Composer Study is simple. Pick a composer to listen to over a period of time. Every once in a while, play a composition by him. Listen to it. Think and talk about it. This month, we are listening to compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach, who composed for choirs and orchestras across Europe.
Biography:
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was alive at the same time as Benjamin Franklin, though he was in Germany instead of the US. He was a very religious Lutheran who spent most of his life composing and leading music in churches. He played all kinds of stringed instruments, and he wrote more than a thousand pieces of Baroque music.
Music to Enjoy
Brandenburg Concerto No 6 in B Flat Major (the best Brandenburg video I can find can’t be embedded in our webpage, but here is a link for you.
Resources
Books
- Johann Sebastian Bach: The Story of the Boy who Sang in the Streets by Thomas Tapper
- Becoming Bach by Tom Leonard
- Sebastian Bach, The Boy from Thuringia by Opal Wheeler
- Johann Sebastian Bach Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Composers by Mike Venezia.
- Glory and Honor: The Music and Artistic Legacy of Johann Sebastian Bach by Gregory Wilbur
Websites:
- Baroque Music: Bach
- Classics for kids: Bach
- Britannica: Bach
- Simply Charlotte Mason’s Music with the Masters: Bach
