Go64!/Go64_2003-12_2003_CSW_Side_B.d64/hl25e.d64/hl25e.d64/lnk.demo2aa

Text File | 2003-09-25 | 3KB | 82 lines

.rvb
.ilbach
Johann Sebastian Bach, b. 21 March
1685, d. 28 July 1750, was one of the
greatest and most prolific composers
in history. Over a thousand of his
compositions are known, and it is
thought that hundreds of others are
still extant. Despite his lack of
success as a composer during his
life, being far better known as an
organist, the skillful crafting of
his melodious and captivating works
have made him one of the most famous
classical musicians.
    Bach was born into music. His
parents were musicians, and when they
died when young Johann was nine, he
lived with his older brother, who was
an organist in Ohrdruf, where Bach
remained until 1700, learning organ
and musical fundamentals from his
brother. In 1703 he took a post in
Weimar, later becoming organist in
Arnstadt, from which his earliest
compositions are dated.
    Bach had little respect for
convention or authority, especially
where his superiors in Arnstadt were
concerned. A famous story relates
Bach's four-week leave to hear the
great Danish composer Dietrich
Buxtehude. Bach walked to Luebeck,
the site of the concert, a distance
of 220 miles, and unsurprisingly
arrived late. Buxtehude offered Bach
a position as organist, but with one
snag: Bach had to marry his 30-year
old spinster daughter. Bach turned
down the offer (as, interestingly
enough, Georg Handel had done two
years before), and returned to
Arnstadt twelve weeks late, which did
not endear him to the clergy there.
    In 1707 he had his first marriage
and became organist in Muehlhausen.
The congregation promptly objected to
his compositions, and Bach was asked
to desist or leave. Bach left and
went back to Weimar, where he was
duly promoted but not to the position
he had expected he would, so he
sought employment in Coethen. When he
received appointment, his request to
be relieved from Weimar was so harsh
that he was imprisoned for a month.
    Bach was to remain in Coethen
until 1723, where in 1721 he married
Anna Magdalena Wilcken, to whom he
dedicated much of his works. In
addition to being a prolific
composer, Bach was also a prolific
husband, fathering 20 children in
all, including Wilhelm Friedemann and
Carl Philipp Emanuel, many of whom
became composers of renown
themselves. When Bach's patron,
Prince Leopold, married and let Bach
slide, Bach moved from Coethen to
Leipzig, where finally he got the
recognition as a powerful musician
that Bach had always figured he
deserved. As Kapellmeister of St.
Thomas Church, which in effect was
music director for the entire city,
Bach wrote many of his best works
there, and remained in Leipzig until
his death.

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