Johann Sebastian Bach

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Born: 1685   Died: 1750   Country: Germany   Period: Baroque
Johann Sebastian Bach was better known as a virtuoso organist than as a composer in his day. His sacred music, organ and choral works, and other instrumental music had an enthusiasm and seeming freedom that concealed immense rigor. Bach's use of counterpoint was brilliant and innovative, and the immense complexities of his compositional style -- which often included religious and numerological symbols that seem to fit perfectly together in a Read more profound puzzle of special codes -- still amaze musicians today. Many consider him the greatest composer of all time.

Bach was born in Eisenach in 1685. He was taught to play the violin and harpsichord by his father, Johann Ambrosius, a court trumpeter in the service of the Duke of Eisenach. Young Johann was not yet ten when his father died, leaving him orphaned. He was taken in by his recently married oldest brother, Johann Christoph, who lived in Ohrdruf. Because of his excellent singing voice, Bach attained a position at the Michaelis monastery at Lüneberg in 1700. His voice changed a short while later, but he stayed on as an instrumentalist. After taking a short-lived post in Weimar in 1703 as a violinist, Bach became organist at the Neue Kirche in Arnstadt (1703-1707). His relationship with the church council was tenuous as the young musician often shirked his responsibilities, preferring to practice the organ. One account describes a four-month leave granted Bach, to travel to Lubeck where he would familiarize himself with the music of Dietrich Buxtehude. He returned to Arnstadt long after was expected and much to the dismay of the council. He then briefly served at St. Blasius in Mühlhausen as organist, beginning in June 1707, and married his cousin, Maria Barbara Bach, that fall. Bach composed his famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor (BWV 565) and his first cantatas while in Mühlhausen, but quickly outgrew the musical resources of the town. He next took a post for the Duke of Sachsen-Weimar in 1708, serving as court organist and playing in the orchestra, eventually becoming its leader in 1714. He wrote many organ compositions during this period, including his Orgel-Büchlein. Owing to politics between the Duke and his officials, Bach left Weimar and secured a post in December 1717 as Kapellmeister at Cöthen. In 1720, Bach's wife suddenly died, leaving him with four children (three others had died in infancy). A short while later, he met his second wife, soprano Anna Magdalena Wilcke, whom he married in December 1721. She would bear 13 children, though only five would survive childhood. The six Brandenburg Concertos (BWV 1046-51), among many other secular works, date from his Cöthen years. Bach became Kantor of the Thomas School in Leipzig in May 1723 and held the post until his death. It was in Leipzig that he composed the bulk of his religious and secular cantatas. Bach eventually became dissatisfied with this post, not only because of its meager financial rewards, but also because of onerous duties and inadequate facilities. Thus, he took on other projects, chief among which was the directorship of the city's Collegium Musicum, an ensemble of professional and amateur musicians who gave weekly concerts, in 1729. He also became music director at the Dresden Court in 1736, in the service of Frederick Augustus II; though his duties were vague and apparently few, they allowed him freedom to compose what he wanted. Bach began making trips to Berlin in the 1740s, not least because his son Carl Philipp Emanuel served as a court musician there. In May 1747, the composer was warmly received by King Frederick II of Prussia, for whom he wrote the gloriously abstruse Musical Offering (BWV 1079). Among Bach's last works was his 1749 Mass in B minor. Besieged by diabetes, he died on July 28, 1750. Read less

Featured Johann Sebastian Bach CDs & DVDs:

Bach: Complete Orchestral Works / Helmuth Rilling
Bach: Complete Orchestral Works / Helmuth Rilling
Release Date: 04/30/2013   Label: Hänssler Classic  
Catalog: 98009   Number of Discs: 11
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Lorraine - Bach: Mein Herze Schwimmt Im Blut / Hunt Lieberson, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
Lorraine - Bach: Mein Herze Schwimmt Im Blut / Hunt Lieberson, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
Release Date: 03/26/2013   Label: Yarlung Records  
Catalog: 96298   Number of Discs: 1
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Bach: Suites No 4, 5 & 6 / Hopkinson Smith
Bach: Suites No 4, 5 & 6 / Hopkinson Smith
Release Date: 02/26/2013   Label: Naive  
Catalog: 8938   Number of Discs: 1
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Bach: Cantatas Vol 28 / Gardiner, English Baroque Soloists
Bach: Cantatas Vol 28 / Gardiner, English Baroque Soloists
Release Date: 04/30/2013   Label: Soli Deo Gloria Records  
Catalog: 185   Number of Discs: 1
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Bach & Beyond, Part 1 / Koh
Bach & Beyond, Part 1 / Koh
Release Date: 10/30/2012   Label: Cedille Records  
Catalog: 134   Number of Discs: 1
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Work: Sheep may safely graze (Schafe können sicher weiden)

Browse 26-50 of 189 Available Recordings
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  • 26.
