Lesson 5

Bach and the Baroque (1685-1750)

The life and influence of a master composer.

Discuss

Bach’s music is widely performed the world over. Have you heard the Golberg Variations or the Brandenburg Concertos? Do you have a favorite composition? A favorite performance? Go the the message board and tell your students what it is and why.

Preview: Historical Perspective

In this lesson we’ll study the contributions of a composer whom some consider the most influential musician in the history of Western music: Johann Sebastian Bach.

It’s sometimes very easy to overlook the struggle that was life in the 17th and 18th centuries. In some studies, you’ll read that J. S. Bach was the father of 20 children. This is technically true; however, only eight survived past the age of 5, one of whom died at the young age of 24. There is much evidence to indicate that Bach, the great genius of Western music, was no different from any other man in the midst of grief; the deaths of his children, and in particular his adult son, were periods of great sorrow and melancholy for him. His reputation as a devout family man was hard earned and well deserved.

The Bach Musical Dynasty

Johann Sebastian Bach wasn’t the first musician in his family — not by a long shot. J. S. Bach actually represents the fifth generation of Bach musicians. Counting Johann’s children and grandchildren, the seven generations of Bachs contributed more than 60 musicians to the world.

Many of Bach’s children and relatives were highly-regarded musicians in their day, and some, particularly his sons Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, and Johann Christian Bach, were important contributors to the Baroque and Classical genres.

But it was the grand master himself who alone embodied an unprecedented natural musical ability and unquestionable genius. On the technical side of the musical ledger, Bach’s compositions are almost unnerving in their flawless design and consistency; they have been used for generations by the world’s greatest musicians as texts for studies in musical form and analysis. On the purely aesthetic side, Bach’s works include numerous unrivaled masterpieces of sublime beauty and grace.

Bach’s Early Life

Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany, in 1685. His father, Johann Ambrosius Bach, was an accomplished violinist, high-ranking city musician, and cousin to well-known composers Johann Michael and Johann Christoph Bach. (Evidently Johann was a popular name.)

Johann Sebastian’s mother, Elisabeth, died when he was nine years old, and his father died the following year (1695), leaving him and his brother J. Jacob in the care of their eldest brother, J. Christoph, an organist in the city of Ohrdruf.

Christoph, who had studied under Johann Pachelbel, continued the boys’ musical training and cared for them until March of 1700 when he sent the teenage J. S. to Lunenburg to study at St. Michael’s, a church school well known for its music program and library, as well as for its tradition of accepting underprivileged students. (Johann, a young man from a poor family, was able to pay for his room and board by singing in the St. Michael’s church choir.)

One Small Step for Musickind

In 1703, Bach got his first real job when he was hired as an organist by the Neue Kirche (New Church) in the small town of Arnstadt. It was during his tenure in Arnstadt that the young Bach came under the influence of Dietrich Buxtehude, a prolific composer and famous organist in the city of Lubeck. In 1705, Bach received permission from his employer to take a four-week leave to study Buxtehude’s music. So, in October of that year, Johann walked the 200 miles from Arnstadt to Lubeck, studied with the master, and returned to his job in the middle of January — about three months late. Not only did he forget his tardy slip; the young organist also seemed to forget the simple musical sensibilities of his rural Arnstadt congregation, and proceeded to “impress” them with his newfound big-city virtuosity.

In June of 1707 Johann moved to the city of Muhlhausen, to a much more appreciative audience.

Bach’s Career Takes Off: 1707-1717

In October of that same year, Johann married his second cousin Maria Barbara, and the couple settled into their new life at the Blasiuskirche (Blasius Church) of Muhlhausen, where J. S. worked as the church organist. It was during this short period that word of Bach’s virtuosity as a composer and organist began to spread.

After one year, Johann was hired away by Duke William Ernst of neighboring Weimar to work as an organist and a member of the court orchestra. This turned out to be a stroke of great fortune for the 23-year-old musician. His pay was doubled, and Duke Ernst told him to spend as much time as possible practicing his art. He was given complete access to transcriptions of Vivaldi’s works (which had a significant influence on his later compositions). And finally, he and his wife started their family in 1708 with the birth of their first child, Catharina Dorothea.

The Fruits of Success

By 1713, Bach’s reputation was fairly established, and offers of employment from neighboring cities and nobility were common. In one instance, J. S. was wined and dined in the city of Halle (the invoice from his lodging at the city’s finest hotel shows his fondness for food, tobacco, and spirits), but he declined the offer when Duke Ernst doubled his pay — again.

Johann, Maria, and family remained in Weimar until 1717. As an example of just how fickle life can be, even for a musical genius, Bach, during his entire Weimar tenure, had to endure political intrigue and the petty bickering between his employer, Duke Wilhelm Ernst, and the city’s other duke, Ernst August, a friend of Bach’s. In 1716, Duke Ernst forbade Johann from providing any music for Duke August. Never really interested in being politically correct, and certainly not shy or unconfident, Bach refused the order, and found new employment with Prince Leopold von Anhalt of Kothen. (Leopold was the brother-in-law of Ernst August.) When Duke Ernst found out about the deal, he refused to let Johann leave, and even had him imprisoned for a month before dismissing him “without honor.”

