Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), b. Eisenach, Germany:  He was the greatest composer of the Baroque era.  Bach's music represents the culmination of the baroque style and the totality of various musical idioms.  He wrote for many media and forms that were available in his time.  He served in important positions at Weimar, Cothen, and Leipzig, where he attained the "Kapellmeister" position.

With the exception of operas, among his important works include Toccata and Gugue in D Minor, at least 300 cantatas, numerous concertos, French and English Suites and overtures, the Mass in B minor, the Well-Tempered Clavier, The Art of the Fugue, the Goldberg Variations, and the six Brandenburg Concertos.

     Bach's life went hand in hand with his career because the music which he composed was largely commissioned by either Protestant churches or wealthy patrons.  In 1703, he served for four years as an organist and a choirmaster in Arnstadt.  An interesting event was noted within this period during which Bach refused to conform to expectations made by the Lutheran church.  He asked leave for only four weeks but stayed away in the North to attend Buxtehude's organ performances for four months.  In 1707, Bach settled in Muhlhausen and continued on as a church musician.  A year later, he attained the official court organist position at Weimar, a role which he fulfilled until 1717.  Meanwhile, his reputation as a virtuoso organist grew, and his interest in Italian genres, especially that of Vivaldi, continued to widen.

     Bach's years at Weimar were not altogether pleasant, as friction with his employer grew.  Before he left for Cothen in 1717, Bach was placed under house arrest for one month due to his disobeying the wishes of the aristocratic patron.  Despite recent ordeals, he enjoyed the next five years composing and conducting for a virtuosic court orchestra that belonged to the Prince of Cothen.  During these years, Bach wrote the six Brandenburg Concertos in hope of ingratiating himself to the Margrave of Brandenburg.  In the end, he left Cothen to settle in Leipzig.  It is interesting to note that Brandenburg Concertos No.'s 2, 4, and 5 are concerti grossi that feature more than one soloist whose performance is set against a full orchestra (also called the "tutti").

     Many reasons can be given to account for Bach's settlement in Leipzig.  First, his wife died during the last few years at Cothen, no doubt leaving behind much painful memories.  Second, Bach never received a formal university education in music, but he wanted his children to have such an opportunity in a big city.  And third, after 1721, the Prince of Cothen's interest in music began to subside, partly due to his marriage with a wife who was unappreciative of classical music.  At any rate, Bach became a music director and cantor of the churches in the city.  He was entrusted to compose and astounding number of church cantatas, which are religious texts set to be performed by a chorus or solo voices and accompanied by an organ or a small orchestra, as well as to teach music and Latin to gifted choir boys.  Most, if not all, of Bach's 200 surviving cantatas are written for specific occasions in the lyturgical year.

     Bach died in Leipzig in 1750, a year which also marks the end of the Baroque period.