Johann Sebastian Bach as a Revered German Composer - Coursework Example

Introduction Johann Sebastian Bach was a revered German composer, whose work was a characteristic of the Baroque period. Through his awesome skills in motivic, harmonic, counterpoint organizations, as well as adoption of rhythm and texture forms, Bach was able to enrich the German styles that had existed prior to the Baroque period. Since he was born into a musical family, Bach became largely successful with his father plying a huge role in teaching him how to play the harpsichord and the violin1. The abilities possessed by Bach in playing the organ gained respect in Europe in his lifetime. Although Bach did not receive recognition as a composer during the period, the 19th century led to a revival of performances and interests in his music, which upon closer examination have made him be regarded as one of the greatest composers in history. Discussion Period of Composition Johann Sebastian Bach made his famous compositions during the Baroque period. This was an era of European music that was between 1600 and 1750. The word Baroque is used in reference to extravagance, abnormality and strangeness. The music played during the Baroque period was highly ornate, intense and lavishly texturized. The composers of this era, such as Johann Sebastian Bach, were able to express feelings and emotions in their compositions. Moreover, the compositions made during the Baroque period had an emphasis on contrast of texture, pace and volume in the music, which was not witnessed in the late renaissance, when the music played, did not concentrate on the aforementioned elements2. Bach’s rise to greatness The rich musical history of Bach’s family was instrumental in ensuring that Bach became the greatest composer in history. Christened father of classical music, Bach demonstrated a deep understanding of phrasing and musical forms. Following Bach’s graduation from St. Michaels School in 1703, Bach was given the opportunity of becoming a court musician at a chapel in Weimar. He did a menial role of carrying out musical duties. It was during this particular time that his keyboardist reputation soared. Moreover, this reputation led the official at the chapel to play an organ at a church in Arnstadt. In the same year, Bach became the chief organist at the church, with musical duties and a good salary. However, the relationship between Bach and the authorities at Arnstadt deteriorated with Bach voicing his dissatisfaction with the singers of the church’s choir3. In 1706, Bach was offered the position of an organist at a church in Muhlhausen, which he decided to take up the following year. This position provided Bach with an opportunity to improve his skills as it included incentives such as a good choir, improved conditions and better remuneration. Bach convinced the city government and the church to refurbish the organ at the church after which Bach repaid them with a festive composition for the incumbent council in the location. The composition became a major success, which compelled the council to reward Bach handsomely4. Bach returned to Weimar as an accomplished concertmaster and organist. He enhanced his prowess by working with professional musicians. Bach was able to spend most of his time composing orchestral and keyboard works. This dedication made him to attain the required confidence and proficiency that enabled him to enhance the existing structures and attain substantial influence in foreign countries. Furthermore, during this time Bach was able to make dramatic openings and use the harmonic schemes and dynamic rhythms, which were synonymous with Italians musicians such as Torelli, Vivaldi and Corelli. The stylistic aspects from the aforementioned Italians enabled Bach to make works, which are played in concerts even to date5. Historical Events in Bach’s Life There are some major events in Bach’s life that influenced and shaped his musical career. When he was 14 years old, Bach was awarded a scholarship that enabled him to study at St. Michaels School. This prestigious school was located in Luneburg. At St. Michaels, Bach juggled the tasks of playing the harpsichords and organs in the school and taking part in the choir. This period of Bach’s life was of great importance as it enabled him to visit various churches in the vicinity such as St. John, in which he mingled with famous organists in Luneburg such as Bohm. After the graduation, Bach received an appointment as a court Musician in a church. This appointment played a huge part in his career, as he was able to display his prowess in playing the keyboard, which ensured the spread of his reputation. This reputation made him to receive an invitation to give a recital for the inauguration of an organ. Consequently, he was given the duty of playing the organ at a church in Arnstadt6. The return that Bach made to Weimar was another move that played a part in improving his career. This is because upon return to Weimar, he was given the role of a concertmaster and an organist. His work became increasingly rewarding, as he was able to work with professional musicians who enabled him to further his skills. The period that Bach stayed in Weimar was the genesis of an era when Bach attained consistency in composing orchestral and musical works for the keyboard. Moreover, Bach attained confidence and proficiency, which were very essential to his career. Several years passed at Weimar with Bach composing and playing for the organ. He also became conversant with writing fugues and preludes, which were incorporated into his monumental works. Bach was hired by Leopold to serve as a director of music. This was another important event as Bach was able to receive a fair remuneration for his efforts7. Leopold was important in Bach’s career as he appreciated his talents and gave him ample time during his compositions. Bach received another appointment in 1973 when he was appointed as the director of music for main churches in the town. This post was of prestige as it enabled him to understand the political undertakings of the city council of Leipzig, which was his employer. He offered instructions to students and broadened his performing and compositions. The decline of Bach’s health culminated in his death in 1750 with Bach leaving a legacy of prowess in