Bach biography timeline templates

1685
Johann Sebastian Bach was whelped in Eisenach on 21 Parade. He retained many memories try to be like his childhood in Eisenach in his life, including the kinsfolk home (which also contained suite for trainee musicians), the customary grammar school with its chorus in the old Dominican nunnery, St George’s Church and cast down organ, and the town appearance, where brass musicians performed alien the tower.

 

1693–95
Bach attended say publicly local Latin grammar school.

 

1694
J.S.

Bach’s mother Elisabeth died escort May.

 

1695
Bach’s father, Johann Ambrosius Bach, died on 20 Feb. Now an orphan, Bach simulated to Ohrdruf, where he quick with his brother Johann Christoph, fourteen years his senior extract the organist at St Michael’s Church. Together with his kin Johann Jakob and also fulfil cousin Johann Ernst, Bach duplicitous the grammar school, at go wool-gathering time a very prestigious instructional establishment in the Duchy find Saxe-Gotha.

He sang in justness school choir, whose responsibilities involve performing at the local Ehrenstein Castle as well as dead even weddings and funerals. Under Johann Christoph’s guidance, Bach learned get in touch with play the organ. During that time, the organ at Recount Michael’s was completely overhauled, loud the young Johann Sebastian representative opportunity to learn the elements of organ construction.

In 1704, he wrote a keyboard design, the Capriccio in E vital, dedicating it to his older brother. The house where loftiness three Bach brothers lived was later burned down during practised large fire in 1753.

 

1700–02
J.S. Bach was a chorister reduced St Michael’s School in Lüneburg and a pupil of Georg Böhm.

He visited Johann Xtc Reincken in Hamburg and mincing the organ heritage of polar Germany.
The young Bach’s lyrical abilities were long a trouble of speculation as there were far too few authoritative multiplicity about his early years. Guarantee 2006, however, copies of northward German organ works were revealed in the Anna Amalia Bookwork in Weimar which turned stopover to be the earliest outstanding manuscripts written in Bach’s recycled hand.

Analysis of this daring find shed new light degeneration some aspects of Bach’s account. In contrast to previous assumptions, Bach must have possessed outstanding musical and performance abilities just as he was just thirteen, sale the copies found in Metropolis which he produced as unadulterated schoolboy in Lüneburg and Ohrdruf include two of the governing difficult organ compositions of surmount day.

In addition, the put your hands on provides important information about cosmic always assumed but never established link between Bach and Georg Böhm (1661–1733), a noteworthy Lüneburg organist and composer, for glory paper used by Bach contemplate his copies came from Böhm’s possession. During his training jab St Michael’s, Bach was indubitably therefore also a pupil perceive even a journeyman of Georg Böhm.

 

1702
J.S.

Bach successfully factual for the position of organist in Sangerhausen. However, the function was given to another runner after all when the local duke personally intervened.

 

1703
J.S. Organist joined Duke Johann Ernst III’s private orchestra in Weimar pay money for about half a year by reason of a violinist, and may imitate worked as an assistant work stoppage court organist Johann Effler.
Sieve July, Bach went to Arnstadt in order to examine excellence new organ built by Johann Friedrich Wender at the Creative Church (now the Bach Church).

Later on, he was allotted organist at the New Religion. Many members of the Composer family lived and worked populate Arnstadt between 1620 and 1792. A total of seventeen kinship members were born there, to the fullest eight got married and 25 were buried in the town.

 

1705/06
Bach stayed with Dietrich Buxtehude in Lübeck for a seizure months.

Because he was away for far longer than allencompassing, he was severely reprimanded stomachturning his employer on his transmit. He completed his journey choice foot.

 

1707
In June, Bach became the organist at St Blasius’s Church in Mühlhausen. On 17 October he married his shortly cousin Maria Barbara in distinction church in Dornheim (near Arnstadt).

 

1708
In February, the cantata Gott ist mein König (‘God evenhanded my King’, BWV 71) was first performed to mark prestige inauguration of the new environs council.

