Johann Sebastian Bach
In his day, Johann Sebastian Bach was better known as a virtuoso organist than as a composer. His sacred music, organ and choral works, and other instrumental music had an enthusiasm and seeming freedom that concealed immense rigor. Bach's use of counterpoint was brilliant and innovative, and the immense complexities of his compositional style -- which often included religious and numerological symbols that seem to fit perfectly together in a profound puzzle of special codes -- still amaze musicians today. Many consider him the greatest composer of all time. Bach was born in Eisenach in 1685. He was taught to play the violin and harpsichord by his father, Johann Ambrosius, a court trumpeter in the service of the Duke of Eisenach. Young Johann was not yet ten when his father died, leaving him orphaned. He was taken in by his recently married oldest brother, Johann Christoph, who lived in Ohrdruf. Because of his excellent singing voice, Bach attained a position at the Michaelis monastery at Lüneberg in 1700. His voice changed a short while later, but he stayed on as an instrumentalist. After taking a short-lived post in Weimar in 1703 as a violinist, Bach became organist at the Neue Kirche in Arnstadt (1703-1707). His relationship with the church council was tenuous as the young musician often shirked his responsibilities, preferring to practice the organ. One account describes a four-month leave granted Bach to travel to Lubeck, where he would familiarize himself with the music of Dietrich Buxtehude. He returned to Arnstadt long after he was expected and much to the dismay of the council. He then briefly served at St. Blasius in Mühlhausen as organist, beginning in June 1707, and married his cousin, Maria Barbara Bach, that fall. Bach composed his famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor (BWV 565) and his first cantatas while in Mühlhausen, but quickly outgrew the musical resources of the town. He next took a post for the Duke of Sachsen-Weimar in 1708, serving as court organist and playing in the orchestra, eventually becoming its leader in 1714. He wrote many organ compositions during this period, including his Orgel-Büchlein, and also began writing the preludes and fugues that would become Das wohltemperierte Klavier (The Well-Tempered Klavier). Owing to politics between the Duke and his officials, Bach left Weimar and secured a post in December 1717 as Kapellmeister at Köthen. In 1720, Bach's wife suddenly died, leaving him with four children (three others had died in infancy). A short while later, he met his second wife, soprano Anna Magdalena Wilcke, whom he married in December 1721. She would bear 13 children, though only five would survive childhood. The six Brandenburg Concertos (BWV 1046-51), among many other secular works, date from his Köthen years. Bach became Kantor of the Thomas School in Leipzig in May 1723 (after the post was turned down by Georg Philipp Telemann) and held the position until his death. It was in Leipzig that he composed the bulk of his religious and secular cantatas. Bach eventually became dissatisfied with this post, not only because of its meager financial rewards, but also because of onerous duties and inadequate facilities. Thus he took on other projects, chief among which was the directorship of the city's Collegium Musicum, an ensemble of professional and amateur musicians who gave weekly concerts, in 1729. He also became music director at the Dresden Court in 1736, in the service of Frederick Augustus II; though his duties were vague and apparently few, they allowed him the freedom to compose what he wanted. Bach began making trips to Berlin in the 1740s, not least because his son Carl Philipp Emanuel served as a court musician there. The Goldberg Variations, one of the few pieces by Bach to be published in his lifetime, appeared in 1741. In May 1747, the composer was warmly received by King Frederick II of Prussia, for whom he wrote the gloriously abstruse Musical Offering (BWV 1079). Among Bach's last works was his 1749 Mass in B minor. Besieged by diabetes, he died on July 28, 1750.© Robert Cummings /TiVo Read more
In his day, Johann Sebastian Bach was better known as a virtuoso organist than as a composer. His sacred music, organ and choral works, and other instrumental music had an enthusiasm and seeming freedom that concealed immense rigor. Bach's use of counterpoint was brilliant and innovative, and the immense complexities of his compositional style -- which often included religious and numerological symbols that seem to fit perfectly together in a profound puzzle of special codes -- still amaze musicians today. Many consider him the greatest composer of all time.
