McMaster, John Bach, 1852-1932, American historian, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. Having practiced engineering in New York City and written two books, McMaster was appointed (1877) an instructor in civil engineering at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton). On a trip to Wyoming (1878), he was struck with the drama of the frontier, and his determination to write a history of the United States was renewed. After the successful appearance of his first volume in 1883, he was offered a newly created professorship of American history at the Univ. of Pennsylvania, where he remained until he retired in 1920. His History of the People of the United States (8 vol., 1883-1913), covering the period from the American Revolution to the Civil War, is marked by an emphasis on social and economic affairs, by the use of newspapers and other contemporary sources previously neglected by historians, and by a simple and straightforward narrative. He wrote a ninth volume, A History of the People of the United States during Lincoln's Administration (1927) and a number of highly successful school textbooks.

Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750, German composer and organist, b. Eisenach; one of the greatest and most influential composers of the Western world. He brought polyphonic baroque music to its culmination, creating masterful and vigorous works in almost every musical form known in his period.

Life

Born into a gifted family (see Bach, family), J. S. Bach was devoted to music from childhood. He was taught by his father and later by his brother Johann Christoph, and was a boy soprano in Lüneberg. His education was acquired largely through independent studies. He had an insatiable curiosity about music and sometimes walked great distances to hear the organists Johann Adam Reinken (at Hamburg) and Buxtehude (at Lübeck). In 1703 he became violinist in the private orchestra of the prince at Weimar but left within a year to become organist at Arnstadt.

Bach went to Mühlhausen as organist in 1707. There he married his cousin Maria Barbara Bach, who was to bear him seven children. In 1708 he was made court organist and chamber musician at Weimar, and in 1714 he became concert master. Prince Leopold of Anhalt engaged him as musical director at Köthen in 1717. Three years later his wife died, and in 1721 he married Anna Magdalena Wülken, a woman of considerable musical cultivation who eventually bore him 13 children. In 1723 he took the important post of music director of the church of St. Thomas, Leipzig, and of its choir school; he remained in Leipzig until his death.

Compositions

Since few of Bach's many works were published in his lifetime, exact dates cannot be fixed for all of them, but most can be placed with some certainty in the periods of his life. At Arnstadt and Mühlhausen he began a series of organ compositions that culminated in the great works of the Weimar period: the Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, most of the great preludes and fugues, and the 45 chorale-preludes gathered in Das Orgelbüchlein [the little organ book].

At Köthen he concentrated on instrumental compositions, especially keyboard works: the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue; the English Suites; the French Suites; the Two-Part and Three-Part Inventions, written for the education of his son Wilhelm Friedemann; and Book I of the celebrated Well-Tempered Clavier. He also wrote several unaccompanied violin sonatas and cello suites, and the Brandenburg Concertos, recognized as the best concerti grossi ever composed.

The St. John Passion was performed (1723) at Leipzig when Bach was a candidate for the position of musical director at St. Thomas. His Magnificat was presented shortly after he assumed that post. Many more of his superb religious compositions followed: the St. Matthew Passion (1729), the Christmas Oratorio, the sonorous Mass in B Minor, and the six motets. The principal keyboard works of this period were Book II of The Well-Tempered Clavier and the four books of clavier pieces in the Clavierübung, which includes: six partitas (1726-31); the Italian Concerto and the Partita in B Minor (1735); the Catechism Preludes, the Prelude and Fugue (St. Anne) in E Flat (1739), and four duets; and the Goldberg Variations (more formally Aria with Thirty Variations, 1742). His last notable compositions were the Musical Offering composed (1747) for Frederick the Great and The Art of the Fugue (1749).

Accomplishments and Influence

In all his positions as choir director, Bach composed sacred cantatas—a total of some 300, of which nearly 200 are extant. There are also over 30 secular cantatas, composed at Leipzig, among them Phoebus and Pan (1731). The bulk of his work is religious—he made four-part settings of 371 Lutheran chorales, also using many of them as the bases of organ preludes and choral works. In addition, he composed an astonishing number of instrumental works, many of them designed for the instruction of his numerous pupils. In his instrumental and choral works he perfected the art of polyphony, displaying an unmatched combination of inventiveness and control in his great, striding fugues.

During his lifetime, Bach was better known as an organist than as a composer. For decades after his death his works were neglected, but in the 19th cent. his genius came to be recognized, particularly by romantic composers such as Mendelssohn and Schumann. Since that time his reputation has grown steadily.

