JS Bach

The Prince of Clavier and Organ players

[JS Bach @JSBachBio]

Bach's first trumpeter in Leipzig Gottfried Reiche died of a stroke due to the strain of performing 'Preise dein Glücke, gesegnetes Sachsen'

[JS Bach @JSBachBio]

The melody from Heinrich Isaac's 'Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen' can be heard in many of Bach's cantatas and twice in the Matthew Passion.

[JS Bach @JSBachBio]

'There I had kindly Prince as master, who knew music as well as he loved it, and I hoped to remain in his service for the rest of my life.'

[JS Bach @JSBachBio]

1717-1723 was perhaps the happiest period of Bach's life, as Capellmeister at the court of Anhalt-Cöthen under the young Price Leopold:

[JS Bach @JSBachBio]

1717-1723 was perhaps the happiest period of Bach's life, as Capellmeister at the court of Anhalt-Cöthen under the young Price Leopold.

[JS Bach @JSBachBio]

Bach was invited to Dresden to compete in a contest with the great French organist, Louis Marchand, but Louis fled the day before it began.

[JS Bach @JSBachBio]

Bach's family tree was filled with so many musicians, that the people of Thuringia had long used the word "Bach" as a synonym for "musician"

[JS Bach @JSBachBio]

Though often stated, it is untrue that Bach's Crucifixus - which Mozart probably never heard - inspired the Qui Tollis from his Great Mass.

[JS Bach @JSBachBio]

The 'French Suites' were actually composed in the Italian convention, and were only entitled 'French' years later by the biographer Forkel.

[JS Bach @JSBachBio]

(cont'd)...Magdalena and unmarried daughters were left destitute with only 400 thalers, owing to his intestacy.

[JS Bach @JSBachBio]

At his death, Bach's estate was worth 1,158 thalers, or somewhat less than the savings of two years' income. However, his widow Anna...

[JS Bach @JSBachBio]

The full score of Bach's six Brandenburg Concertos, written in his own hand, was sold in 1734 for 24 silver groschen - approximately $72.

[JS Bach @JSBachBio]

"Bach is Bach, as God is God." Hector Berlioz

[JS Bach @JSBachBio]

"In his works we will search in vain for anything the least lacking in good taste." Claude Debussy

[JS Bach @JSBachBio]

Bach has 3 tracks on the Voyager Golden Record, more than any other artist. He never left Germany, yet his music has left the Solar System.

[JS Bach @JSBachBio]

"Study Bach: there you will find everything." Johannes Brahms

[JS Bach @JSBachBio]

The 'Crucifixus' is the oldest piece of music in the Mass in B Minor, dating back to 1714.

[JS Bach @JSBachBio]

When Bach was 9 years old his mother died. His father passed only 9 months later.

[JS Bach @JSBachBio]

Bach attended the Latin Grammar School in Eisenach as a child, the same school that Martin Luther had attended.

[JS Bach @JSBachBio]

Bach's exquisite soprano voice earned him a position in the wealthy Michaelis choir at Lüneburg, even though he was quite poor.