Johann Sebastian Bach

The great synthesizer of Baroque music, called the "father of Western music."

Life

Musical family

Bach was born into a musical family in Thuringia. Orphaned at ten, he was raised by his elder brother. He served as organist and court music director in Arnstadt, Weimar, Köthen and elsewhere, and in Köthen he wrote the Brandenburg Concertos.

Köthen and Weimar

From 1723 he was cantor of St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, responsible for composing and performing music for the church. He wrote a vast number of cantatas and great works such as the St. Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor, and also compiled The Well-Tempered Clavier.

Cantor in Leipzig

In his lifetime he was famous as an organist, and his compositions were considered old-fashioned. After his death in 1750 he was gradually forgotten, until Mendelssohn revived the St. Matthew Passion in 1829 and people rediscovered him.

Legacy

Bach's art of polyphony and harmony is a cornerstone of Western music; Beethoven said he was "not a brook (Bach) but an ocean."

Major works & achievements

• St. Matthew Passion
• Brandenburg Concertos
• The Well-Tempered Clavier
• Mass in B minor

Did you know? He had twenty children in all, several of whom also became famous composers.

Key dates

• 1708Court organist at Weimar
• 1717Court Kapellmeister at Köthen
• 1721Completes the Brandenburg Concertos
• 1723Thomaskantor at St. Thomas Church, Leipzig
• 1727St Matthew Passion premieres
• 1750Died