Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician born in 1685. He came from a family of musicians and showed musical talent at a young age, being taught violin and harpsichord by his father. Bach held several musical director and composer positions throughout his life, most notably as cantor of St. Thomas' Church in Leipzig. He composed hundreds of sacred and secular works, helping establish the Baroque style. Considered a master of counterpoint, fugue, and canon, Bach brought Baroque musical forms to their peak and left a significant legacy before his death in 1750.

1. Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was born in May 21, 1685 in Eisenach, Germany
to a family of musicians. His parents were Johann Ambrosius, court
trumpeter and town musician in Eisenach and mother Maria Elisabetha.
From an early age Bach was taught by his father to play the harpsichord
and violin. His four other brothers were also great musicians in their own
right.
An excellent father and devoted husband, Bach married Maria Barbara
in 1707 and together they had seven children. After her unexpected
death Bach decided to marry again, this time to Anna Magdalena, with
whom he had thirteen more children. His surviving sons became
successful composers, namely, Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach and Johann
Sebastian.
Bach held many positions over the course of his life as musical director
and chief composer for several different churches. His final and most
important position was cantor (choir leader) of St. Thomas’ Church in
Leipzig. His wide musical tastes and experiences gave him an artistic
background that later influenced his compositions.
A devout German Lutheran, his focus was on bringing glory to God
through his Christian and secular music, not to himself. This faith
greatly influenced his work, as the vast majority of his music was written
for the church.

2. He died July 28, 1750 at the age of 65 in Leipzig, after suffering from a
stroke and severe fever. His body was buried in St. John’s cemetery in
Leipzig. He left behind a legacy in which he “summarized his art, his life's
work in which he had, by general recognition, brought baroque musical
forms to the peak of their development.”
Contributions& Compositions
 Father of the baroque musical era
Nearly all music today is traceable back to Bach’s melodic and
rhythmic ideas.
- Compositional, complex, mathematical style.
- Made frequent use of counterpoint and religious and numerological
symbols in his compositions.
 Wrote an estimated 280 sacred cantatas and 30 secular cantatas.
 Composed 7 motets, four of which were for double chorus (A musical
composition for a divided choir)
Most Famous Works
The Mass in B Minor
The Canonic Variations
The Goldberg Variations
The Musical Offering
The Art of Fugue

3. Baroque
“Baroque music expresses order, the fundamental order of the universe. Yet it
is always lively and tuneful. Music reflects the mood of the times, then as now
as always.” – Michael Sartorius
 The baroque period is where the essential language of music was defined
– many later composers would return to Bach’s music to study, play, and
compose their own fugue works or “adapt” the works of previous baroque
composers.
 The complexity of baroque music glorified the heavens as well as the
composers who studied and perfected its art.
 Instruments as well as music were developed in the baroque era; from
organs, harpsichords, keyboards, violins and other stringed instruments,
and the developments of the first fortepianos.
 Bach’s musical direction was influenced by the several courts he worked
for. He combined the different forms and styles of baroque and perfected
them, bringing the baroque style(s) to their greatest heights of mastery.
Styles
 Baroque: “Of or relating to a dramatic style of art and music that was
common in the 17th and early 18th centuries, and featured many
decorative parts and details.”
 Canon: “A piece of music in which the same melody is started at different
times by each of the different groups of voices or instruments.”

4.  Fugue: “A piece of music in which tunes are repeated in complex
patterns.
 Counterpoint: “A combination of two or more melodies that are played
together.”