II LIFE
Early Life
Arnstadt: 1703-1707
Mühlhausen: 1707-1708
Köthen: 1717-1723
III WORKS
Motets
Seven of Bach’s German motets survive. Five were composed for two choirs, in the polychoral tradition, and two were written for a single choir of four or five parts. Based on biblical and chorale texts, the motets contain chorus movements only. They are commonly performed a cappella—that is, by voices alone without instrumental accompaniment. In Bach’s day, however, instruments often doubled the singers. The motets were composed for general use (that is, they were not oriented toward a specific Sunday), and as a consequence they remained popular after Bach’s death. For a long time they were virtually the only vocal works of his to be heard. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was much moved by the two-choir Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied (“Sing unto the Lord a new song”), BWV 225, when he heard it performed in the Saint Thomas Church during a visit to Leipzig in 1789. Also popular is the beautiful Jesu, meine Freude (“Jesus, my joy”), BWV 227.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
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