Roland's meaningful guide to The Great Composers
JS Bach
1685-1750 Baroque / German
"The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul." JS Bach
Introduction: When
you start exploring the great composers, you learn, very quickly, that Johann
Sebastian Bach was probably the greatest of them all. But fame did not come in
his lifetime; indeed, he was outshone as a composer by his two sons who were
leading representatives of a much newer style. Bach, while admirable in the art
of counterpoint and fugue, was considered a little old fashioned, and much of
his music, such as the St
Matthew Passion, had to wait a century before being revived by the composer
Mendelssohn. Nevertheless, Bach earned the respect of each new generation of
musicians who came after him: Beethoven himself played and studied Bach's 48
Preludes and Fugues on the piano. His Choral symphony, and the symphonies of
many other composers pay tribute to Bach by concluding with fugues.
History: In order
to learn to compose Bach copied out music by candlelight as a child, probably
straining his eyes. He was orphaned at the age of 10, and moved in with his
brother, who showed him all the ins and outs of playing the Organ. Bach married
firstly his cousin Maria, then the singer Anna Wilcke. He became Kapellmeister
(music director) at the Court of Cöthen where
he wrote much of his instrumental work, and later, Kantor at the Thomasschule
in Leipzig. His duties here were to teach, compose and direct music for
civic events and to organise music in the four main town churches. Eventually,
ill health and failing eyesight lead to two fatal eye operations.
Works: Bach
wrote around 1000 works. He wrote hundreds of beautiful Cantatas, mostly Sacred
but some Secular (such as the "Coffee Cantata"), a set of 6
Brandenburg Concertos, the St Matthew Passion, a Mass in B minor, The Musical
Offering, 6 Sonatas and Partitas for solo
Violin, 6 solo Cello Suites, the Partitas and the English and French suites for
Keyboard, 4 Suites for Orchestra and lots of lots Organ music... hardly
surprising as he was, himself, an Organist ! The German Organist,
Helmut Walcha, blind from birth, recorded for Deutsche Grammophone their
earliest stereo discs of all of Bach's Organ works in the late 1950s and early
60s. Glenn Gould retired from public performing under contract with CBS
to record all of Bach's works for keyboard. Arthur Grumiaux recorded all
of Bach's solo Violin works, Nathan Milstein recorded them twice, and
Henryk Szeryng 3 times (Szeryng also made a great recording of the Violin
Concerti with The Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields for Philips). Mistlav
Rostropovich, Mischa Maisky and Alexander Kniazev have left wonderful
recordings of his Cello suites. Karl Richter was a pioneer Conductor and
Organist who recorded, with the Bach Munich Orchestra in the 60s a massive
amount of Cantatas, and other major works. The Germans play their own Bach
supremely well; slowly, evenly and always with a rock steady rhythm. A young
talent in our time, with a beautiful recording of the Goldberg variations and
the 2/3 part Inventions is the German pianist Martin Stadfeld.
Listening: Bach
wrote in much the same style whether writing for a violin or a harpsichord.
Indeed, even his works for harpsichord sound equally good, if
not better when played on a modern piano (which hadn't yet been invented in his
time)! In fact, Bach's music is universal and timeless, and as such is very
adaptable to different performing styles. It is as relevant today as it ever
was, and even Jazz musicians find it an ideal medium with which to improvise. I
find his music well tempered; his 1st Brandenburg Concerto will leave you in a
good, balanced mood. The "monotony" of his rhythms such as the 1st Movement of
his 6th Brandenburg Concerto, often give a certain pulse, vitality and energy to
his music. In his 1st Prelude in C from "The 48" one observes the typical, well
proportioned, structure of harmony as a steady accumulation of tension is built
up, and eventually resolved or released at the conclusion. Bach's music never
tires; it raises man's spirit one notch higher, closer to the sublime and
somewhat closer to God!