Johann Sebastian Bach. Today is the 326th anniversary of Bach's birth. So much has been written about the great composer, from the magisterial work by Philipp Spitta in the 1870s to more personal accounts by Albert Schweitzer and on, that we'll confine ourselves to a bare outline. Bach was born in Eisenach to a family of musicians. After graduating from the famous St. Michael's School in Lüneberg, he took up his first post in 1703 as a court musician in the chapel of Duke Johann Ernst in Weimar. He then accepted a position of organist on Arnstadt. It was also during his time at Arnstadt that Bach made his famous journeys to Lübeck, 250 miles away, to hear the great organ master Dietrich Buxtehude. In 1708 Bach accepted the post of court organist and concertmaster at the ducal court in Weimar. Among the many compositions for keyboard and orchestra that came from Bach's Weimar period, quite possibly the most important are the preludes and fugues that ultimately would make up the Well-Tempered Clavier. From 1717 to 1723 Bach served as the Kapellmeister at the court of Prince Leopold of Köthen. Bach's most prestigious post came in 1723 when he accepted the position of Cantor of Thomasschule in Leipzig. He stayed in Leipzig till his death in 1750. It was during that period that Bach composed some of his greatest music, from cantatas to Mass in B minor to St. John and St. Mathew Passions to the incomplete but still magnificent The Art of Fugue.
We have a large number of works by Bach in our library and we hope that listeners will celebrate his birthday by browsing through some of them. For our playlist we selected several pieces written or arranged for different instruments. We start with the famous transcription of a chorale Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme from the eponymous cantata, made by Feruccio Busoni. It's played by the pianist Heidi Louise Williams. Then the cellist Fanny Nemeth-Weiss plays Suite for solo cello no. 3 in C Major. We'll then hear Adagio from Violin Sonata No.1 in G minor, which is performed by the violinist Ilya Dobrovitsky. We'll conclude with Concerto No. 1 in d minor for Keyboard and Strings, BWV 1052 (Allegro) 2602. It's performed here by the pianist Eteri Andjaparidze and the string players of the Round Top festival orchestra. To listen, click here.
March 21, 2011
Johann Sebastian Bach. Today is the 326th anniversary of Bach's birth. So much has been written about the great composer, from the magisterial work by Philipp Spitta in the 1870s to more personal accounts by Albert Schweitzer and on, that we'll confine ourselves to a bare outline. Bach was born in Eisenach to a family of musicians. After graduating from the famous St. Michael's School in Lüneberg, he took up his first post in 1703 as a court musician in the chapel of Duke Johann Ernst in Weimar. He then accepted a position of organist on Arnstadt. It was also during his time at Arnstadt that Bach made his famous journeys to Lübeck, 250 miles away, to hear the great organ master Dietrich Buxtehude. In 1708 Bach accepted the post of court organist and concertmaster at the ducal court in Weimar. Among the many compositions for keyboard and orchestra that came from Bach's Weimar period, quite possibly the most important are the preludes and fugues that ultimately would make up the Well-Tempered Clavier. From 1717 to 1723 Bach served as the Kapellmeister at the court of Prince Leopold of Köthen. Bach's most prestigious post came in 1723 when he accepted the position of Cantor of Thomasschule in Leipzig. He stayed in Leipzig till his death in 1750. It was during that period that Bach composed some of his greatest music, from cantatas to Mass in B minor to St. John and St. Mathew Passions to the incomplete but still magnificent The Art of Fugue.
We have a large number of works by Bach in our library and we hope that listeners will celebrate his birthday by browsing through some of them. For our playlist we selected several pieces written or arranged for different instruments. We start with the famous transcription of a chorale Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme from the eponymous cantata, made by Feruccio Busoni. It's played by the pianist Heidi Louise Williams. Then the cellist Fanny Nemeth-Weiss plays Suite for solo cello no. 3 in C Major. We'll then hear Adagio from Violin Sonata No.1 in G minor, which is performed by the violinist Ilya Dobrovitsky. We'll conclude with Concerto No. 1 in d minor for Keyboard and Strings, BWV 1052 (Allegro) 2602. It's performed here by the pianist Eteri Andjaparidze and the string players of the Round Top festival orchestra. To listen, click here.