Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) (Essay Sample)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Name
Institution
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Johann Sebastian Bach is perhaps the most eminent German composer of the 18th century. The reason for that is that he was the first German composer whose music compositions were played across Europe. Though his work never made him rich, the compositions were considered to have enriched culture and music. In this respect, Bach is the most influential German classical musician and composer.
The death of Bach’s parents forced him to live with his brother and hence shaped his music career, that is, it brought out his devotion to music. In this case, Bach was born to Johann Ambrosius Bach in 1685 in Germany. For that matter, he was the youngest child in a family that was composed of musicians and boasted of generations of musical talent. As earlier stated, after his parents died in 1695, the 10-year-old Bach went to live with his elder brother. In reference to that, his brother was a musician who had access to a significant amount of music material, but forbade the young Bach from handling any of his collections. For instance, his brother’s handwritten music book was kept in a barred cabinet that was only opened when he –the brother – needed it. Though he was forbidden from accessing the music book, the young Bach would ingeniously slide the book between the cabinet bars and copy it to a new book at night. He continued doing that until he almost completed copying the book. Unfortunately, one day he slept while copying the forbidden book and thus the trick was discovered, which made his brother so furious that he hid both the forbidden book and the copy that Bach had been making. Therefore, Bach exhibited a devotion to music that ignored censure (William, 2007).
Though formal education influenced Bach’s interest in music, it was experiences gained while working as a musician in different capacities that finally shaped his music career. For that matter, at 15 years, Bach was sent to school where he joined the school’s choir as a boy soprano. When his voice broke and thus could no longer sing soprano, Bach applied himself to playing the violin. In this respect, it was at school that he developed an interest for learning how to play musical instruments, particularly the violin. In this case, Bach became so proficient in playing the violin and organ that at 18 years he was appointed to the position of violinist at Weimar Court. Later, in the same year, St. Boniface Church approached and recruited him to be their violinist. For that matter, it was while he was there that he made his first forays into composing music. Bach held the position for nine years and then moved on to work as a composer for the Duke of Saxe-Weimar in 1709 (Melamed, 2006; Palmer, 2006).
Fortunately for Bach, his position as the composer for the Duke of Saxe-Weimar earned him enough money to seriously consider settling down and starting a family. In this case, he wrote organ music, cantatas, and religious music for the duke. In 1717, when he was 32 years, he was hired by Prince Cothen as a court choirmaster. Thus, having accumulated sufficient wealth, he was able to marry his cousin, Maria Bach, with whom he had seven children before she died in 1720. Among his progeny was Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, a composer who rose to prominence in the 18th century. In 1721, Bach married Anna Magdalena Wilcken with whom he had 13 children, thereby bringing the total number of his progeny from the two marriages to 20. In 1723, when he was 38, Bach resigned from his position after the prince’s wife expressed a need to hear a different style of music. Fortunately, Bach was appointed as a cantor at St. Thomas Church, in addition to being a choirmaster in a private school and church, the same year he resigned his position as Cothen’s court choirmaster, which ensured he received an income (Williams, 2007).
From 1723, Bach led an unhappy life. The reason for that is that the three positions that he held – choirmaster in two churches and a private school – paid poorly. Worse still, he felt that the amateur musicians in the churches and the students poorly performed his compositions. In this case, while he was employed as a court musician, professional musicians had been available to perform his compositions. Despite the discouraging circumstances, Bach maintained his position to allow his children to receive an education in the private school that employed him.
Regrettably, Bach suffered from poor eyesight from 1740, thereby compromising his ability to compose and perform music. For that matter, his eyesight deteriorated so fast that surgical attempts to correct the problem failed. Thus, he was restricted to moving within his house and could no longer read music pieces. During the final three years of his life, Bach was completely blind and hence had to be constantly supervised. Eventually, he died in 1750, a blind man of 65 years (Palmer, 2006).
Even though Bach is widely recognized as a composer today, he was an acknowledged organist. In this case, he was proficient in playing several musical instruments including the violin, organ, clavichord, and harpsichord. Unlike his contemporaries, Mozart and B...