Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
17 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
When was Johann Sebastian Bach born and when did he die? |
1685-1750 |
|
|
What does the death of his date mark? |
The date of his death marks the end of the Baroque period. |
|
|
What did he influence in music? |
He was one of the most influential composers of Western Art Music. |
|
|
Where did he live? |
He lived in Germany. |
|
|
What was the main instrument on which Bach performed? |
The organ. |
|
|
What was his first job? |
Bach began as a church organist in the towns of Arnstadt and Mühlhausen near where he was born. |
|
|
What were his three positions following his first job? |
Next position: at court of Duke of Weimar--organist and later as orchestra leader. Next position: orchestra director at court of Prince of Cöthen. Last position: Music Director at St. Thomas’ Church in Leipzig. |
|
|
What were his duties at Leipzig? |
He would compose and direct a new church cantata for every Sunday and feast day of the year. He was the head of the music school attached to St. Thomas’ Church. Composed, taught Latin, played the organ, maintained all the instruments, and prepared choirs for the 3 other churches in Leipzig. |
|
|
What styles did Bach compose in? |
He composed in all Baroque instrumental and vocal styles, except opera. |
|
|
What was one of his well-known skills in composition? |
Bach was considered the master of counterpoint (when musical lines are particularly clear and stay independent, more or less throughout a musical piece). His work is used as examples in many teachings. |
|
|
Which Baroque composers went blind due to writing so much music by candlelight? (They also had the same eye surgeon.) |
Bach & Handel |
|
|
Bach wrote different types of music depending on his job. What types of music did he write during his early, middle and final years? |
Early years--organ music. Middle years--keyboard and instrumental music. Final Years--religious choral music and some final instrumental works. |
|
|
At the end of his career, Bach: |
Was regarded as old-fashioned by other composers. |
|
|
What was Bach's Organ Music famous for? |
He was famous for his Preludes and Fugues/ |
|
|
What is a prelude? |
an introductory piece of music, most commonly an orchestral opening to an act of an opera, the first movement of a suite, or a piece preceding a fugue. |
|
|
What is a Fugue? |
a polyphonic composition with a theme (the “subject”). Can have 2, 3, or 4 voices. Starts with one voice playing the subject. Successive voices enter in turn. |
|
|
What did Bach do during his Leipzig year? |
During his Leipzig years, Bach wrote hundreds of cantatas for church services, including several sacred choral pieces. |
