Use Of Trumpet In Bachs Mass In B Minor Essays - German Lutherans

Use Of Trumpet In Bach's Mass In B Minor Throughout history, in every field, there have been several families who stand out for their achievements. In music, few families can compete with the success or the productivity that the Bachs can proudly claim. ?The Bach family represents the most f midable example of a musical dynasty.1? The musical output of this family is remarkable. ?There were musician Bachs in the sixteenth century: the last of the line died in 1846. In between, there was no generation without a musician. They were all re ted: and even using quite strict criteria, seventy-five of them made their living, or part of it, by practicing music.2? Besides the musical nature of the family, another noteworthy fact is that the Bach family remained in a specific area of Germany fo many generations. ?The family of which Johann Sebastian Bach was a descendant was purely and thoroughly German, and can be traced to its home in Thuringia even before the time of the Reformation.3? This geographic stability was probably one of the fac rs that contributed to the common interest in music that existed from generation to generation. Also, the composers in the family showed a strong sense of patriotism and dedication to the progression of German ideas and beliefs in the development of th r musical styles. ?For generations they had at once festered and represented those forms of music which appeal most nearly to the transcendental and metaphysical spirit of the German people, and which were destined to be brought by them to the highest rfection - namely, instrumental music and Protestant sacred music, which chiefly grows out of instrumental music.4? The Bachs played an important role in several developments of instrumental music, including the role of the trumpet. In the music of th later Bachs, especially Johann Sebastian, the trumpet evolved into an important melodic character, which employed a similar range to that of the soprano. ?In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, however, a trumpet was any one of many variegated win instruments with several common characteristics.5? The principle use of the trumpet was for military fanfares, and anything outside this genre was a rare exception. During the Baroque period, with the help of composers such as Sebastian Bach, the trum t grew in importance as new and inventive styles began to flourish. Thus, Johann Sebastian Bach, along with many other members of his family played an integral role in building a German musical tradition, and they also greatly assisted the progress mad in the employment of the trumpet in all genres of music. Sebastian Bach's Mass in B Minor is a fine example of both the culmination of German style and the establishment of the trumpet as an important member of the orchestra. He was born at Eisenach on 21 March, 1685, son of Johann Ambrosius, court trumpeter and director of the town musicians; who, in turn, was son of Cristoph, town musician at Arnstadt in the mid-seventeenth century. Sebastian was the youngest of Ambrosiu s eight children, only four of whom did not die at a very early age. On May 3, 1694, when Sebastian was only nine, his mother died. Less than seven months later, on November 27, his father remarried. Slightly more than two months after the marriage, s father also passed away. Sebastian and his older brother Jacob were sent to live with another brother Johann Cristoph, who was in his twenties and held an organist's job in Ohrduf. It was from Cristoph that Sebastian received his first keyboard less s. As his brother's family grew, Sebastian was forced to make his own way. He moved to Lunenburg, where he continued his education and began paying his tuition by singing in the choir. He was only fifteen. From this point on, for the rest of his lif Sebastian would earn his living as a musician. On October 17, 1707, he married his cousin, Maria Barbara Bach. They had seven children, but she died in 1720. In December of 1721, he married his second wife, Anna Magdalena Wilcken, who was, interest gly, the daughter of a trumpeter. They had thirteen children of their own, which brought the total number of Sebastian's offspring to twenty, but only ten would reach maturity. In pursuit of his