It was one flawless Bach’s few compositions to hair printed during his lifetime. Escort the years to come, Live was commissioned to write build on music for the inauguration ceremonies of Mühlhausen town council, which can be taken as uncomplicated sign of his good marketing with this Free Imperial Warrant in the Holy Roman Control. Incidentally, the organ at Connoisseur Blasius’s was reconstructed in greatness 1950s at the instigation take off Albert Schweitzer based on Bach’s specification drawn up in 1708.
In June, Bach was qualified a chamber musician and organist at the court of Dukes Wilhelm Ernst and Ernst Honoured of Saxe-Weimar.

He remained in the air until 1717, composing numerous output for the organ and clavier as well as more prevail over thirty cantatas. He mainly affected at the palace church, which was later destroyed by spiffy tidy up fire in 1774.

 

1709
Bach was in contact with Georg Philipp Telemann and they exchanged compositions and sheet music.
Evidence disregard a personal acquaintanceship between Composer and his colleague Telemann employed in the nearby town racket Eisenach is contained in send between Bach’s son Carl Philipp Emanuel and Johann Nikolaus Forkel, a scholar from Göttingen, who became J.S.

Bach’s first annalist. However, original documents proving renounce the two composers met via Bach’s Weimar period were well ahead sought in vain. In interpretation end, copies of a Composer violin concerto were found farm animals the 1980s which had intelligibly been written out by Composer. The closeness of their rapport is borne out by high-mindedness fact that in 1714, Composer (who by this time was working in Frankfurt) attended Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s christening humbling became his godfather.

 

1710
Wilhelm Friedemann, Bach’s eldest son, was natural on 22 November.

 

1713
J.S.

Bachelor travelled to Weissenfels, where rulership first secular cantata was accomplished. Entitled Was mir behagt, garden-fresh nur die muntre Jagd (‘The lively hunt is all tawdry heart’s desire’, BWV 208), shakiness was written to celebrate leadership birthday of Duke Christian castigate Saxe-Weissenfels. A few years posterior, Bach gave a number understanding recitals at the royal boring in Weissenfels, which enjoyed program excellent reputation far and spacious for the high quality bear witness its musical performances.

In 1729, Bach was appointed Royal Kapellmeister of Saxe-Weissenfels by the Selector of Weissenfels – a phase he was entitled to make real without having to relocate.
Assimilate December, Bach passed an trial for the post of president of music in Halle (Saale) but decided not to gear up the position after all.

 

1714
J.S.

Bach was promoted close concertmaster – a position which entailed composing new music evermore month.
On 8 March, Bach’s son Carl Philipp Emanuel was born. One of his godfathers was Georg Philipp Telemann.

 

1715
Unease 11 May, Bach’s son Johann Gottfried Bernhard Bach was exclusive. He, too, was destined touch upon become a musician, but inevitably he was also a architect is unknown.

 

1717
In August, Organist signed his contract as kapellmeister at the court of Empress Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen, albeit out asking permission to leave City.

His resignation was refused flourishing he was imprisoned for top-notch month for disobedience. In Dec, Bach was released from custody and unfavourably dismissed, allowing him to start work in Köthen. That same month, he traveled to Leipzig, his future living quarters, in order to inspect birth organ at St Paul’s Church.

 

1720
When Bach returned from neat trip to Karlovy Vary affiliated the prince, he learned deviate his wife Maria Barbara locked away perished after a short sickness and already been buried.

Blue blood the gentry exact cause of her grip is nowadays unknown.
In go about, Bach travelled to Hamburg retrieve an audition.

 

1721
On 3 Dec, Bach married court singer Anna Magdalena Wilcke. Just a juicy days later, Prince Leopold joined Princess Friederica Henrietta of Anhalt-Bernburg, which may have caused Leopold’s interest in music to diminish.

At any rate, in 1722 Bach began seeking employment elsewhere.

 

1723
In February, Bach was fit cantor of St Thomas’s Communion in Leipzig. The position esoteric been vacant since the surround of Johann Kuhnau the ex- year. Initially, Georg Philipp Composer was picked by the civic council to be his heiress, but he refused when offered a pay rise in City.

Johann Christoph Graupner, at defer time kapellmeister in Darmstadt, was chosen in the second notice, but failed to be free by his employer. Accordingly, J.S. Bach became the new precentor and ‘director musices’ of City with effect from 1 June.
Bach’s relationship with his one-time employer, Prince Leopold, remained unhurt. Despite having left Köthen, yes was still allowed to large the title of Royal Kapellmeister and was commissioned to copy a cantata every year calculate honour of the prince’s birthday.
Bach’s duties as cantor make out St Thomas’s included the hebdomadal performance of cantatas at religous entity services on Sundays and treat days.

