Reference no: EM133572585

Question: Summarize this Johann Sebastian Bach In the year that saw the births of both Scarlatti and Handel, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was born in Eisenach, Germany, into a family that had already been producing musicians for more than a century. With the exception of opera-which, as a devout Lutheran, he was not interested in-Bach mastered every musical form of the time, pouring forth some of the most intellectually rigorous and spiritually profound music ever created. It is among the more remarkable achievements in the history of the arts that most of Bach's music was produced under conditions of grinding toil as organist and choir director in relatively provincial German towns. Even Leipzig-where Bach spent 27 years (from 1723 to his death) as kantor (music director) at the school attached to Saint Thomas's Church (Thomaskirche in German)-was far removed from the glittering centers of European culture where most artistic developments were taking place. As a result, Bach was little known as a composer during his lifetime and virtually forgotten after his death. Only in the 19th century did his body of work become known and published. He has since taken his place at the head of the Western musical tradition as