Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel are two very well known composers. They were two of the most influential composers of their time and are still well known even today. These two composers have influenced the world of music in many ways. They each have many similarities and differences. These two composers are definitely two of the most well known composers in the history of music.
George Frideric Handel was born in 1685 in Halle, Germany. His parents did not want him to be a composer, but because his musical talent was so developed in his early years, his parents consented for him to study with another composer. When he was seventeen, he entered law school in Halle, but soon dropped out and moved to Hamburg where he became a violinist and harpsichordist in the orchestra. He wrote an opera and when he was twenty it was produced successfully. When he was twenty one he moved to Italy and continued to write operas. These were very successful and he became very well known. He soon moved to London, where he became very famous. He became a favorite of Queen Anne, who paid him ₤200 a year. In 1719, Handel became the music director of the Royal Academy of Music, which was a commercial opera company in London. Soon the company collapsed, and Handel started his own company. However, he had competition from another opera company, and due to this competition, both companies went bankrupt. He returned to Germany to recover from his losses, and soon returned to London. In 1741, Handel stopped writing operas entirely, instead concentrating on oratorios. He received a lot of heat for doing this, but he became very successful. When he died in 1759, there were many mourners that attended his funeral. He was very successful, very spontaneous, and he was a great composer.
Handel wrote many works, two of his most famous being Messiah and Joshua. Joshua is an oratorio that, contrary to the playing of most oratorios, was not written to be sang in church, but rather to entertain audiences in public theaters. It deals with the subject of the Old Testament story of Joshua leading the Israelites to battle with Jericho. Messiah is by far Handel’s most famous work. It is a piece that lasts 2½ hours, yet it was written in only twenty-four days. It is the tale of the Messiah and his coming and is composed of three parts. The first part consists of the telling of the coming Messiah and rejoicing that he is coming. The second part is the story of the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross to forgive all mankind of their sins. The third part expresses the faith that Christ is the redeemer forever. It was performed by a chorus of twenty male singers and a small orchestra consisting of only strings with a few trumpets and timpani used in certain movements. The work has over fifty movements which give the audience a wide variety of music. This is a very famous work and will be played for generations to come.
Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach in 1685. He came from a long line of musicians, with many of his relatives being musicians. Bach was trained to be a musician from the time he was a young child. He was first taught by his father and his cousin, but when his parents died Bach moved in with his oldest brother, who was also a musician. At fifteen he left his brother’s home and moved to another town, where he played the violin and organ to support himself in school. When he was eighteen, he became the organist for a church not far outside of his hometown. He left this church at twenty-three and married his cousin Barbara. In 1708, Bach became a court organist in Weimar. He stayed for nine years, but left when he was passed over for promotion. Bach obviously had annoyed the duke of Weimar, so he was put in jail for a month. Bach soon became the court conductor for the prince of Cothen. He had a great salary here, and this was also the first time in his life that he was not involved with church or organ music. From 1717 to 1723, Bach continued to compose music for this small orchestra. In 1720, his wife Barbara died, leaving Bach with four children. He was thirty-six years old at this time, and in the next year he married a twenty-one year old singer from Cothen. In 1723, Bach became the director of music for St. Thomas Church in Leipzig. Bach remained here for the rest of his life. This position did not carry the salary or fame that he had in Cothen, but it is believed that Bach stayed here to get a good education for his children. In 1750, while nearly blind, Bach died. He led a life of controversy as well as supremacy in music. He was not very well known throughout the world at the time, but he is now recognized as one of the most influential musicians in the world.
Bach wrote composed many prestigious works in his time. Two of his most well known works were The Brandenburg Concertos and Mass in B Minor. The BrandenburgConcertos consisted of six pieces. These works were written to honor the margrave of Brandenburg. Most of the works use a string orchestra and a group of soloists consisting of a flute, violin, and harpsichord. These became very famous and are still well-known today. Mass in B Minor was originally written as an “audition” to become the court composer for a Catholic monarch. It is a very complicated piece, with specific orchestra accompaniments for the voices as well as many arias, duets, and choruses. It is a very long work, and is divided into many subsections. Both of these works are very well known and are still played throughout the world today.
Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel were two very well known composers when they lived and are still well known today. They each led very interesting lives which had many similarities and differences. They both wrote works that are widely known throughout the world today. Each made significant contributions to the world of music and society. They will both always live in the memory and history of the world as two of the most influential and greatest composers to ever live.