Bach was born in Eisenach in 1685. He was taught to play the violin and harpsichord by his father, Johann Ambrosius, a court trumpeter in the service of the Duke of Eisenach. Young Johann was not yet ten when his father died, leaving him orphaned. He was taken in by his recently married oldest brother, Johann Christoph, who lived in Ohrdruf. Because of his excellent singing voice, Bach attained a position at the Michaelis monastery at Lüneberg in 1700. His voice changed a short while later, but he stayed on as an instrumentalist. After taking a short-lived post in Weimar in 1703 as a violinist, Bach became organist at the Neue Kirche in Arnstadt (1703-1707). His relationship with the church council was tenuous as the young musician often shirked his responsibilities, preferring to practice the organ. One account describes a four-month leave granted Bach to travel to Lubeck, where he would familiarize himself with the music of Dietrich Buxtehude. He returned to Arnstadt long after he was expected and much to the dismay of the council. He then briefly served at St. Blasius in Mühlhausen as organist, beginning in June 1707, and married his cousin, Maria Barbara Bach, that fall. Bach composed his famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor (BWV 565) and his first cantatas while in Mühlhausen, but quickly outgrew the musical resources of the town. He next took a post for the Duke of Sachsen-Weimar in 1708, serving as court organist and playing in the orchestra, eventually becoming its leader in 1714. He wrote many organ compositions during this period, including his Orgel-Büchlein, and also began writing the preludes and fugues that would become Das wohltemperierte Klavier (The Well-Tempered Klavier). Owing to politics between the Duke and his officials, Bach left Weimar and secured a post in December 1717 as Kapellmeister at Köthen. In 1720, Bach's wife suddenly died, leaving him with four children (three others had died in infancy). A short while later, he met his second wife, soprano Anna Magdalena Wilcke, whom he married in December 1721. She would bear 13 children, though only five would survive childhood. The six Brandenburg Concertos (BWV 1046-51), among many other secular works, date from his Köthen years. Bach became Kantor of the Thomas School in Leipzig in May 1723 (after the post was turned down by Georg Philipp Telemann) and held the position until his death. It was in Leipzig that he composed the bulk of his religious and secular cantatas. Bach eventually became dissatisfied with this post, not only because of its meager financial rewards, but also because of onerous duties and inadequate facilities. Thus he took on other projects, chief among which was the directorship of the city's Collegium Musicum, an ensemble of professional and amateur musicians who gave weekly concerts, in 1729. He also became music director at the Dresden Court in 1736, in the service of Frederick Augustus II; though his duties were vague and apparently few, they allowed him the freedom to compose what he wanted. Bach began making trips to Berlin in the 1740s, not least because his son Carl Philipp Emanuel served as a court musician there. The Goldberg Variations, one of the few pieces by Bach to be published in his lifetime, appeared in 1741. In May 1747, the composer was warmly received by King Frederick II of Prussia, for whom he wrote the gloriously abstruse Musical Offering (BWV 1079). Among Bach's last works was his 1749 Mass in B minor. Besieged by diabetes, he died on July 28, 1750.
© Robert Cummings /TiVo
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Bach: The Complete Organ Works Vol. 1
Classical - Released by Signum Records on Oct 16, 2015
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Six Concertos for the Margrave of Brandenburg
Classical - Released by Avie Records on Dec 18, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Partitas | Sonatas BWV 1001 — 1006
Classical - Released by Delphian Records on Jul 28, 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
J.S. Bach: Johannes-Passion, BWV 245
Gli Angeli Genève, Stephan MacLeod, Werner Güra
Classical - Released by Claves Records on Apr 7, 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bach Partitas & Sonatas for Solo Violin
Classical - Released by Onyx Classics on Oct 29, 2015
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Johann Sebastian Bach: The Complete Organ Works Vol. 2 – Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge
Classical - Released by Signum Records on Jul 1, 2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
J.S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 1
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on Nov 7, 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Brandenburg Concertos - Shostakovich: Preludes Op. 87
Classical - Released by Analekta on Sep 11, 2012
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
J.S. Bach: Das wohltemperierte Klavier, Book 1 & 2
Classical - Released by Naxos Sweden - HvB on Oct 2, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
essential classics. 99 masterpieces
Classical - Released by DREANDAS on Jul 27, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Baroqueswing Vol. II
Classical - Released by Claves Records on Oct 14, 2016
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Matthäus Passion, BWV 244
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on Mar 14, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Croatian Prodigy
Classical - Released by BGS Records on Jun 1, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Oeuvres pour orgue (Édition 5.1) (Johann Sebastian Bach)
Classical - Released by Aeolus on Oct 23, 2012
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Multicanal 5.1 -
Bach: Toccata & Fugue in D-minor
Johann Sebastian Bach, Carlos Paterson
Classical - Released by EUROPEAN GRAMOPHONE on Feb 27, 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: The Orchestral Suites
Symphonies - Released by Berlin Classics on Oct 29, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Prelude No. 1 in C Major / Puccini: O Mio Babbino Caro
Classical - Released by Signum Records on Dec 1, 2016
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bach Motets
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Signum Records on Sep 1, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Organ Masterworks, Vol. IV
Classical - Released by Claves Records on Dec 1, 2013
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
JS Bach : Complete Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin Solo Violin by J. S. Bach
Classical - Released by Avie Records on Apr 1, 2016
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
J.S. Bach: Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord
Classical - Released by Onyx Classics on May 29, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo