Important As The Church And Bach's Mass example essay topic

Throughout the history of music, many great composers, theorists, and instrumentalists have left indelible marks and influences that people today look back on to admire and aspire to. No exception to this idiom is Johann Sebastian Bach, whose impact on music was unforgettable to say the least. People today look back to his writings and works to both learn and admire. Bach, who came from a family of over 53 musicians, was nothing short of a virtuoso instrumentalist as well as a masterful composer. Born in Eisenach, Germany, on March 21, 1685, he was the son of a masterful violinist, Johann Ambrosius Bach, who taught his son the basic skills for string playing. Along with this string playing, Bach began to play the organ, which is the instrument he would later on be noted for in history.

His instruction on the organ came from the player at Eisenach's most important church. He instructed the young boy rigorously until his skills surpassed anyone's expectations for someone of such a young age. Bach suffered early trauma when his parents died in 1695. He went to go live with his older brother, Johann Christoph, who also was a professional organist at Ohrdruf. He continued his younger brother's education on the organ, as well as introducing him to the harpsichord. The rigorous training on these instruments combined with Bach's masterful skill paid off for him at an early age (Geiringer).

After several years of studying with his older brother, he received a scholarship to study in Lundberg, Germany, which is located on the northern tip of the country. As a result, he left his brother's tutelage and went to go and study there. The teenage years brought Bach to several parts of Germany where he mainly worked as an organist in churches, since that was the skill he had perfected the best from his young training. However, a master of several instruments while still in his teens, Bach first found employment at the age of 18 as a violinist in a court orchestra in Weimar.

Although he did not remain there long, he was able to make good money playing for the king. He later accepted a position as a church organist in Arn stadt. It was here that Bach would soon realize his high standards and regards that he had for music (Bettmann). Once again he did not remain there too long, only a little over a year, when he moved again to Weimar where he accepted the position of head concertmaster and organist in the Ducal Chapel. It was here that Bach settled himself and began to compose the first collection of his finest early works which, included organ pieces and cantatas. By this time Bach had been married for several years.

He actually became married to his cousin Maria Barbara. They, for the most part, had a happy marriage. By this stage of his life he had composed for himself a wonderful reputation of being a brilliant musical talent. Along with that his proficiency on the organ was unequaled in Europe by this time. In fact, he toured regularly as a solo virtuoso, and his growing mastery of compositional forms, like the fugue and the canon, were already attracting interest from the musical establishment, which, in his day, was the Lutheran church. The church began to look at Bach's writings and saw the opportunity to possibly use his music in their masses.

Thus was the slow birth of the German chorale, which Bach later became renowned for (Bettmann). Bach's career did suffer minor setbacks along the way. He occasionally would be passed over for deserved positions within the court that he worked. However, in 1715 when he did not receive a truly desired position of Kapellmeister (choral master) of Weimer, he was insulted and left the city. He accepted a position as a court conductor in Cothen, where he began to work on another part of his musical genre, that of instrumental music. When he arrived in Cothen he began to focus on all other instruments and used his talents as a string player and knowledge of wind & brass instruments to begin composing instrumental pieces.

It was during his stay here in Cothen that the orchestral masterpiece known as the Brandenburg Concerto was born. Bach's tenure in Cothen lasted approximately seven years. In that time his wife Mara became ill and died. Although distraught, he soon remarried to Anna Magdalena. It was during this time that Bach had several children, three in particular would grow to become talented musicians like their father. Wilhelm Friedmann, C.P.E. Bach, and J.C. Bach.

They to became virtuosos of the organ and later the harpsichord, much like their father was (Chiapusso). After Bach left Cothen, he received a prestigious position as music director at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, Germany. Here Bach accepted his most demanding position of all. He had the responsibility of composing cantatas for the St. Thomas and St. Nicholas churches, conducting the choirs, overseeing the musical activities of numerous municipal churches, and teaching Latin in the St. Thomas choir school. Although demanding, Bach persisted and succeeded in Leipzig and continued to write music of various kinds with a level of craft and emotional profundity that was his alone.

Bach remained at his post in Leipzig until his death in 1750 (Chiapusso). Although he was blinded by cataract problems in the early 1740's, he still managed to compose masterful pieces up until days before his death. His last musical composition that he crafted happened to be a choral prelude, which was dedicated to his son-in law. To this day more than 1,000 of Bach's accomplished compositions survive. Some of his most famous works include the Brandenburg Concerto, The Mass In B Minor, The Goldberg Variations for Harpsichord, his immense amount of fugues and chorales including his Fugue in G minor, as well his Christmas and Easter oratorios, which was another schism in his music genre. Quite frankly, the list goes on and on.

Three works of particular importance are the Mass in B minor, Easter Oratorio, and The Art of Fugue. Mass in B Minor is nothing short of incredible. Every tone, phrase, and emotion is brought to life. This particular version was conducted by Karl-Friedrich Beringer. He arranged the piece for the orchestra, choir, flute, oboe, organ, and violin. The soloists (both vocal and instrumental) are colorful and sensitive, the choir sings with impeccable clarity, and the orchestra sounds pure and focused.

Though today's enhancements in technology make this possible, the ensemble did not need any help. There is nothing that holds this ensemble down. The recording to my surprise becomes a doorway that leads to something extraordinary, nothing short of wonderful. The importance of this piece is quite significant. The fact that this piece was written for a mass says it all. In Bach's time, nothing was quite as important as the church and Bach's mass is a testament to that.

Easter Oratorio is another fine piece. Conducted by Philippe Herreweghe, and highlighted by the sounds of the bassoon, cello, choir, flute, orchestra, organ, trumpet, viola, and violin, the piece is refreshing and compelling, though it did have its dull moments. Herreweghe used a small chorus, which gave the piece an intimate feel. Another interesting aspect was that the conductor avoided dragging out the solo parts which I believe took away from the piece. Historically, this piece is important because like Mass in B Minor, it was a testament to his unyielding dedication to the church. Art of Fugue had no particular impact on me.

I found it quite dull and drawn out. Though I do like the invigorating sound of the harpsichord the piece quite frankly did not cut it. The reason I chose this piece even though I did not like it is because of the history surrounding it. There are many questions that have yet to be answered such as whether or not it was Bach's final piece, was it meant to be performed? and which order the pieces were to be performed? Unlike the other pieces I got this piece off of an mp 3 search engine, so there is no information that can be listed other than the instrument which was the harpsichord.

Perhaps this is why I did not enjoy the piece. The recording could have been performed by a novice who did not know what he was doing, though this too is unlikely considering the piece being performed. Surely, Johann Sebastian Bach never believed that his success would become so heroic and monumental. However, we today perceive him to be one of the key individuals to shape the music we listen to. It is no secret that his writings, especially chorale writings, are used to illustrate the principles of our functional system of harmony.

It is in this example alone that it can be seen that Bach's works have not only survived to the point where they are still heard and listened to, but they also still provide us with knowledge and understanding from which we can learn and discover music. It is for these reasons that the life of Johann Sebastian Bach was truly a great one and it is without any apprehension that he can be considered a musical great. Bettmann, Otto and Martin Books pan. Johann Sebastian Bach as His World Knew Him. Carol Publishing Group. Secaucus, New Jersey.

1995. Chiapusso, Jan. Bach's World. University Press. Bloomington, Indiana. 1968.

Geiringer, Karl and Irene Geiringer. The Bach Family, Seven Generations of Creative Genius. Oxford University Press. New York. 1954.