Johann Sebastian Bach (21 March 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and organist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity.[1] Although he introduced no new forms, he enriched the prevailing German style with a robust contrapuntal technique, an unrivalled control of harmonic and motivic organisation in composition for diverse instrumentation, and the adaptation of rhythms and textures from abroad, particularly Italy and France.
Revered for their intellectual depth, technical command and artistic beauty, Bach's works include the Brandenburg concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Partitas, the Well-Tempered Clavier, the Mass in B Minor, the St. Matthew Passion, the St. John Passion, the Magnificat, The Musical Offering, The Art of Fugue, the English Suites, the French Suites, the Sonatas and Partitas for violin solo, the Cello Suites, more than 200 surviving cantatas, and a similar number of organ works, including the celebrated Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.
While Bach's abilities as an organist were recognized and highly respected throughout Europe during his lifetime, he was not particularly well-known as a composer. His adherence to Baroque forms and contrapuntal style was considered 'old-fashioned' by his contemporaries, especially late in his career when the musical fashion tended towards Rococo and later Classical styles. A revival of interest and performances of his music began early in the 19th century, and he is now widely considered to be one of the greatest composers in the Western tradition. (Hide extended text) ... (Read all)
Source of the extract of the biography : Wikipedia
Interest : I haven't practiced this sheet
music yet. However, it is
good to have it available. I
will return to this site and
let you know how the practice
went.
Comment posted the 2012-02-08, by danseadagio (visitor)
Interest : Skill level : Who tuned that saxophone
group? If you are going to
take the time to record take
the time to tune for the love
of god! Sounds like chainsaws
on parade!
Interest : Skill level : Am I the only person who
notices that the first several
bars are missing? Toccata
doesn't start there. Maybe I'm
not looking at the first page,
maybe I'm looking at Fugue,
but I have played piano for 22
years and I learned this piece
ten years ago and I know for a
fact that it starts with A, G,
A, G, F, E, D, Db, D. I dunno.
I'm a little confused. Other
than the missing intro, it
seems to be right. Sorry, but
the beginning of Toccata in D
Minor is not something a
pianist easily forgets. This
is wrong.
Comment posted the 2012-01-22, by JoWynn (visitor)
Interest : Thank you, thank you. I just
found this site and haven't
started to practice the
variations yet, but I'm so
excited to have access to this
music.
Comment posted the 2012-01-22, by jupiter (visitor)