    Barbara Hendricks Sings Bach, Barber & Copland
    Barbara Hendricks Sings Bach, Barber & Copland
    Label: Emi Classics   Catalog: 29355 Release Date: 09/14/2010   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach,  Aaron Copland,  Samuel Barber
    Performer:  Hĺkan Hardenberger,  Eckart Haupt,  Klaus Gerbeth,  Maurice Murphy  ... 
    Conductor:  Peter Schreier,  Michael Tilson Thomas
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  • 27.
    Essential Relaxing Classics
    Essential Relaxing Classics
    Label: Emi Classics   Catalog: 27930 Release Date: 08/24/2010   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach,  Johann Pachelbel,  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,  Ludwig van Beethoven  ... 
    Performer:  Sabine Meyer,  Moura Lympany,  Yehudi Menuhin,  Fritz Helmis  ... 
    Conductor:  Sir Neville Marriner,  Hans Vonk,  Alberto Lysy,  Herbert von Karajan  ... 
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  • 28.
    Essential Wedding
    Essential Wedding
    Label: Emi Classics   Catalog: 27937 Release Date: 08/24/2010   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach,  Claude Debussy,  Dmitri Shostakovich,  Camille Saint-Saëns  ... 
    Performer:  Noel Rawsthorne,  David Reichenberg,  Markus Klinko,  Tasmin Little  ... 
    Conductor:  Sir Neville Marriner,  Andrew Parrott,  Reginald Kilbey,  Stephen Cleobury  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Taverner Players,  Nash Ensemble,  Camerata Lysy  ... 
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  • 29.
    Famous Baroque Arias / Ainsley, Bowman, Fisher, George, King's Consort
    Famous Baroque Arias / Ainsley, Bowman, Fisher, George, King's Consort
    Label: Musical Concepts   Catalog: 1102 Release Date: 07/13/2010   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach,  George Frideric Handel,  John Weldon,  Henry Purcell  ... 
    Performer:  Roy Goodman,  Gillian Fisher,  Lisa Beznosiuk,  John Mark Ainsley  ... 
    Conductor:  Robert King
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  King's Consort
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  • 30.
    O Holy Night / Jeannine Dennis
    O Holy Night / Jeannine Dennis
    Label: Eroica Classical Recordings   Catalog: 3337 Release Date: 07/07/2010   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Lowell Mason,  Felix Mendelssohn,  John Francis Wade,  Traditional  ... 
    Performer:  Jeannine Dennis,  Tom Albrecht
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  • 31.
    Selections / Loretta Mento
    Selections / Loretta Mento
    Label: Eroica Classical Recordings   Catalog: 3323 Release Date: 07/07/2010   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Franz Schubert,  Frédéric Chopin,  Ludwig van Beethoven,  Domenico Scarlatti  ... 
    Performer:  Loretta A. Mento,  Steven Romano Mento
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  • 32.
    Stokowski Transcriptions - Bach, Wagner, Mussorgsky / Serebrier, Bournemouth SO
    Stokowski Transcriptions - Bach, Wagner, Mussorgsky / Serebrier, Bournemouth SO
    Label: Naxos   Catalog: 8505086 Release Date: 04/27/2010   Number of Discs: 5
    Composer:  Richard Wagner,  Johann Sebastian Bach,  Giovanni Palestrina,  William Byrd  ... 
    Conductor:  José Serebrier
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
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  • 33.
