Johann Bernhard Bach (23 May 1676 – 11 June 1749) was a German composer, and second cousin of

J. S. Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

.Smith, Timothy A
"Johann Bernhard Bach 1676-1749"
Northern Arizona University. Retrieved 3 August 2012.

Life

Johann Bernhard Bach was born in

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

in 1676, in the house named "Zu den drei Rosen" (The Three Roses) on Junkersand Street, and was baptized on 25 November 1676 in Erfurt's ''

Kaufmannskirche The Kaufmannskirche (, "Merchant's Church") is a church building in the historical centre of the city of Erfurt in Thuringia, Germany. It is located at the north end of Erfurt's square and has been Lutheran since 1521. History The early his ...

'' (Merchant's Church). He (like his younger brother Johann Christoph, born in 1685) received his early musical tuition from his father,

Johann Aegidius Bach Johann Aegidius Bach (9 February 1645 – November 1716) was organ (music), organist, Viola, violist, and municipal orchestra director of Erfurt, Germany. He was Johann Sebastian Bach's 1st cousin once removed, Johannes Bach's son, and the father of ...

. After attending the ''Schola Mercatorum'' at Erfurt, he entered Erfurt's major secondary school at that time, the ''Ratsgymnasium''. As early as 1695, at the age of 18, he became the

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

at the Kaufmannskirche. In 1699, he moved to

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

where he was appointed organist for St Catharine's Church. In 1703,

John William III, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach John William III, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach (17 October 1666 – 14 January 1729), was a duke of Saxe-Eisenach, and came from the Ernestine line of the House of Wettin. Life John William III was born in Friedewald, the third son of John George ...

called him to

Eisenach Eisenach () is a town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, situat ...

to serve as

harpsichordist A harpsichordist is a person who plays the harpsichord. Harpsichordists may play as soloists, as accompanists, as chamber musicians, or as members of an orchestra, or some combination of these roles. Solo harpsichordists may play unaccompanied son ...

at the ducal court. In Eisenach, he also became the organist at St George's Church, succeeding his uncle

Johann Christoph Bach Johann Christoph Bach (baptised – 31 March 1703) was a German composer and organist of the Baroque period. He was born at Arnstadt, the son of Heinrich Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach's first cousin once removed and the first cousin of J.S. ...

. From 1708 to 1712, Johann Bernhard Bach worked together with

Georg Philipp Telemann Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hildesh ...

who held, first, the position of the leader of the violin section, and, from August 1709, that of a conductor (''Kapellmeister'') at Eisenach's ducal orchestra. On 6 August 1716, Johann Bernhard Bach married Johanna Sophia Siefer. Three children were born into the family. In 1741, the ducal orchestra was dissolved, which meant that Johann Bernhard continued to work exclusively as choirmaster and organist, until his death, apparently still receiving the ducal allowance of 100 Thalers per year. Johann Bernhard kept a life-long friendship with his famous cousin

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

. In 1715, he acted as godfather for Johann Sebastian's son Johann Gottfried Bernhard, whilst Johann Sebastian became godfather to Johann Bernhard's eldest son Johann Ernst in 1722. This latter was to succeed his father Johann Bernhard as organist at St George's Church in Eisenach. Bach died in 1749 at the age of 73

Work

Most of his musical output has been lost, but amongst his surviving music there are four orchestral suites. It is known that

J.S. Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suite ...

had individual parts prepared for performance by his orchestra. His musical style has been described as being similar to that of

Telemann Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. Almost completely self-taught in music, he became a composer against his family's wishes. After studying in Magdeburg, Zellerfeld, and Hildesh ...

. The surviving orchestral suites (

overture Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") in music was originally the instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overt ...

s) are as follows: *Suite No. 1 in G minor *Suite No. 2 in G major *Suite No. 3 in E minor *Suite No. 4 in D major They are thought to have been written before 1730. Surviving keyboard music: *Fantasia in C minor (originally thought to have been composed by J.S. Bach as BWV 919) *Chaconne in A major *Chaconne in B-flat major *Chaconne in G major *Chorales for organ **"Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ" **"Nun freut euch lieben Christen g'mein" **"Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her" Two fugues composed by Johann Bernhard Bach also survive.

Discography

"Ouvertures", Johann Bernhard Bach : L'Achéron / François Joubert-Caillet, Ricercar
- "Orchestral Suites - Johann Bernhard Bach", Johann Bernhard Bach, Thüringer Bach Collegium, audite Musikproduktion

References

External links

*
Johann Bernhard Bach on Bach Cantatas Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bach, Johann Bernhard 1676 births 1749 deaths German Baroque composers German male composers German harpsichordists

Johann Bernhard Bach Johann Bernhard Bach (23 May 1676 – 11 June 1749) was a German composer, and second cousin of J. S. Bach.Smith, Timothy A"Johann Bernhard Bach 1676-1749" Northern Arizona University. Retrieved 3 August 2012. Life Johann Bernhard Bach was bo ...

Musicians from Erfurt 18th-century keyboardists 18th-century classical composers 18th-century German composers 18th-century German male musicians

Life

Work

Discography

Further reading

References

External links