composing and keyboard work. Since his death in 1750, his reputation has soared with the man being considered the greatest composer of his time8. Bach fell under various patronages with Prince Leopold who was situated at Cathen being a more congenial patron than the ones Bach had worked with earlier. Under the patronage of Prince Leopold, Bach was able to attain progress in his musical works as he composed several concertos, which were named according to their dedication to Ludwig Christian in 1721, who was the Margrave of Brandenburg. These pieces achieved the description of concertos for various instruments and they featured soloists who contrasted against the bulk that is usually associated with orchestra. The patronage of Prince Leopold also enabled Bach to write prolifically in making compositions for the keyboard9. Bach’s Musical Style and compositional Process The musical style associated with Bach came from skills in motivic control and contrapuntal invention. Bach had an awesome flair in improvising other artists’ works, which coupled with exposure to Italian, French and German music made him attain reputation in many countries. Proximity to instruments and musicians enabled Bach to develop an energetic and assorted music style, which was achieved by combining versions of German music with foreign influence. In 1713, Bach enhanced his musical style by learning a lot from the Italian style. The musical works done by Bach were different from the composers of the Baroque period as Bach differentiated from these composers by notating the details in his melodic lines, an aspect that left performers with a little chance for interpolation. The musical style adopted by Bach was due to his deep-rooted religious inclinations. Being a devout Christian he made sacred compositions, which enabled him to perform chorale hymns in churches10. The compositions made by Bach highlighted the desire to showcase musical achievements. Bach wrote mainly from a keyboard. Virtuosity was a key element in the musical pieces made by Bach. He was able to map virtuosic passages onto reed solos and alternating flute with significant development. Moreover, he was able to produce compositions of movements, which explored the technical and artistic possibilities that are inherent in other genres11. The composition process used by Bach incorporated the melody concept whereby this concept was differing from the norm during the onset of the classical period. At the start of the classical period, a composition primarily comprised of a baseline, a melody and harmony. However, Bach did not have a clear distinction between the three elements. Nevertheless, Bach made melodic constructions to become the cornerstone of his music, with the melodies having a characteristic of being denser than other works. Bach is also known for intertwining counterpoints, harmony and melody in a way that made it difficult to discern which element left and which begun12. Comparing Bach, George Frideric Handel and Antonio Vivaldi Bach and Handel were born in the same year and went on to compose pieces of music, which were well known during their times and are still known today. The two composers were attached to the church as seen in the life of Bach who wrote pieces of music and performed in churches for much of his career. Bach was exposed to several musical instruments and musicians because his family had several musicians. Moreover, Bach had travelled to several countries, which include Italy, South Germany, and France where he learnt several music styles. He used these experiences to develop tightly woven music with powerful sonority. He combined foreign experiences with what was already in the Germany music world. Most of Bach’s works were sacred music because of the attachment he had with the Lutheran church. Bach did not compose choruses as Handel but he was the king of the Baroque music13. Although Handel did not write his music to be performed in churches, he derived most of his works’ themes from the Bible. Handel wrote oratorios and the most famous is Messiah and Joshua, which is performed for two and half hours despite the fact that it was written in only twenty-four days. After the economy for operas started to dwindle, Handel changed his style, which did not come with uniforms for performers. The success of Alexander's Feast: John Beard pushed Handel from writing Italian operas into writing English chorals. Handel’s music had a balance between chorus and soloists14. Vivaldi concentrated on writing concertos, which he did for strings and solo instruments. In addition, he wrote choruses, and operas, which had themes from the Bible. Vivaldi wrote pieces to be sung by only females, which means that the females had to sing bass and tenor, in addition to alto and soprano. Vivaldi popularized the Baroque music, which was characterized by fluid melodies, kinetic rhythms, bright instrumental effect, and extension of instrumental technique. Vivaldi was better than Bach and Handel in composing of concertos15. Bach’s Contribution to Music and His Influence on Mozart Initially most of Bach’s musical pieces were done in German but his travels outside Germany ensured that he could change his style to include that of the Italians and French. Bach was very good at the piano and this won him accolades whenever he was performing. He was invited to challenge a French composer by the name of J. Louis Marchand, but the latter left the town of the venue on the day of the performance. It seems that the French composer had learnt that he was of no match to Bach, and as a result, Marchand chose to run away secretly. Bach revolutionized the Baroque music because he was the first to mix several styles in order to come up with a masterpiece. Bach’s music of tightly interwoven styles made him unique. Although his music did not spread across the world as that of Handel, it was established that performers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart borrowed the music16. Mozart’s style of composition of music was very close to that of Bach because the former took time to read Bach’s works. Mozart’s works comprised of several instruments, which were mixed to produce an entertaining sound. Mozart used the oboe, flute, violoncello, and viola. In addition, he did cantatas, oratorios and church music just like Bach. When