Personal Tragedy

Bach took on his new role as Kapellmeister at Kothen in December 1717. He was rewarded handsomely by Leopold (a music enthusiast who truly appreciated Johann) and was allowed to pursue whatever musical fancy his heart desired. Unfortunately, Johann was to experience great loss in July 1720, when Maria Barbara died suddenly after a short illness while he was away. Their surviving children were Catharina Dorothea, Wilhelm Friedemann, Carl Philipp Emanuel, and Johann Gottfried Bernhard, all under the age of 12.

Further Reading

Our text, Classical Music: The 50 Greatest Composers and Their 1,000 Greatest Works, ranks Bach at the top of the list — the greatest composer of all time. For an in-depth look at his life and work, read pages 96 – 115 of The 50 Greatest Composers or pages 403 – 423 of The History of Western Music.

The Mature Bach: 1721-1750

In December 1721, just one year after the death of Maria Barbara, Johann married Anna Magdalena, a soprano from the choir Bach directed. Two years later, Bach accepted new employment as Cantor at the St. Thomas School in Leipzig. Some biographers credit Bach’s desire to return to writing church music for his decision to move to Leipzig. (Bach’s compositions while at Kothen didn’t include religious works.) Others point to Bach’s new wife (16 years his junior) and four growing children, who may have grown weary of the somewhat secluded life in Kothen. At any rate, Johann’s new salary was less than half of what he had been receiving from Prince Leopold, and much of his energy was expended over the next few years in an attempt to increase his income and provide for his growing family. (Anna Magdalena endured 12 pregnancies between 1723 and 1737, with four children surviving past the age of five and one suffering from a severe mental handicap.)

Bach continued composing and performing in and around Leipzig for the remainder of his life. Sadly, even though he was famous, he wasn’t able to turn his fame into enough fortune to secure lasting prosperity for his wife and children.

Johann Sebastian Bach suffered a stroke and died in July 1750. He was 65 years old and nearly blind from cataracts. Ten years after her husband’s death, Anna Magdalena passed away and was buried in a pauper’s grave. As in all families everywhere, some of their children prospered and others passed into obscurity

For Sale: Timeless Musical Masterpieces

During his lifetime, fewer than a dozen of Bach’s compositions were published.

Bach’s Early Music

Here are a few important things to keep in mind as you read this account of Bach’s music:

• The musical overview in this brief lesson isn’t a “Form and Analysis” review of Bach’s compositions. Rather, it’s intended to familiarize you with some of his work, give you the opportunity to associate it with events in his personal life, and provide you with a few resources to aid you in further study.
• Many of J. S. Bach’s compositions are lost to history, due mostly to ignorant or careless handling of his effects after he died. Music historians have estimated that as much as 40 percent of his entire collection of writings was lost.
• The compositions that survived Bach’s death were cataloged quite some time ago. Each of Bach’s 1,120 compositions has been given a unique number so that musicians, historians, and researchers can reference them easily. The catalog is called the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (“Bach’s Works Catalog”), or BWV for short. Here’s an example of the catalog naming scheme in action: we might know a certain famous orchestral suite as Concerto No. 1 in F Major, but in the catalog it is simply BWV 1046.

Lunenburg (1700-1703)

The earliest known compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach date from 1700, when he was 15 years old. However, there are literally hundreds of his works without dates, and probably even more that didn’t make it to the 21st century, so it’s likely that he began composing music before he was 15. These early works are from a collection of organ compositions probably written during Johann’s school days at St. Michael’s.

Arnstadt (1703-1707)

Bach’s Arnstadt compositions include increasingly sophisticated organ works as well as his first compositions for clavier. After his visit to Lubeck to study the music of Buxtehude (1705), Johann began to expand his stylistic repertoire, and apparently shocked his country congregation with fanciful “big-city” organ riffs.

Muhlhausen (1707-1708)

After rattling the rafters in Arnstadt, Bach moved on to Muhlhausen in 1707 for a one-year stint as organist. His first cantata (BWV 131) was composed during this period. The BWV lists more than 300 cantatas.

Weimar (1708-1717)

Bach arrived in Weimar in 1708, and in that year alone wrote more organ and clavier compositions than in all his previous years combined. Historians also believe this was the year he wrote the first of the Brandenburg concertos (BWV 1051). By the end of his stay in Weimar (and particularly after his introduction to Vivaldi’s works in 1713), Johann had perfected the art of counterpoint, and was the undisputed master of the style.

His works during this period included numerous types of compositions for organ and clavier, cantatas, sonatas for duets and trios, orchestral suites, violin concertos, and at least four of the Brandenburg concertos.

