Bach J.S. Bach: Overview and

Bach J.S. Bach: Overview and Listening Experience Reflection Most Important Compositions Among Bach's most significant composition, Blanning (2008) argues that the Good Friday mass St. Matthews Passion is thusly considered for the complexity of its double choir and double orchestra requirements. (p. 84) Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor is an exemplary piece of organ music that continues to be used in cinema and pop culture today. His Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor is also an organ work whose dexterity of interwoven passages is perhaps unrivaled for the instrument.

The Goldberg Variations are a collection of harpsichord words that legend has it were composed to help soothe an insomniac king to sleep. (Wikidpedia, 1) A Fifth work is the collection known as The Well Tempered Clavier, which will be discussed in greater depth here below. Most Significant Contributions: Among Bach's most significant contributions, Classical Net (2010) cites the composers fluidity between national schools of music, therefore creating music with appeal to German, French, Italian and English audiences.

This contribution would be supplemented by Bach's compositional precision, with a mathematical organization marking his work and that of those whom he would influence. Another compelling contribution would be rendered through Bach's instrumental familiarity with the organ, harpsichord, viola and violin, which allowed him to creation compositions with an intimate familiarity for each instrument. At yet another level, his specific prowess with the organ makes his compositions for this instrument among the most definitive.

And importantly, Bach contributed an enormously prolific body of work to the ecclesiastical canon of classical music. Significant Facts: Among the details of his biography that might interest us, Bach was born in Eisenach in what is now Germany (Wikipedia, 1). Born in 1685, he would be educated in instrumental playing by his father. A fourth fact of interest is Bach's personal role in the Lutheran Church, where he served offices most of his life.

(Classical Net, 1) Because of his "overtly religious" compositions and his strict traditionalism, Bach is recognized as the father of Baroque. (Classical Net, 1) Resources: Blanning, T.C. (2008). The triumph of music: The rise of composers, musicians and their art. Harvard University Press. Classical Net. (2010). Johann Sebastian Bach. Classical.net. Online at http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/bachjs.php Hanford, J. & Koster, J. (2010). Home Page. Jsbach.org. Smith, T.A. (1996). The Canons and Fugures of J.S. Bach. Sojourn.

Online at http://janus.ucc.nau.edu/tas3/bachindex.html Towe, T.N. (2002). The Face of Bach. Nathan P. Johansen. Online at http://www.npj.com/thefaceofbach/09w624.html Wikipedia. (2010). Johann Sebastian Bach. Wikimedia, Ltd. Inc. Online at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Sebastian_Bach#CITEREFMendel1999 Personal Reflection on The Well Tempered Clavier: The Well Tempered Clavier is an exhaustive songbook which stretches across two books intended for keyboard performance. The first of these books is often also referred to alone as The Well Tempered Clavier.

For our purposes, discussion has been narrowed to consider "Fugue No. 1 in C Major." Among his.