Download Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach
1685-1750
Composer, Organist, Music Director
German
Baroque Period
Life
-came from family of musicians: learned violin and harpsichord at an early age
-worked several jobs as a musician and composer
-most prestigious job was as the music director for the school and churches in Leipzig
-married twice, had 20 children (10 of whom survived until adulthood)
Music
-lots of music for church services
-wrote for keyboard (organ and harpsichord), orchestra, and choir
-Fugue: composition built on a theme that is imitated, kind of like a round
Baroque Period 1600-1750
-instruments become more important
-more complex and difficult to perform
-lots of ornamentation
-established opera
The Organ
-produces sound by pumping air through whistle-like pipes
-the air used to be controlled by one or more people physically pumping bellows; nListening
Toccata and Fugue in D minor
-one of the most famous pieces for organ of all time
-begins with free-flowing toccata, then goes into structured fugue
Listening
Toccata and Fugue in D minor
-one of the most famous pieces for organ of all time
-begins with free-flowing toccata, then goes into structured fugue
The Well-Tempered Clavier
-collection of 24 preludes and fugues
-"Well-Tempered" because it defined how the keyboard should be tuned
-Prelude in C Major: first piece in the collection, most well-knownow it's done by machine