Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685, 1750)

Johann Sebastian Bach (father of Carl Philip Emanuel, Johann Christian and Wilhelm Friedemann Bach) was the most significant member of the Bach dynasty of musicians.

He excelled his forebears and contemporaries, but he did not always receive the respect he deserved in his own lifetime.

In 1708 he was appointed court organist in Weimar where he composed most of his works for organ.

In 1717 he moved to Cöthen as court kapellmeister to the young Prince Leopold. He resigned this post in 1723 to become cantor at St. Thomas’ School in Leipzig where he was responsible for music in the four main churches of the city.

In Leipzig he eventually took charge of the "University Collegium musicum" and occupied himself with the collection and publication of many of his earlier compositions.

Despite widespread neglect for almost a century after his death, Bach is now regarded as one of the greatest of all composers and is still an inexhaustible source of inspiration for musicians.

Bach’s compositions are catalogued by means of the prefix BWV (Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis) and a numbering system which is generally accepted for convenience of reference.