Bach Essays (766 words) - German Lutherans, Johann Sebastian Bach

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach was one of the greatest composers in Western musical history. More than 1,000 of his compositions survive. Some examples are the Art of Fugue, Brandenburg Concerti, the Goldberg Variations for Harpsichord, the Mass in B-Minor, the motets, the Easter and Christmas oratorios, Toccata in F Major, French Suite No 5, Fugue in G Major, Fugue in G Minor ("The Great"), St. Matthew Passion, and Jesu Der Du Meine Seele. He came from a family of musicians. There were over 53 musicians in his family over a period of 300 years. Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany on March 21, 1685. His father, Johann Ambrosius Bach, was a talented violinist, and taught his son the basic skills for string playing; another relation, the organist at Eisenach's most important church, instructed the young boy on the organ. In 1695 his parents died and he was only 10 years old. He went to go stay with his older brother, Johann Christoph, who was a professional organist at Ohrdruf. Johann Christoph was a professional organist, and continued his younger brother's education on that instrument, as well as on the harpsichord. After several years in this arrangement, Johann Sebastian won a scholarship to study in Luneberg, Northern Germany, and so left his brother's tutelage. A master of several instruments while still in his teens, Johann Sebastian first found employment at the age of 18 as a "lackey and violinist" in a court orchestra in Weimar; soon after, he took the job of organist at a church in Arnstadt. Here, as in later posts, his perfectionist tendencies and high expectations of other musicians - for example, the church choir - rubbed his colleagues the wrong way, and he was embroiled in a number of hot disputes during his short tenure. In 1707, at the age of 22, Bach became fed up with the lousy musical standards of Arnstadt (and the working conditions) and moved on to another organist job, this time at the St. Blasius Church in Muhlhausen. The same year, he married his cousin Maria Barbara Bach. Again caught up in a running conflict between factions of his church, Bach fled to Weimar after one year in Muhlhausen. In Weimar, he assumed the post of organist and concertmaster in the ducal chapel. He remained in Weimar for nine years, and there he composed his first wave of major works, including organ showpieces and cantatas. By this stage in his life, Bach had developed a reputation as a brilliant, if somewhat inflexible, musical talent. His proficiency on the organ was unequaled in Europe - in fact, he toured regularly as a solo virtuoso - and his growing mastery of compositional forms, like the fugue and the canon, was already attracting interest from the musical establishment - which, in his day, was the Lutheran church. But, like many individuals of uncommon talent, he was never very good at playing the political game, and therefore suffered periodic setbacks in his career. He was passed over for a major position - which was Kapellmeister (Chorus Master) of Weimar - in 1716; partly in reaction to this snub, he left Weimar the following year to take a job as court conductor in Anhalt-Cothen. There, he slowed his output of church cantatas, and instead concentrated on instrumental music - the Cothen period produced, among other masterpieces, the Brandenburg Concerti. While at Cothen, Bach's wife, Maria Barbara, died. Bach remarried soon after - to Anna Magdalena - and forged ahead with his work. He also forged ahead in the child-rearing department, producing 13 children with his new wife - six of whom survived childhood - to add to the four children he had raised with Maria Barbara. Several of these children would become fine composers in their own right - particularly three sons: Wilhelm Friedmann, Carl Philipp Emanuel and Johann Christian. After conducting and composing for the court orchestra at Cothen for seven years, Bach was offered the highly prestigious post of cantor (music director) of St. Thomas' Church in Leipzig - after it had been turned down by two other composers. The job was a demanding one; he had to compose cantatas for the St. Thomas and St. Nicholas churches, conduct the choirs, oversee the musical activities of numerous municipal churches, and teach Latin in the St. Thomas choir school. Accordingly, he had to get along with the Leipzig church authorities, which proved rocky going. But he persisted, polishing the musical component of church services in Leipzig and continuing to write music of various kinds

The eNotes Blog Scholarship Spotlight January2016

Scholarship Spotlight January2016 Every month, we select some of the best scholarships around and post them here on our blog. When you are ready to apply, check out our tips on How to Write a Scholarship Essay. Visit   Essay Lab if you’re looking for a writing expert  to review and provide feedback your scholarship or college application essays! EditRevise $10,000 Scholarship Essay Contest Amount: Up to $10,000 Eligibility:  You must be applying for an undergraduate degree for enrollment at an accredited institution within the United States or Canada in 2016 (or 2017 if taking a gap year).  Your application must be received by 11:59PM ET on January 15th, 2016 to be eligible.  Recommendations can be from anyone. They will read the 500 essays with the most recommendations. Requirements:  Submit ANY essay you used for a college application. Due Date: January 15, 2016 at 11:59PM ET Learn more and apply Northwest Perspectives Essay Contest Amount: $750 stipend Eligibility:  Oregon Quarterly Northwest Perspectives Essay Contest welcomes nonfiction, personal essays of up to 1,500 words on any topic related to the Pacific Northwest. The contest is open to all nonfiction writers, except: (1) first-place winners from previous years’ contests; (2) authors who have written a feature forOregon Quarterly in the past calendar year; and (3) staff of Oregon Quarterly, the UO’s University Communications division, and their family members. Requirements: They strongly prefer that essays be submitted via our online form.  Hardcopy entries can be mailed to: Oregon Quarterly, 5228 University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon   97403-5228.  Authors name and contact information (email address, phone number, and mailing address) should be listed on the first page, but not on other pages of the document. Judges are not given the authors’ names when reading the essays.  One entry per person.  Maximum length is 1,500  words.  Entries will not be returned. Those that do not meet these submission guidelines are automatically disqualified. Due Date: January 20, 2016  (online submission and postmark date). Learn more and apply Microsoft Scholarship Program Amount:  Up to full tuition. Recipient will be required to apply for a summer internship and if offered, must complete the internship at Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, Washington. Eligibility:  Applicant must be enrolled full time in a Bachelor’s degree program at a four-year college or university in the United States, Canada, or Mexico. Applicant must be working towards an undergraduate degree in computer science, computer engineering, or a related technical discipline such as electrical engineering, math, or physics. Requirements: Submit your application  here! Due Date: January 31, 2016 Learn more and apply Technology Addiction Awareness Scholarship Amount: $1,000 Eligibility:  You must be a high school freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior or a current or entering college or graduate school student of any level. Home schooled students are also eligible. There is no age limit. You must also be a U.S. citizen or legal resident. Requirements:  Complete the application form below including a 140-character message about technology addiction. The top 10 applications will be selected as finalists. The finalists will be asked to write a full length 500- to 1,000-word essay about technology addiction. Due Date: January 30, 2016 Learn more and apply