Throughout history, there have been many significant composers who have left their
mark on the musical world. From Mozart, to Beethoven, to Chopin, to Brahms, each famous
composer has had an influence on the music we hear today. However, perhaps one of the most
influential of all composers is Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach’s effect on music history can never
be over-exaggerated. Bach played a crucial role in influencing many later composers, such as
Mozart and Beethoven, as well as many modern musicians, redefined polyphonic music and
musical form, and created beautiful works of canonic music that still resonate with listeners
today, over 250 years after his death.
Born in March of 1685, Johann Sebastian Bach was born into a family of musicians. His
father, Johann Ambrosius, was the court trumpeter for the Duke of Eisenach and director of the
musicians in the town of Eisenach in Thuringia. “For many years, members of the Bach family
throughout Thuringia had held positions such as organists, town instrumentalists, or Cantors,
and the family name enjoyed a wide reputation for musical talent.” (www.baroquemusic….
bach/html). This would, of course, influence Bach in many ways. At a young age, Bach was
taught to play the violin and harpsichord by his father, and was later initiated into the art of playing
the organ by his uncle. It was no surprise that young Bach was a willing student and became
exceptionally proficient in these instruments. After the death of his parents at age 9, Bach went
to live with his brother Johann Christoph, in Ohrdruf, where he spent much of his childhood.
While living with Christoph, Bach was given the opportunity to observe the co...
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...anied String Works." MTO 17.1: Davis, Stream Segregation and Perceived Syncopation. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2015. .
14. "Johann Sebastian Bach." Johann Sebastian Bach. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2015.
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15. "So what's so good about Bach then?." the Guardian. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2015. .
16. "John Eliot Gardiner: Bach's synthesis between his music and the word of God." the Guardian. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2015. .
17. "Revealed: the violent, thuggish world of the young JS Bach." the Guardian. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2015. .
CHAPTER 1 ERHARD BODENSCHATZ AND THE FLORILEGIUM POTENSE Lutheran church music in its first two and a half centuries can be characterized by the incorporation of a staggering variety of styles and musical genres. Plainchant, imitative polyphony, and chorale hymnody existed alongside one another, and composers such as Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) and Johann Hermann Schein (1586-1630) were among the first to synthesize elements of Monteverdi’s second apratica with a fully German practice. Fruits of this multi-style crosspollination, whether a continuo based melodic-harmonic framework, polychoral textures, use of the solo voice or obligato instruments, all paved the way for the apex of this tradition, the concerted vocal works of J.S. Bach. I am a sailor.
Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven both flourished in their compositions of classical music; however, their genre of music differed considerably. Bach was a German composer during the Baroque time era of western music which is estimated to have taken place during 1600 to 1750. It was during this time that he composed prolific church organ music which included such works as the Mass in B Minor, much scared choral music, and the St. Matthew Passion, as well as composing over a thousand works in nearly every musical genre except opera. On the other hand, Beethoven was a German composer whom began to emerge during the classical era of western music twenty years after Bach. This era took place throughout the years1750 and 1830. The large quantity of arrangements, over two hundred works in numerous musical genres composed by Beethoven was significantly influenced by his predecessors, onset of deafness, and his highly personal expression of intellectual depth. Such works include the first an...
Brahms?s boyhood days passed uneventfull. He grew up with his brother fritz and sister Elise amid the poorest surroundings. Fritz turned to music (the Neue Zeitschrift mentions his successful debut at Hamburg in January 1864) was a piano teacher in Hamburg, lived for many years in Caracas, and died at an early age in Hamburg of a disease of the brain. Elise married a watchmaker, much to Johannes? disappointment.
According to the article, “Johann Sebastian Bach”, “his Lutheran faith would influence his late musical works.” A tragic event occurred as both of his parents had passed away a few years later, which prompted him to live with his brother’s family. It was there that he continued learning about music. He continued to live there for five years as he left his brother when he was 15. He soon was enrolled in a school at a place called Luneburg. He was enrolled there due to him having “a beautiful soprano singing voice.”(Johann Sebastian Bach) However, as he got older, his voice didn’t sound the way it used to be, so he quickly transitioned back to playing the violin. His first job had also to do with music as he began to work in Weimar as a musician. According to the article, “Johann Sebastian Bach”, there were various jobs he did like serve as a violinist or occasionally fill in
A great influential composer is Ludwig Van Beethoven, born in Bonn, who lived from 1770-1826. Beethoven among the masters of classical music such as Mozart and Haydn, set the stage for the creation of the musical canon, which focused on the most famous compositions created. This musical canon set a tradition in the way music was composed, which in turn created the “musical museum”. This “museum” is filled with compositions that followed the musical canon which is what created the
Some of the most well known composers came to be in the in the classical music period. Ludwig van Beethoven was one of the composers, along with other greats of the time like Haydn and Mozart, which helped to create a new type of music. This new music had full rich sounds created by the new construction of the symphony orchestra.
