Johann
Sebastian Bach
Johann
Sebastian Bach, 65, of Leipzig, Germany, died after 8:45 p.m. on July 28,
1750.
He
was buried July 31, 1750, in the St. John’s churchyard in Leipzig.
Bach
was an organist and composer. He had been cantor for St. Thomas School in
Leipzig since 1723.
A
son of Johann Ambrosius and Elisabeth (Lämmerhirt) Bach, he was born in
Eisenach, Germany, on March 21, 1685. He married a second cousin, Maria
Barbara Bach, on Oct. 17, 1707, in Dornheim. She died in 1720. He married
Anna Magdalena Wilcke in Cöthen on Dec. 3, 1721.
He
was survived by his second wife; five sons, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, Carl
Philipp Emanuel Bach, Gottfried Heinrich Bach, Johann Christoph Friedrich
Bach and Johann Christian Bach; and four daughters, Catharina Dorothea
Bach, Elisabeth Juliana Frederika Altnikol, Johanna Carolina Bach and
Regina Susanna Bach.
He
was preceded in death by his parents (before he was 10); his first wife;
an adult son, Johann Bernhard Bach; and 10 children who died in infancy or
early childhood.
He
was a Lutheran.
Before
moving to Leipzig, Bach had been organist at Arnstadt (1703-1707);
organist in Mülhausen (1707-1708); organist and chamber musician in the
court of the duke of Saxe-Weimar (1708-1717); and director of music for
the prince of Anhalt-Cöthen (1717-1723).
Bach
wrote instrumental and vocal music, including hundreds of keyboard pieces,
five cycles of cantatas for the church year, four settings of the Passion
story, sonatas, motets and concertos.
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My early
impression was that J.S. Bach was an important composer whose music was
difficult and of high quality. I didn't become acquainted with his vocal
arrangements or compositions for orchestral instruments, but when I
started to play the organ, I tried a couple of well-known preludes
attributed to him or to a favorite student of his. Later, I practiced a
number of Bach compositions typically assigned by organ teachers.
Music is
written to be heard, but music such as Bach's can be more exhilarating to
play than just to hear. It's easier for the person playing the notes to
follow what’s going on, and besides that, there's the kinesthetic
pleasure of being totally involved – from head to feet – in making the
music happen. It's like driving a vehicle with plenty of horsepower and
agility besides (or at least the agility would be there with a highly
skilled organist, like the composer).
In his own
time, J.S. Bach was acclaimed as an organist, but only a few of his
compositions were published before his death. He was one of many musically
talented Bachs in an era of outstanding musical output.
With this
250th anniversary approaching, I got out several of my neglected books
with music he wrote. There aren’t many of his pieces that I could ever
play, but once in a while I like to try some of them again, usually when
no one else is around. In this case, when I went to the church on a quiet
Saturday afternoon, I forgot to take my organ shoes, so I played in
sandals, but my copy of "The Fanfare Fugue" has only a few pedal
notes at the end anyway. It says to use a full organ setting with reeds
– a chance to "pull out all the stops." Playing it through
once wasn’t enough either.
The music
didn't wake the dead, but I felt more alive for having played it.
Like one of
his most loved cantatas – with a beautiful counterpoint and a stately
chorale portraying the coming of Christ as a bridegroom – Bach's music
still says, "Sleepers, wake."
[Mary
Krallmann]
For more
information:
Bach
Central Station
Johann
Sebastian Bach
Johann
Sebastian Bach: A Detailed Biography
The
J.S. Bach Home Page
