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. (Collapse)...(Read more)
Few composers in history have exerted such extraordinary and far-reaching influence on music as Johann Sebastian Bach. But while many audiences know a...
Few composers in history have exerted such extraordinary and far-reaching influence on music as Johann Sebastian Bach. But while many audiences know and enjoy the “Brandenburg” Concertos, B-Minor Mass, Well-Tempered Clavier, and other prevalent works, not everyone is similarly acquainted with Bach’s vast output for the organ. Some of his most important compositions were written for that instrument, and becoming more familiar with them can only intensify our fervor for the great composer.
The Trio Sonatas (BWVs 525-530) were written for the organ or pedal clavichord (a practice instrument for organists), these sonatas require the right and left hands to play independently melodic lines on separate keyboards, while the feet play the basso continuo. According to Jacobs, “The organ sonatas are disarmingly attractive and immediately appealing to the listener, though they pose ferocious interpretive and technical demands for the player.” A significant challenge of performing these works is one of sheer coordination: playing three lines of music on two keyboards and pedal with all four limbs. “There isn’t much for the performer to cling on to,” Jacobs said. “It’s a little like walking on eggshells.” By contrast, in other weightier organ and keyboard works, Bach sometimes employs thicker four- or five-part counterpoint, offering a more idiomatically conceived keyboard texture.
Portions of this work pop up again in Bach's Triple Concerto (for flute, violin, harpsichord, and strings) as well as in arrangements by Mozart for string trio. The opening Andante begins with a spidery eight-bar theme in the upper register with, by the standards of these trio sonatas, a rather rudimentary pedal accompaniment. Soon a second melodic line arrives in imitation of the first, thereby establishing the work's credentials as a trio sonata (two melody lines plus accompaniment). The central Adagio e dolce shifts to F major for a measured, reserved yet uncloyingly sweet movement that may have influenced Mozart's later music for glass harmonica. The final Vivace, back in D minor, again offers two upper voices in imitation, now with a more elaborate pedal accompaniment in a deft triplet rhythm.
GUITAR
KEYBOARD
STUDIO
PA
LIGHT
DEEJAY
MIC
Browse without ads
