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)
Johann Sebastian' Bach's Prelude and Fugue in E flat major, owes its nickname "St. Anne" to the close similarity between the theme of the fugue itself...
Johann Sebastian' Bach's Prelude and Fugue in E flat major, owes its nickname "St. Anne" to the close similarity between the theme of the fugue itself, and the eponymous hymn tune by William Croft (1678-1727), to which the words of Isaac Watts' great hymn "O God our help in ages past" is normally sung. There is, however, no evidence whatever to suggest that Bach might have known Croft's hymn tune "St. Anne," which was not known to be sung outside of the British Isles. This work was included in Part III of Bach's Clavier-Übung (literally "Keyboard-Practice") which was first published in September 1739. It was Bach's first major published edition devoted to new organ pieces, and was issued with the rather cumbersome subtitle of Dritter Theil der Clavier Übung bestehend in verschieden Vorspielen über die Catechismus--und andere Gesaenge, vor die Orgel (Third Part of the Keyboard Studies Comprising Various Preludes on the Catechism and other Hymns for Organ). The complete volume was made up of multiple settings of the German Kyrie and Gloria, pairs of settings of each of the six catechism chorales, and four duets. Surmounting all these was the superb and majestic E flat Prelude and Fugue, the "St. Anne." It is not possible to determine whether or not Bach wrote these pieces with any particular occasion in mind, although some authorities have suggested that he may well have played some or perhaps all of the set in a recital he gave on the newly installed organ of the Frauernkirche, in Dresden, on December 1, 1736. Others have opined that the occasion of the first performance may have been the celebrations held throughout Lutheran Germany on August 12, 1739, to commemorate the bicentenary of the Confession of Augsburg. However, possibly the most likely impulse for these works was Bach's newly rekindled interest in the church chorale, which had been occasioned by his work for the Schemelli Hymnal project of 1736. Gregory Butler, a noted authority on the original manuscripts of Bach's organ works, has written that "Clavier-Übung III represents a landmark in Bach's oeuvre. In it are forecast many of the preoccupations which dominate the works of his last decade; a concentration on the techniques of fugue and canon... an interest in highly abstract, recherché musical thought; and a preoccupation with saying the last word in a given genre with an attendant monumentality of conception." The "St. Anne" Prelude and Fugue attests powerfully to Bach's attainments in each of these areas, and stands as one of the most noble and eloquent utterances among his many organ compositions.
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