Johann Sebastian Bach (born March 21, 1685, Eisenach, died July 28, 1750, Leipzig, Germany)
Description of the image
He is wearing a wig on his head, as the nobles of his time wore.
He has a fixed look ahead, although his head is slightly turned to his left.
He’s dressed in a dark coat, with a lot of buttons on his right side.
Historical data
Johann Sebastian Bach, a German composer, was born on 21 March 1685 in Eisenach, Germany, in a family of musicians, being a member, according to David Moroney, of the largest dynasty in European history of music. Today, not less than 80 musicians are known as Bach [Bibliography 1]. Including four of his sons (Wilhelm Friedmann – “Bach from Halle”, Carl Philipp Emanuel – “Bach of Berlin and Hamburg”, Johann Christoph – “Bach from Bückeburg” and Johann Christian – “Bach from Milan and London” have noted during their lifetime as some of the most valuable musicians and composers of the age in which they lived [Bibliography 2].
He studied at the Latin School in his home town, the same as Martin Luther, who was a part of the school’s choir, and then at the Ohrdruf Gymnasium and the Lüneburg High School [Bibliography 4], but did not graduate from a faculty. He remained orphaned by both parents at the age of 10, was raised and guided by one of his older brothers, Johann Christoph Bach, an organist himself [Bibliography 5]. From childhood he has shown, as one of his biographers mentions, “an amazing musical precocity,” being “able not only to assimilate the lessons learned from his many exceptional teachers, real models for him but also to reform their musical styles, realizing something completely new “[Bibliography 6].
He began his musical career in 1702 as an organist at the Church of St. Jacob in Sangerhausen, where he was soon removed, for the next year to become an organist in Mühlhausen, then an organist at Weimer. Most of his career is linked to Leipzig, where he lived from 1723 until his death in 1750 [Bibliography 7]. During this period, he was a cantor and music director. In the last year of life, he went blind and underwent unsuccessful eye surgery that leads to his death [References 8].
He is considered by the historians of music to be “one of the greatest composers of all time”, although he was perceived in his life as an organist rather than as a composer [Bibliography 9]. Regarding how he managed to say, his biography, David Moroney, advanced as an explanation, besides the ability to assimilate and reform the musical styles, an “insatiable musical curiosity,” “a clean and solid ambition,” “his formidable intelligence “And his enormously great work capacity [Bibliography 10].
Bibliography
1. David Moroney, Bach. An Outstanding Life, Bucharest, Humanitas, 2006, p. 9.
2. ***, Johann Sebastian Bach, accessible online at https://muzicaclasica.weebly.com/johann-sebastian-bach.html 15 December 2018.
3. Michael, Sartorius, Lawrence Sartorius, Johann Sebastian Bach, accessible online at http://www.baroquemusic.org/biojsbach.html December 15, 2018.
4. ***, Johann Sebastian Bach, accessible online at https://muzicaclasica.weebly.com/johann-sebastian-bach.html 15 December 2018.
5. Robert L. Marshall, Walter Emery, Johann Sebastian Bach, accessible online at https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johann-Sebastian-Bach December 15, 2018.
6. David Moroney, op. cit., pp. 10, 17.
7. Robert L. Marshall, Walter Emery, art. cit.
8. David Moroney, op. cit., p. 131.
9. Robert L. Marshall, Walter Emery, Johann Sebastian Bach, accessible online at https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johann-Sebastian-Bach December 15, 2018.
10. David Moroney, op. cit., p. 10.
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