Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel's Lives and Music Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel are two very significant composers from the Baroque period. Pieces from both composers have stood the test of time and are still listened to, played and analysed to this date. The two composers both led very different lives despite being born one month apart and their approaches to music are also quite different even though they are the same style and they were composed in the same period. By researching the live of each of the composers and their own style of music I will be able to determine why these two great composers differed so much in their field of expertise. Born on the 31st of March 1685, Bach is now seen by …show more content…
One very famous piece composed by Bach is Toccata and Fugue in D minor (BWV 565). This piece is said to be composed around 1708. The song is played on an organ and is in the key of D minor. It begins with a toccata to start off the piece which represents Bach’s virtuosic musical ability. The toccata consists of fast arpeggios and scalic runs up and down the keyboard. Also because it is generally free form, it sometimes lacks a steady tempo and it nearly always has an improvised feel. In Bach’s piece he definitely includes an improvised feel with his toccata which is played at very quick tempo with many notes included in his runs. It has a surprisingly thickish texture even though it is only played on the organ. This is most likely because there is a lot going on at once therefore it merges together as one and sounds like there are many people playing. Also because the organ has very sustained notes, they are able to ring out even when a new melodic line is being played. After the toccata Bach introduces a fugue into the piece. A fugue consists of three sections, an exposition, a development and a recapitulation. The fugue begins with a ‘subject’ and in this particular piece the ‘answer’ comes in straight away after the main theme has been played and finished. The main theme is played in the tonic key, D minor and instead of moving to the dominant key in …show more content…
"Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565." Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toccata_and_Fugue_in_D_minor,_BWV_565 (accessed May 17, 2014). Wikimedia Foundation. "Toccata." Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toccata (accessed May 17, 2014). Wikimedia Foundation. "Fugue." Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugue (accessed May 17, 2014). "Handel and JS Bach [M.Tevfik DORAK]." Handel and JS Bach [M.Tevfik DORAK]. http://www.dorak.info/music/jsbgfh.html (accessed May 22, 2014). Cudworth, Charles. "Music." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/254169/George-Frideric-Handel/36/Music (accessed May 22, 2014). On, Anna, and Kaitlyn Fujihara. "Bach vs Handel Differences." Bach vs Handel Differences. http://4943415.weebly.talkiforum.com/20100817/bach-vs-handel-differences-106670/ (accessed May 15, 2014). Wikimedia Foundation. "George Frideric Handel." Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Frideric_Handel (accessed May 22, 2014). Kamien, Roger. Music: an appreciation. 10th brief ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. "J. S. Bach: Baroque Composer - EnchantedLearning.com." J. S. Bach: Baroque Composer - EnchantedLearning.com. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/music/bios/bach/ (accessed May 12,
Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven both flourished in their compositions of classical music; however, their genre of music differed considerably. Bach was a German composer during the Baroque time era of western music which is estimated to have taken place during 1600 to 1750. It was during this time that he composed prolific church organ music which included such works as the Mass in B Minor, much scared choral music, and the St. Matthew Passion, as well as composing over a thousand works in nearly every musical genre except opera. On the other hand, Beethoven was a German composer whom began to emerge during the classical era of western music twenty years after Bach. This era took place throughout the years1750 and 1830. The large quantity of arrangements, over two hundred works in numerous musical genres composed by Beethoven was significantly influenced by his predecessors, onset of deafness, and his highly personal expression of intellectual depth. Such works include the first an...
Boynick, Matt. "Georg Friedric Handel." Classical Music Pages. 1 Feb. 1996. 13 July 2005 .
The music of the Baroque period was focused on having music be a tool of communication to its listeners; conveying an arousal of emotions. Composers of this time thought to use this tool to have this effect or one similar to it to correctly match music from the Roman time period. One composer that goes by the name of Georg Phillip Telemann. He was a German composer born in 1681, he was known as one of the most prolific composers of the Baroque era, “At the age of just ten years old he was able to play four different instruments and had written arias, motets and instrumental works”(Norton Grove Concise Encyclopedia of Music, 756). As well as learning many skills at a young age, his fame grew immensely in Germany becoming a very famous composer and was even assigned four times as much space as the famous J.S. Bach in some contemporary dictionaries. Telemann composed in all varieties of forms and styles, from Italian-style concertos to French-style overture suites and quartets. The Sonata in F minor was one of his pieces that was played at the concert. The piece first given appearance in 1728 in a German musical periodical; though it was originally written for a bassoon and continuo the piece was altered by the performers to be played with a bass trombone and piano. One way that an individual could tell it is a piec...