Bach, Johann Christian, 1735-82, German musician and composer; son of J. S. Bach. He went to Italy in 1754, became a Roman Catholic, and composed church music and operas. In 1760 he became organist of the Milan Cathedral. Two years later he went to England, where he became music master to the royal family. A popular and highly prolific composer in the rococo style, he influenced the young Mozart.

Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel, 1714-88, German composer; second son of J. S. Bach, his only teacher. While harpsichordist at the court of Frederick the Great, where his chief duty for 28 years (1738-67) was to accompany the monarch's performances on the flute, he wrote an important work on technique, Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments (1753, tr. 1949). After this artistically unsatisfying service with Frederick, Bach succeeded his godfather, Georg Philipp Telemann, as musical director at Hamburg. His 2 volumes of sonatas (1742-43) and his 20 symphonies established the typical classical forms of such works and powerfully influenced both Haydn and Beethoven. He also composed other keyboard music and sacred choral music. His craftsmanship was outstanding in the period between the baroque and classical periods.

Bach, Alexander, 1813-93, Austrian politician. A well-known lawyer and liberal, he took part in the revolution of 1848 in Vienna, but after its suppression he joined the forces of reaction. He became minister of justice (1848) and of the interior (1849-59), and after the death (1852) of Prince Schwarzenberg was the chief figure in the ministry. He was created baron in 1854. Bach instituted the Bach system of bureaucratic control of the Hapsburg lands. Centralization and Germanization were its chief aims; stringent control by secret police was the method of enforcing them. This program was accompanied, however, by measures promoting economic prosperity, notably the abolition of internal tariff barriers, and by agricultural reforms implementing the emancipation of the serfs. Through the Concordat of 1855 the Roman Catholic Church gained wide powers. The Bach system met with opposition, especially in Hungary, and after the Austrian defeat in the Italian War of 1859 its author was dismissed and new systems introduced.

Bach system: see Bach, Alexander.

Bach, German family of distinguished musicians who flourished from the 16th through the 18th cent., its most renowned member being Johann Sebastian Bach (see separate article). Johannes or Hans Bach, c.1550-1626, was a Thuringian carpetweaver and a musical performer at festivals. His sons and descendants were noted organists and composers. One of his grandsons was Johann Ambrosius Bach, 1645-95, violinist, town musician at Eisenach, and father of Johann Sebastian Bach. Johann Sebastian's eldest brother, Johann Christoph Bach, 1671-1721, was organist at Ohrdruf. When his parents died he took his youngest brother, Johann Sebastian, into his home and taught him. Of the 20 children of Johann Sebastian, several were well known as musicians. The eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, 1710-84, was made organist at the Sophienkirche in Dresden in 1733 and later (1746-64) organist and musical director at the Liebfrauenkirche in Halle. He was a brilliant organist and well-known composer, but he did not live up to his father's hopes and, after a dissolute life, he died in misery. A younger son was Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (see separate article), and the youngest son was Johann Christian Bach (see separate article).

(born March 21, 1685, Eisenach, Thuringia, Ernestine Saxon Duchies—died July 28, 1750, Leipzig) German composer. Born to a musical family, he became a superbly well-rounded musician; from 1700 he held positions as singer, violinist, and organist. His first major appointment, in 1708, was as organist at the ducal court at Weimar. This was followed by a six-year stay (1717–23) as kapellmeister at the princely court of Köthen, which was in turn followed by his appointment as cantor at the great church of St. Thomas in Leipzig, where he would remain for the rest of his life. Imbued with the northern German contrapuntal style (see counterpoint) from early childhood, he encountered the lively Italian style, especially in the works of Antonio Vivaldi, about 1710, and much of his music embodies an immensely convincing melding of the two styles. At St. Thomas he wrote more than 200 church cantatas. His orchestral works include the six Brandenburg Concertos, four orchestral suites, and many harpsichord concertos, a genre he invented. His solo keyboard works include the great didactic set The Well-Tempered Clavier (1722 and 1742), the superb Goldberg Variations (1742), the massive but unfinished Art of the Fugue (1749), numerous suites, and many organ preludes and fugues. His surviving choral works include (in addition to the sacred cantatas) more than 30 secular cantatas, two monumental Passions, and the Mass in B Minor. His works, never widely known in his lifetime, went into near-total eclipse after his death, and only in the early 19th century were they revived, to enormous acclaim. He was perhaps the most accomplished organist and harpsichordist of his time. Today Bach is regarded as the greatest composer of the Baroque era, and, by many, as the greatest composer of all time.

