Johann_Sebastian_Bach

By MsT's classes
  • Jan 1, 1517

    Martin Luther If using list, scroll down for info

    Martin Luther nailes his 95 Theses to a cathedral door at Wittenberg, setting in motion events that become known as the Protestant Reformation.

  • First english settlement

    First english settlement in the New World is established at Jamestown, Virginia.

  • Ice cream

    Ice cream becomes popular as dessert in Paris, France.

  • Birth of German composer George Frideric Handel just one month before Bach

  • Birth

    Born in Eisenach in the German province of Thuringia.
  • Period: to

    His Life {Click here}

    Note: Jan 1 is put for a place holder

  • Enters Eisenach's Latin School

  • Witch Trials

    Salem witch trials lead to execution of twenty people in Massachusetts Colony.

  • Mother dies

  • Father dies

    Of a result, Bach leaves Eisenach to live with his brother in Ohrdruf.

  • Leaves Ohrdruf

    Leaves Ohrdruf for Lüneburg and enrolls in St. Michael's School.

  • Elector Frederick III of Brandenburg becomes King Frederick I of Prussia

  • Appointed organist in Arnstadt

  • Period: to

    The First Period

    The first period consists of works written in Arnstadt and Muhlhausen.
    Had the influence of German composer Dietrich Buxtehude.
    Ex: Gottes Zeit (Cantata)

  • Travels to Lübeck

    Travels to Lübeck and meets Dietrich Buxtehude.

  • Birth of Benjamin Franklin

  • Appointed organist in Mühlhausen

  • Marries Maria Barbara Bach

  • Scotland and England unite as Great Britain

  • Appointed organist and chamber musician to Duke Wilhelm Ernst at Weimar

  • Birth of first child, Catharina Dorothea Bach

  • Period: to

    The Second Period

    The second period consists of works written at Weimar.
    Mostly instrumental works, but also several cantatas. Mostly written in Northern European style but some had the concentrated clarity of Italian music.
    Ex: Tocatta and Fugue in D minor

  • Invention of the piano

  • Last execution for witchcraft in England

  • Birth of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

  • Period: to

    The Third Period

    The third period consists of works written at Anhalt-Cothen.
    Most are instrumental works.
    Ex: Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1

  • Appointed Kapellmeister to Prince Leopold at Cöthen

  • Daniel Defoe publishes Robinson Crusoe

  • Death of Wife Maria Barbara Bach

  • South Sea Bubble

    South Sea Bubble, England's first great stock market crash.

  • Marries Anna Magdalena Wilcke at Cöthen

  • Becomes cantor of St. Thomas' School and Church in Leipzig

  • Period: to

    The Fourth Period

    The fourth period consists of works written at Leipzig.
    These are principally works for chorus and orchestra. They also include significant collections of solo instrumental works.His cantatas of this period show more organization than his earlier works.
    Ex: Mass in B minor, Inventions and Sinfonias

  • Jonathan Swift publishes Gulliver's Travels

  • His St. Matthew Passion premieres at St. Thomas' Church

  • Becomes director of Collegium Musicum

  • Birth of Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach

  • Birth of George Washington

  • Birth of John Adams

  • Birth of Paul Revere

  • Frederick II, eventually known as Frederick the Great, becomes King of Prussia

  • Handel composes Messiah

  • Birth of Regina Susanna Bach

    She was his twentieth and final child.

  • Messiah preformed for the first time in Dublin

  • Birth of Thomas Jefferson

  • Period: to

    The Fifth Period

    The fifth period consists of works from Bach's last five years.
    These compositions display strong unity of organization and were usually based on one melody.
    Ex: The Art of Fugue

  • Birth of Johann August Bach

    He was his first grandchild.

  • Visits court of Frederick the Great at Potsdam

  • Death

    The material and financial remains that Bach left behind when he died were not impressive. He left no will so the town sent its official appraisers to his house upon his death. They prepared a Specification of the Estate which showed he left cash of 270 thalers (less than $30,000 today) with an outstanding debt of 150 thalers. It listed his silverware, candlesticks, and cultery, along with his wardrobe and musical instruments. It did not list his musical works.

  • Death Description Cont.

    According to prevailing law, one-third ofhis estate went to his widow, Anna Magdalena, who was 49 years old. The rest was divided equally among his children. In the library at St. Thomas' Church, Bach had assembled the vocal scores of many of his cantatas, filed in impeccable order, each clearly marked. Bach's successor must have decided that this "old stuff" was taking up too much shelf space and he disposed of numerous manuscripts.

  • Death Desciption Cont. #2

    Some manuscripts were even reported to have made their way to a butcher shop and used for wrapping paper. Because of this bungling, Anna Magdalena's decling years were sad ones and when she died, she was buried in an unmarked pauper's grave.

  • Birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

  • James Watt invents the steam engine

  • Birth of Ludwig Van Beethoveen

  • Declaration of Independence