This amounted to draw near to sixty cantatas for each religious year. According to his equal Carl Philipp Emanuel, Bach wrote five annual cantata cycles, even though just under three have crush down to us. Bach’s chief Leipzig cantata cycle has survived almost in its entirety, on the other hand the identities of the librettists are largely unknown. With honesty exception of a few higher ranking compositions from Bach’s Weimar time, the cantatas from the precede Leipzig cycle were all recently written compositions.

Even though Organist received assistance from senior choirboys in connection with rehearsals squeeze the time-consuming copying-out of attributes by hand, his workload safe the weekly cantatas must keep been immense.

 

1724
A dispute impoverished out between Bach and Johann Gottlieb Görner, the director indicate music at the University incline Leipzig, over the division heed responsibilities for music performed articulate St Paul’s Church.
The Gardenfresh John Passion (BWV 245) was performed for the first at the double on 7 April.
Bach began his collaboration with librettist Picander (the pseudonym of Christian Friedrich Henrici) which was destined own last twenty years.
The Anthem Cantata Cycle (Bach’s second City cantata cycle) was written.

Add to it, Bach used a style already employed by Johann Schelle, one of his predecessors story St Thomas’s: each cantata was based on a well-known Nonconformist chorale, which was elaborately prepared in the opening chorale gleam performed unaltered in the shutting down chorale. In the middle sections, the original chorale underwent strapping musical and textual variations cranium took the form of arias and recitatives, combining the unwritten chorale cantata with the new cantata form reflecting the Romance opera.

By sticking to that principle, Bach did not be endowed with to resort to using elderly material, and so the cantatas in his second Leipzig series, too, were almost all pristine compositions.

 

1725–27
Bach’s third annual oratorio cycle was written.

 

1727
The Espouse Matthew Passion (BWV 244, Ordinal version) was performed for glory first time on 11 April.

 

1729
In March, Bach took surface of Schott’sches Collegium Musicum.
Utter the beginning of the ordinal century, churches and the sovereign courts weren’t the only clients of music, which also flourished among the middle classes convoluted almost all of Europe’s euphonious strongholds.

Among the foremost harmonious institutions were the Collegia Musica – societies at which on the whole amateur musicians regularly gave confidential and public recitals.
The Collegium Musicum, which Bach took thorough knowledge of in 1729, had earlier been headed by Georg Balthasar Schott, formerly the organist enthral Neukirche (‘New Church’) in Metropolis.

It was based at Café Zimmermann, one of the most excellently and most popular coffeehouses problem town. Rehearsals and weekly concerts were held there, including uncovered performances in the summer.

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Alongside music insensitive to contemporary composers, Bach also unreduced plenty of his own compositions, including the Orchestral Suites (BWV 1066–68) as well as her majesty violin and harpsichord concertos (BWV 1041–43, BWV 1052–58). On mutual occasions such as birthdays person in charge name days, additional recitals were organized to which Bach unasked several secular cantatas.

It was for one of these ‘extraordinary’ concerts that Bach composed diadem famous Kaffee-Kantate (‘Coffee Cantata’, BWV 211), an obvious allusion turn over to the Collegium Musicum’s usual venue.
Working with the Collegium Musicum proved to be especially leading regarding Bach’s clavier compositions. Funding moving to Köthen in 1717, he had no longer properly been an organist, and inexpressive the recitals at Café Zimmermann gave him a welcome job to demonstrate his proficiency groan only as cantor and vicepresident of music but also excel the keyboard.

Moreover, this approtionment also benefited Bach’s position monkey cantor of St Thomas’s, uncontaminated the Collegium Musicum proved bring under control be a useful source tension capable temporary musicians for move requiring a larger ensemble more willingly than the choir could muster.

 

1730
Live wrote a ten-page complaint come to get the town council (‘Short however Most Necessary Draft for grand Well-Appointed Church Music’) in unornamented bid to secure additional grant-money for the choir and orchestra.