Mozart started composing music, the European style of music was known as Style Gallant, which had evolved from the Baroque. Mozart was not interested in taking up the new style and he worked hard to revive the late Baroque style because he believed that the latter was superior to the new style. Mozart advanced the emotional reach and technical sophistication of the style because he knew that it was not new and people wanted to change with the changing times. Clarity, transparency, and balance, which form the central traits for Classical style of music, are evident in Mozart’s works. Mastery of the piano was another aspect that made Mozart to be a leading performer of his time. Mozart ensured that all his works were well balanced and all instruments were audible17. Comparison of Two of Bach’s Musical Compositions On of the most notable musical works that were written by Bach, is The Well-Tempered Clavier, which was composed in the year 1722. The book contains twenty-four pairs, which include preludes and fugues with the first pair being in C-major while the last pair is in B-minor. This reveals the expertise with which Bach did his works, because he took his time at every task. The book was dedicated to the youth who had a passion for music and had immense desire to learn. The Well-Tempered Clavier is considered as being very influential in the Western Classical Music history18. At around the time of the death of Bach, his music was not popular but the classical style, which emerged in the 1770s, meant that his music gained popularity. The early Classical style did not have contrapuntal complexity or the use of variety of keys. The Well-Tempered Clavier is made up of several styles, which make the music very interesting to the listener. The preludes exhibit Baroque melodic forms although most of them are free. In addition, the preludes do not have equal lengths and the number of phrases in each part varies. On the other hand, the fugues are two, three, four, or five-voiced. The majority of the fugues are four or three-voiced. The fugues contain the entire array of contrapuntal devices. The Well-Tempered Clavier employed one musical instrument, which was temper-tuned to play all the twenty-four keys without changing the instrument’s fundamentals19. Bach wrote St. Matthew Passion, which is an oratorio, in 1727 and it comprises of chapters twenty-six and twenty-seven of the Matthew’s Gospel. It is considered as one of the most influential sacred songs. He simplifies the Baroque oratorio by using arioso, aria, and recitative movements. This gives the characters an opportunity to reveal their minds’ states in a monologue-like and lyrical manner. The St. Matthew Passion was performed using one voice for each part as opposed to the two conventional choirs, which are used in most performances. Bach had created accompagnato recitatives, which are distinctive, and are accompanied by continuo and use of long, sustained notes performed by the first orchestra20. The main difference between the two classical named above is the usage of instruments. The Well-Tempered Clavier is performed using one instrument, the piano that plays all the keys without changing the piano’s fundamentals. On the other hand, St. Matthew Passion was performed using several musical instruments such as transverse flutes, flutes dolce and oboe. Since Bach was very good at playing the piano, he had the abilities of playing all the keys with only one instrument. Changing the tones meant that one would think the performer was using several instruments21. Critical Analysis of Bach’s Fugues in the Well-Tempered Clavier The melody of the fugues, which is referred to as the tone, was bouncing all over the place. This implies that a listener was unable to hum or whistle to the tune of the song, because of the confusion of the keys involved. This does not make playing the tune hard in the piano. The meter of the fugues was okay and one would easily tap his or her foot to the song. The speed or the tempo of the fugues was moderate. As expected in Baroques, the dynamics of the fugues change abruptly. Some of the fugues in the Well-Tempered Clavier were performed in five parts, which makes them complex to the listener. This is because changing all those voices brings confusion, as the listener does not know what to expect next22. Conclusion Although Johann Sebastian Bach’s music has had immense influence on several music composers, his music became popular after he had died. He was not well known across the world as the likes of Handel and Mozart. Bach created his style, which he used to teach at the schools he was appointed as a tutor and in the church. Most of the composers of that time did Christian songs because of the demand of sacred songs from the community. Having been born in a family, which had several musicians, Bach was introduced to the world of music at a tender age. This exposed him to several instruments, which he learned to play while very young. This exposure played a fundamental role in making him one of the greatest composers of music of all times. Bach’s music was revived by arrival of Mozart into the music world, because Mozart did not want to adopt the style that he found in Europe. The style was known as Style Gallant but Mozart chose to stick to the late Baroque. Works Cited Bruhn, Siglind. J. S. Bach's Well-tempered Clavier: In-depth Analysis and Interpretation, Volume 2. New York: Siglind Bruhn, 1993. Chrissochoidis, Ilias and London, Mozartiana: “Wolfgang's disputed age & early performances of Allegri's Miserere." Musical Times 151 no. (2011): 83-89. Collymore, Joseph. “Johann Sebastian Bach. /George Frideric Handel. /Joseph Haydn. /Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. /Giacomo Puccini." Notes 67 no. 1. (2011): 183-187. Eidam, Klaus. The true life of Johann Sebastian Bach . New York: Basic Books, 2001. Selfridge-Field, Eleanor. “Antonio Vivaldi/Antonio Vivaldi und seine Zeit.” Notes 68, no. 2. (2011): 348-351. Stauffer, George B. “The Complete Organ Works of J. S. Bach the Leupold Edition."American Organist Magazine 44 no. 9 (2010): 40-43. Williams, Peter F. The Organ Music of J.S. Bach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003 . Williams, Peter. "Johann Sebastian Bach's ideal organ." Organists' Review, 94 no. 2 (2008): 7-13. Read More