:: I just finished a biography on the famous composer Johann Sebastian Bach. It's kinda long but here it is:
Johann Sebastian Bach(Bahk) was born on March 21, 1685, in a small village in northern Germany called Eisenach. All his family members were musicians. His Mom and Dad died when he was almost 10, so he and his brother Johann Jacob went to go live with their older brother Johann Christoph Bach, (all the kids were named Johann.)
Christoph would give Bach lessons on the clavier each day once he got home from school.
When Bach grew up he became an organist in St. Michaels Church. He traveled around Germany. In 1720 he inspected a new pipe organ at “Neue-Kirche”, (New Church). He soon became the church pipe organist and choir director. While he was there he allowed his cousin Maria and another women to join in the church choir. But that was a problem because in Bach’s time women were not allowed to sing in the choir. The people of the church were very mad.
Bach did not want to stay in Arnstadt. So he and Maria got married. They soon left Arnstadt and moved to a town called Muhlhausen. Lots of people liked Bach, but, Bach and Maria left almost as soon as they got there.
They left to go to a village called Weimar. Bach showed the Duke of Weimar how good he was at the organ. He wanted to become the new church organist but the Duke already had one. So Bach got ready to leave, but when the Duke heard about this he threw Bach in jail for almost 30 days.
When Bach got out of jail they left for a town called Kothen. He met Prince Leopold there and he became the choir director of his church in 1717. He liked it there because he got to play his own music.
A few years later Bach’s wife Maria died when he was away working for Prince Leopold. Four children were left, (he three other children died while they were just kids.) Maria was already buried when he got back. He composed a piece called the great d-minor Chaconne remembering her. It was a very thoughtful thing to do.
In less than a year later he met a beautiful young woman named Anna. They got married soon after they met. Anna and he had thirteen beautiful children. In total there were 17 children in Bach’s family now!! Every evening Bach’s family would gather in the music room and play music and sing songs together. Anna also was a very talented musician. She played an instrument called the clavichord. It was sort of like a piano but it more of a stringy sound.
1729, an invitation came to Bach inviting him to become the new church choir director in Leipzig. it was a tough job. Being the choir director in Leipzig was a big responsibility because it was a large city in Germany. While he was there, Bach wrote a lot of songs for different occasions. He also did things like led the choir during church services, play the organ, (but only on important events only), and played the pipe organ to keep it in good shape. Bach started to know other different musicians while he was there. And he did stay there the rest of his life.
Bach soon got a letter inviting him to Frederick the Great’s house in Potsdam to play for him. Carl Phillip Emannuel, Bach’s son had already went there to work for Frederick the Great. After Frederick heard that Bach had arrived, he ordered him to be brought as soon as possible. Frederick showed him a bunch of different keyboard instruments. There was also an early piano that had been been invented not too long before that.
Frederick the Great loved Bach’s music after he heard it. Frederick loved it so much that he played one of his songs for him. After that, Bach was asked if he would compose a two-themed composition. Once Bach was finished writing the composition he played it for Frederick. After Bach finished playing it, Frederick said he loved it. He asked if he could write a composition with six voices. It would be hard but Bach accepted it. When bach got back home he wrote the theme out and printed it into a book and called it The Musical offering.
Bach wrote a lot of different pieces of music for lots of different instruments. Still he was attached to music, so he kept writing music. Closer to the end of his life a composition Bach wrote called Goldberg Variations, helped a man who had trouble falling asleep, fall asleep. It was so calm and relaxing the sleepy man would listen to bach play it so he will get to sleep. The man was so grateful he gave Bach a whole cup of gold to thank him.
Bach died in the summer of 1750 from a stroke. The great gifts of music he left behind were wonderful.
Hope you liked it :) ::
Johann Sebastian Bach(Bahk) was born on March 21, 1685, in a small village in northern Germany called Eisenach. All his family members were musicians. His Mom and Dad died when he was almost 10, so he and his brother Johann Jacob went to go live with their older brother Johann Christoph Bach, (all the kids were named Johann.)
Christoph would give Bach lessons on the clavier each day once he got home from school.
When Bach grew up he became an organist in St. Michaels Church. He traveled around Germany. In 1720 he inspected a new pipe organ at “Neue-Kirche”, (New Church). He soon became the church pipe organist and choir director. While he was there he allowed his cousin Maria and another women to join in the church choir. But that was a problem because in Bach’s time women were not allowed to sing in the choir. The people of the church were very mad.
Bach did not want to stay in Arnstadt. So he and Maria got married. They soon left Arnstadt and moved to a town called Muhlhausen. Lots of people liked Bach, but, Bach and Maria left almost as soon as they got there.
They left to go to a village called Weimar. Bach showed the Duke of Weimar how good he was at the organ. He wanted to become the new church organist but the Duke already had one. So Bach got ready to leave, but when the Duke heard about this he threw Bach in jail for almost 30 days.
When Bach got out of jail they left for a town called Kothen. He met Prince Leopold there and he became the choir director of his church in 1717. He liked it there because he got to play his own music.
A few years later Bach’s wife Maria died when he was away working for Prince Leopold. Four children were left, (he three other children died while they were just kids.) Maria was already buried when he got back. He composed a piece called the great d-minor Chaconne remembering her. It was a very thoughtful thing to do.
In less than a year later he met a beautiful young woman named Anna. They got married soon after they met. Anna and he had thirteen beautiful children. In total there were 17 children in Bach’s family now!! Every evening Bach’s family would gather in the music room and play music and sing songs together. Anna also was a very talented musician. She played an instrument called the clavichord. It was sort of like a piano but it more of a stringy sound.
1729, an invitation came to Bach inviting him to become the new church choir director in Leipzig. it was a tough job. Being the choir director in Leipzig was a big responsibility because it was a large city in Germany. While he was there, Bach wrote a lot of songs for different occasions. He also did things like led the choir during church services, play the organ, (but only on important events only), and played the pipe organ to keep it in good shape. Bach started to know other different musicians while he was there. And he did stay there the rest of his life.
Bach soon got a letter inviting him to Frederick the Great’s house in Potsdam to play for him. Carl Phillip Emannuel, Bach’s son had already went there to work for Frederick the Great. After Frederick heard that Bach had arrived, he ordered him to be brought as soon as possible. Frederick showed him a bunch of different keyboard instruments. There was also an early piano that had been been invented not too long before that.
Frederick the Great loved Bach’s music after he heard it. Frederick loved it so much that he played one of his songs for him. After that, Bach was asked if he would compose a two-themed composition. Once Bach was finished writing the composition he played it for Frederick. After Bach finished playing it, Frederick said he loved it. He asked if he could write a composition with six voices. It would be hard but Bach accepted it. When bach got back home he wrote the theme out and printed it into a book and called it The Musical offering.
Bach wrote a lot of different pieces of music for lots of different instruments. Still he was attached to music, so he kept writing music. Closer to the end of his life a composition Bach wrote called Goldberg Variations, helped a man who had trouble falling asleep, fall asleep. It was so calm and relaxing the sleepy man would listen to bach play it so he will get to sleep. The man was so grateful he gave Bach a whole cup of gold to thank him.
Bach died in the summer of 1750 from a stroke. The great gifts of music he left behind were wonderful.
Hope you liked it :) ::
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