Music

Johann Sebastian Bach

1685–1750 · German

Baroque

Bach was a Lutheran organist and cantor who worked at Weimar, Köthen and, from 1723, as Thomaskantor in Leipzig. He brought counterpoint and Baroque forms to their summit in the Passions, the Mass in B minor, the Brandenburg Concertos and the keyboard works, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.

How to spot them

▸Dense, perfectly worked counterpoint: several independent melodic lines weaving together, often in fugues
▸Organ, harpsichord or chorales; a relentless 'motor rhythm' of running semiquavers in concertos and suites
▸A dramatic organ flourish and plunging diminished chord in D minor is the Toccata and Fugue, BWV 565
▸Quiz clues: Leipzig, Thomaskantor, St Thomas Church, BWV numbers, Mendelssohn's 1829 revival

Key works — listen

Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 (c. 1704 (uncertain))

The most famous organ piece ever written, though its attribution to Bach has been questioned

Recording: Johann Sebastian Bach (disputed), performed by Ashtar Moïra · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

Brandenburg Concertos, BWV 1046–1051 (1721)

Six concertos dedicated to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt

Recording: Johann Sebastian Bach · CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Air from Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068 ('Air on the G String') (c. 1730)

Serene slow movement; the nickname comes from August Wilhelmj's 1871 violin arrangement

Recording: Unknown · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

St Matthew Passion, BWV 244 (1727)

Monumental Passion for double choir and orchestra; revived by Mendelssohn in 1829

Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (1741)

An Aria and 30 variations for harpsichord; famously recorded by Glenn Gould in 1955

Mass in B minor, BWV 232 (1749)

Complete Latin Mass assembled late in his life from new and earlier music

Quick-fire facts

•Bach was born in Eisenach in 1685 – the same year as Handel and Domenico Scarlatti – and died in Leipzig in 1750.
•From 1723 until his death he was Thomaskantor, director of music at St Thomas Church (Thomaskirche), Leipzig.
•BWV stands for Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, the catalogue published by Wolfgang Schmieder in 1950.
•Mendelssohn's 1829 Berlin performance of the St Matthew Passion launched the 19th-century Bach revival.
•The Well-Tempered Clavier (BWV 846–893) contains 48 preludes and fugues, one in every major and minor key across two books.
•'Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring' comes from his cantata Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147.
•Several of his 20 children became composers, including C. P. E. Bach and J. C. Bach, the 'London Bach'.
•The first movement of Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 was included on the Voyager Golden Record.

Drill it — 10 cards

1 / 10new card

Sources

Encyclopaedia Britannica — Johann Sebastian Bach
Christoph Wolff — Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician