Belle & Sebastian

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach is a German composer of the Baroque-era. He was one of the most celebrated members of a large family of northern German musicians. He was a organist, harpsichordist, and an organ builder. Bach had composed many songs. Two songs that are well known of his are Toccata in Fugue D Minor and Mass in B Minor. His music is considered a prestigious lineage. Now a days Bach is considered as one of the greatest composers. Sebastian Bach was born March…

Many a musicologist in the 20th century and before has attempted to document the effervescent and pronounced life of George Frideric Handel. Much of what these biographer's writings maintain concerning Handel's really life has had to be assumed and inferred due to lack of source material. nonetheless, there is enough available to craft some sort of clear narrative. Young Handel, though severely discouraged by his father from pursuing a life in music, could not be dissuaded. It seems to be…

Have you ever wondered how similar two Baroque composers could be? Although there are numerous differences between the two composers, such as that Bach did not become famous until years after his death, while Handel was famous during his lifetime, they are very similar. They both were German composers who could play a myriad of instruments and started their musical journey as children. One way that Bach and Handel are similar is that they were both German. Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany…

I’ve listened to Messiah since I was very young. My grandmother is very fond of baroque music, and has about a dozen different versions of Messiah, let alone any other pieces. Because I’ve listened to so many versions of it for so many years, I know a quite a bit about what the piece sounds like or at least what it should sound like. The instrumental backdrop of the piece is predominantly homophonic and is founded on the combination of smooth strings, gentle woodwinds, and strong brass in a…

Violin Concerto in F Minor by Vivaldi In the year 1720 a composer named Antonio Vivaldi created what is known as one of his greatest master pieces: The Four Seasons. It’s a concerto about, as the title suggests, the four seasons of the year. He wrote them to accompany poems about the seasons. The section of the concerto known as Winter, or “L'inverno" is the piece this paper focuses on. “L’inverno” is played with strings. Meaning it has violins, violas, and cello. Accompanying these strings…

In Bach's D major and a minor fugues from The Well-Tempered Clavier, some of the characteristic that Bach often uses including descending 5th sequences in order to go from on tonal area to another tonal area. As you can see in the D major fugue, at the episode 2 which is from measure nine to measure 10, the sequences allows the music goes from b minor back to G major. The same technique is also used in the a minor fugue from measure 8 where it goes from a minor back to C major at measure 9. Some…

Johann Sebastian Bach is widely regarded as a musical pioneer and the father of the Baroque musical style. His influence was felt for over 200 years after his death and is still being felt today. He was a very pious man and often aligned himself with the church. Additionally, much of his music is influenced by Christianity, and was commonly played at religious gatherings. Bach’s life was very important and many historians are still studying it today. Born on March 31, 1685 in Eisenach,…

music, music has been a constant part of the human experience. Music appreciation is important. It helps a student appreciate the music elements from different historic eras and how they have contributed to the growth of music. For instance, Johann Sebastian Bach has contributed greatly to four part harmony or chorale writing. Taking this study also helps us to understand the process of making music. Learning how different elements work together to make music also helps students to have an…

Michael Marissen, a music historian and writer, states in his book, Lutheranism, Anti-Judaism, and Bach’s St. John Passion, that during his time in Leipzig, “It was Bach’s job as Cantor at the St. Thomas School of Leipzig to be a musical preacher for the city’s main churches” (Marissen, 7). To deliver his spiritual messages in the clearest form, it was furthermore Bach’s duty to structure his music in such a way that allowed its message to also make a subconscious impact as well. However, it has…

Analysis of Excerpts of Representative Composers As mentioned earlier in this chapter, polymodality can be traced back to the baroque period. Figure 1.3 shows an excerpt of J. S. Bach’s Four Duets No. 2 BWV 303, measures 43-46. This is an example of contrapuntal writing, where Bach creates a canon a perfect fourth lower from the top voice. The upper melody is composed in a D melodic minor scale, and the lower voice is written in A melodic minor. Mosco Carner states that “Bach in contrast to…