    Essential Bach
    Essential Bach
    Label: Emi Classics   Catalog: 95424 Release Date: 02/23/2010   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer:  Philip Pickett,  Catherine Latham,  Iona Brown,  William Bennett  ... 
    Conductor:  Eugen Jochum,  Sir Neville Marriner,  Yehudi Menuhin,  Wolfgang Gönnenwein  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
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  • 34.
    Essential Baroque
    Essential Baroque
    Label: Emi Classics   Catalog: 95429 Release Date: 02/23/2010   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Antonio Vivaldi,  Johann Pachelbel,  George Frideric Handel,  Tomaso Albinoni  ... 
    Performer:  Yehudi Menuhin,  Wayne Marshall,  Gerald Finley,  George Malcolm  ... 
    Conductor:  Sir Neville Marriner,  Sir Charles Mackerras,  Stephen Cleobury,  Sir David Willcocks  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Camerata Lysy,  Academy of St. Martin in the Fields,  Early Music Consort of London  ... 
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  • 35.
    Heavensong - Music Of Contemplation & Light / Mormon Tabernacle Choir
    Heavensong - Music Of Contemplation & Light / Mormon Tabernacle Choir
    Label: Mormon Tabernacle   Catalog: 5035926 Release Date: 01/26/2010   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Astor Piazzolla,  David Foster,  John Rutter,  Howard Goodall  ... 
    Conductor:  Mack Wilberg
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Mormon Tabernacle Choir
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  • 36.
    Troubled Water - Organ Music From The Film
    Troubled Water - Organ Music From The Film
    Label: Two-l   Catalog: 66 Release Date: 01/26/2010   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Iver Kleive,  Johann Sebastian Bach,  Paul Simon,  Antonio Vivaldi
    Performer:  Iver Kleive
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  • 37.
    KDFC presents A String Quartet Christmas
    KDFC presents A String Quartet Christmas
    Label: Kdfc   Catalog: 1109 Release Date: 11/17/2009   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Charles Gounod,  Traditional,  Hector Berlioz,  Gustav Holst  ... 
    Performer:  Emily Mitchell,  Nathaniel Rosen,  Natasha Lipkina,  Nina Bodnar  ... 
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  • 38.
    Bach Transcribed - Godowsky, Petri, Saint-saens, Siloti / Alessio Bax
    Bach Transcribed - Godowsky, Petri, Saint-saens, Siloti / Alessio Bax
    Label: Signum U.k.   Catalog: 156 Release Date: 10/27/2009   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer:  Alessio Bax
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  • 39.
    Yo-Yo Ma - 30 Years Outside The Box
    Yo-Yo Ma - 30 Years Outside The Box
    Label: Sony   Catalog: 752307 Release Date: 10/27/2009   Number of Discs: 90
    Composer:  Sandeep Das,  Traditional,  Kayhan Kalhor,  Zhou Long  ... 
    Performer:  Joseph Gramley,  Kim Dong-Won,  Yo-Yo Ma,  Mark Suter  ... 
    Conductor:  Miguel Harth-Bedoya,  John T. Williams,  Ennio Morricone,  Isaac Stern  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Silk Road Ensemble,  Chicago Symphony Orchestra,  Qi Lin  ... 
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  • 40.
    Bach: Cantatas Highlights
    Bach: Cantatas Highlights
    Label: Challenge   Catalog: 72337 Release Date: 10/13/2009   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer:  Klaus Mertens,  Lisa Larsson,  Christoph Prégardien,  Elisabeth von Magnus  ... 
    Conductor:  Ton Koopman
    CD: $11.99
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  • 41.
    A Guitar For Christmas / Liona Boyd
    A Guitar For Christmas / Liona Boyd
    Label: Sony   Catalog: 37248 Release Date: 09/14/2009   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Eric Robertson,  Johann Sebastian Bach,  Traditional,  William J. Kirkpatrick  ... 
    Performer:  Liona Boyd
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  • 42.
    Bach Adagios
    Bach Adagios
    Label: Decca   Catalog: 001313002 Release Date: 08/11/2009   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer:  Pepe Romero,  Heinz Holliger,  György Sebok,  János Starker  ... 
