Bach, Johann Sebastian
德國作曲家。生於愛森納赫村的音樂世家，後來成為非常全面的音樂家；從1700年起，他曾經擔任歌手、小提琴師、風琴師。1708年首次接受重要的任命，成為威瑪公爵宮廷的風琴師。隨後的1717～1723這六年期間，他待在科坦親王宮廷，擔任樂長，然後奉派為萊比錫聖託瑪斯大教堂的合唱長，並在那裏終老。自幼浸淫在德國北部的對位風格里，1710年左右他遇見生動的義大利風格，尤其是韋瓦第的作品，自此，他的許多音樂體現了這二種風格的動人融合。在聖湯瑪斯大教堂，他寫下兩百首以上的教堂清唱劇。他的管絃樂作品包括六首布蘭登堡協奏曲、四首管絃樂組曲、許多大鍵琴協奏曲，而後者是他發明的體裁。他的鍵盤獨奏作品包括偉大的教學套曲《平均律鋼琴曲集》、浩大而未完成的《賦格的藝術》、超凡的《郭德堡變奏曲》、為數眾多的組曲、許多風琴前奏曲和賦格。除了教堂清唱劇以外，他現存的合唱作品包括三十首以上的世俗清唱劇、二首劃時代的受難曲、二首b小調彌撒曲。巴哈的作品在生時未廣為人知，死後幾乎完全埋沒，直到19世紀早期才又大受讚賞。他可説是當代最偉大的風琴師和大鍵琴師。如今，巴哈被視為巴洛克時期最偉大的作曲家，還被很多人視為史上最偉大的作曲家。
1685～1750年
Bach, Johann Sebastian
German composer. Born in the village of Eisenach 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 C?then, which was in turn followed by his appointment as cantor at the great church of St. Thomas in Leipzig, where he would remain the rest of his life. Imbued with the northern German contrapuntal style from early childhood, he encountered the lively Italian style, especially in the works of A. Vivaldi, around 1710, and much of his music embodies an immensely convincing melding of the two styles. At St. Thomas he wrote over 200 church cantatas. His orchestral works include the six Brandenburg Concertos, the four orchestral suites, and many harpsichord concertos, a genre he invented. His solo keyboard works include the great didactic set The Well-Tempered Clavier, the huge but unfinished Art of the Fugue, the superb Goldberg Variations, numerous suites, and many organ preludes and fugues. His surviving choral works include (in addition to the sacred cantatas) over 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 greatest 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.