Learn more about Bach, Johann Sebastian with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born Sept. 5, 1735, Leipzig—died Jan. 1, 1782, London, Eng.) German-born British composer. Youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach, he studied with his brother Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach in Berlin before moving to Italy. In 1762 he became composer to the King's Theatre in London, where he would remain the rest of his life, becoming music teacher to the queen, and later the impresario (with Karl Friedrich Abel) of an important series of concerts (1765–81). He wrote some 50 symphonies, some 35 keyboard concertos, and much chamber music. His music, melodious and well formed but far from profound and with no trace of his father's influence, became an important prototype of the Classical style and influenced Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Learn more about Bach, Johann Christian with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born March 8, 1714, Weimar, Saxe-Weimar—died Dec. 14, 1788, Hamburg) German composer. Second son of Johann Sebastian Bach, he received a superb musical education from his father. In 1740 he became harpsichordist at the court of Frederick II the Great, where he remained for 28 years, after which he moved to Hamburg to take the city's leading musical position. He was a leader of the Empfindsamkeit (“sensitivity”) movement, which emphasized rhapsodic freedom and sentiment. A founder of the Classical style, he is one of the first composers in whose works sonata form becomes clearly evident. He wrote some 200 works for harpsichord, clavichord, and piano (including dozens of sonatas), some 50 keyboard concertos, many symphonies, and several oratorios and Passions. His Essay on the True Manner of Playing Keyboard Instruments (1753) was a highly important practical music treatise.

Learn more about Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born March 21, 1685, Eisenach, Thuringia, Ernestine Saxon Duchies—died July 28, 1750, Leipzig) German composer. Born to a musical family, he became a superbly well-rounded musician; from 1700 he held positions as singer, violinist, and organist. His first major appointment, in 1708, was as organist at the ducal court at Weimar. This was followed by a six-year stay (1717–23) as kapellmeister at the princely court of Köthen, which was in turn followed by his appointment as cantor at the great church of St. Thomas in Leipzig, where he would remain for the rest of his life. Imbued with the northern German contrapuntal style (see counterpoint) from early childhood, he encountered the lively Italian style, especially in the works of Antonio Vivaldi, about 1710, and much of his music embodies an immensely convincing melding of the two styles. At St. Thomas he wrote more than 200 church cantatas. His orchestral works include the six Brandenburg Concertos, four orchestral suites, and many harpsichord concertos, a genre he invented. His solo keyboard works include the great didactic set The Well-Tempered Clavier (1722 and 1742), the superb Goldberg Variations (1742), the massive but unfinished Art of the Fugue (1749), numerous suites, and many organ preludes and fugues. His surviving choral works include (in addition to the sacred cantatas) more than 30 secular cantatas, two monumental Passions, and the Mass in B Minor. His works, never widely known in his lifetime, went into near-total eclipse after his death, and only in the early 19th century were they revived, to enormous acclaim. He was perhaps the most accomplished organist and harpsichordist of his time. Today Bach is regarded as the greatest composer of the Baroque era, and, by many, as the greatest composer of all time.

Learn more about Bach, Johann Sebastian with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born Sept. 5, 1735, Leipzig—died Jan. 1, 1782, London, Eng.) German-born British composer. Youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach, he studied with his brother Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach in Berlin before moving to Italy. In 1762 he became composer to the King's Theatre in London, where he would remain the rest of his life, becoming music teacher to the queen, and later the impresario (with Karl Friedrich Abel) of an important series of concerts (1765–81). He wrote some 50 symphonies, some 35 keyboard concertos, and much chamber music. His music, melodious and well formed but far from profound and with no trace of his father's influence, became an important prototype of the Classical style and influenced Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Learn more about Bach, Johann Christian with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born March 8, 1714, Weimar, Saxe-Weimar—died Dec. 14, 1788, Hamburg) German composer. Second son of Johann Sebastian Bach, he received a superb musical education from his father. In 1740 he became harpsichordist at the court of Frederick II the Great, where he remained for 28 years, after which he moved to Hamburg to take the city's leading musical position. He was a leader of the Empfindsamkeit (“sensitivity”) movement, which emphasized rhapsodic freedom and sentiment. A founder of the Classical style, he is one of the first composers in whose works sonata form becomes clearly evident. He wrote some 200 works for harpsichord, clavichord, and piano (including dozens of sonatas), some 50 keyboard concertos, many symphonies, and several oratorios and Passions. His Essay on the True Manner of Playing Keyboard Instruments (1753) was a highly important practical music treatise.

Learn more about Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel with a free trial on Britannica.com.