Johann Sebastian Bach

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Disambig colour.svg "Bach" redirects here. If you are looking for a different Bach, see the disambiguation page.
J.S. Bach as painted by Gottlieb Haussmann (circa 1747).

Life

Born: 21 March 1685

Died: 28 July 1750

Biography

Johann Sebastian Bach was a prolific German composer and organist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity. Although he introduced no new forms, he enriched the prevailing German style with a robust contrapuntal technique, a control of harmonic and motivic organization from the smallest to the largest scales, and the adaptation of rhythms and textures from abroad, particularly Italy and France.

While Bach's fame as an organist was great during his lifetime, he was not particularly well-known as a composer. His adherence to Baroque forms and contrapuntal style was considered "old-fashioned" by his contemporaries, especially late in his career when the musical fashion tended towards Rococo and later Classical styles. A revival of interest and performances of his music began early in the 19th century, and he is now widely considered to be one of the greatest composers in the Western tradition.

The above is an excerpt from Wikipedia. For the full article, click here.

List of choral works

Cantatas (BWV1-BWV 224 and BWV 249)

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

S

T

U

V

W

Z

Chorale Harmonizations (BWV 250-BWV 438)

Editions with different harmonizations

Chorales in cantatas, arranged differently

Passions, Oratorios, Magnificat

Masses

Motets

Lieder, songs, arias

Other works

Editions with texts translated to other languages

Vocal Arrangements based on Bach's works

Misattributed works


Click here to search for this composer on CPDL

Other works not listed above (See Template:CheckMissing for possible reasons and solutions)

Publications

Recordings of interest

BWV Title Performers Orchestra Medium Label Notes
35, 54, 170 Bach: Cantatas for alto Andreas Scholl, Marcel Ponseele, Markus Markl Collegium Vocale Orchestra 1 CD 1999 Harmonia Mundi 314902016440
172, 68, 1 Bach Kantaten (1) Arleen Augér, Ortrun Wenkel, Peter Schreier, Theo Adam Rotzsch, Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum CD 1981-1983 Berlin Classics 0021502BC Highlights: Arleen Augér, Peter Schreier, Ludwig Güttler trumpet, good tempos and control of Thomanerchor by Rotzsch
137, 21 Bach Kantaten (3) Arleen Augér, Ortrun Wenkel, Peter Schreier, Theo Adam CD 1981-1983 Leipzig Classics BC-2175-2
140, 61, 36 Bach: Kantaten (7) Arleen Augér, Peter Schreier, Siegfried Lorenz CD 1980-1983 Berlin Classics 0020992BC
110, 71 Bach: Kantaten (8) Arleen Augér, Ortrun Wenkel, Peter Schreier, Siegfried Lorenz CD 1981-1982 Berlin Classics 0021002BC
79, 80, 192, 50 Bach Kantaten (9) Arleen Augér, Ortrun Wenkel, Peter Schreier, Theo Adam CD 1980-1982 Berlin Classics 0021762BC
244 Matthäus-Passion Peter Schreier, Theo Adam, Siegfried Vogel, Johannes Künzel, Hermann Christian Polster Mauersberger & Mauersberger, Dresdner Kreuzchor & Thomanerchor; Gewandhausorchester Leipzig 3 CD 1970 Leipzig Classics One of the best recordings: clarity of Schreier, especially the passion of the combined choirs. The last chorus is especially moving, given the history of Dresden in the decades before 1970. See review here.
245 Johannes-Passion Hermann Prey, Evelyn Lear, Ernst Haefliger, Hertha Töpper Karl Richter, Münchener Bach-Chor & Münchener Bach-Orchester 2 CD 1964 Deutsche Grammophon 453-007-2 Definitely a romantic interpretation, but one that improves with age.

External links