Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782)
- Concerto (B-Dur) a 4 voce, Op.1 (1763), IJB 80
Performers: Maria Kalamkarian (1903-1988, piano); Consortium Musicum
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German composer. The youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach, he received
his earliest musical training from his father and a cousin, Johann Elias
Bach. After serving as a secretary to his father the final year of his
father’s life, he moved to Berlin in 1750, receiving further instruction
from his brother Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. In 1755 he left for Milan,
where he eventually obtained the patronage of Count Agostino Litta.
Following study with Padre Giovanni Battista Martini and conversion to
Roman Catholicism, he was appointed second organist at the Milan
cathedral in 1760. A commission for an opera from the Teatro Regio in
Turin the same year, however, altered his fortunes; the work, Cantone in
Utica, was a success that led both to commissions throughout Italy and
an international reputation as a composer of Italian opera. In 1762 he
was invited to London, where he set the opera Orione. Its success and
the appointment as Music Master to the Queen allowed him to reside
permanently there. A further trip to Paris solidified his ability to
publish his music, and, finally, his lodging with compatriot Carl
Friedrich Abel resulted in a collaborative concert series beginning in
1764. For the next decade he traveled regularly to Paris where his works
were highly esteemed, and in 1772 he was invited to Mannheim to set the
opera Temistocle. In 1779 he wrote his first tragédie lyrique for
Paris, Amadis de Gaule. Despite the successes, competition with rival
concert a difficult economic situation, and ill health led to his early
death. Bach can be considered one of the pivotal composers of the age.
Unlike his brothers Wilhelm Friedemann Bach and Carl Philipp Emanuel
Bach, he fully immersed himself in the Italian style, creating works
that feature clear period lyrical themes, solid harmonic foundations,
and distinct formal structures. His orchestration, often using obbligato
instruments, is colorful, and Bach used various Mannheim orchestral
devices to great effect. He was one of the most popular composers of the
period, whose music had circulation throughout Europe, influencing a
later generation of composers, such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He was a
prolific composer in virtually all genres. His works include 39 operas,
three serenatas, an oratorio, seven Mass/Requiem movements, 28 other
sacred works, 15 concert arias and cantatas, 45 songs/canzonetts, 34
symphonies, 19 sinfonia concertantes, 28 keyboard concertos, 11 other
concertos (violin, flute, oboe, and bassoon), six wind symphonies, 11
marches, a sextet, 13 quintets (string and piano), 20 quartets (string,
flute, and piano), 14 trio sonatas, 12 trios (almost all piano trios),
26 violin sonatas, two viola da gamba sonatas, 23 keyboard sonatas (four
for keyboard four hands), and numerous miscellaneous pieces for the
keyboard and harp. His music has been cataloged according to Terry (T)
or Warburton (W or CW) numbers.
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