[51] Initially he was remembered more as a player and teacher.
During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, Bach was widely recognised for his keyboard work.
Mozart,
Beethoven,
Chopin,
Robert Schumann, and
Felix Mendelssohn were among his most prominent admirers; they began writing in a more contrapuntal style after being exposed to Bach's music.[52] Beethoven described him as the "Urvater der Harmonie", "original father of harmony".[53]
Bach's reputation among the wider public was enhanced in part by
Johann Nikolaus Forkel's 1802 biography of Bach.[54] Felix Mendelssohn significantly contributed to the revival of Bach's reputation with his 1829 Berlin performance of the St Matthew Passion.[55] In 1850, the
Bach Gesellschaft (Bach Society) was founded to promote the works; in 1899 the Society published a comprehensive edition of the composer's works with little editorial intervention.
During the 20th century, the process of recognising the musical as well as the pedagogic value of some of the works continued, perhaps most notably in the promotion of the
Cello Suites by
Pablo Casals, the first major performer to record these suites.[56] Another development has been the growth of the "authentic" or "
period performance" movement, which attempts to present music as the composer intended it. Examples include the playing of keyboard works on
harpsichord rather than modern
grand piano and the use of small choirs or single voices instead of the larger forces favoured by 19th- and early 20th-century performers.[57]
Bach's music is frequently bracketed with the literature of
William Shakespeare and the teachings of
Isaac Newton.[58] In Germany, during the twentieth century, many streets were named and statues were erected in honour of Bach. His music features three times - more than any other composer - on the
Voyager Golden Record, a phonograph record containing a broad sample of the images, common sounds, languages, and music of Earth, sent into outer space with the two
Voyager probes.[59]
Works
In 1950, a thematic catalogue called Bach Werke Verzeichnis (Bach Works Catalogue) was compiled by
Wolfgang Schmieder.[60] Schmieder largely followed the Bach Gesellschaft Ausgabe, a comprehensive edition of the composer's works that was produced between 1850 and 1905: BWV 1–224 are
cantatas; BWV 225–249, large-scale choral works including his
Passions; BWV 250–524,
chorales and sacred songs; BWV 525–748,
organ works; BWV 772–994, other keyboard works; BWV 995–1000,
lute music; BWV 1001–40,
chamber music; BWV 1041–71, orchestral music; and BWV 1072–1126,
canons and
fugues.[61]
Organ works
Bach was best known during his lifetime as an organist, organ consultant, and composer of organ works in both the traditional German free genres—such as
preludes,
fantasias, and
toccatas—and stricter forms, such as
chorale preludes and
fugues.[17] At a young age, he established a reputation for his great creativity and ability to integrate foreign styles into his organ works. A decidedly North German influence was exerted by
Georg Böhm, with whom Bach came into contact in Lüneburg, and
Dieterich Buxtehude, whom the young organist visited in
Lübeck in 1704 on an extended leave of absence from his job in Arnstadt. Around this time, Bach copied the works of numerous French and Italian composers to gain insights into their compositional languages, and later arranged violin concertos by
Vivaldi and others for organ and harpsichord. During his most productive period (1708–14) he composed several pairs of preludes and
fugues and toccatas and fugues, and the
Orgelbüchlein ("Little organ book"), an unfinished collection of 46 short chorale preludes that demonstrates compositional techniques in the setting of
chorale tunes. After leaving Weimar, Bach wrote less for organ, although his best-known works (the six
trio sonatas, the "German Organ Mass" in
Clavier-Übung III from 1739, and the "
Great Eighteen" chorales, revised late in his life) were all composed after his leaving Weimar. Bach was extensively engaged later in his life in consulting on organ projects, testing newly built organs, and dedicating organs in afternoon recitals.[62][63]
Other keyboard works
Bach wrote many works for
harpsichord, some of which may have been played on the
clavichord. Many of his keyboard works are anthologies that encompass whole theoretical systems in an encyclopaedic fashion.
