Lecture Notes: Johann Sebastian Bach

Overview of Bach's Importance

• Recognized as one of the greatest composers of all time.
• Prolific in composing music for organ, keyboard (piano not yet invented), solo and orchestral works, and vocal music.
• Master of counterpoint: independent musical lines creating complex textures.
• Explored and advanced various styles, forms, and genres, except opera.
• Over 1,000 compositions completed by his death.
• Part of a musical family, with many children becoming notable composers.
• Posthumous revival in the 19th century by composers like Mendelssohn and Brahms.

Bach's Life and Work

• Worked as a church organist, teacher, director of orchestras and choirs.
• Composed music tailored to his jobs, e.g., organ music as an organist, court music as a court director.
• Composers of the era were bound by duties and lacked modern freedoms.
• Imprisoned for a month by the Duke of Weimar when trying to move jobs.

Musical Genres and Styles

Organ Music

• Based heavily on German Lutheran service.
• Composed over 200 chorale settings and chorale preludes.
• Notable work: Orgelbüchlein (Little Organ Book) with 45 chorale preludes.

Keyboard Music

• Wrote suites showing national influences: 6 English, 6 French, 6 partitas.
• Famous works: The Well-Tempered Clavier (48 preludes and fugues).
• Goldberg Variations: 30 variations with canons illustrating counterpoint.

Chamber Music

• 15 sonatas for solo instruments and harpsichord.
• Developed style where melody implies harmony in solo works.

Orchestral Music

• Six Brandenburg Concertos, adopting Italian structures but with original elements.

Vocal Music

• Cantatas for church services, over 200 composed for Leipzig's church calendar.
• Passions (e.g., St. Matthew, St. John) combining opera, cantata, and oratorio elements.
• Mass in B minor: a compendium of Bach's best work.

Bach's Musical Qualities

• Mastered Baroque and Rococo styles: movement, contrast, opulence, drama.
• Emphasized beauty and truth in music.
• Music was an intellectual feat aligning with Enlightenment ideals (e.g., fugues, canons).

Emotional vs. Intellectual Appeal

• Emotional: St. John Passion, B minor Mass.
• Intellectual: Goldberg Variations, Art of Fugue.
• Complexity brings beauty, appealing to both intellect and emotion.

Recommendations

• Start with emotionally compelling works or intellectually stimulating works.
• Explore modern transcriptions by Elgar, Schoenberg, or jazz adaptations by Swingle Singers.

Final Thoughts

• Bach's music can seem old-fashioned but modern transcriptions show its timeless nature.
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