Biography of Bach, a summary: the restless life of a musician

The music created by the composer Bach is one of the greatest secrets of the universe. But her creator did not have a quiet life. Biography of Bach, a brief summary of which is proposed here, speaks of years of turbulent life on the road, about the service of people who follow the canon and deny the new. The true image of the creator of the passions of the Lord, passacals, clavier exercises, endless motets, oratorios, cantatas, Brandenburg concerts, will begin to open thanks to another musical genius, Mendelssohn.

Childhood and youth

In the land of Thuringia, an eighth child was born in the family of a musician, baptized under the name of Johann Sebastian, who had a strange surname, which translates as "creek." But in fact, no one else knew - it will show the biography of Bach, whose brief content is outlined here - that the world has come a new ocean. Parents died one after another when the child turned 9 years old. He was raised by his uncle, also a musician. At the end of the gymnasium at the age of fifteen, Johann moved to Lüneburg, where he studied music with the St. Michael's Kirche.

Arnstadt and Mühlhausen

True, at the beginning of his career Bach spent less than a year working in Weimar as a court musician with Duke Johann Ernest. But then he is given the place of an organist and leader of a musical choir in the city of Arnsadte, which was an honor for a young musician. In this period, organ works are created. Here the cantata of his own work was performed for the first time. Here the famous Passacaglia, after a trip to Lübeck, to its correspondence teacher, which he will create ten years later, was conceived. For three years in Arnstadt Bach Johann Sebastian showed a firm and enduring character, defending his demands as a composer who first invited to the church to sing in a church choir a woman that, according to his leaders, was incompatible with church music.

In 1706, the biography of Bach, the summary of which is presented here, makes another turn - he leaves for Mühlhausen to the church of St. Vlasius, where he is offered a good place and decent salaries. Here he happily marries Maria Barbara. Here was published his first cantata. But the composer does not stay long in this town, as he was deprived of the opportunity to create. In a year he leaves.

Weimar - nine years of life (1708-1717)

Here he is given creative freedom and greater content. He becomes a chamber and court organist of the ruling duke. In Weimar were born and his children, and the best compositions: cantatas in a new style, with the introduction of motifs of folk songs, warm, sunny, giving rise to all feelings and passions, especially "Hunter". Here he composed preludes, tokatas and fugues (remember the famous "Tokkata and fugue in D minor"), as well as organ music. The Weimar ruler, following his whims, at the opening of a higher vacancy instead of Bach put the middle hand of the musician. The composer did not endure the insults and demanded resignation. For excessive pride, he was imprisoned for a month. When he was released, he left for Kotten together with his family. So the biography of Bach, whose brief content speaks of the winding path of the wandering musician, has replenished with another town, which he glorified.

Ketten (1713-1723)

10 years Bach Johann Sebastian will hold the prince musician Leopold as a conductor. During the travels of Prince Anhalt-Kötten, Bach accompanied his overlord. But when they arrived at the court of the authoritative Margrave of Brandenburg, he was shocked by the mastery of the composer, and asked him to write concerts in the Italian spirit, but in such a way that his native German was present. Bach fired up a new thought for him, wrote Brandenburg concerts and sent an invaluable gift to the margrave. But he already forgot about his request and did not pay attention to the sent notes, which for a long time were gathering dust, not wanted by anyone. With these concerts, Bach moved through time, in an era of romanticism. When he wrote these concerts, his beloved wife suddenly died suddenly. Perhaps, in order not to feel pain, in one breath these uplifting concerts were created, powerfully raising from the depths of the soul all the brightest. A year later, Bach met Anna Magdalena, who had a beautiful voice. He needs a mistress in the house, a mother for four orphans, and he makes her an offer. The wedding took place, as a happy marriage took place, which began rather prosaically, if necessary. Bach, working at the court only on secular music and creating masterpieces - sonatas and partitas for violin and cello, yearned for the organ, and therefore, when in Leipzig a place appeared in the church of St. Thomas, he immediately composed "The Passion According to John" and was accepted In place of the cantor.

Leipzig (1723-1750)

This was the last move in his life. How to cover 27 years of creativity, an extraordinary productive in these years? Only a list of masterpieces. On the rise and inspiration Bach created the Passion according to Matthew. They are unusual in the composition of the orchestra, when there were no copper and percussion instruments, which made the music unusually "easy", elegant. A new combination of choir and orchestra. In addition, there were cantatas with evangelical texts, including secular ones ("Coffee Cantata", who would have guessed that it was composed by a cantor from the church?), Concerts for cello and harpsichord, and, finally, "Mass in B minor". This is the most amazing work that was not performed during his life, because those orchestras could not reproduce it for technical reasons. For our days, several more Masses were lost. In Leipzig, he finished the "Well-Tempered Clavier". Bach visited at the personal invitation of King Frederick II (1747) and endowed the "Musical Offering". The king did not give the musician anything. In 1750, after unsuccessful operations on the eyes and complications after them, Bach passed away at the age of 65.

Bach's music is an immeasurable rise of the human spirit, a victory over time and space.