Contents
Johann Sebastian Bach created over 1000 works. He was born into the Bach family, they have long been famous for their musicality. At the age of 9, his mother died, at 10 – his father. He was brought up by his older brother, who taught him to play the clavier and organ. At the age of 15, he studied at the then famous vocal school of St. Michael. In 1707, the musician decided to marry his cousin Maria Barbara. They became the parents of 7 children, but 3 of them died at an early age.
Trying to get a higher position, get a good salary and work with the best musicians, he moved from one place to another more than once.
His writings were very popular and were constantly published. After his death, his popularity began to decline, but he was greatly appreciated by major composers, Mozart and Beethoven.
And now the most famous works of Johann Sebastian Bach are performed by the best musicians in the world.
10 Chromatic fantasy and fugue
It was one of the composer’s most innovative works. This is music for harpsichord, created in 1720, but the final version was completed in 1730.
«Chromatic fantasy and fugue“full of expression, and this despite the fact that in that era the aesthetic attitudes were such that feelings had to be awakened gradually.
Creating these works, the author adhered to the traditions of organ art, i.e. monumentality and improvisational scope, but at the same time develops the techniques that were used to create music for the violin, as well as dramatic recitations of spiritual cantatas.
“Chromatic” it was called by the composer’s contemporaries.
9. Well-Tempered Clavier
The collection includes 48 fugues and preludes. All of them are arranged in a certain order, by semitones. It has only 2 volumes.
He finished the first part of this collection in 1722, while the composer was in Köthen, and the second part took much longer, it was completed in 1744.
There is a legend that Bach was able to come up with the first part so quickly, because. lived where he could not play an instrument. He was bored and worked on his works.
Both parts were quickly distributed in handwritten form, but it was published in the printing house only in 1801, i.e. 51 years after his death.
His works were forgotten for some time, because. by the time of his death, the style in which he wrote music had gone out of fashion.
«Well-Tempered Clavier“- the first collection of works for all twenty-four keys, although there have been attempts to create something similar before.
8. Christmas oratorio
«Christmas oratorio» consists of 6 parts. All of them are uniform, i.e. first we hear a sumptuous, solemn choir, or else an instrumental piece, a symphony with a very festive character. And at the end of each part there is a church chant.
All parts have their gospel narrative. The oratorio was written in 1734, based on the cantatas he had composed earlier. It was first performed during the Christmas holidays in 1735 in Leipzig’s St. Thomas Church. The basis is the plot set forth in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, the recitatives are full of cordiality and sublimity.
7. Passion for John
The word “passions” (passions) once meant pain and suffering. In the Middle Ages, one of the genres of sacred music began to be called this way.
In this creationPassion for John” used the 18th and 19th chapters of the Gospel of John, which we hear in recitative. There is also a poetic text of the arias, but it is not known who wrote it.
This is Bach’s first work in this genre, and it is not yet as perfect as the Matthew Passion. There are 68 rooms in total, the first part of which accounts for 20.
During the life of the author, they could only be heard in the church. And because of this, Bach had a conflict with the authorities. In Leipzig there was such an order that in all even years the passions had to be performed in the church of St. Nicholas, and the rest – in the church of St. Thomas.
In 1724, the Passion according to John was supposed to delight listeners in 1 church, but Bach did not like it. In the second, the instrument was better and there were much more places for the choristers, and he tried to arrange a premiere in the church of St. Thomas, which caused a dispute.
The composer had to make concessions, but he was promised that the instrument would be put in order by this time.
6. Matthew Passion
The first version of the spiritual oratorio appeared in 1727-29, and the second – in 1736. This is one of the most ambitious works of the composer, which consists of 78 parts.
«Matthew Passion“include arias, recitatives, choirs and chorales. The whole action lasts 3 hours. Bach wrote this work for the Lutheran worship, but now it is most often performed on the concert stage.
It uses the texts of chapters 26 and 27 of the Gospel of Matthew in the form of a recitative, and the rest is a poetic rethinking of the Bible, a way of conveying the feelings of the main characters.
This work is the pinnacle of Bach’s work. In total, the composer had 4 or 5 passions, but only 2 of them have completely come down to us.
5. Toccata and Fugue in D Minor
This is one of Bach’s most popular compositions. However, there is no certainty that this particular composer wrote it. Authorship began to be doubted as early as the 1980s, because in this work there are elements of style that are not found in Bach’s music or are atypical for him.
But one of the authoritative researchers, Christoph Wolf, is sure that “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor” belongs to Bach, it was simply created by him in the early period of his work. It is believed to have been written between 1703 and 1707 while he was in Arnstadt.
4. Goldberg variations
This piece of music consists of an aria and 30 harpsichord variations. It is believed that the author wrote them at the request of the Russian envoy Hermann Karl von Keyserling, who patronized the composer.
Why exactly “Goldberg variations“? In honor of the young Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, who performed them for the customer.
There is a version that the diplomat made this order for a reason. As soon as Kaiserling fell ill, he began to have insomnia. Music could distract him from his illness. Bach decided to write variations for him, and the count was delighted with them, calling them his variations. He did not skimp on the reward. He gave the composer a golden goblet filled with louis. But not all researchers believe in the veracity of this version.
3. The art of the fugue
This work was written presumably for the clavier and consists of 14 fugues and 4 canons. It was created in the period from 1742 to 1749.
They were conceived as polyphonic developments performed in the same key of D minor. One of the fugues is performed very rarely, because. she almost copies the other – 16 and 17.
It is considered that “The art of the fugue” was created for the clavier, but most often it can be heard on the piano.
2. Concerto No. 1 for piano and orchestra (D minor)
This is one of the composer’s most popular works. Its original has not survived, but it is believed that it was written for the violin.
In the first movement we hear a severe energetic melody. The second part is distinguished by a gloomy and concentrated expression. The third part is mobile and elastic, it only emphasizes the dramatic nature of the work.
«Concerto No. 1 for piano and orchestra (D minor)” strikes with its drama, breadth of scale.
1. Brandenburg concerts
This is a cycle that includes 6 concerts. Bach presented them to Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Schwedt. And, although this happened in 1721, it is possible that they were written earlier, when he was working in Köthen.
This gift was made for a reason. The composer hoped that he would become the court leader of the orchestra. He himself wroteBrandenburg concerts» in calligraphic handwriting. But the margrave did not answer him.
The manuscript lay for more than 100 years in his library until it was accidentally discovered. The concertos are composed in the Italian style and are now most often performed by a chamber orchestra.