The following selections provide a good sampling of Bach’s earliest work: compositions written from 1700-1717. Click on the title of the CD you wish to sample or purchase:

“Toccata and Fugue for Organ” (BWV 565) (disc 1, selection 1) and “Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major” (BWV 1068) (disc 2, selection 4):

Bach: The Greatest Hits

Catalog Number: 3601
UPC: 15095360120
Format: CD
Release Date: Apr 13 1994
Label: INTERSOUND RECORDS

“Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” (BWV 147) (disc 1, selection 1):

Bach For Breakfast

Catalog Number: 446630
UPC: 28944663020
Format: CD
Release Date: Jun 13 1995
Label: POLYGRAM RECORDS

Disc 1, selection #1: “Sheep May Safely Graze” (BWV 208):

Bach At Bedtime: Lullabies For The Still Of The Night

Catalog Number: 446915
UPC: 28944691528
Format: CD
Release Date: Oct 17 1995
Label: POLYGRAM RECORDS

Kothen (1717-1723)

The five years Bach spent in Kothen were musically engaging and profitable, allowing him the time and resources to expand his horizons in the area of secular composition. He wrote much instrumental work for various combinations of instruments, a collection of 24 preludes and fugues entitled The Well-Tempered Clavier 1, and completed the last of his Brandenburg concertos.

Sound Bite

The following selections provide a good sampling of the compositions Bach wrote during his five years in Kothen.

Bach: The Greatest Hits, Disc, 1, selection #2: “Brandenburg Concerto, No. 5 in D major” (BWV 1050)

[Catalog Number: 3601
UPC: 15095360120
Format: CD
Release Date: Apr 13 1994
Label: INTERSOUND RECORDS]

Disc 1, selection #1: “Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude No. 1 in C Major” (BWV 846):

Bach for Book Lovers

Catalog Number: 456497
UPC: 28945649726
Format: CD
Release Date: Jun 10 1997
Label: POLYGRAM RECORDS

Supreme Achievement

The great German composer Wagner called Bach “the most stupendous miracle in all of music.”

Bach’s Later Music

Leipzig (1723-1750)

Bach’s employment in Leipzig was his longest and his last. During his 27 years in this city, Johann produced a staggering amount of music, maturely representing all of the musical forms of his day except opera. At one point he was writing one cantata per week, along with other compositions.

Nevertheless, most of Bach’s writings from this period were intended for Lutheran services of one sort or another. Bach was well known as a man of faith, but there’s reason to believe his interest in church music was financial as well as spiritual. Aside from his musical genius, Johann Sebastian Bach was a man like any other man who had to work diligently to ensure his family was sheltered, clothed, and fed. He did this by writing music for church services and special occasions, performing in organ and clavier concerts, conducting choirs, teaching students, and even selling musical instruments.

Although the sheer number of compositions he penned during this period is impressive, the most notable aspect of his prodigious output was the very high quality of all of the work. Granted, not everything he wrote was a masterpiece, but his average compositions were far beyond the skill level of the vast majority of his musical contemporaries. Bach’s greatest works — which we now recognize as masterpieces of the genre — were unmatched by any composer of the Western world, even and especially by those composers who were far better known.

The following selections provide a good sample of many of Bach’s most celebrated works, all composed during his 27 years in Leipzeg:

(BWV 232), Disc 1, selection #5: “Missa: Gloria: Et In Terra Pax”

Bach: Mass in B minor

Catalog Number: 80517
UPC: 89408051722
Format: CD
Release Date: Feb 22 2000
Label: TELARC

(BWV 988), Disc 1, selection #1 “Aria” (transcribed from the harpsichord for brass)

Bach: Goldberg Variations
Canadian Brass

Catalog Number: 63610
UPC: 90266361021
Format: CD
Release Date: Jan 11 2000
Label: RCA

(BWV 245): “Sire, Lord and Master” (disc 1, selection 1)

Bach: St. John Passion

Catalog Number: 443859
UPC: 28944385922
Format: CD
Release Date: Jun 13 1995
Label: POLYGRAM RECORDS

Epilogue in A Minor

As strange as it may seem, Bach’s work slipped into relative obscurity after his death. A number of factors may explain this phenomenon:

• Popular music’s shift to a new style (the gallant — see Lesson 6)
• The slow process of 18th-century publication and communication
• The careless manner in which Bach’s works were handled immediately following his death

It would take nearly 100 years and the efforts of Felix Mendelssohn (among others) to return the musical gifts of this great composer to the world.

Bach wasn’t the most prolific composer who ever lived, nor was he the best-traveled or most influential (in his day); however, for the last 150 years no other musician has had more to say about the direction of Western music than Johann Sebastian Bach.

Moving Forward

In this lesson we studied the composer oft cited as the most influential of all time. Next we will examine two composers that rank almost as high: Haydn and Mozart. We’ll also look at the development of the symphony. In the meantime complete this lesson’s assignment and quiz, and study chapter 12 of The History of Western Music for a comprehensive overview of the other great composers of the early 18th century.

Assignment: Bach and the Baroque (1685-1750)

• Listen to at least one complete composition by J. S. Bach. Do you have a favorite? Do you have a favorite performance of it? Go to the message board to discuss why you prefer it to others.
• Read Chapter 12 of A History of Western Music. Of all the great composers of the early 18th century, why is Bach considered the greatest? Do you agree? Among all the composers discussed, who are your other favorites? Go to the message board and explain why.