Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach is a German composer and musician born on 21 March 1685 (31 March in the Gregorian calendar) in Eisenach, in the Duchy of Saxe-Eisenach, and died on 28 July 1750 in Leipzig. He is often nicknamed the "Cantor of Leipzig".

The most eminent member of a family of musicians, his career unfolded entirely in central Germany, in his home region, first in the service of small municipalities and minor princely courts of no political importance, then of the Leipzig town council, which showed him little regard: thus he never obtained a post commensurate with the genius modern musicology recognises in him, nor with his importance in the history of Western music, despite the regard shown to him by certain German rulers, such as Frederick the Great.

His early training was provided by his father, Johann Ambrosius Bach. But following his father's death, it was Johann Sebastian's elder brother, Johann Christoph Bach, who continued this teaching, which was also largely self-taught: Johann Sebastian, passionate about his art, tirelessly copied and studied the works of his predecessors and contemporaries, developing his skill in composition and particularly in counterpoint to a level unknown before him and, since then, never surpassed. Johann Sebastian Bach was a virtuoso on several instruments, the violin and viola, but above all the harpsichord and organ. On these last two instruments, his exceptional gifts drew the admiration and astonishment of all who heard him; he is said to have been able to play anything at sight and to improvise a three-voice fugue on the spot. He also had a recognised and much sought-after expertise in assessing instrument-making.

Standing at the crossroads of the main European musical traditions (German, French and Italian), he achieved a highly innovative synthesis for his time. Although he did not create any new musical form, he practised every genre that existed in his day, with the exception of opera: in all these fields, his compositions, of which only around ten were printed in his lifetime, display exceptional quality in melodic invention, contrapuntal development, harmonic science and lyricism.

Bach's music achieves the perfect balance between counterpoint and harmony, before the latter gained the upper hand from the mid-18th century onward. He is, in particular, the great master of the fugue, the chorale prelude, the sacred cantata and the suite, which he brought to their highest degree of accomplishment. The principal purpose of his works depended largely on the posts he held: organ pieces in Arnstadt, Mühlhausen and Weimar, chamber and orchestral works in Cöthen, sacred works notably in Leipzig.

Johann Sebastian Bach, from a Lutheran background, was inspired by a profound Christian faith. His contemporaries often considered him an austere musician, too learned and less forward-looking [In what sense?] than some of his colleagues. He trained many pupils and passed on his knowledge to several of his musician sons, for whom he composed a great many pieces intended for teaching purposes, though he left behind no writings or treatises. But the end of his life was devoted to composing, gathering and finalising masterly works or cycles that synthesised and embodied his theoretical contribution, forming a kind of "musical testament".