Biography of Johann Sebastian Bach
...en he was of a young age and his mother and father died when he was between the ages of eight and nine. After the death of his parents, Bach was taken under the care of his older brother, Johann Christoph Bach, in Ohrdruf. Bach attended the Gymnasium of Ohrdruf while he was living with his brother. At the school, Bach learned Latin, Greek, and theology. His voice was highly thought of and admired. In the choir of the monastery at Luneburg, Bach was a member because of his soprano voice. Bach and a friend, Georg Erdmann, went to the Luneburg in the spring of 1700. He was offered to be a member of the Mettenchor choir because of his wonderful soprano voice. He soon lost his soprano voice but was still able to participate in the choir because of his musical skills with the violin and harpsichord. Bach went to Muhlhausen as an organist in 1707. There he married his first wife and cousin, Maria Barbara Bach, who was to give him seven children. But she died sadly in 1720. In 1708 Bach was made chamber musician and court organist at Weimar and also in 1714 he became concertmaster at Weimar. In 1717 in Kothen, Prince Leopold of Anhalt mafe Bach musical director. In 1721 Bach married Anna Magdalena Wulken, a musical woman, whore bored him thirteen children. In 1723 Bach became music director of the church of St. Thomas in Leipzig. He spent the rest of his lifetime in Leipzig. Sadly during the last year of his life, Bach’s eyesight began to weaken. He had two operations on his eyes, but no luck in helping them. Some would say that the operations made his death to come sooner to him. On July 22, 1750 he took his last communion dying six days later. He was buried on July 31, 1750 in St. John’s cemetery. Bach was known for having numerical symbolism and mathematical exactitude included in his music. He has composed more then 300 Cantatas throughout his lifetime although only 200 of them are still left in one piece. He had composed over 30 secular cantatas all in Leipzig. Bach also composed four part settings of 371 Lutheran chorales. He used the settings as a basis for some of his choral and instrumental works. In his instrumental and choral works he used and also perfecte...