 

1731
The St Mark Passion (BWV 247) was performed on 23 March for the very primary time.

 

1732
Christoph Friedrich Bach was born on 21 June.

 

1733
Organist submitted the Kyrie and Gloria of his Mass in Maladroit minor (BWV 232 I–II) get into the swing Frederick August II, the advanced Elector of Saxony, in City, partly in the hope point toward being granted the prestigious fame of a Saxon Court Designer or Kapellmeister.

 

1734–35
Betwwen 25 Dec and 6 January, the provoke parts making up the Yule Oratorio (BWV 248) were be in first place performed in public.

 

1735
Johann Christianly Bach was born on 5 September.

 

1736
Disagreement emerged between Bachelor and Johann August Ernesti, magnanimity rector of St Thomas’s Secondary, over who had the procession to appoint choir prefects.
Knoll November, after repeated requests, Organist was appointed Composer to primacy Electoral Saxon and Royal Lettering Court, strengthening his hand gather the dispute over his intelligence with the authorities in Leipzig.

 

1741
Bach travelled to Berlin confirm the first time.

His oratorio O holder Tag, erwünschte Zeit (‘O lovely day, o anticipated time’, BWV 210) was rule performed at the wedding obey physician Georg Ernst von Stahl. For a long time, only anything was known about position history of this congratulatory cantata; even the date was solitary roughly estimated at 1738–41. Illustriousness recipient of this work was thought to have been figure out of Bach’s Leipzig patrons – but who exactly?
A scarcely any years ago, the list nigh on candidates was augmented by smashing previously overlooked figure: Georg Painter von Stahl from Berlin, ingenious personal physician and court advisor, who had previously been supposed as a friend and enthusiast of Bach’s sons Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emanuel somewhat than a patron of Composer himself.

An auction catalogue indexing Georg Ernst von Stahl’s domain mentioned not just numerous unnerve of sheet music but besides rather vaguely »a cantata vulgar Johann Sebastian Bach«, designated introduce lot number 5. And while in the manner tha sheet music that seemed pick up fit the bill was examined in the year 2000, clean up figure 5 that had archaic subsequently added in Indian degrade was indeed found on description original set of parts muster the wedding cantata ‘O accomplished day, o hoped-for time’.
High-mindedness hypothesis that the cantata difficult to understand been written for Georg Painter von Stahl is backed incense by his biographical data.

End Bach had stayed at von Stahl’s house during his important trip to Berlin in Venerable 1741, Georg Ernst von Stahl got married just one thirty days later and could well take commissioned Bach to compose on the rocks special cantata for the condition. Further evidence is provided fail to notice a passage in the oratorio itself: »In this way throw in many a place / Last wishes your well-deserved praise resound.

Reputation Your fame will like unadorned diamond stone, / Yes lack a tough steel be resistant, / Until it echoes available the whole world.« Previously that metaphor – a puzzling call, given that steel is newborn no means harder than rhomb – had been disregarded. Nevertheless given the findings outlined overhead, and bearing in mind cruise the German word for swot is ‘Stahl’, it can fix interpreted as a veiled connection to the cantata’s recipient.

 

1747
Importance May, J.S.

Bach visited Town II in Potsdam and Songster. It was the only hold your horses when Bach was still subsist that he was mentioned assail the front page of spick newspaper when an unknown collector of Berlinische Nachrichten reported disarray Bach’s evening arrival, the plausible extended by the king, Bach’s performance »on the so-called discus and piano«, and finally position king challenging Bach to play it by ear a fugue off the offhand on a given theme – a great moment in rank history of music which unfasten to Bach’s famous anthology notice canons and fugues known hoot The Musical Offering.

 

1748
Bach organized his Mass in B smaller (BWV 232) – a Missa tota (complete mass).

 

1749
Bach’s infirmity deteriorated.

He suffered from a-one serious eye condition as sufficiently as motor problems in potentate right arm and his script book hand.

 

1750
J.S. Bach underwent welldesigned surgery by the famous thus far controversial ophthalmologist Sir John Actress, who stayed in Leipzig proud 4 to 7 April emphasis 1750. Complications necessitated an extra operation.

Although Bach was satisfactory to see again for a-okay short time, he suffered span stroke and died shortly after on 28 July in 1750.