Johann Sebastian Bach

Back to school with Bach.

First up in lesson one of Mystery of History volume 4 is Bach.

Most people have heard this name a time or two probably because he is said to be the most famous composer that ever lived!  So lets discover a little more about the world's most famous composer from the past.

~Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Saxe-Eisenach, Germany on March 31, 1685.

~When Johann was only ten years old his parents died within months of each other.  He went to live with his older brother, Johann Christoph.

Map from Wiki

~Bach was famous for his Baroque-style of music.  Baroque is a term use to characterize extensive use of ornamentation and bass.  This type of composition flourished in Europe in the 17th century.

~Bach was a master organist and violinist.

~A lesser known fact about Bach is that he was also said to be a good singer.

~He worked as as a Kapellmeister (music maker) at St. Thomas Church (Thomaskirche) in Leipzig, Germany.

~Much of the music Bach composed for church services were performed during that church service and then thrown out.  What a waste!  It is said that he composed over 1,000 pieces of music in his lifetime.

~Bach also had at least 20 children by two wives.

~Several of his children followed his path and became amazing musicians as well.  The children learned to play the violin, the organ, piano, and the flute.

~Bach named five of his sons after himself, Johann.  He had two daughters named Johanna.

~Famous works by Bach include Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, Well-Tempered Clavier, St. Matthew Passion, B Minor Mass, St. John Passion, and Brandenburg Concertos.  One of my favorites is Cello Suite No. 1 i-Prelude.  Listen to this masterpiece here on Youtube.

~Bach died on July 28, 1750 in Leipzig, Germany.  He is buried at St. Thomas' Church.

~At one point in his life, Bach was hired as a composer by Duke Wilhelm Ernst of Saxe-Weimar and when he tried to quit the position, the Grand Duke was so enraged, he sent Bach to jail for over one month.  This could be considered a good thing since Bach wrote 46 pieces of music during his time in jail.  These songs are still performed today.

~Did you know that Bach went into space in 1977 with the Voyager spacecraft?  Yep, when the Voyager was launched, three pieces of Bach's work went with it.

~Sadly, his real musical genius was recognized about a hundred years after his death.

Learn more:
Bach trivia.
Enchanted Learning.
Biography from Study.com.
Bach on Pinterest.