Johann Sebastian Bach was a member of a family that had
for generations been occupied in music. His sons were
to continue the tradition, providing the foundation of
a new style of music that prevailed in the later part
of the eighteenth century. Johann Sebastian Bach
himself represented the end of an age, the culmination
of the Baroque in a magnificent synthesis of Italian
melodic invention, French rhythmic dance forms and
German contrapuntal mastery.
Born in Eisenach in 1685, Bach was ...(+)
Johann Sebastian Bach was a member of a family that had
for generations been occupied in music. His sons were
to continue the tradition, providing the foundation of
a new style of music that prevailed in the later part
of the eighteenth century. Johann Sebastian Bach
himself represented the end of an age, the culmination
of the Baroque in a magnificent synthesis of Italian
melodic invention, French rhythmic dance forms and
German contrapuntal mastery.
Born in Eisenach in 1685, Bach was educated largely by
his eldest brother, after the early death of his
parents. At the age of eighteen he embarked on his
career as a musician, serving first as a court musician
at Weimar, before appointment as organist at Arnstadt.
Four years later he moved to Mühlhausen as organist
and the following year became organist and chamber
musician to Duke Wilhelm Ernst of Weimar. Securing his
release with difficulty, in 1717 he was appointed
Kapellmeister to Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen and
remained at Cöthen until 1723, when he moved to
Leipzig as Cantor at the School of St.Thomas, with
responsibility for the music of the five principal city
churches. Bach was to remain in Leipzig until his death
in 1750.
Keyboard Works (Klavierwerke) by Johann Sebastian Bach
traditionally refers to the Nos. 772 to 994, Chapter 8
in the BWV catalogue, listing compositions for a solo
keyboard instrument like the harpsichord or the
clavichord. Despite the fact that organ is also a
keyboard instrument, and that in Bach's time the
distinction wasn't always made whether a keyboard
composition was for organ or another keyboard
instrument, Wolfgang Schmieder ranged organ
compositions in a separate section of the
Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (Nos. 525-771). Also other
compositions for keyboard, like compositions for
lute-harpsichord and fortepiano were listed outside the
"Klavierwerke" range by Schmieder. Lute works are in
the range 995–1000, Chapter 9 in the BWV
catalogue.
Bach was a prodigious talent at the keyboard, well
known during his lifetime for both his technical and
improvisational abilities. Many of Bach's keyboard
works started out as improvisations. Bach wrote widely
for the harpsichord, producing numerous inventions,
suites, fugues, partitas, overtures, as well as
keyboard arrangements of concerto music by his
contemporaries. The fortepiano is an instrument Bach
would have encountered once, by the end of his life
when it was recently invented, while visiting his son
in Potsdam. The visit resulted in Das Musikalische
Opfer, parts of which may have been intended for the
new instrument.
Several of Bach's works for keyboard were published in
print in his own lifetime. Four such publications were
given the name Clavier-Übung (Keyboard Practice) by
the composer. Bach was not the first to use that name,
for example Bach's Leipzig predecessor Johann Kuhnau
had used it for two volumes published in the late 17th
century. The first volume, Bach's Opus 1, was published
in 1731, while the last was published a decade later.
The first, second and last volume contain music written
for harpsichord, while the third was mainly intended
for performance on the organ, only four duets contained
in that volume ending up in the BWV 772–994
range.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_keyboard_and_lut
e_compositions_by_...).
Although originally written for Keyboard, I created
this Interpretation of the Præludium in G Major (BWV
902a) for Concert (Pedal) Harp.