Johann Sebastian Bach was one of the most famous German composers of his time. All of his work was mostly during the baroque era. The baroque period was from 1600 to 1750 and it is known to be one of the most diverse musical periods as opposed to the other classical music eras. It was in this era that “included composer like Bach, Vivaldi and Handel, who pioneered new styles like the concerto and the sonata.”(Classic FM) Johann Sebastian was born in the midst of the Baroque era as he was born on March 31, 1685 in Thuringia, Germany. Johann came from a family of musicians, which is how he himself became one as well. It was his father who showed him how to play his first instrument, which was the violin. His father was also a well-known musician in his town as he “worked as the town musician in Eisenach.”(Johann Sebastian Bach) It is known that Johann Sebastian went to a school that taught him
Between the 1600s and the 1700s, many would think more of Kings or Queens who ruled their vast kingdoms for years upon years rather than a great composer such as Johann Sebastian Bach, a man who greatly contributed to Germany and many other specific regions of Europe during his life. Born in 1685 Eisenach on March 21, Bach was a member of one of the most excellent musical families of all time as, for over 200 years, the Bach family had birthed some of the most superb composers and performers, many supported by churches, the government, and nobles for their extraordinary works ("Wikipedia"). However, having been orphaned so early on, Bach grew up in the home of his brother, Johann Christoph Bach, in Ohrdruf. During his early life, he attended schools of dance, acted as an organist on many occasions, particularly in Arnstadt, Mühlhausen, Weimar, as well as a court music director in Cöthen, and, later in his life, in 1723 to be precise, he became the grand choirmaster of St.Thomas in Leipzig for twenty-seven years and oversaw many events of the school, going so far as to divide the students into four individual choirs and recruiting the talents of the citys professional musicians and university students (pg 1 - 14, Eidam). He continued as a choirmaster until the end of his days, writing various and exquisite pieces that were preformed in front of many audiences, quite a few of which were preformed by those of the four individual choirs he created while he lead them through each piece (pg 1 - 14, Eidam). Though this may not seem as important as the rulings of Kings and Queens at the time, Bach's contribution to his homeland of Germany and its people was mostly certainly memorable and worth consideration. In fact, because of his contr...
Bach was born in 1685 in Germany amongst the turmoil of national reconstruction. He lived a quiet life with little musical influence, until the death of his parents at age ten. After their death, Bach’s older brother, who taught the very young Bach to play clavichord and harpsichord, raised Bach. Now, his life had the musical influence that is associated with Bach’s greatness. At the age of eighteen, he joined an orchestra where he learned to play the violin and organ. During this time the musical genius of Bach began to emerge (Jackson 15).
George Frederic Handel was one of the greatest composers to ever live. While this may seem like a very bold statement, it can be supported up by the monumental accomplishments achieved by Handel during his lifetime. Along with being a musical genius, Handel was also one of the greatest composers of the baroque era. Handel never gave up his dream of becoming a world class musician, even though his father wanted him to become a lawyer. The operas and oratorios Handel created are still some of the greatest ever made, and his creativeness and speed is unmatched even today. In order to fully understand Handel and all the great musical pieces he created it’s essential that we know his history, accomplishments, and works.
Sherrane, Robert. “The Baroque Age: George Frideric Handel.” Music History 102. Accessed: 5/18/2010. Date: 2008.
Getzinger, Donna. Johnann Sebastian Bach and the art of baroque music. 1st ed. Greensboro: Morgan Reynolds, 2004
German-English composer, George Frederick Handel, is one of the greatest composers of the Baroque period if not of all time. His work, Messiah, is one of the most famous and beloved works of music in the world. During his career in music, Handel composed Italian cantatas, oratorios (like Messiah), Latin Church Music, and several operas. Handel moved around from country to country writing, composing, and producing music for royalty such as Queen Anne and George of Hanover. In his life, Handel mastered several instruments including the violin and the harpsichord.
Johann Sebastian Bach was born into a family of musicians. It was only natural for him to pick up an instrument and excel in it. His father taught him how to play the violin and harpsichord at a very young age. All of Bach’s uncles were professional musicians, one of them; Johann Christoph Bach introduced him to the organ. Bach hit a turning point in his life when both of his parents died at the age of ten years old. Bach’s older brother Johann Christoph Bach took him in and immediately expanded his knowledge in the world of music. He taught him how to play the clavichord and exposed him to great composers at the time. At the age of fourteen, Bach and his good friend George Erdmann were awarded a choral scholarship to the prestigious musical school St. Michael’s in Luneburg. From then on, Bach began to build his career in the music industry. His first two years at the school he sang in the school’s a cappella choir. Historical evidence has shown that Bach at a young age would visit Johanniskirche and would listen to the works of organ player Jasper Johannsen. This was thought to have been the inspiration to Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Studying at the prestigious musical school has help Bach network his way around and become acquaintances’ with some of the best organ players at the time such as Georg Böhm, and Johann Adam Reincken. Through his acquaintance with Böhm and Reincken Bach had access to some of the greatest and finest instruments.
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, said to be one of the best organists of his time (Baroque Music). He was born in March 1685 in Eisenach, Thuringia as the youngest of eight children. His father Johann Ambrosius was also a musician and a court trumpeter for the Duke of Eisenach, and Director of the musicians in Eisenach (Baroque Music). Bach came from a family with a music talent, with his family members having held positions as organists, Cantors, instrumentalists in Thuringia.
Johann Sebastian Bach was born at Eisenach, in the region of Thuringia, Germany, in 1685. He was a composer and musician of the Baroque period. Bach was born in a family of long musical tradition as his antecessors had been professional musicians for several generations. Johann Sebastian grew under a strictly musical environment. All of his closest relatives were musicians, and by being surrounded by these influences, the young Johann Sebastian developed his musical and instrumental skills. Bach 's mother died in 1694, and his father died eight months later. Thus, at age 10, he had to move in with his oldest brother, Johann Christoph Bach , who was an organist
He lived during the last a part of the Baroque amount. He never really left the place where he lived, basically all of his life in was in central Germany, however he studied all the music from composers of that era. His own music shows that he learned and adapted music of many different countries, including French, German and Italian composers. However most of his life, Bach was forced to write church music. Bach wrote music for all genres, except for opera.
George Frideric Handel was born on February 23, 1685 in Halle, Germany. Handel was known as the greatest composer during the Baroque era. Handel was most famous for the Messiah a English Ontario. This great composer also wrote the great opera seria known as “Julius Caesar” which was performed first in London, England in 1724. The opera seria quickly became popular and was toured in several other cities.