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| Map from a Dutch book on Bach: J. Rubinstein, L. Van Hasselt, and T. Koopman, Bach. Terra, Zutphen, 1985) shows the places where Bach actually lived and worked. |
Beloved Brother":
1704 "Capriccio on the Absence of his Most Beloved Brother" was presumably written when Bach's brother Jacob went to Poland, to be anoboist in the army of Charles XII of Sweden. It has been suggested that this was in 1706, when the army came nearest to Thuringia; but the date often given is 1704 1705 On leave of absence hears and meets Buxtehude in Lübeck, overstaying his leave. 1706 Has difficulties with the Consistory in Arnstadt. Composes organ music. 1707 Becomes organist of St. Blasius, Mühlhausen. Marries Maria Barbara Bach, his cousin. 1708 Returns to Weimar as chamber musician and organsit to the duke. 1709 Visits Mühlhausen to inaugurate new organ. 1713 Visits Halle, Handel's birthplace, to test new organ.
1716 Secular cantata, Was mir behagt, performed on the birthday of the Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels. Plays at the opening of the new organ at Halle. He decides to leave Weimar when he is not appointed to succeed Drese as conductor of the court orchestra. 1717 Visits Dresden. Contest is arranged with Marchand, but the French organist hastily departs. Visits Leipzig to test new organ. He is put under arrest at Weimar for wishing to accept a post at Cöthen, but later is permitted to resign. 1717 Takes up new duties at Cöthen. 1720 Visits Carlsbad and on returning to Cöthen find that his wife Barbara has died.
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| Anna Magdalena Bach |
- 2.1 Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F major, BWV 1046
- 2.2 Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major, BWV 1047
- 2.3 Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048
- 2.4 Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G major, BWV 1049
- 2.5 Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major, BWV 1050
- 2.6 Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in B flat major, BWV 1051
"A Modern Guide to Symphonic Music" by Alfred Frankenstein. New York 1966:
1. The forst concerto is the most remarkable of the six, both in its form and in its instrumentation. It is scored for two horns, three oboes, violino picollo, bassoon, string quintet and continuo. The choice of these instruments and their distribution in the entire fabric, brings the first Brandenburg far closer to the modern conception of orchestral balance than any other work of Bach's time, and the soloistic spotlighting of particular instruments which is so characteristic of the other concertos of the Brandenburg series is here indulged in relatively seldom. The violino piccolo, a small fiddle tuned a fourth higher than the normal violin, is now obsolete and it is often replaced, unforunately with the modern instrument.
2. The second concerto, in F major, employs a solo group of one violin, one flute, one oboe and one trumpet. The trumpet should be the very high-pitched, valveless one of Bach's time, seldom played in tune by modern instrumentalists, but alla the more exciting in its effect for that reason, especially in the concluding fugue. The slow movement in D minor, uses only the violin, flute and oboe of the solo group, plus the continuo.
3. The third Brandenburg is scored for strings in nine parts - three violins, three violas and three cellos, plus continuo. Bach obviously intended this work to be performed with only one performer on a part, for the Brandenburg concertos as a whole are actually chamber music on a grand scale. The third concerto has no slow movement. In place thereof are two mysterious chords providing a momentary point of harmonic contrast in B minor between two movements in G major. One school of thought believes these chords were intended as the final cadence of a slow movement to beimprovised, probably by the harpsichordist who played the continuo. Today they are sometimes used as the excuse for a cadenza interpolated by the first violinist. Most often, nowadays, they are simply played as written.
4. The four Brandenburg, in G major, is scored for a solo group of one violin and two recorders (althought moder metal cross-flutes are sometimes used in its performance), along with strings and continuo. Bach's term for the wind instruments was Fiauti D'echo - echo flutes - a phase that may apply for the manner of employment rather than to the instrument itself. For the flute parts take a secondary role to the one for the solo violin; the fourth Brandenburg is actually a big concerto for the solo string player.
5. In the fifth Brandenburg, in D major, the harpsichorce is released from it subservient role as continuo player, joins a solo group with a flute and a violin, dominates thar group, and is indeed given the only passage in the entire Brandenburg series wherein a single instrument is heard for any appreciable length of time entirely alone. The fifth Brandenburg is in reality a harpichord concerto, in all probability the first one ever written, and therefore the ancestor of all the harpsichord and piano concertos that have appeared in its wake.
6. The sixth concerto, in B flat, is scored for two violas, two viole de gamba, cello and continuo. The six-stringed viola da gamba is officially obsolete today, and is often replaced by cellos. This is one of the very few works in the literature for string ensemble without violins, and it therefor has a very special, somewhat somber and twangy sonority.
