Cantata No. 4

Johann Sebastian Bach (21 March 1685–28 July 1750) was a German composer and organist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra and solo instruments drew together almost all of the strands of the baroque style and brought it to its ultimate maturity. Although he introduced no new musical forms, he enriched the prevailing German style with a robust and dazzling contrapuntal technique, a seemingly effortless control of harmonic and motivic organisation from the smallest to the largest scales, and the adaptation of rhyt ...

Including:

• Johann Sebastian Bach - Biography
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Early years
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Arnstadt and Mülhausen 1703–08
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Weimar 1708–17
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Cöthen 1717–23
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Leipzig 1723–50
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Style
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Works
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Organ works
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Other keyboard works
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Orchestral and chamber music
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Vocal and choral works
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Performances
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Transcriptions
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Legacy
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Media
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Notes

Read more here: » Johann Sebastian Bach: Encyclopedia - Johann Sebastian Bach

A chorale was originally a hymn of the Lutheran church sung by the entire congregation. In casual modern usage, the term also includes classical settings of such hymns and works of a similar character. Chorales tend to have simple and singable tunes, because they were originally intended to be sung by the congregation rather than a professional choir. They generally have rhyming words and are in a strophic form (with the same melody being used for different verses). Some chorale melodies were written by Martin Luther himself. Within a verse, most chorales follow the AAB pattern o ...

Including:

• Chorale - References and further reading

Read more here: » Chorale: Encyclopedia - Chorale

Johann Sebastian Bach - Early years. Johann Sebastian Bach was a member of one of the most extraordinary musical families of all time. For more than 200 years, the Bach family had produced dozens of worthy performers and composers during a period in which the church, local government and the aristocracy provided significant support for professional music making in the German-speaking world, particularly in the eastern electorates of Thuringia and Saxony. Sebastian's father, Johann Ambrosius Bach, was a talented v ...

See also:

Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach - Biography, Johann Sebastian Bach - Early years, Johann Sebastian Bach - Arnstadt and Mülhausen 1703–08, Johann Sebastian Bach - Weimar 1708–17, Johann Sebastian Bach - Cöthen 1717–23, Johann Sebastian Bach - Leipzig 1723–50, Johann Sebastian Bach - Style, Johann Sebastian Bach - Works, Johann Sebastian Bach - Organ works, Johann Sebastian Bach - Other keyboard works, Johann Sebastian Bach - Orchestral and chamber music, Johann Sebastian Bach - Vocal and choral works, Johann Sebastian Bach - Performances, Johann Sebastian Bach - Transcriptions, Johann Sebastian Bach - Legacy, Johann Sebastian Bach - Media, Johann Sebastian Bach - Notes

Read more here: » Johann Sebastian Bach: Encyclopedia II - Johann Sebastian Bach - Biography

JS Bach’s works are indexed with BWV numbers, an initialism for Bach Werke Verzeichnis (Bach Works Catalogue). The catalogue, published in 1950, was compiled by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue is organised thematically, rather than chronologically: BWV 1–224 are cantatas, BWV 225–48 the large-scale choral works, BWV 250–524 chorales and sacred songs, BWV 525–748 organ works, BWV 772–994 other keyboard works, BWV 995–1000 lute music, BWV 1001–40 chamber music, BWV 1041–71 orchestral music, and BWV 1072–1126 canons ...

See also:

Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach - Biography, Johann Sebastian Bach - Early years, Johann Sebastian Bach - Arnstadt and Mülhausen 1703–08, Johann Sebastian Bach - Weimar 1708–17, Johann Sebastian Bach - Cöthen 1717–23, Johann Sebastian Bach - Leipzig 1723–50, Johann Sebastian Bach - Style, Johann Sebastian Bach - Works, Johann Sebastian Bach - Organ works, Johann Sebastian Bach - Other keyboard works, Johann Sebastian Bach - Orchestral and chamber music, Johann Sebastian Bach - Vocal and choral works, Johann Sebastian Bach - Performances, Johann Sebastian Bach - Transcriptions, Johann Sebastian Bach - Legacy, Johann Sebastian Bach - Media, Johann Sebastian Bach - Notes

Read more here: » Johann Sebastian Bach: Encyclopedia II - Johann Sebastian Bach - Works

Bach's compositional style is characterized by contrapuntal textures, linear tonic/dominant harmonic progressions and consistent motor rhythms, which combine to create a sense of forward momentum. As with most other Baroque composers, Bach's music is motivically dense; melodic and rhythmic patterns introduced at the beginning of a work are continually transformed by contrapuntal and melodic inversion, augmentation, diminution, and stretto. Several notable composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann and Mendelssohn began writing in a ...

See also:

Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach - Biography, Johann Sebastian Bach - Early years, Johann Sebastian Bach - Arnstadt and Mülhausen 1703–08, Johann Sebastian Bach - Weimar 1708–17, Johann Sebastian Bach - Cöthen 1717–23, Johann Sebastian Bach - Leipzig 1723–50, Johann Sebastian Bach - Style, Johann Sebastian Bach - Works, Johann Sebastian Bach - Organ works, Johann Sebastian Bach - Other keyboard works, Johann Sebastian Bach - Orchestral and chamber music, Johann Sebastian Bach - Vocal and choral works, Johann Sebastian Bach - Performances, Johann Sebastian Bach - Transcriptions, Johann Sebastian Bach - Legacy, Johann Sebastian Bach - Media, Johann Sebastian Bach - Notes

Read more here: » Johann Sebastian Bach: Encyclopedia II - Johann Sebastian Bach - Style

In his later years and after his death, Bach's reputation as a composer declined: his work was regarded as old-fashioned compared to the emerging classical style. He was far from forgotten, however: he was remembered as a player and teacher (as well, of course, as composer), and as father of his children (most notably CPE Bach). His best-appreciated compositions in this period were his keyboard works, in which field other composers continued to acknowledge his mastery. Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin were among his most prominent admirers. On ...

See also:

Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach - Biography, Johann Sebastian Bach - Early years, Johann Sebastian Bach - Arnstadt and Mülhausen 1703–08, Johann Sebastian Bach - Weimar 1708–17, Johann Sebastian Bach - Cöthen 1717–23, Johann Sebastian Bach - Leipzig 1723–50, Johann Sebastian Bach - Style, Johann Sebastian Bach - Works, Johann Sebastian Bach - Organ works, Johann Sebastian Bach - Other keyboard works, Johann Sebastian Bach - Orchestral and chamber music, Johann Sebastian Bach - Vocal and choral works, Johann Sebastian Bach - Performances, Johann Sebastian Bach - Transcriptions, Johann Sebastian Bach - Legacy, Johann Sebastian Bach - Media, Johann Sebastian Bach - Notes

Read more here: » Johann Sebastian Bach: Encyclopedia II - Johann Sebastian Bach - Legacy