•
The Well-Tempered Clavier, Books 1 and 2 (BWV 846–893). Each book consists of a prelude and fugue in each of the 24 major and minor
keys in chromatic order from C major to B minor (thus, the whole collection is often referred to as 'the 48'). "Well-tempered" in the title refers to the
temperament (system of tuning); many temperaments before Bach's time were not flexible enough to allow compositions to utilise more than just a few keys.[64]
• The
15 Inventions and 15 Sinfonias (BWV 772–801). These short two- and three-part contrapuntal works are arranged in the same chromatic order as the Well-Tempered Clavier, omitting some of the rarer keys. These pieces were intended by Bach for instructional purposes.[65]
• Three collections of
dance suites: the
English Suites (BWV 806–811), the
French Suites (BWV 812–817), and the
Partitas for keyboard (BWV 825–830). Each collection contains six suites built on the standard model (
Allemande–
Courante–
Sarabande–(optional movement)–
Gigue). The English Suites closely follow the traditional model, adding a prelude before the allemande and including a single movement between the sarabande and the gigue.[66] The French Suites omit preludes, but have multiple movements between the sarabande and the gigue.[67] The partitas expand the model further with elaborate introductory movements and miscellaneous movements between the basic elements of the model.[68]
• The
Goldberg Variations (BWV 988), an aria with thirty
variations. The collection has a complex and unconventional structure: the variations build on the
bass line of the aria, rather than its melody, and musical
canons are interpolated according to a grand plan. There are nine canons within the 30 variations, one every three variations between variations 3 and 27.[69] These variations move in order from canon at the unison to canon at the ninth. The first eight are in pairs (unison and octave, second and seventh, third and sixth, fourth and fifth). The ninth canon stands on its own due to compositional dissimilarities.
• Miscellaneous pieces such as the
Overture in the French Style (French Overture, BWV 831), Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue (BWV 903), and the
Italian Concerto (BWV 971).
Among Bach's lesser known keyboard works are seven
toccatas (BWV 910–916),
four duets (BWV 802–805),
sonatas for keyboard (BWV 963–967), the Six Little
Preludes (BWV 933–938), and the Aria variata alla maniera italiana (BWV 989).
Orchestral and chamber music
Bach wrote for single instruments, duets, and small ensembles. Many of his solo works, such as his six
sonatas and partitas for violin (BWV 1001–1006), six
cello suites (BWV 1007–1012) and Partita for solo flute (
BWV 1013), are among the most profound works in the repertoire.[70] Bach composed a suite and several other works for solo lute. He wrote
trio sonatas; solo
sonatas (accompanied by
continuo) for the flute and for the
viola da gamba; and a large number of
canons and
ricercare, mostly with unspecified instrumentation. The most significant examples of the latter are contained in
The Art of Fugue and
The Musical Offering.
Bach's best-known orchestral works are the
Brandenburg Concertos, so named because he submitted them in the hope of gaining employment from
Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Schwedt in 1721; his application was unsuccessful.[17] These works are examples of the
concerto grosso genre. Other surviving works in the
concerto form include two violin concertos (
BWV 1041 and
BWV 1042); a Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor (
BWV 1043), often referred to as Bach's "double" concerto; and
concertos for one to four harpsichords. It is widely accepted that many of the harpsichord concertos were not original works, but arrangements of his concertos for other instruments now lost.[71] A number of violin, oboe and flute concertos have been reconstructed from these. In addition to concertos, Bach wrote four
orchestral suites, and a series of stylised dances for orchestra, each preceded by a
French overture.[72]
Vocal and choral works
Cantatas
As the
Thomaskantor, beginning mid of 1723, Bach performed a
cantata each Sunday and feast day that corresponded to the
lectionary readings of the week.[17] Although Bach performed cantatas by other composers, he composed at least three entire annual cycles of
cantatas at Leipzig, in addition to those composed at
Mühlhausen and Weimar.[17] In total he wrote more than 300
sacred cantatas, of which approximately 200 survive.[73]
His cantatas vary greatly in form and instrumentation, including those for solo singers, single choruses, small instrumental groups, or grand orchestras. Many consist of a large opening chorus followed by one or more recitative-aria pairs for soloists (or duets) and a concluding
chorale. The recitative is part of the corresponding Bible reading for the week and the aria is a contemporary reflection on it. The melody of the concluding chorale often appears as a
cantus firmus in the opening movement. Among his best known cantatas are:
•
Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4•
Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis, BWV 21•
Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 80•
Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, BWV 106 (Actus Tragicus)
•
Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140•
Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147In addition, Bach wrote a number of secular cantatas, usually for civic events such as council inaugurations. These include wedding cantatas, the
Wedding Quodlibet, the
Peasant Cantata and the
Coffee Cantata.[74]
Passions
Bach's large choral-orchestral works include the grand scale
St Matthew Passion and
St John Passion, both written for
Good Friday vespers services at the
Thomaskirche and the
Nikolaikirche in alternate years, and the
Christmas Oratorio (a set of six cantatas for use in the
Liturgical season of Christmas).[75][76][77] The two versions of the
Magnificat (one in E-flat major, with four interpolated Christmas-related movements, and the later and better-known version in D major), the
Easter Oratorio, and the
Ascension Oratorio are smaller and simpler than the Passions and the Christmas Oratorio.
