March 31, 1685 - July 28, 1750
The music of J.S. Bach is, by far, some of my favorite. Although music from the baroque period is not as widely liked as "bigger" music of the romantic era, Bach's music is incredibly rich in harmony and emotion.
There are so many works for violin, as Mr. Bach was a violinist himself. The Suzuki repetoire (8 volumes of pieces) contains 15 pieces by Bach (including a three movement concerto). Needless to say, I will be playing a lot of Bach this month. I also love his unaccompanied works for violin and plan to pull the book out, dust it off and give it a go.
Interesting facts about Johann Sebastian Bach:
- composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist and violinist
- born into a musical family - orphaned at age 10, he went to live with his older brother who was a musician
- had 2o children (two different wives) - only 10 survived into adulthood
- 4 of his children became notable musicians
- employed as a court musician and later as a church musician - writing and performing the music needed for concerts and church services
BOOKS and STORIES:
- Johann Sebastian Bach by Mike Venezia
- Bach's Goldberg Variations by Anna Harwell Celenza
- Mr. Bach Comes to Call
- Sebastian by Jeanette Winter
- Bach (Famous Children Series) by Ann Rachlin
WEBSITES
- http://www.dsokids.com/listen/composerdetail.aspx?composerid=8
- http://www.baroquemusic.org/bqxjsbach.html
SUGGESTED LISTENING
- Brandenburg Concertos
- Goldberg Variations
- Violin Concertos (a minor and E major)
- Double Violin Concerto (Bach Double)
- Unaccompanied Sonatas and Partitas for Violin
- Unaccompanied Cello Suites
I'd love for you to come back and share what you did with this, or any ideas you may have to add.
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