Job Of Organist Church In Arnstadt example essay topic

One of the most profoundly inspired an masterful composers in history, Johan Sebastian Bach was born into a musical famil in Eisenach, Thuringia – until recently par of East Germany. His father, Johann AmbrosiuBach, was a talented violinist, and taughhis son the basic skills of string-playing another relation, the organist at Eisenach " most important church, instructed the youn boy on the organic 1695, Johann Sebastian was orphaned; h went to live with his older brother, Johan Christoph, in Ohrdruf. Johann Christoph wa professional organist, and continued hi younger brother's education on tha instrument, as well as on the harpsichord After several years in this arrangement Johann Sebastian won a scholarship to stud in Lundberg, Northern Germany, and so lef his brother's tutelage master of several instruments while stil in his teens, Johann Sebastian first foun employment at the age of 18 as a "lackey anviolinist' in a court orchestra in Weimar soon after, he took the job of organist church in Arnstadt. Here, as in later posts his perfectionist tendencies and hig expectations of other musicians – fo example, the church choir – rubbed hi colleagues the wrong way, and he wa embroiled in a number of hot disputes durinhis short tenure. In 1707, at the age of 22 Bach became fed up with the lousy musica standards of Arnstadt (and the workin conditions) and moved on to another organisjob, this time at the St. Blasius Church i Muhlhausen.

The same year, he married hi cousin Maria Barbara Bach Again caught up in a running conflict betweefactions of his church, Bach fled to Weimaafter one year in Muhlhausen. In Weimar, h assumed the post of organist an concertmaster in the ducal chapel. H remained in Weimar for nine years, and there composed his first wave of major works including organ showpieces and cantatas By this stage in his life, Bach had develope reputation as a brilliant, if somewhainflexible, musical talent. His profi ency othe organ was unequalled in Europe – in fac the toured regularly as a solo virtuoso – a nhis growing mastery of compositional forms like the fugue and the canon, was alreadattracting interest from the musica establishment – which, in his day, was th Lutheran church.

But, like many individual of uncommon talent, he was never very good a playing the political game, and therefor suffered periodic setbacks in his career. Was passed over for a major position – tha of Kapellmeister of Weimar – in 1716; part lin reaction to this snub, he left Weimar th following year to take a job as cour conductor in Anhalt-Cothen. There, he slowehis output of church cantatas, and insteaconcentrated on instrumental music – thCothen period produced, among othe masterpieces, the Brandenburg Concerti While at Cothen, Bach's wife, Maria Barbara died. Bach remarried soon after – to Ann Magdalena – and forged ahead with his work He also forged ahead in the child-rearindepartment, producing 13 children with hi new wife – six of whom survived childhood – to add to the four children he had raise with Maria Barbara. Several of these childrewould become fine composers in their ow right – particularly three sons, WilhelFriedmann, Carl Philipp Emanuel and JohanChristianAfter conducting and composing for the cour orchestra at Cothen for seven years, Bach wa offered the highly prestigious post of canto (music director) of St. Thomas' Church leipzig – after it had been turned down b two other composers.

The job was a demand inone; he had to compose cantatas for the St Thomas and St. Nicholas churches, conduct th choirs, oversee the musical activities o numerous municipal churches, and teach Lati in the St. Thomas choir school. Accordingly he had to get along with the Leipzig churcauthorities, which proved rocky going. But h persisted, polishing the musical component church services in Leipzig and continuing t write music of various kinds with a level o craft and emotional profundity that was hialoneBach remained at his post in Leipzig untihis death in 1750. He was creatively activ until the very end, even after cataracproblems virtually blinded him. His las musical composition, a chorale preludentitled "Before They Throne, My GodStand', was dictated to his son-in-law onl days before his death Bach was that rare composer whose geniucannot be summed up, even approximated, baby known means. He was the supreme master o counterpoint, fugue, vocal writing, melody chamber composition, solo instrumenrepertoire the list is endless.

Hi Passions are arguably the greatescompositions ever created for choral ensembl and orchestra. His solo works (for violin and cello) are of such beauty and perfect ioof form that their secrets have never bee divulged fully, not even by the greatesvirtuosi on those instruments. His writ infor keyboard – the Goldberg Variations an The Well-Tempered Clavier, among others – reveal an unsurpassed ability to combinintricate musical structure with pur spiritual force; in fact, most leadinmusicians point to the mastery of thes pieces as their ultimate goal Bach was the greatest master of the Baroque and probably of all classical music. An student of music must start – and end – a inquiry into the glories of classical musi with him.