4. The four Brandenburg, in G major, is scored for a solo group of one violin and two recorders (althought moder metal cross-flutes are sometimes used in its performance), along with strings and continuo. Bach's term for the wind instruments was Fiauti D'echo - echo flutes - a phase that may apply for the manner of employment rather than to the instrument itself. For the flute parts take a secondary role to the one for the solo violin; the fourth Brandenburg is actually a big concerto for the solo string player.
5. In the fifth Brandenburg, in D major, the harpsichorce is released from it subservient role as continuo player, joins a solo group with a flute and a violin, dominates thar group, and is indeed given the only passage in the entire Brandenburg series wherein a single instrument is heard for any appreciable length of time entirely alone. The fifth Brandenburg is in reality a harpichord concerto, in all probability the first one ever written, and therefore the ancestor of all the harpsichord and piano concertos that have appeared in its wake.
6. The sixth concerto, in B flat, is scored for two violas, two viole de gamba, cello and continuo. The six-stringed viola da gamba is officially obsolete today, and is often replaced by cellos. This is one of the very few works in the literature for string ensemble without violins, and it therefor has a very special, somewhat somber and twangy sonority.
1724 Tries vainly to improve conditions in St. Thomas's school. Writes many cantatas. Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen (They will all come forth out of Sheba), BWV 65, is a church cantata . Bach composed it in 1724 in Leipzig for Epiphany (Swedish: Trettondagen) , and first performed it on 6
January 1724.
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| Johann Heinrich Ernesti. |
1725 Composes cantatas. Notenbuch for Anna Magdalena. 1727 Visits Hamburg. Funeral ode for the Electress of Saxony performed. More cantatas. 1728 First performance of the St. Matthew Passion. Bach quarrels with the council of St.Thomas. 1729 More quarrels with the church administration, particulary with the rector, Johann Heinrich Ernesti. 1731 St. Mark Passion produced on Good Friday. Visits Dresden, where he meets Hasse and Faustina. Part I of the Clavierübung published. 1732 Son born. Cantata, Froher Tag, performed at opening of the rebuilt Thomas Scool. Visits Cassel to examine organ (Year of Haydn's birth). 1733 On a visit to Dresden Bach presents the Elector with the Kyrie and Gloria of the B Minor Mass. He petitions for the title of court composer. 1734 First performance of the Christmas Oratorio. 1735 Bach is 50. Another son is born. Part II of the Clavierübung published. Besides composing about 30 cantatas., resumes composition of organ music. 1736 Appointed court composer, Bach brings his querrel with the church authorities before the Elector. He plays the new organ in the Dresden Frauenkirche. 1737 Bach attacked in Der critische Musicus by Scheibe. 1738 Church quarrel settled by the Elector. Crl FriedrichbEmanuel Bach, now 24, goes to Berlin in the service of Frederick of Prussia. 1739 Johann Gottfried Berhard Bach dies at Jena. Part III of the Clavierübung published. 1740-41 eyesight. Bach has serious trouble with his eyesight 1742 Part IV of the Clavierübung published.1743 (Year of Vivaldis dead) 1744 Part II of Das wohltemperierte Clavier finished.
1745 Scheibe retracts attack on Bach in Der critische Musicus.
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| Wilhelm Friedemann Bach |
1747 With son Wilhelm Friedemann, Bach visits Carl Philipp Emanuel in Berlin and meets Frederick the Great, who gives Bach a theme on which to improvise. After his return to Leipzig, Bach composes the Musikalisches Opfer on the king's theme and dedicates it to him. 1748 Beginning of work on Die Kunst der Fuge. 1749 Bach is virtually blind. His daughter , Elisabeth, weds J. C. Altnikol organist at Naumburg.
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_in_B_minor
1750 At 65, Bach undergoes an operation on his eyes. Dictates his last composition to Altnikol. Bach dies in Leipzig, July 28.
Bach's Life in Pictures: http://www.baroquemusic.org/bachillustrated.html
Bach - Double Violin Concerto in D minor 2nd movement, Largo:
Of Bach's 20 children (7 from his first marriage) five of the six sons to survive infancy became musicians, and three of them became celebrated composers.
SÖ - Source.
Mainly: 'The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1980)'; "The International Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians" (1952); Larousse Encyclopedia of Music" (1971)
List of works by Johann Sebastian Bach:
http://imslp.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Johann_Sebastian_Bach,_by_BWV_number
Web sites with Bach information:
http://www.jsbach.org/web.html
