No.10

Johann Sebastian Bach 1685-1750

The German family Bach made an outstanding contribution to classical music over a period of 200 years. More than 50 of them were musicians and a fair number were composers.

The greatest of them all was Johann Sebastian - whose compositions included sacred and secular works for choir and orchestra and a huge number of pieces for solo instruments. He played organ, harpsichord and violin.

He fathered 20 children, 7 by his first wife and 13 by his second wife. Only 10 of the children survived into adulthood. 4 of them became famous composers - Wilhelm Friedemann, Carl Philipp Emanuel, Johann Christoph Friedrich and Johann Christian.

Many of the instrumental pieces written by Johann Sebastian Bach have become familiar today through a number of different ways - films, TV commercials and more recently ringtones.

They’ve been arranged for all sorts of instruments and ensembles, and I’ve selected a few unusual videos to show here.

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1) Badinerie from Suite in B minor, played by a mixed group from Santiago, Chile


2) Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, by Kyong H. Lee - harmonica (double track recording)


3) Presto from the Italian Concerto, the Jacques Loussier Trio


4) Air on the G String, Katsuhiro Sasaki - glass harp


5) Fugue for Organ in G minor, the Swingle Singers


6) This one I’m sure Bach himself would be delighted to watch!


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For more about Bach, visit -
http://classicalmusic.about.com/od/classicalcomposers/p/bach.htm

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Next Friday - Poetry CAN be fun!

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