Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750) was a composer from the late Boroque period of classical music.
Born into a family of musicians, Bach was first instructed by his father, Ambrosius, and later at the age of 10 by his eldest brother, Johann Christoph.
Counterpoint and Harmony
A contemporary George Frederic Handel, Bach is also renouned for his conterpount and harmony, which can be found, for example, in his fugue writing and his harmonisations of contemporary hymn melodies.
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Keyboard Works
Some of Bach’s most well known keyboard works include:
The Well Tempered Clavier Books I and II
Each of these books include 24 preludes and fugues of varying difficulty.
The Goldberg Variations
Each variation of this lengthy keyboard work employs the same underlying bassline.
Two and three part inventions
As with the fugues, these works are highly contrapuntal.
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