    Conductor:  Heinz Holliger,  Sir Neville Marriner,  Iona Brown,  Arpád Gerecz  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Academy of St. Martin in the Fields,  Les Solistes Romands,  English Chamber Orchestra  ... 
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  • 43.
    50 Classics For Relaxation / Ingman, Gerhardt, Gamley, Et Al
    50 Classics For Relaxation / Ingman, Gerhardt, Gamley, Et Al
    Label: Time/Life Music   Catalog: 24742 Release Date: 06/30/2009   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Jules Massenet,  Ludwig van Beethoven,  Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky,  Johann Paul A. Martini  ... 
    Performer:  Keith Harvey,  José Luis Garcia,  Larry Dalton,  Skaila Kanga  ... 
    Conductor:  David Firman,  Franck Pourcel,  Charles Gerhardt,  Eric Hammerstein  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  National Philharmonic Orchestra,  Franck Pourcel Orchestra,  London Philharmonic Orchestra  ... 
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  • 44.
    Best Wedding 100
    Best Wedding 100
    Label: Emi Classics   Catalog: 64262 Release Date: 06/16/2009   Number of Discs: 6
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach,  George Frideric Handel,  Claude Debussy,  Camille Saint-Saëns  ... 
    Performer:  Markus Klinko,  Ian Brown,  Christopher van Kampen,  Susan Tomes  ... 
    Conductor:  Sir Neville Marriner,  Reginald Kilbey,  Sir John Barbirolli,  Stephen Cleobury  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Nash Ensemble,  Vienna String Sextet Members,  Ensemble Berlin  ... 
    CD: $18.99
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  • 45.
    The Flagstad Recitals Vol 4 - Songs for Sunday / Flagstad, Boult, LSO
    The Flagstad Recitals Vol 4 - Songs for Sunday / Flagstad, Boult, LSO
    Label: Eloquence   Catalog: 4800616 Release Date: 06/05/2009   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Felix Mendelssohn,  Franz Xaver Gruber,  Charles Gounod,  Charles Hubert Parry  ... 
    Performer:  Kirsten Flagstad
    Conductor:  Sir Adrian Boult
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  London Philharmonic Orchestra
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  • 46.
    Palm Court Encores / Ensemble Vivant
    Palm Court Encores / Ensemble Vivant
    Label: Opening Day   Catalog: 9364 Release Date: 05/04/2009   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Scott Joplin,  Claude Debussy,  Luigi Boccherini,  Jacob Gade  ... 
    Performer:  Catherine Wilson,  Marie Berard,  Dorothy Lawson
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Ensemble Vivant
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  • 47.
    The Number One Bach Album
    The Number One Bach Album
    Label: Eloquence   Catalog: 4765888 Release Date: 03/20/2009   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer:  Marisa Robles,  András Schiff,  Salvatore Accardo,  Pepe Romero  ... 
    Conductor:  Raymond Leppard
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Boston Symphony Orchestra,  Academy of St. Martin in the Fields,  New Symphony Orchestra of London  ... 
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  • 48.
    East West Encounter 2 - Lam Doming , Satoh, Louie, Bach, Chopin / Susan Chan
    East West Encounter 2 - Lam Doming , Satoh, Louie, Bach, Chopin / Susan Chan
    Label: Msr   Catalog: 1280 Release Date: 03/10/2009   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Lam Doming,  Somei Satoh,  Alexina Louie,  Johann Sebastian Bach  ... 
    Performer:  Susan Chan
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  • 49.
    Sunday Morning Classics - Sunday Morning With Bach
    Sunday Morning Classics - Sunday Morning With Bach
    Label: Shadow Mountain   Catalog: 5015299 Release Date: 03/03/2009   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer:  Ales Bartá
    Conductor:  Richard Hein
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra,  City of Prague Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra,  M. Nostitz Quartet
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  • 50.
    Virgo Gloriosa / Maîtrise De Caen Choir
    Virgo Gloriosa / Maîtrise De Caen Choir
    Label: Herald Records   Catalog: 267 Release Date: 10/13/2008  
    Composer:  Marc-Antoine Charpentier,  Daniel Danielis,  Antonio Vivaldi,  Henry Purcell  ... 
    Performer:  Robert Weddle
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Maîtrise de Caen Choir
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