Beethoven, Handel, and Bach
Try this. Play for someone a random selection of classical music and ask him or her to identify a given piece. Now do the same with Joy to the World by Johann Sebastian Bach, The Messiah: Hallelujah Chorus by George Frederic Handel, and The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Undoubtedly, the second group was more recognizable to the listener. And for good reason. These are three of the most accomplished composers in history, each contributing vastly to the music of the last four centuries. Each came from different circumstances and approached their career from a different angle.Johann Sebastian Bach was born and died in Germany. He grew up the son of a church organist, studied organ in the church, and spent the rest of his life employed by various churches as a German organmeister, in charge of playing, fixing and tuning the organ. He also supervised and instructed the choirboys' education. In the few moments he had between church meetings, organ tunings, and teaching he would write page after page of music to be performed at congregations or in lessons. Throughout his life, Bach seemed to be driven to explore all the possibilities of a given style or genre. The Brandenburg Concertos were p
He was considered in his own time to be old-fashioned. The opera was the fashion in all of London. His talent would not go unnoticed and soon Prince Agustus had convinced his father to allow him to take formal instruction in a position composing church services weekly. Born into a musical family, Wolfgang was picking out tunes by ear at the age of three and by six he was composing. From 1706 to 1710, Handel was in Italy, and was quickly recognized as an emerging talent. Another point through these three composers serve to illustrates is the evolving style of music through their generations. Although an amazing composer, Bach supported himself solely on his abilities as a teacher and musician and was not truly valued by the larger world until 75 years after his death. With Handel on the other hand, even religious oratorios such as The Messiah, have a theatrical quality that is not exclusively of the church and that communicates to a middle class audience. Handel competed on a nightly basis with all the other opera house managers to bring the biggest and the best singers to his performances in order to win the devotion (and ticket sales) of the patrons. But England eventually tired of these lavish events and Handel resorted to writing the more economical oratorios--Like opera, but no set, no costumes, and no budget. Mozart as a successful opera composer and piano virtuoso must have made a good bit of money at this time, yet he and Costanze could hold on to none of it. Handel on the other hand became internationally famous in his own lifetime for his opera and ultimately the most successful. Mozart, finally, composed primarily opera with seemingly no Christian influence; rather his characters express a universality of emotion akin to the gods of classic mythology. As you might expect, Bach died in relative obscurity and poverty, yet his death in 1750 heralded the end of an Era, and his life was a monument to creativity: In addition to his innumerable volumes of musical compositions, he also had twenty children-Bach truly was a master organ player. And from that age he was almost constantly on the road being exhibited as a piano virtuoso to the courts of Europe and denied any kind of normal childhood.
Common topics in this essay:
Italian French,
Requiem Mass,
Sebastian Bach,
Amadeus Mozart,
Costanze Weber,
London Handel,
Brandenburg Concertos,
Prince Agustus,
Frideric Handel,
Bach Handel,
johann sebastian,
born musical family,
bach handel,
amadeus mozart,
sebastian bach,
wolfgang amadeus,
opera ultimately,
handel hand,
modern day,
johann sebastian bach,
wolfgang amadeus mozart,
born musical,
composers history,
|
Acceptance Essays
