Johann Sebastian Bach

Baroque

Music historians use Bach's death in 1750 to mark the end of the Baroque era.

💡 Did you know? Bach is seen as the culmination of Baroque music: his fugues reached a complexity unsurpassed to this day.

1685 in Eisenach

George Frideric Handel and Domenico Scarlatti were born the same year.

💡 Did you know? 1685 is a miracle year of music: Handel and Domenico Scarlatti were born the same year.

Cantor of St Thomas's

As cantor of the St Thomas School he was responsible for the music at Leipzig's main churches for 27 years.

💡 Did you know? As Thomaskantor, Bach composed a new church cantata almost every week for the service: an enormous workload.

St Matthew Passion

His St John Passion also survives.

💡 Did you know? After Bach's death the St Matthew Passion was forgotten for nearly 80 years, until Mendelssohn revived it in 1829.

Brandenburg Concertos

Dedicated in 1721 to Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg.

💡 Did you know? The Margrave of Brandenburg, to whom Bach dedicated the concertos, probably never had them performed: the scores gathered dust in his library.

The Well-Tempered Clavier

A prelude and fugue in every major and minor key: in two volumes.

💡 Did you know? With his 24 preludes and fugues, Bach showed that, thanks to new tuning, one could play in all keys: a „testament“ of keyboard music.

fugue

His unfinished late work 'The Art of Fugue' is considered the summit of this craft.

💡 Did you know? His Toccata and Fugue in D minor is one of the most famous organ pieces ever written.

20

Sons such as Carl Philipp Emanuel and Johann Christian Bach became celebrated composers themselves.

💡 Did you know? In his lifetime, Carl Philipp Emanuel was at times more famous than his father.

Dietrich Buxtehude

Instead of the four weeks' leave he had been granted, he stayed about four months: much to his employer's annoyance.

💡 Did you know? The young Bach walked some 400 km to Lübeck to hear Buxtehude and stayed far longer than permitted, which got him into trouble.

Bach Works Catalogue

The catalogue organises Bach's more than 1,000 surviving works by genre rather than chronologically.

💡 Did you know? The „BWV“ catalogues Bach's 1,000-plus works not chronologically but by genre.

1750

Like Handel, he went nearly blind late in life: both were operated on, unsuccessfully, by the same travelling oculist.

💡 Did you know? Bach went blind at the end: an eye operation by the same travelling doctor who also treated Handel failed.

Felix Mendelssohn

The Berlin performance reintroduced Bach's sacred music to a wide audience after almost 80 years.

💡 Did you know? Only Mendelssohn's 1829 performance sparked the great „Bach revival“, since then Bach has been ranked among the greatest composers of all.

Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German Baroque composer whose fugues, passions and cantatas became the foundation of Western music.

💡 Did you know? In his lifetime he was known more as an organ virtuoso than a composer; his true stature was recognised only some 80 years after his death.

Toccata and Fugue in D minor

The dramatic organ opening (BWV 565) has become the epitome of ‘spooky’ music: though whether Bach really wrote it is debated.

💡 Did you know? The famous opening flourish is technically a ‘mordent’: a quick ornament.

Air on the G String

The second movement of Bach's Suite No. 3, a serenely flowing melody over walking basses. The nickname ‘on the G string’ comes from a later violin arrangement.

💡 Did you know? In the 19th century August Wilhelmj transposed it so it could be played entirely on the lowest string.

Badinerie

The whirling flute finale of Bach's Suite No. 2: blisteringly fast and playful, a test piece for any solo flautist.

💡 Did you know? ‘Badinerie’ roughly means ‘jesting’ or ‘playful banter’.

Cello Suite No. 1 (Prelude)

The rolling G-major prelude is probably the most famous music for solo cello: a single, unfolding line.

💡 Did you know? Bach's cello suites were long seen as mere exercises until Pablo Casals rediscovered the score around 1890.