Johann Sebastian Bach
About the composer
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
BORN: 1685 / DIED: 1750 / NATIONALITY: German
Bach wrote music during a time that we now call the Baroque Period, when composers were servants who worked for wealthy families providing music for weekly church ceremonies, for parties and for special occasions. During this time composers wrote a lot and were paid little but Bach was one of the absolute best. Everything was different in the Baroque period; many of the orchestral instruments we see today hadn't been invented yet, harpsichords were the most popular keyboard instrument and music always had a purpose. People didn't just listen to music in a concert, they used it for worship or entertainment. Bach's music was extremely complex and clever and often made up of lots of melodies weaving in and out of each other. After Bach died, Mozart and Beethoven came along and music changed again forever. Bach's music was suddenly very old fashioned and people stopped playing it. It was only in the last 100 years or so that people have started looking back to Bach's music again and noticing how brilliant he was.
J.S. Bach
