24 Amazing Facts About JS Bach

Published by Revelle Team on June 10, 2016

Baroque and Bach are two words that are very often linked together. Widely regarded as one of the definitive composers of the Baroque period, Johann Sebastian Bach’s works are still loved today as each new generation discovers his incredible gift.

However, many people are unaware that without some specific enthusiasm and recognition for this master’s classical works, Bach might have been relegated to obscurity. Only having been known as a skilled organist, musical mathematician, and that guy with the perfectly curled, white wig.

Fortunately however, his musical compositions were admired and appreciated by geniuses like of Mozart and Beethoven; and in 1829, nearly 60 years after his death, Felix Mendelssohn, carried Bach’s Passion According to St. Matthew out of oblivion and into the German concert hall for a significant historical event. Although it had been nearly a hundred years after this beautiful masterpiece had been composed, the concert ignited a flame of curiosity and re-evaluation of Bach’s work, resulting in a world-wide acknowledgement of his brilliance and importance to Baroque classical music.

Here are 24 additional facts and trivia about this famous composer:

Johann Sebastian Bach was born March 31, 1685 in Eisenach, Thuringia, Germany.

His father, Johann Ambrosius Bach was a 7th generation musician, and carried on the tradition by teaching him how to play the violin.

Bach lost both his parents when he was 10 years old. While living in Ohrdruf, Germany, his older brother Johann Christoph Bach taught him organ.

In 1700, he was granted a scholarship at St. Michael’s School in Luneburg for his fine voice.

During an inaugural recital on the new organ his talents earned him the job of organist in Arnstadt, in 1703, at New Church, where he provided music for the services at the church, as well as instruction in music to the local children.

Bach moved to Muhlhausen in 1707 to become the organist in the Church of St. Blaise.

Bach married his cousin, Maria Barbara Bach, and they had seven children. His sons Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emanuel became composers and musicians like their father.

Bach’s next position was as court organist in Weimer, in 1708 for Duke Wilhelm Ernst. It was here he composed his very famous Toccata in D Minor.

Bach was given a diamond ring in 1714 from the Crown Prince Fredrick of Sweden who was amazed at his playing.

Having angered Duke Wilhelm for requesting release from his position on short notice and desiring to go work for Prince Leopold of Koethen, Bach was arrested and put in jail for several weeks in 1716.

Upon his release from jail, Bach became the conductor of the court orchestra, in which Prince Leopold played.

In 1719, Bach tried to arrange a meeting with another prolific composer of that era, George Frideric Handel. Despite being only 130 kilometers apart, the two never did meet.

Bach’s wife, Maria, died suddenly in 1720 while he was away with Prince Leopold. She was 35 years old. The fifth and final movement of the Partita in D Minor for solo violin, “Chaconne,” was written to commemorate her.

In 1721, Bach married Anna Magdalena Wülcken. They had thirteen children.

Bach wrote the majority of his instrumental works during the Koethen period.

In 1723, he became the choir leader for two churches in Leipzig, Germany, in addition to teaching music classes and giving private lessons.

Most of Bach’s choral music was composed in Leipzig.

Bach’s deep religious faith could be found even in his secular music. He would put the initials “I.N.J.,” a Latin abbreviation that means, In Nomine Jesu, or “in the name of Jesus,”on his manuscripts.

The Brandenburg Concertos were written in 1721 as a tribute to the Duke of Brandenburg.

The Well-Tempered Clavier was composed as a collection of keyboard pieces to help students learn various keyboard techniques and methods.

Fredrick the Great, King of Prussia inspired Bach’s composition of a set of fugues called Musical Offering in 1740.

The Art of Fugue was begun in 1749 but was not completed.

After struggling with blindness and a failed surgery on his eyesight, Bach suffered a stroke and died in Leipzig, July 28, 1750. He was 65 years old.

His entire career was spent in a contracted area of Germany that is smaller than most of the States in America.

Johann Sebastian Bach is considered the quintessential composer of the Baroque era, and one of the most important figures in classical music in general. His complex musical style was nearly lost in history but gratefully it survives to be studied and enjoyed today. You can learn more about this icon by visiting his dedicated website. In the words of Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), “Study Bach: there you will find everything.”