Bachs’ full name was Johann Sebastian Bach and he was born on March 21, 1685 in a small town called Eisenach, located in Thuringia, Germany during the Baroque period. Bach was the son of Johann Ambrosius and Maria Elisabeth Lammerhirt and the eighth and youngest child. Bach’s father worked mostly as a director of the musicians in Eisenach while his mother was unemployed. Bach’s mother passed away in 1964 and his father soon followed only eight months later. Bach’s other family was said to have been extremely talented professionals in music and some were church organists, court chamber musicians as well as composers.
All had great influence on later composers, Mozart on Beethoven, Bartók on Copeland and Bach on everyone including his twenty or so children
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven are very famous past composers that have created many pieces that have influenced not just people of their time, but people in modern times as well.
At the age of five years his father began instruct him violin playing, and at eight the musical director, Pfeifer, undertook his training on the piano while the court organist Van den Eden and his successor Christian Gottlab Neefe instructed him in organ playing harmony and composition. As a pianist he made such rapid progress that in a few years he was able to interpret Bach's well-tempered Clavichord and his improvise in a masterly fashion. At thirteen years of age he gave forth his first compositions a set six sonatas. These and some other productions of his early youth later repudiated and destroyed. When he was fifteen Elector Maximilian whose assistant court organist he had in the meantime become unable young Beethoven to visit Vienna.
Johann Sebastian Bach was born into a family of musicians. It was only natural for him to pick up an instrument and excel in it. His father taught him how to play the violin and harpsichord at a very young age. All of Bach’s uncles were professional musicians, one of them; Johann Christoph Bach introduced him to the organ. Bach hit a turning point in his life when both of his parents died at the age of ten years old. Bach’s older brother Johann Christoph Bach took him in and immediately expanded his knowledge in the world of music. He taught him how to play the clavichord and exposed him to great composers at the time. At the age of fourteen, Bach and his good friend George Erdmann were awarded a choral scholarship to the prestigious musical school St. Michael’s in Luneburg. From then on, Bach began to build his career in the music industry. His first two years at the school he sang in the school’s a cappella choir. Historical evidence has shown that Bach at a young age would visit Johanniskirche and would listen to the works of organ player Jasper Johannsen. This was thought to have been the inspiration to Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Studying at the prestigious musical school has help Bach network his way around and become acquaintances’ with some of the best organ players at the time such as Georg Böhm, and Johann Adam Reincken. Through his acquaintance with Böhm and Reincken Bach had access to some of the greatest and finest instruments.
Johann Sebastian Bach was a composer, a musician, teacher, and organist who later became a specialist in construction of organs. Bach learnt to play the violin, the orchestra, and the organ from his father and his famous uncle and twin brother to the father, Johann Christoph at a young age. The organ was his chosen instrument. He also achieved success in the art of Fugue, choral polyphone, instrumental music and dance forms. In Eisenach he attended Old Latin Grammar School, the same school that Martin Luther had attended. He sang in the schools choir. His parents died before Bach was 10 years old. His mother died when Bach was nine years old, his father’s death followed nine months later (Sherrane, 2011). After the parents death Bach was taken in by his older brother Johann Christoph who had already established himself as an organist in Ohrdruf. Johann Christoph had a great influence in Bach’s success in music as he taught him and encouraged him to study music composition. At the same time Bach was attending the Gymnasium grammar school in Ohrdruf where he studied theology, Latin...
Johann Sebastian Bach was born at Eisenach, in the region of Thuringia, Germany, in 1685. He was a composer and musician of the Baroque period. Bach was born in a family of long musical tradition as his antecessors had been professional musicians for several generations. Johann Sebastian grew under a strictly musical environment. All of his closest relatives were musicians, and by being surrounded by these influences, the young Johann Sebastian developed his musical and instrumental skills. Bach 's mother died in 1694, and his father died eight months later. Thus, at age 10, he had to move in with his oldest brother, Johann Christoph Bach , who was an organist
born in Salzburg, Austria, January 27, 1756. His father, Leopold, perhaps the greatest influence on Mozart's life, was the vice Kapellmeister (assistant choir director) to the Archbishop of Salzburg at the time of Mozart's birth. Mozart was actually christened as "Joannes Chrysotomus Wolfgangus Theophilus," but adopted the Latin term "Amadeus" as his name of choice. Mozart was one of seven children born to Leopold and Anna, however, only one other sibling survived.
to study with his brother, Johann Christoph. In the early 1700’s Bach began working as a