Bach, Johann Sebastian
Bach, Johann Sebastian Prolific German baroque composer. He held a series of successive court positions as organist and music director and had 20 children, four of whom were also composers. Bach brought contrapuntal forms to their highest expression and is unrivaled in his ability to interweave melodies within the exacting rules of baroque harmony and counterpoint. While at the court in Weimar (1708–17), he wrote many of his great organ works (preludes, fugues, toccatas), such as the Fugue in C minor. At Köthen (1717–23), he wrote instrumental works for keyboard, such as Book I of the The Well-Tempered Clavier, and the six Brandenburg Concertos for chamber orchestra. As musical director of St Thomas, Leipzig (1723–50), Bach wrote his celebrated church music, including St Matthew Passion (1729) and Mass in B Minor. Other works included the Goldberg Variations (1742). The Art of Fugue remained incomplete at his death.
http://www.jsbach.org
http://www.jsbach.org
More From encyclopedia.com
NEARBY TERMS
Bach, Johann Sebastian