Mass in B minor
Main article:
Mass in B minorBach assembled his other large work, the
Mass in B minor, near the end of his life, mostly from pieces composed earlier (such as the cantatas
Gloria in excelsis Deo, BWV 191 and
Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12). The mass was never performed in full during Bach's lifetime.[78] All of these movements, unlike the six
motets (Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied; Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf;
Jesu, meine Freude; Fürchte dich nicht; Komm, Jesu, komm!; and Lobet den Herrn alle Heiden), have substantial solo parts as well as choruses.
Musical style
Bach's musical style arose from his skill in contrapuntal invention and motivic control, his flair for improvisation, his exposure to North and South German, Italian and French music, and his devotion to the
Lutheran liturgy. His access to musicians, scores and instruments as a child and a young man and his emerging talent for writing tightly woven music of powerful sonority, allowed him to develop an eclectic, energetic musical style in which foreign influences were combined with an intensified version of the pre-existing German musical language. From the Period 1713-14 onward he learned much from the style of the Italians.[79]
During the Baroque Period, many composers only wrote the framework, and performers embellished this framework with
ornaments and other elaboration.[80] This practice varied considerably between the schools of European music; Bach notated most or all of the details of his melodic lines, leaving little for performers to interpolate. This accounted for his control over the dense contrapuntal textures that he favoured, and decreased leeway for spontaneous variation of musical lines. At the same time, Bach left the instrumentation of major works including The Art of Fugue open.[81]
Bach's devout relationship with the Christian God in the Lutheran tradition[82] and the high demand for religious music of his times placed sacred music at the centre of his repertory. He taught
Luther's Small Catechism as the Thomascantor in Leipzig,[83] and some of his pieces represent it;[84] the Lutheran chorale hymn tune was the basis of much of his work. He wrote more cogent, tightly integrated chorale preludes than most. The large-scale structure of some of Bach's sacred works is evidence of subtle, elaborate planning. For example, the
St Matthew Passion illustrates the
Passion with Bible text reflected in recitatives, arias, choruses, and chorales.[85] The structure of the
Easter Oratorio, BWV 249, resembles
The Crucifixion.[86]
Bach's drive to display musical achievements was evident in his composition. He wrote much for the keyboard and led its elevation from
continuo to solo instrument with
harpsichord concertos and keyboard
obbligato.[87] Virtuosity is a key element in other pieces, such as the Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV 548 for organ in which virtuosic passages are mapped onto alternating flute and reed solos within the fugal development.[88]
Bach produced collections of movements that explored the range of artistic and technical possibilities inherent in various genres. The most famous example is the
Well Tempered Clavier, in which each book presents a prelude and fugue in every major and minor key. Each fugue displays a variety of contrapuntal and fugal techniques.[89]
Performances
Present-day Bach performers usually pursue one of two traditions: so-called "
authentic performance practice", utilising historical techniques; or the use of modern instruments and playing techniques, often with larger ensembles. In Bach's time orchestras and choirs were usually smaller than those of later composers, and even Bach's most ambitious choral works, such as his Mass in B minor and Passions, were composed for relatively modest forces. Some of Bach's important chamber music does not indicate instrumentation, allows a greater variety of ensemble.
Easy listening realisations of Bach's music and their use in advertising contributed greatly to Bach's popularisation in the second half of the twentieth century. Among these were the
Swingle Singers' versions of Bach pieces that are now well-known (for instance, the
Air on the G string, or the Wachet Auf chorale prelude) and
Wendy Carlos's 1968
Switched-On Bach, which used the
Moog electronic synthesiser. Jazz musicians have adopted Bach's music, with
Jacques Loussier,
Ian Anderson,
Uri Caine and the
Modern Jazz Quartet among those creating jazz versions of Bach works.[90]
See also
•
List of fugal works by Johann Sebastian Bach•
List of transcriptions of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach•
List of students of Johann Sebastian BachReferences
1. German pronunciation:
[joˈhan] or
[ˈjoːhan zeˈbastjan ˈbax]1. ^ a b Christoph Wolff, Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician (New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc., 2000), 19.
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3. ^ a b
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