Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach

(1685-1750)

Like George Frederic Handel, Johann Sebastian Bach was a composer of the Baroque Period. But unlike George, music had been encouraged in his family. The Bachs had been famous musicians for over a hundred years. But none of them became as famous as Sebastian. However like all composers in those days he had to earn his keep by employment as a court composer.

DID YOU KNOW THAT?...........

*When Sebastian was a young man he went on a second very long walk (see ' A Fishy Tale' from the collection of short stories entitled Wolfgang the Wizard Musician and other young composers, available via this web site) – two hundred and fifty miles altogether - to hear a another famous organist. He had promised that he would only be away for four weeks but like the Mozarts were to do many years later, he stayed away much longer and got into trouble with his employer.

*He was married twice and had twenty children. Some of them also became well known musicians.

*Hours of copying out and writing his own music in poor light affected his eyesight and by the time he was quite an old man he began to go blind.

*After Sebastian died, his music was forgotten for about fifty years. Both Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven admired his compositions but it was many more years before he was to become really famous.

*The manuscript paper on which Sebastian had written his music lay in a cupboard in a church vestry. Choirboys would often tear off a piece and used it to wrap up their sandwiches!

Suggested Listening:

Toccata from the Toccata and Fugue in D minor.

Johann Sebastian Bach was a young man when he wrote this. The opening of the Toccata is perhaps the most well known piece of organ music around. The word Toccata comes from the Italian toccare which means to touch. It is so called because the organist's fingers have to lightly touch and move around the keys very quickly indeed. As it is over very soon you may want to listen to the Fugue which follows.