Arnstadt: 1703-1707 Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach

II LIFE

Early Life

Arnstadt: 1703-1707

It was in Arnstadt that Bach showed “the first fruits of his application to the art of organ playing,” as his obituary later put it. It was also here that he first demonstrated his willful personality, drawing his sword on a mediocre musician after calling him “a nanny-goat bassoonist” and getting into arguments with the church council over the length of hymn preludes. In November 1705 he traveled by foot to Lübeck in northern Germany to hear the special Advent concerts presented by the renowned organist and composer Dietrich Buxtehude. So enchanted was he by the elegant music-making that he stayed four months rather than the agreed-upon leave of four weeks. Bach once again incurred the disfavor of the church council and within a year began to search for another position.

Mühlhausen: 1707-1708
Weimar: 1708-1717
Köthen: 1717-1723
Leipzig: 1723-1750

III WORKS

Cantatas
Motets
Oratorios and Passions
Magnificat and B-Minor Mass
Organ Works
Clavier Works
Works for Solo Instruments
Works for Instrumental Ensemble
Musical Offering, Canonic Variations, Art of Fugue
Method of Composing

IV THE REVIVAL OF BACH’S MUSIC