Bach: The Baroque Period's Pivotal Composer

Johann Sebastian Bach was born on March 21, 1685. He grew up and became a very pivotal composer during his time, the Baroque period. He was influential during this period enough to have ended the period with the loss of his life. His great influence, however, is not a particularly large surprise due to the fact that he grew up in a family of German composers like himself. In fact, some people might say that he was one of the greatest composers who ever lived. His great-great-grandfather, a Lutheran miller named Veit Bach, was the origin of Johann Sebastian and his family’s musical interests. He brought an instrument with him to use during the time when the mill was doing its work. This musical interest was passed down throughout his

In Johann Sebastian Bach’s early life, he was taught the keyboard and was part of a choir.

He was born to Johann Elisabeth Lämmerhirt and Ambrosius Bach, both of which unfortunately ended up dying before he reached the age of ten. He was taken care of by the oldest of his brothers after the death of their parents, and it was after this that Johann Sebastian began making his way to his eventual fame. After his early years came the Arnstadt period of his life, which was a period that lasted until 1707. This time was named for the place he stayed during these years which was in a northern part in the Thuringian Forest. During this time period, he spent a good portion of his time working on his skills relating to the keyboard, especially the subcategory of the organ. Of course, he had not learned all that he needed to know or all that he wanted to know at that time.

During the same period, he travelled to Lübeck a good many miles away and stayed there for three months. This is where he strived to obtain the bit of knowledge that he was missing, and it was evidently fulfilling, as he was only supposed to have stayed there for a single month.

Naturally, those who employed him back in Arnstadt were rather irritated by his lack

He did not compose very many things during the Arnstadt period, but a couple of works of this period are Capriccio sopra la lontananza del suo fratello dilettissimo (or

Capriccio on the Departure of His Most Beloved Brother) and Prelude and Fugue in G Minor. Bach eventually got a job in Mühlhausen and subsequently moved there in 1707, marking the beginning of the Mühlhausen period. In the same year, he ended up marrying Maria Barbara

Bach, who was also his cousin. His works were more notable during this period due to their greater abundance and higher quality, and in addition to this, he was able to get one of his works published, Gott ist mein König (or God Is My King). He spread and encouraged music in surrounding areas and expanded the choir library by copying existing musical works. He also managed to convince his employers in Mühlhausen to aid him in his plans to restore and \ establish the organ in their modern musical society. Despite these plans, however, Bach