17 Amazing Facts About Vivaldi

Most violinists and musicians are familiar with the beautiful series of violin concertos, The Four Seasons, crafted by the master baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi. However, not everyone is familiar with some of the most interesting aspects of his life. One of which is that this musical genius narrowly missed being buried in oblivion more than once.

Vivaldi must have been destined for greatness by virtue of his ground shaking birth and the fortune of being rediscovered by a caring patron of music history years after his death. Indeed, there’s more to Vivaldi’s life than simply his most recognized violin and orchestral compositions. The following Vivaldi facts and trivia have been gleaned from various historical biographies and similar sources.

On the day of his birth, March 4, 1678, a large earthquake occurred in Venice.

Young Antonio was taught to play the violin by his father, a professional violinist who was also a barber. Father and son toured Venice playing violin together.

At age 15, he began studies to become a priest and was nicknamed Il prêt Rosso, or The Red Priest. It is speculated that this was due to his red hair, which was a family trait.

Vivaldi suffered from a form of asthma which limited his duties administering Mass but gave him more time to spend writing music.

He produced many of his major works while employed for approximately 30 years as a master violinist at the Ospedale della Pieta, a home for abandoned children. The boys were taught a trade. The female orphans received expert musical instruction and became members of the choir and orchestra. Their performances were well respected all around the region.

His famous set of 4 violin concertos, The Four Seasons, (1723) is considered to be an outstanding example of program music. Each concerto depicts a scene appropriate for each season and is accompanied by a written description.

J.S. Bach was a huge fan of Vivaldi’s music. He transcribed several of Vivaldi’s concerti for keyboard, strings, organ and harpsichord.

The musical compositions of Vivaldi total 500 concertos, 90 sonatas, 46 operas and a large body of sacred choral works and chamber music.

Vivaldi was commissioned to create music for European nobility and royalty. The well recognized Cantata; Gloria, was written for the celebration of the marriage of Louis XV in 1725. Additional pieces were written for the birth of the French royal princesses and Vivaldi was given the title of knight from Emperor Charles VI of Vienna.

Vivaldi relocated to Vienna at the invitation of Charles VI who died shortly after, leaving Vivaldi with no one to support him. However, because his music had not kept up with the times, he was forced to sell off his compositions in order to live.

Unfortunately, Vivaldi died a pauper and was given a simple burial. The master musician was not even afforded music at his own funeral, only the peeling of bells at St. Stephen’s Cathedral noted his passing.

Interestingly, the young composer Joseph Haydn, employed at the cathedral, had nothing to do with this burial since no music was performed.

His complete catalogue of music was not fully realized until 1926. A large collection of manuscripts were discovered in a boarding school in the Piedmont, diligently researched and procured by Dr. Alberto Gentili, a music historian at the University of Turin.

World War II stopped the momentum of the Vivaldi renaissance with burned out warehouses and printing presses. Little by little, though, newly discovered Vivaldi items began to appear and spread across Europe.

By 1951, London hosted the great postwar Festival of Britain presenting a concert season devoted mostly to the baroque master and firmly secured his place in music history.

2006 was the most recent discovery of a lost piece, Vivaldi’s opera, Argippo, which had last been performed in 1730.

His life and times have been documented in a 2005 movie, Vivaldi, A Prince in Venice, and a radio play for ABC Radio that same year. It was later adapted into a stage play entitled The Angel and the Red Priest.

Vivaldi was an innovator in Baroque music and he was influential across Europe during his lifetime. As a composer, virtuoso violinist, pedagogue, and priest, his life and genius influenced a number of notable artists. However, because of struggles later in life, his music was nearly lost to obscurity. Thankfully, the meticulous efforts of diligent researchers have ensured that his great body of music will be available to inspire countless, future generations of musicians.

Check out these two examples of Vivaldi’s most celebrated compositions, Vivaldi Four Seasons performed by I Musici, in 1988, and Musica Intima & Pacific Baroque Orchestra performing Gloria.

Published by Revelle Team on May 24, 2016